As non-Africans from China, Europe and the United States continue their rush to get a bite of Africa, acclaimed the last frontier, the African diaspora can no longer afford to look on aloof or stay rooted in the strategy of going to invest in Africa individually or in small groups; but must rather work collaboratively to pull billions of dollars for investments in the Homeland.
President of the African Diasporan Development Initiative (ADDI), Ambassador Arikana Chihombori-Quao gave the advice at the maiden edition of the Wakanda City of Return Expo, presently going on at Cape Coast, Ghana, in West Africa. The expo, which opened on 6th December, will end on 13th December.
Praising the resilience of the African, Chihombori-Quao said the ADDI was ready to invest in Africa, beginning from Ghana.
“The rest of the world is coming to Africa. We, the owners, the inheritors of Africa’s wealth, we need to be involved. So, we are coming in to also participate in the economic development of Africa. You saw thesupport we are getting from the Chamber of Commerce and the Ministry of Trade.
“We don’t need any funding from anybody as Africans from Diaspora. When we come together, we have what it takes to make things happen and that’s why we are here,” Chihombori-Quao stated.
Africa, she said, held enormous resources but had a greater percentage of its population blighted with
extreme poverty due to over exploitation of the resources by foreign hands. Africa is by far the richest continent with enough resources to sustain the world for centuries.
We have people from Europe, from everywhere except us driving African development agenda and that is wrong,” she said, adding
It was time leaders came together to harness Africa’s resources, and empower its institutions and structurs to meet growing demands for development.
Delegates from the African Diaspora, including African-Americans and other brother- and sister-Africans from Europe and the Cadibbeans, are attending the event which aims at building in here continental networks and synergy between Africans in the Homeland and Africans in Diaspora.
About 200 exhibitors from the artisanal, banking, investments and real estate sectors are also attending the event.
The Initiative
The expo is an initiative of the “Wakanda” City of Return project, which itself, was launched by the African Diaspora Development Institute (ADDI) and local partners in August this year to create a modern city within the city of Cape Coast, Ghana.
The city will feature a 1,000-bed capacity teaching hospital, resorts, a university, five-star hotels, manufacturing plants, parks and green space, and a shopping centre, among others.
The project is expected to create about 3,000 direct and indirect jobs and open opportunities in Africa and beyond, especially, for all people of African descent to visit Ghana.
Action
Kenya-born academic and pan Africanist, Professor Patrick Lumumba, said African leaders had failed to be proactive in undertaking mitigation steps to reduce the suffering of the masses.
Prof. Lumumba stressed it was critical on the part of leaders to protect the citizenry and posterity with proactive policies to ensure that investments enhanced the adaptive capacity to build resilience at all levels.
Partnership
On his part, president of Ghana’s National Chamber of Commerce, Mr Clement Osei Amoako, said Ghana’s private sector was ready to partner the government to open new market access opportunities to drive the needed economic growth and transformation of the African continent.
“The region is endowed with a lot of resources from real estate to tourism, among others, and we must endeavour to highlight the potential of the region at all cost.”
Government support
Earlier, Ghana’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Alan Kyerematen, who was represented by Dr Afua Asabea Asare, the CEO of Ghana’s Export Authority, GEPA, pledged the Ghanaian government’s support for the “Wakanda” City initiative.
The Ghanaian government was ready to become a strong supporter of the initiative to help create a platform for foreign direct investment for the country, he said.
He emphasised that the initiative would help the government achieve its aim of supporting women and youth in the private sector to grow their businesses.
“We are strongly behind this initiative to enhance private sector competitiveness which would translate into creating a conducive environment for businesses to thrive,” the minister stated.
From Martin-Luther C. King, Cape Coast
