African leaders gathered at The African We Build Summit in Nairobi Kenya reaffirmed their commitment to building Africa’s strategic infrastructure. Hosted by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the Summit, held on April 23-24 was attended by East African government leaders, businessmen and policy makers.
In his keynote address, President William Ruto of Kenya set the tone for discussions under the theme “Infrastructure as the Engine of Industrialization.” “We must also acknowledge that other regions have faced such challenges but overcome them. Africa’s place in global trade requires urgency. We need a way forward in terms of manufacturing and value addition,” Ruto said.
Calling for a coordinated and strategic approach to infrastructure development, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni told the Summit: “The transformation of Africa requires moving priority infrastructure projects from conception to implementation through coordinated planning and regional cooperation.” He stressed that shifting from exporting raw materials to producing finished goods locally will increase national revenues and create employment opportunities across the continent. He said that countries should not borrow to finance recurrent expenditures, but to invest in productive sectors such as electricity generation, railways, fuel pipelines, and industrial manufacturing.
“Infrastructure must strengthen what I call the bone marrow of the economy, the core systems that support industrialization and long-term growth,” he said.
