Africa should accelerate its transition to self-reliance, according to Kagame

US President Donald Trump’s economic policies, according to President Paul Kagame, are just another reminder that Africa ought to have gained momentum toward independence and resilience.

On May 12, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, he was addressing a high-level panel discussion on personalities, policies, and practices appropriate for a new global order.

Bringing together more than 2,000 business leaders, investors, and policymakers from Africa and beyond, the annual event kicked off Monday with the topic, “Africa in a Transactional World: Can a New Deal between State and Private Sector Deliver the Continent a Winning Hand?”

Africa shouldn’t wake up one morning to react to something that someone, whether it be Trump or someone else, has said or done that impacts it, according to Kagame, given the background of how the continent has been doing things for decades.

In Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on May 12, President Paul Kagame and other panelists participated in a high-level policy discussion at the opening of the Africa CEO Forum. The Village Urugwiro photos

On a panel alongside South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Mauritania’s Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, Kagame stated, “We should have been building momentum in terms of what we need to do to make Africa self-dependent and resilient, and how Africa works with other continents and countries.”

“It’s a good thing that President Trump took the actions he did, even if they were just to add to the numerous reminders that should awaken us Africans to the action we should take,” he continued.

Leaders frequently discuss the continent’s potential, but how to really achieve it should be the question, Kagame pointed out.

“The people of this continent must take charge of the situation and address the issue,” the president declared.

“On the global stage, we must collaborate with one another and other nations that provide what we need and [them] with what they need.”

He brought attention to a problem that seems to always make Africans realize the truth when foreign help is shut off and they begin to panic, even though this has happened countless times in the past.

“There is a mindset that someone will pay for our development on our continent, and that has weakened our attempts to make the greatest contribution to our own development,” he stated.

Being an advocate for African Union reforms, Kagame claimed that there was a feeling of annoyance that the AU leaders’ agreements over how regional communities should cooperate to promote economic growth had not yet been put into practice.

He remarked, “You would think the bureaucratic systems are from a different world than ours.” That is so cruel to us that we must act in particular ways and not assume that someone will always treat us with kindness, which is what we will always rely on.

The continent should be much ahead of where it is now, according to Kagame, who also stated that Africans shouldn’t take solace in the fact that some progress has been made in certain areas given the continent’s knowledge, vision, resources, and organization.

Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, the president of Mauritania, acknowledged the importance of the private sector in funding and delivering services for the country’s development.

Ghazouani stated, “A vibrant private sector with greater ambition and commitment to public action can increase our economic and social development.”

Tiemoko Meyliet Kone, the vice president of Côte d’Ivoire, however, stressed that only effective governance makes it possible to establish the framework required for the development of private sector operations.

The African Continental Free Trade Agreement will be implemented through the private sector thanks to excellent governance, he emphasized.