President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned that many of Africa’s developmental gains may be reversed as the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic takes precedence over national priorities such poverty eradication.
In his weekly letter to the nation on the eve of Africa Day, President Ramaphosa says Africa must become a thriving and prosperous continent, not one on which people are struggling to survive.
As African countries, we want to help ourselves and not be told what is good for us. The principle of ‘nothing about us without us’ should be applied. https://t.co/9Yo3O9ko7s #AfricaDay pic.twitter.com/otlKiol4jj
— Cyril Ramaphosa ?? #StaySafe (@CyrilRamaphosa) May 24, 2021
Ramaphosa urges Africa to work towards rebuilding its economy:
At last week’s summit of a number of African leaders and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, President Ramphosa said it was established that leaders and international organisations share a collective responsibility to implement financial relief measures for African countries in distress.
He says the continent is pushing for a comprehensive economic stimulus package to assist in COVID-19 post-recovery, as well as greater allocation of International Monetary Fund (IMF) money to bolster the financial reserves of African countries.
This, however, must not be a substitute for official development aid and continental self-reliance.
In the video below, Macron calls for investment, good governance in Africa:
