Expert says infrastructure must be a priority
Staff Writer
WINDHOEK, Namibia – Renowned Infrastructure Development Expert, Tinashe Manzungu, has urged African countries to prioritise infrastructure development as part of the continent’s efforts to achieve Africa’s Agenda 2063.
In a recent interview with Africa News 24, Dr Manzungu emphasised that infrastructure development was essential in building ‘The Africa We Want’. He urged African governments to maximise the financial advantages of the available regional blocs to attain the collective goal and effectively implement the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Expert says Africa must open its borders
“Currently, growth in African countries is moving slowly on an average of 2% per annum and at such a rate, we will not get to our objective of making Africa a global powerhouse of the future. We need to open up the borders and ensure that even the road transport which sells as the most cost-effective means of transport for goods is well developed. It must be available to everyone for the purposes of trade. We should also have a similar approach with the railway linking because for you to trade or bring in the benefits, whether to the economy or households; it is all achievable when there is good infrastructure development in terms of road and railway networks,” Dr Manzungu said.
He said infrastructure development in roads and railways would make the AfCFTA more viable as currently intra-trade in Africa was being compromised by logistical expenses encountered in shipping products from one African country to another.
Expert bemoans cost of shipping good across African borders
“It is actually cheaper to bring goods or products from Europe to Africa than to transport a product within Africa. The borders are too restrictive in terms of the charges and taxes at border controls. To take a vehicle from South Africa to Morocco, it may cost millions as compared to just buying a vehicle from Europe,” he said.
Dr Manzungu noted that although African countries had agreed on the AfCFTA, there were still some regions where the concept needed to be fully implemented with clear and practical policies that can be monitored and evaluated to get the most effective results.
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He added, “As we are focusing on attaining the Africa we want inline to Agenda 2063, our challenges are going to be largely solved in Africa and by Africans and we must accept that”.
Expert encourages regional blocs to stimulate AfCFTA
“We have quite a large number of regional blocs including the SADC Secretariat, African Business Council, East African Union, West African National Secretariat among others which we can use as platforms for agreements on strategies such as the Public-Private Partnership and also strategies that position ourselves as a continent to the rest of the world is key as well.”
Manzungu urged African governments to develop clear policies that promoted the infrastructure development of the continent and added that African “countries should also adhere to their own policies, abiding to them religiously”.
Agenda 2063 is the continent’s blueprint and master plan for transforming Africa into the global powerhouse of the future. It is strategic framework that aims to deliver on its goal for inclusive and sustainable development and is a concrete manifestation of the pan-African drive for unity, self-determination, freedom, progress and collective prosperity pursued under Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance.
