Africa is too blessed and rich to be poor – Akufo-Addo

President Akufo-Addo has emphasized that Africa should never face poverty given the abundance of natural resources on the continent.

Speaking at the second edition of the Africa Prosperity Dialogues in Peduase, Eastern region, on Thursday, January 25, 2024, President Akufo-Addo highlighted Africa’s extensive resources, including oil, gas, minerals, ample sunlight, and 65% of arable land capable of feeding 9 billion people globally by 2030.

President Akufo-Addo added that he envisions Africa transforming into a global powerhouse with its rich resource base and youthful population.

Encouraged by a private sector ready for economic cooperation, particularly through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), President Akufo-Addo emphasized the importance of economic integration.

He noted that the current focus on facilitating the free movement of people, goods, and services across the continent is essential for realizing the United Africa dream.

“We all know that Africa is blessed, Africa is not a poor continent, in fact, she is too rich to be poor. A continent that has every natural resource imaginable; oil, gas, minerals and an abundance of sunlight. We have some 65 per cent of all arable land available to feed 9 billion people globally by 2030 and our continent is filled with the most youthful population in the world –everything we need to transform Africa into a global powerhouse of the future,”

“I’m now encouraged that Africa now has a private sector that is ready, deliberate and eager to see that the 60-year-old dream of the United Africa manifests. The difference perhaps, of the then and today is that the focus is on an area where there can be no debate –economic integration.”

“How we facilitate the free movement of people, goods and services across this vast and resourceful mass Africa is what we must devote our energies to,” he said.