Former President John Dramani Mahama has described Africa’s over-dependence on imported goods as shameful.
According to him, intra-African trade must be encouraged on the continent to boost trade and promote self-reliance.
Speaking at the 24th African Business Conference organised by the Harvard Business School, Mr Mahama said: “We must push for self-reliance for key strategic commodities and supplies such as rice, tomatoes, onions, and vegetable oil for which we have a comparative advantage”.
“It is such a shame that Africa continues to import these commodities when we have favourable conditions to produce them.”
”Africa must take greater control of the trade and processing of its natural resources like cocoa, and the minerals and build stronger capacity to respond to global energy shocks stemming out of situations such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict.”
