African Prosperity Through Peace, Health And Dev’t Resonates With AU Agenda 2063 – AfCFTA Secretary General
His Execellency Wamkele Mene, secretary -general, AfCFTA secretariat on the closing occasion on the 8th annual London School of Economics (LSE) Africa summit THEME: “AFRICAN PROSPERITY THROUGH PEACE, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT” has said that, the theme resonates what the African Union is trying to achieve with Agenda 2063, the Africa we want, an integrated , prosperous and peaceful Africa. He noted that, African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) is one of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063, especially its 10 year implementation plan which seek to promote inclusive and sustained economic growth and accelerated economic development and integration in Africa. His Excellency the Secretary General added that, Africa’s development challenge is quite enormous. According to studies by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, two in every three Africans rely on subsistence farming for food and basic livelihoods while nearly half (600 million people) still do not have access to electricity. With an average GDP per capita of $2,000 (compared to the global average of $10,500) and a population set to rise from 1.3 billion to 4 billion in just 80 years, of which Africans economy needs to be 16 times bigger than it is today to elevate the quality of life of its citizens to match the global. He stated that, To foster the development of the continent, Africa must use its vast natural resources to the benefit of its countries and people; to strengthen intra-Africa trade and economic integration; to diversify economies and industrialize; to build continental, regional and country infrastructure and to invest in education, health, science and innovation.
