Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye called for a new phase of African-led development on Saturday, saying the continent should draw more heavily on its own resources while accelerating infrastructure projects and finding new ways to finance them.
Speaking at a summit of NEPAD’s five founding states in El Alamein, Egypt, Faye said the continent still faced deep challenges ranging from poverty and food insecurity to employment.
“Twenty-five years after the creation of NEPAD, the challenges remain numerous and complex; water and sanitation, which is the theme of the year, the fight against poverty, food insecurity, climate change,” the Senegalese president said.
However, he argued that the continent also had the resources to confront the issues it faces, pointing to its young population, agricultural potential and natural wealth.
“To meet these challenges and carry forward the founders’ legacy, it is important, in my view, first, to preserve the spirit that guided the creation of NEPAD: making the continent’s development a collective responsibility and relying on our assets,” Faye said.
He also pushed for faster development of regional infrastructure to move people and goods more easily and deepen economic integration, singling out the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa.
“It is important to give particular attention to implementing the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa, building on the high-level political support provided in particular through the Presidential Initiative for infrastructure development in Africa,” he said.
Faye also called for greater access to concessional and blended finance, while pressing African governments and businesses to raise more funding at home.
He said that should include “the mobilisation of domestic resources and the greater involvement of the African private sector” in continental projects.
The summit was co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Angolan President Joao Lourenco, and brought together leaders and representatives of NEPAD’s five founding states: Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa.
It reviewed AUDA-NEPAD’s role in driving development projects and mobilising financial and technical resources across the continent. Leaders also adopted the Alamein Declaration as NEPAD marked 25 years since its launch.
Source: Viory
