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President Hakainde Hichilema has called for acceleration of the operations of the African Union (AU) financial institution.
Hichilema emphasized that the AU financial institutions should be aligned with Africa’s agenda for global financial architecture reform.
The President made the call at the AU sidelines alongside fellow Heads of State President Nana Addo Dankwa Addo of Ghana, President William Ruto of Kenya and other Heads of Government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Saturday.
During the meeting, agreements were signed with financial business leaders to launch the ‘Africa Club’, the Alliance of African Multilateral Financial Institutions (AAMFI).
The Head of State noted that this was a crucial platform to advance Africa’s economic agenda globally.
“Emphasizing the importance of unity, we hope that the platform would effectively present interventions in global markets that currently disadvantage Africa,” Hichilema stated.
The President called for a well established time line to achieve this important mission.
Hichilema also expressed concern about the undervaluation of African economies, thereby hindering economic growth due to a lack of headroom for a lower cost of capital.
“Encouraging a shift towards revenue generation over consumption, there is need for increased intra-continental trade to achieve self-sufficiency, recognizing the potential for economic advancement,” he said.
Hichilema was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to participate in the 37th Ordinary Session of the African Union Heads of State and government.
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He had joined leaders from across the continent to engage in discussions on regional cooperation, peace and development initiatives.
The theme for this year’s assembly is, “Educate an Africa fit for the 21st Century: Building resilient education systems for increased access to inclusive, lifelong, quality, and relevant learning in Africa”
A consultative meeting of African countries on the establishment of AU financial institutions took place in Lusaka last year with a call for participants to devise mechanisms to accelerate the establishment of the institutions.
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