African leaders call for better infrastructure to maintain development
Date 2013/6/2 16:47:35 | Topic: Africa
| Visiting African leaders on Saturday called for better infrastructure so as to maintain the continent's high-speed development and enhance intra-Africa trade and economic ties.
Saying at a plenary of the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development, or the TICAD V, the leaders highlighted that the poor infrastructure in areas like transportation and electricity has stopped the continent's economic momentum.
"The challenge of our countries is that we do not have enough infrastructures, especially in transport and energy," said Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh. "This is actually the reason why we loss 2 percent of growth rate every year."
"We do not have enough electricity for industry. We do not have enough ports and roads to deliver our goods and products and it stops intra-Africa trade," the president added.
Nigerian vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo also pointed out that poor infrastructure is the main challenge faced by African countries, adding they "are still struggling" with the issue that continues to retaliate their efforts to boost social and economic growth.
South African President Jacob Zuma emphasized that infrastructure development is an element to make the African countries more integrated and to realize sustainable development on the continent.
"Africa needs to move from a path driven by consumption and commodity exports to one based on industrial production and diversification, as well as cross-border infrastructure development that expands intra-Africa trade," said Zuma.
The leaders said that Africa really needs to have better regional integration with modern and reliable infrastructure and called for international supports.
"We believe that addressing the infrastructure gap, including sustained private investment in infrastructure development, we allege the potentials for the future growth of the continent," said Sambo.
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