Question NW2166 to the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation
22 June 2023 - NW2166
Hlengwa, Mr M to ask the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation
With reference to a recent speech she delivered at the Ninth Pan-African Congress Launching Ceremony in Lomé, Togo, wherein she mentioned the need for promoting foreign direct investment on our own terms, what are the full, relevant details of the terms in question and their potential benefits for the Republic?
Reply:
The reference to “increased Foreign Direct Investment into Africa on terms defined by Africans….”, addressed the notion of “Conditionalities to Aid”, underlining the imperative for Africa to focus on the continental challenges of poverty, low skills levels and weak industrial capacity “on its own terms and not through the terms defined by someone else. In this context, the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is considered as one of the key tools to address these continental challenges.
The remarks further contextualised the fundamental principle of “African Unity” and most importantly underlined the need for the 9th Pan-African Congress to take a “thematic approach” to guide its outcomes, including the following:
- Promoting Foreign Direct Investment on Africa’s own terms;
- Increased market access for African products and strong implementation of the AfCFTA;
- Enhanced and qualitative change in agriculture and food security for Africa;
- Decisive Transfer of technology and of innovation that Africans must play a role in;
- Affirm Africa’s need for Investment in infrastructure, including health infrastructure, in order to address the shortcomings that became evident during the pandemic period;
- Courageous in ensuring that Africa builds and strengthen democratic institutions; and
- Africa and its Diaspora should not neglect the development of its people through quality education, capacity-building and the right skills to pursue, human resource development, research and innovation.