Vice president, Yemi Osinbajo has said that as a continent, Africa must invest more in education, technology and healthcare so at to overcome poverty and improve the lives of its citizens.
Osinbajo said this during the commissioning the $420 million Dangote Cement’s plant in Zambia.
He said “Africa unfortunately remains the poorest continent in the world. The implications are illiteracy, poor health, and low income per capita. Consequently, despite our large populations, our markets are not deep. Most cannot afford goods and services.
“We simply must spend money on the people. We must spend more on education, technology and healthcare. We must invest in technology infrastructure to enable our young and bright boys and girls hone their skills in the competitive world of technology. We must provide benefits for the disabled poor, the elderly poor and the otherwise vulnerable. We cannot afford to leave anyone behind.
“With 54 countries and well over a billion people, and economic bloc cooperating through enabling trade agreements, collaborative tariff regimes, multilateral trade concessions and agreements will open up the fastest growing economy in the world. Enough has been said about Africa’s Economic integration; it is time to act.”