African countries have been urged to dismantle all economic barriers hindering free trade among nations on the continent, to achieve sustainable growth and development across the continent.
In light of this, the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote expressed the commitment of his Pan-African conglomerate, Dangote Industries Limited to solving some of the economic challenges faced by the African continent and her people.
He stated that the organisation has committed over 20 billion dollars to investments in several key sectors of the African economy to turn around the economic fortunes of the continent for sustained growth through free trade and economic integration.
“Our massive investments of over 20 billion dollars across key industries, including Energy, Agriculture, and Infrastructure. Our recently commissioned 3Million Metric Tonnes Fertiliser Plant, expansions in cement production, and our soon-to-be commissioned 650,000 barrels per day world’s largest single-train refinery are all set to empower farmers, foster backward integration, create thousands of jobs, eliminate our dependence on imported products, and improve our nation’s foreign exchange earnings significantly,” Dangote said.”
Dangote who was represented by the Group Executive Director/Group Chief Risk Officer, Dangote Industries Limited, Dr Adenike Fajemirokun at the launch of a Special publication “The World Ahead 2023” by media outfit, The Economist, stated that the task of building a sustainable future that guarantees equitable growth and prosperity for all, should not be the exclusive role of the public sector alone, but should also involve the private sector.
He also drew the attention of the international community to the need for all hands to be on deck towards lifting Africa above the various socio-economic challenges facing the member countries, pointing out that the African population has been growing exponentially.
He said ” Nigeria, for instance, is projected to be the world’s third largest population by 2050 surpassing the United States, only behind India and China, so the question of sustained economic growth has become increasingly critical and isn’t one for a single sector to tackle alone. To secure the future of our country and our continent we must forge strong public-private partnerships and dismantle regional barriers with vehicles like the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).”
Dangote advised that going forward, all conversations at global or regional levels, in emerging markets or OECD countries, must be refocused towards exploring the specifics of the fast-changing world, to align public-private perspectives and identify areas for collaboration for the collective good of the people, planet, and profit.
He commended ‘The Economist’ for putting together the publication that was being launched, describing it as a rich body of work that offers useful data for all sectors to draw insights from and synthesize the same towards arriving at cutting-edge action points.
For his part, the Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat described the publication as a valuable document for policymakers and strategic planners, stating that its contents reaffirm part of the strategies the Lagos State government has executed to make Lagos assume its status as the preferred destination of choice for investors.
Confidence Okwuchi
