General News of Wednesday, 15 May 2019

Source: ghananewsagency.org

Ghana launches roadmap for Africa’s natural resources

Prof. Kwame Addo Prof. Kwame Addo

Professor Kwame Addo, a Development Architect, has launched a continental roadmap capturing aspirations of Africa’s potentials to enable countries know their resource base.

The visual documentations gives a vivid outlook of Ghana, West Africa and the entire African continent’s natural resources, which could reveal lasting opportunities for development.

The roadmap revealed key resources, potential zones of confluence and interactive infrastructure pathways such as trans-African highways, railways, energy, supply, dams, seaports and airports.

It also showed gas pipelines, oil refineries, overlapping waterways, wildlife and natural reserves.

Prof. Addo speaking at the event in Accra said the aim of the roadmap was to show African countries what they had and to enable them know what to do with it.

It also seeks to reach out and share with leaders, policy makers, business communities, the sub-region and the world at large, on Africa’s unique circumstances and possibilities.

The Development Architect, using Ghana as a case study said the country as well as Africa was so much endowed with immense resources and great cultural, ecological and economic diversity, but it is the last major region on earth that remains unexplored.

“By coming together with understanding and determination, we learn to secure the future for generations yet unborn.

It is all about knowing and accepting what you have to know your way forward,” he stated.

Prof Stephen Adei, the Chairman of the National Development Commission, commended Prof Addo for the roadmap saying Ghana is so blessed with resources.

He said the roadmap opened their eyes to see Ghana and Africa’s potentials and plan its utilisation over the years to come.

Prof Adei said the outlook of the map would enable government know what specific resources could be located at specified places and form the basis for the One District One Factory agenda.

He noted that Ghana could become a solidly developed country, but required effective planning to be able to realise this potentials.

He encouraged Prof Addo to do the roadmap for many countries to enable him have enough foundation.

Mr Osei, congratulated the Prof Addo for the work and urged him to tap into the various regions to identify their resource base.

He said this was important because it was going to propel the development agenda for the nation as far as the 1D1F was concerned.

Ambassador Dr Erieka Bennet, the Head of Mission the African Union Diaspora African Forum, said the African Diaspora was honoured to be promoting the map as this would lead to the total enhancement of Africa’s resources.