The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has urged African leaders to shift their focus from foreign aid to mobilising domestic resources to drive economic growth.
She was speaking at the African Union meeting in Ethiopia where she remarked that Africa is blessed with vast untapped financial and natural resources that could drive sustainable development.
“Africa really needs to change its mindset about access to aid. We should begin to see it as a thing of the past,” she said. Instead, the continent should focus on attracting investment and mobilising domestic resources.
Okonjo-Iweala also talked about Africa’s approximately $250 billion in pension funds assets, which could be harnessed and properly channelled into local economies.
Harnessing Africa’s Mineral Wealth
The WTO chief also stressed the need for African nations to take control of their vast mineral wealth, particularly lithium, manganese, and copper. These resources are vital for electric vehicle battery production and could drive economic transformation for Africa if processed locally.
Mr Okonjo-Iweala urged Africa to develop its processing industries, create jobs, boost intra-continental trade, and discontinue exporting raw materials without value addition.
This call to action comes after US President Donald Trump pivoted America’s foreign policy away from aid to protectionist trade, nearly leaving African nations gapping.
Africa’s mineral resources have also being the target of foreign countries, including the EU and the US, to fuel their green energy transition, raising concerns about “green neo-colonialism” and the need for African countries to benefit from their resources.
Some African countries, such as Nigeria, Namibia, and Ghana, have already taken steps to restrict the export of raw minerals and promote domestic processing.
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