AFRICA’S UNFINISHED BUSINESS: THE INCONVENIENT TRUTH ABOUT OUR CHAINS, OUR CHOICES, AND OUR FUTURE

Speech by Professor Douglas Boateng at APN Conference-2025

Your Excellencies, distinguished leaders, captains of industry, policymakers, and fellow Africans.

We are gathered here today not merely as representatives of our nations but as custodians of a continent with boundless potential. We have debated and deliberated, analysing the challenges that hold us back. But let us be honest with ourselves: We already know the issues.

The real question is this. Are we ready to act? Or will we leave this conference with more speeches and commitments but no real progress?

Africa stands at a crossroads. We can either break the chains that bind us or continue polishing them, mistaking motion for progress. We can build bridges toward prosperity or keep digging the grave of underdevelopment with our own hands.

The truth is inconvenient. But it must be said. No one is coming to save us. No one will develop Africa for us. No one will build our industries, strengthen our economies, or integrate our markets unless we take responsibility.

The world is moving forward, with or without us. If we refuse to act, we will be left behind again.

As an unapologetic Pan-Africanist, I will not sugarcoat reality. We are one people, separated by artificial borders.

But here is the uncomfortable truth: we are guilty of maintaining these divisions. We inherited them, yet we have chosen to keep them. We complain about their consequences, yet we do little to dismantle them. We act as if the names of our nations are older than the trade routes our ancestors built long before colonial rule.

We say we want unity, yet we cling to fragmentation. We say we want prosperity, yet we refuse to make bold and sometimes painful decisions. We celebrate the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a game-changer.

Yet, we hesitate to take the decisive steps to make it work and transform the lives and livelihoods of the many and, more importantly, women and the African child..

The potential of the AfCFTA will not be realised through words alone. It requires sacrifice, cooperation, and vision. It demands leaders who prioritise Africa over politics and nationalism, value industries over elections and focus on long-term development rather than short-term gains.

Yes, there is poverty in Africa, but Africa is not poor. Africa is where it is because of a lack of boldness.

We are not struggling because we lack resources. We are struggling because we have failed to harness what we have. Africa sits on 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, yet we import over $50 billion worth of food every year. We have the largest reserves of gold, cobalt, and critical minerals, yet we ship them out raw and buy them back at ten times the price. We have the youngest population on Earth, yet we do not equip them with the skills and opportunities to thrive.

This is not a tragedy of circumstance. It is a tragedy of choices.

If we do not change course or take responsibility, then we must accept a brutal reality. Africa’s underdevelopment is not an accident. It is self-inflicted.

The numbers do not lie. Intra-African trade remains at just 15%. In Europe, it is 68%. In Asia, it is 58%. Over 600 million Africans still lack access to reliable electricity, making industrialisation nearly impossible.

Up to 50% of Africa’s official roads are paved, making transport inefficient and expensive. 90% of Africa’s trade is seaborne, yet our ports operate well below international efficiency standards. Africa contributes only 2% to “real” global manufacturing despite having the largest reserves of raw materials. This is not just a problem. It is a sad reality: one that bold leadership can reverse.

Yet, this is also a moment of reckoning. We can either remain comfortable in our relative poverty or rise and take our place among the great economic powers. But this requires the collective, not individual nations’ actions, and endless talking. Africa must stop behaving like a collection of disconnected economies.

We cannot TRULY trade if we are not connected. We cannot TRULY trade if we are not integrated. We can neither connect nor integrate if we do not TRULY invest and think LONG TERM.

If goods and people cannot move efficiently across borders, we will never unlock the potential of AfCFTA. If infrastructure remains weak, costs will remain high, and competitiveness will remain a dream.

If we do not invest in research, development, and industrialization, we will remain consumers of what others create rather than producers of our own destiny and consume what we mainly produce in Africa

No country has ever developed without investing in infrastructure. Africa must do the same. The lack of an efficient transport network is one of our most significant obstacles. Transport costs in Africa are among the highest in the world. In some countries, logistics costs account for 40% of total product costs. In some countries in Europe, it is as low as  10%.

If we are serious about industrialization, and AFCTFA, Africa must invest in modern railways.

Again, this is the inconvenient truth about railway networks and trade.

Africa: Roughly 63000km of which over 22000 is in South Africa

Europe: Roughly 198000km

India: Roughly 130000km

China Roughly 150000km

No country has ever achieved sustained economic growth without an efficient rail system. Look at China. In the 1980s, its economy had similarities with Ghana and many African countries.

Today, it is the second-largest economy in the world. Why?

Because it built the infrastructure to support industrialisation and internal trade. It now has over 150000 kilometres of rail networks. This has reduced transport costs, increased trade efficiency, and created millions of jobs.

Meanwhile, Africa, a continent three times China’s size, remains disconnected mainly by rail. There are only 63000km of rail, a third of which is in South AFRICA. Please respectfully ask yourself why South Africa is among the top 60 most industrialised countries WORLD

Why is Africa where it is with all its resources? Because we have failed to act due to short-term thinking and a fixation on immediate gains. Rail is the backbone of industrialisation and the success of AFCFTA!

If we do nothing, Africa’s youth, our greatest asset, will continue to leave in search of opportunities. We will remain at the mercy of foreign donors and lenders. More imports and unemployment will replace our industrial dreams. We will continue to be spectators in a world where others dictate trade rules.

I have always maintained that Africa is not poor—we do not creatively finance our development.

Let me illustrate with a realistic example. There are roughly 1.3 billion people in Africa. If only 10% of them contributed $1 per month to a Pan-African Infrastructure Fund, we would raise $130 million per month. Multiply that by 12 months, and we have over $1.5 billion annually for infrastructure development.

What is stopping us from doing this?

There is an African proverb that says, “A man who does not think ahead will find trouble right behind him.” If we do not act today, tomorrow will be too late.

Leadership is not a privilege. It is a responsibility.

Now is the time to accept the consequences of short-term gains are long-term pain.

Africa does not need leaders who prioritise elections over economies, destroy continuity by abandoning good policies, or focus on political survival instead of continental and national development.

We need leaders who think beyond the next election and plan for the next generation.

The best of Africa is still ahead of us. But only if we make it happen.

Now is the time to invest in railways, ports, and digital infrastructure.

Now is the time to embrace industrialisation and innovation.

Now is the time to think that the impossibility can be possible with a collective mindset

Now is the time to break down the borders that separate us.

Now is the time to accept that short-term thinking is the enemy of long-term success

Now is the time to stop talking and start doing.

Now is the time to think African and not a nationalist

Foreign investors will not build Africa. It will not be built by foreign governments. It will be built by us.

So, I leave you with one final challenge.

When history looks back on this moment, will it say we built bridges? Or will it say we dug our own graves?

Let us leave this conference not just with commitments but with action.

Let us leave not just with plans but with implementation.

Because Africa’s future is in our hands.

May we all rise to the challenge before us.

May the ALMIGHTY continue to bless Africa and her various nations one of which is called GHANA

Thank you!