By Jibrin Baba Ndace
Abuja
Publisher of African Leadership Magazine and a leading voice on social economic and political issues on Africa, Dr Ken Giami, has called on Africa countries to be more transparent and accountable on how business is done on the continent.
Giami, whose magazine focuses on projecting Africa and Africans in a positive light to the rest of the world, made the call while commenting on the just concluded US-Africa Leaders Summit.
He said the summit was an indication that the United States and indeed the world had accepted that “Africa is the last frontier with huge potential.”
He said: “I believe strongly that the US – Africa Leaders Summit represents a rising of the bar for the quality of foreign investments and partnerships that Africa now deserve and should attract.
“This unprecedented Summit is the final proof that the whole world now accepts that Africa is the place to do business today.”
“Therefore, African businesses and governments should begin to demand better deals, and not just any deal, because like that golden bride we now clearly have options as to who we want to deal. Before now we were forced to deal with just the Asians, as the Americans and Europeans were having cold feet. That has changed now.”
Continuing, he said: “However, while this represents tremendous progress for the African economies, it is a call to greater transparency and international business best practices to instill confidence in our new and in-coming partners from the US in the days and months to come”.
Giami, who said the US-Africa Summit reflected the progress that have been made toward establishing Africa as an attractive destination for investment on the world stage, noted that it also illustrated how much remains to be done.
“The summit, convened by President Obama, was a major undertaking. It brought together the leaders of nearly African nation and the continent’s business leaders, and enabled them to engage in meaningful dialogue with U.S. policymakers and business leaders.
“What emerged is that U.S. investors are beginning to understand, in ways they have not in the past, that involvement in Africa should mean partnership rather than charity and that investment in Africa’s long-term development will reward not only Africans, but also U.S. businesses, investors and by extension, the global economy.”
