Staff
Writer, DAR ES SALAAM
President
of the United Republic of Tanzania and SADC Chairman, Dkt. John Pombe Magufuli
has reminded African Statesmen why the Continent remains poor amidst vast
richness of natural resources.
He
cited lack of innovation, industrial technology and misinterpretation of
developmental foundations to be two main causatives of resources mismanagement leading
to poverty in the African continent.
Addressing
the 6th African Leadership Forum
held on Thursday at the State House in Dar es salaam, President Magufuli said the
misinterpretation development foundations have made many African leaders to
travel in developed countries to seek loans and aids instead of investing on
how to manage the African resources.
President
Mafuguli stressed on the importance of managing African resources by citing the
late Father of the Nation in Tanzania, Mwalimu Nyerere who believed on four
things to achieve African development: People, land, good politics and
leadership.
“The
former colonial masters are not our uncles. They will never unleash full good
will to facilitate our development. We must do it on our own ways,” he told a
gathering of experts and the former leaders.
 |
| President Magufuli with former Presidents Mkapa and Obasanjo |
President
Magufuli has also said that lack of innovation and industrial technology to
produce goods that will generate employment opportunities, internal conflicts
triggered by imperialists to continue dominating and siphoning the African
resources and African leaders who sign bogus contracts with investors have, are
other major obstacles to African development.
He
cited other causatives of African underdevelopment to be lack of patriotism
among African leaders and political parties leading to being turned into agents
of capitalism leading to conflicts in their own countries and distraction of
natural resources and environment.
He
used the occasion to stress that his government has already started to implement
austerity measures to managing well national resources, abolishing corruption
in public sectors, reviewing bogus exploitative mining contracts, investing on
industrial development and innovation and managing natural resources for
further development of Tanzania.
He
cited the construction of mega projects like the 2,115 megawatts Julius Nyerere
Hydro Power project which is financed by taxpayers’ money at the cost of tsh
6.5 trillion ($ 3 billion) expected to be completed by 2022.
The Forum is attended by Tanzania’s
former Presidents: William Benjamin Mkapa, Jakaya Kikwete; Nigeria’s General
Olusegun Obasanjo; South African Former President Thabo Mbeki; Somalia former President
Hassan Mohamed, Madagascar’s former President Hery Rajaonarima and other high
level experts.
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