POLITICS: Over-reliance on foreign investment makes Africa vulnerable - Rawlings

Former President Rawlings

Former President Jerry John Rawlings says the over-reliance on foreign investment by Africa has made it vulnerable to the dictates of the international community to the detriment of African unity and development.

A statement from the office of the former president released in Accra on Wednesday said he was speaking at the 10th Anniversary colloquium of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Tuesday,

Former president Rawlings said: “While the West is boosting regional integration and supporting each other at a time of global financial crisis, we are still grappling with unifying our continent and protecting each other from global economic challenges.”

He said a hugely resourced continent such as Africa should be able to give real stimulus to the African Union and its organs such as NEPAD to implement progressive initiatives that pursued a common African agenda of continental development.

The former President said one of the challenges facing the smooth implementation of NEPAD and other African initiatives was the abuse of leadership by elected officers.

“We can over the past decade lay claim to expanding democracy across the continent with multi-partyism flourishing. Electoral victory for some, however, means a leadership of impunity,” he said.

GNA