The flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo has charged African leaders to work towards reducing its reliance on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other Western donors for financial assistance.
This, he said, can be achieved if the African continent explores and adequately puts to use its rich natural resources.
Contributing to a BBC debate on the provision of aid to Africa by the Western world, Nana Addo said one of the biggest hindrance to Africa’s development is poor planning.
He remarked that Africa must begin to look at its development “in terms of the plan we have for ourselves and if that plan is intelligently worked out, I think our dependence on outside resources can reduce significantly.”
Ghana since 1966 has been relying on the IMF for financial support and presently, the country is undergoing a three-year bailout programme aimed at restoring the health of the economy.
Ghana is no exception; many African nations have been relying on Western donors to help them manage their respective economies.
But Nana Addo in his submission pointed out that Africa is a continent with the largest natural resources in the world, yet, it’s people are the poorest due to poor planning and management.
“The link has to do with the nature of the plan that we have for each other,” he stressed.
Nana Addo said the focus for African leaders should be on “the effective plan that can allow us to do what other people have done.”
According to him, the many problems the continent is grappling with is not unique saying, “we should not make it seem as if the problem with our continent is so unique. Many other people in the world are going through the same problems that we are going through but they have been able to come out of it and we can do same.”
Source: citifmonline.com
