‘Heed President’s call on inter-trade’

Source: ‘Heed President’s call on inter-trade’ | The Herald

Tendai Mugabe recently in PORT LOUIS, Mauritius—
Africa has been urged to take President Mugabe’s advice on the need to open up markets and promote inter-African trade to achieve the desired continental economic integration. The chief executive of a leading Kenyan firm the Centrum Investments, Dr Chris Kirubi told delegates who attended the inaugural African Economic Platform Summit in Mauritius on Monday that Africa was too bureaucratic and should revise its ways of doing business.

“I like us to take stock of what President Mugabe said this morning and I would like us all to be supplied with that document,” he said. “If it is on Google, we will all get it and deliver it to our homes because to me, it was one of the greatest things we got this morning.

“You may not realise that three years ago when (President) Mugabe was made chairman of the African Union I attacked him and told him, please can you open your market and don’t nationalise our businesses.

“He looked at me like I was a strange animal. Today, he spoke the opposite. He was good. He was extremely good in what he said.

“He said we must open markets and we must get South Africa to wake up and stop blocking weaker economies trading in their markets where as they trade a lot in the smaller markets. That was great.”

Dr Kirubi said another setback to Africa’s development was lack of implementation of its policies.

He said the continent should also take advantage of its population to harness growth from its vast resources.

“I am asking for action now. Not tomorrow. African Union, you are too slow,” he said.

“Can you get your act together? We start this business today. Africa is poor. We block our markets. There is nothing to protect inside. We are poor, but we don’t want to trade with each other. I would rather trade with the Western world than trade with my colleagues next door.

“At least, (US president Donald) Trump has shown us that they are going to look backward internally to look after themselves, while the Africans will be following them thinking that they are the solution for them.

“You will be lost. Today, if you look at Asia, if you look at China, they are big economically because of their size of populations, their huge populations and nobody can ignore them. But what about Africa? We are so disintegrated.”

Dr Kirubi said financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund should not fund African countries that do not promote economic integration.

To achieve an integrated economy, Dr Kirubi said, Africa required focused leadership and promotion of free movement of people and goods.

Said Dr Kirubi: “We need to move. We need to create movement of young people, to learn together, to create universities — that take students from South Africa, from Namibia, from Congo and they all study degrees together. By the time they finish that study, they are one, they think the same. Here, we have some of colleagues who speak French, the other guys speak English and we are divided in the middle like this.

“Who made us battalions for the West to speak in English, battalion for the French speaking French? We are one. Let’s find our language which we can all speak together. We should not be divided because of these languages? They are not our languages.

“Africa must become one. I would like to see us reform the African Union itself putting priority where it matters, putting priorities in the economy.”

The AEP, which is a brainchild of the African Union provides a stage for frank engagements between African Heads of State and Government, captains of industry and academics on the future of the continent.

AEP was formally launched at the 27th AU Summit in Kigali, Rwanda in 2016 and it also seeks to mobilise alternative resources towards the achievement of the continental developmental blueprint, Agenda 2063.

Meanwhile, President Mugabe returned home yesterday.

He was received at the Harare International Airport by his two deputies, Vice Presidents Emmerson Mnangagwa, and Phelekezela Mphoko, Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Chris Mushohwe, Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Joram Gumbo, State Security Minister Kembo Mohadi, Harare Metropolitan Minister Miriam Chikukwa, Welfare Services For War Veterans Collaborators, Former Political Detainees & Restrictees Minister Tshinga Dube, Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Misheck Sibanda, service chiefs and other senior Government officials.