Africa requires $100b to fix infrastructure – Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan has said for Africa to effectively tackle the various challenges bedeviling the continent, it must build the necessary infrastructure across transport, communication and energy sectors.

Already, it is estimated that the continent requires about $ 100 billion annually for the next decade.

Jonathan, who spoke on Wednesday at the Infrastructure Summit of the World Economic Forum in South Africa, described infrastructure as a major challenge facing the African continent.

Consequently, Jonathan said the situation has led to structural and high level of unemployment.

Besides, he said poor infrastructure serves as additional burden and cost to businesses, thereby making it difficult for them to compete.

The president said, “In the last decade, Africa has come a long way from being mainly associated with economic stagnation, high inflation, high external debts, and civil strife. Today, the situation has changed due to significant macroeconomic, structural, and political reforms. Economic growth on the continent averaged five per cent annually in the last 10 years.

” However, despite this recent economic growth success story of the continent, infrastructure deficit on the continent across transport, energy, and communication remain binding constraints to further growth acceleration, our ability to compete, and the reduction in poverty.

“Inadequate and poor infrastructure in Africa remains a major constraint to the continent’s realisation of its full economic potential. Due to the relatively poor infrastructure and low connectivity on the continent, we have the lowest level of inter-regional trade. While we account for about 12 per cent of the world’s population, our share of global trade is just about two per cent. This is also a reflection of the fact that our economies are less diversified compared to other global regions.

“Most importantly, poor infrastructure serves as additional burden and cost to our businesses, making it difficult for them to compete, and accompanied by structural and high level of unemployment. To effectively tackle these challenges, diversify our economies, reduce poverty and provide employment opportunities for our bulging youth population, we must build necessary infrastructure in Africa across transport, communication and energy sectors.”

“Over the course of this past decade, African stakeholders have recognised the need to plug the gaps in infrastructure on the continent. From studies and reports on the subject, it is estimated that Africa requires about 100 billion United States dollars annually for the next decade, whereas only a quarter is being spent today.”

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