INTEGRATE ECONOMIES FOR STRONG GROWTH, AFRICAN LEADERS URGED

By BUUMBA CHIMBULU ECONOMIC development strategies which were implemented by the late Dr Kenneth Kaunda should be emulated by African leaders as they strive to recover the economies. Covid-19 has given the continent further dimension for the compelling need for it to integrate more, says One United Africa Initiator Bimbo Doramola. One United Africa, based in Nigeria, is a group whose goal is to restore the fire of Afrocentrism which was ignited by political leaders and statesmen on the African continent. According to Mr Doramola, the African continent could integrate more and embrace pan Africanism as it mourned Dr Kaunda. He explained that Zambia, together with other African countries, could pool resources together to develop the continent while implementing economic strategies which were used during the tenure of Dr Kaunda. “Covid-19 has given us further dimension to be compelling need for the continent to integrate more. Zambia, 19 million people but you know that with a powerful collaboration and integration, there is a market of 1.74 billion people to target on the continent. “There is no business that you want to do that you do not do market segmentation to ensure businesses are further expanded. So, linking that to papa Kaunda establishes that if we do not have a united Africa, we cannot tap the advantages on the continent,” Mr Doramola told the press in Lusaka. Mr Doramola believed that there were a number of opportunities that existed on the African continent. He stressed the importance of reviving pan Africanism as the continent mourned Dr Kaunda as he believed in it. He emphasised that the history of pan Africanism must live on even after burring Dr Kaunda today saying “it should not close. All his good works should live on.” “In the next 10 years if there is no active effort to get us to realise who we are as Africans, our continent will be filled with hate, more misery, poverty and wars. The best way to mourn Dr Kaunda is to revive pan Africanism. “It is time to challenge the leadership of the continent to realise that there must be a way to get access to the point where we started the journey of this continent,” Mr Doramola said.