Akufo-Addo Unhappy about how the West treats Africa in trade partnerships
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has expressed concerns about how developed economies treat Africa during trade and investment agreements.
He noted that the rules of engagement in trade and investment that exist among the developed economies change whenever Africa becomes the focus of the trade agreements.
President Akufo-Addo said these when he was speaking at the EBII Africa Investments Risk and Compliance (IRC) Summit in London on Saturday, July 31.
He told the gathering that “We have all agreed that for Africa to be able to transform ourselves and become the epitome of the economic empowerment and self-reliance, she needs to have the wherewithal to be able to protect and promote the resources at her disposal hence the need to build a robust financial compliance system and ensure strict enforcement of the systems.”
The reason for this is that he said “financial crimes have over the past 30 years become a major concern for governments around the globe as it represents a significant threat to development and stability of the economies of countries around the world.
“If the African continent were not seen as a place where regular rules can be and are regularly flouted, I dare say we will not be gathered here today to grapple with the subject of this conference.
“Top of the problems, of course, is that there is so little trade between African countries and so little intra-investment among African nations. Thus when we talk about investment in Africa reference is instinctive to non-Africans and a decade ago when China made a significant entry to Africa investment on our continent was limited to western companies in the countries. It is not surprising therefore that the western counties carried into the investment arena the same attitude they had towards African counties as their former colonies.”
By |3news.com|Ghana
