Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala, a Presidential Candidate for the African Development Bank, has stressed that Africa will never achieve true wealth by relying on international aid.
According to her, the continent has the resources and potential to develop independently.
Speaking on Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey and Joshua Kodjo Mensah, Ms. Tshabalala pointed to Ghana as an example of Africa’s self-sufficiency.
Ms. Tshabalala highlighted the importance of people as the continent’s greatest asset, noting that Africa’s skilled, hardworking population is its most valuable resource.
She also pointed to Ghana’s wealth in gold, oil, and other natural resources, asserting that Africa has everything it needs to refocus on self-development and reduce its reliance on foreign aid.
Ms. Tshabalala believes by leveraging these resources, Africa can reduce its dependence on international aid and forge its own path to prosperity.
She said, “……I think that we [Africa] could spend a lot of time arguing that we should get more resources but I think the truth is also obvious that we never going to get rich from the aid. We were never going to get rich from aid so why don’t we start talking about what we have. I mean if you look at the wealth of Ghana, it’s people. Skilled, bright and hardworking; that’s the most single important asset that any country has. But then you go beyond that, you look at Ghana’s gold, oil, natural resources, so that seems to me that we [Africa] have the wherewithal to actually refocus our attention on developing ourselves and reducing international reliance.”
