Africa Day: Time to take bold steps towards industrialisation

TODAY is a big day for Africa, as people from the continent gather at venues in all parts of the world to commemorate the 54th anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). In Zimbabwe, there will be special celebrations at a city hotel today, set to be attended by Government officials, diplomats, the private sector and other key stakeholders.

The theme adopted for this year’s celebrations is: “Harnessing the demographic dividend through investments in youths”.

That the OAU no longer exists in its initial form is a fact in the public domain.

Leaders from the continent convened in Durban, South Africa, in 2002 to rename the body into the present day African Union (AU).

The transformation of the OAU into the AU was not only in the change of name.

It signified a new direction that the continent was now taking as a bloc, especially to ensure that the gains of the liberation struggle were transformed into tangible economic benefits for the people.

The OAU focused mainly on ensuring that all countries on the continent became free from colonialism.

This is why the body went on to form a liberation committee to enhance the fight against white domination on the continent.

With South Africa being the last to gain its independence in 1994, it was inevitable that the pan-African body changes its course from fighting for liberation.

It was time to face new challenges bedevilling the continent, and this explained why one of the AU’s mandate is to spearhead the economic transformation of the continent.

It is a fact that African leaders are confronted with a mammoth task to turnaround the economic fortunes of the continent, which ranks far below acceptable levels. Many people have often wondered why Africa, a continent so rich in vast resources, still extends a begging bowl to other continents in a bid to change its status.

While Africa Day is meant to celebrate the unity and solidarity of the continent’s founding fathers who gave it all for its freedom and independence, it is also time to reflect on what should be done with the economy.

All those interested in the development of Africa should be using Africa Day to map strategies of how to pluck the continent from the jaws of poverty.

What is needed for now is for the continent to seek partnerships with other countries and development agencies, to ensure that the much sought after economic emancipation is realised.

China offers a good example in this area.

It is known that China was once in a predicament like that facing Africa — poverty, hunger, political strife and lack of industrialisation. But within a few years, the Asian country has managed to turn its fortunes around, and by 2020 all the more than 1,3 billion Chinese will be living out of poverty.

Africans should dedicate their time as they mark Africa Day today to reflecting on the measures taken by China to improve its desperate situation.

While the continent’s Agenda 2063, which underlines its new vision for economic emancipation, is gaining traction, it is important that lessons are drawn from elsewhere to help move forward the agenda.

And such lessons can be drawn from China, especially on the programmes it implemented to ensure its people were out of poverty.

What is needed by African leaders is to appreciate that while the continent is indeed charting its own way forward, sometimes it lacks capacity, especially to implement life changing projects.

This is where China’s win-win cooperation can be exploited for the benefit of both sides.

Africa lacks capital to embark on such mammoth projects, and admittance by the leaders that the situation needs tangible reforms will see the continent changing for the better.

That was the precise reason why China embarked on a reform and opening up policy in the late 1970s, which has been credited for the progress being realised in the Asian economic giant.

Chinese leaders realised that no matter how they tried hard, they could not effect changes in the economy without capital.

So, the reform and opening up policy was meant to attract the much needed capital from countries and firms willing to invest. The result was an influx of companies from all over the world that brought their capital and set up industries in China.

Low tariffs for taxes, exports and labour were put in place to attract the foreign investors. The creation of Special Economic Zones turned out to be the master stroke for China.

The reserved special trading zones are much credited with the industrialisation of China, as big corporates from the developed world were attracted by the incentives.

I am not suggesting that Africa should take examples from China “hook, line and sinker”, but it is worth that the situation in China be thoroughly studied with the aim of mapping the continent’s own developmental agenda.

What has Africa done with value addition and beneficiation of its abundant natural resources? This is one key question confronting the continent’s Agenda 2063, which aims at ensuring that all countries on the continent enjoy some form of industrialisation by that year.

The continent needs partnerships with those possessing capital to invest in industries that concentrate on value addition of the minerals.

At the moment, many African countries are exporting their minerals in raw form, a situation that has ensured they get little returns.

As Africa marks the 54th anniversary of the AU today, its leaders should be taking a hard look at what needs to be done to improve the lives of the people.

Commitment to push a developmental path for the continent is demonstrated by programmes such as Agenda 2063.

But it is time to take Agenda 2063 out of conference rooms for implementation.

Of course, China has made it clear that it is willing to help Africa move into the phase of industrialisation, but without commitment from the continent this will be futile. Only those who show commitment to a certain development path stand to gain from the massive investment that is being availed, especially by China.

In 2015, China set aside $60 billion just for enhancing the industrialisation process in Africa, but this money will not come on a silver platter.

Only those who prove their worth through submitting viable economic projects will be able to gain.

The founding fathers of the AU wanted the body to help foster unity on the continent to enhance chances of economic progress and industrialisation.

This is the same vision being pursued by the present day leaders on the continent. Unity of purpose also underlines the success stories of countries that have managed to make it and without this special bond, Africa’s aspirations will take long to fulfil.

Africa Day commemorations should provide a chance for leaders to make bold and radical interventions when it comes to tackling the continent’s economic status.

The continent cannot afford to continue remaining lowly ranked when it possesses so much resources with the potential to anchor its own industrial revolution.