His Excellency, Peter Gregory Onwubuasi Obi was in Kenya yesterday for inaugural colloquium on Governance.
See his statements below :
“Yesterday, I was in Kenya to honor an invitation to the Inaugural Colloquium on Governance, Trade and African Unity where I delivered a Keynote Address on Fiscal Discipline in Governance: Strategies for Economic Stability and Growth in Africa.
I used the occasion to emphasize that governments in Africa must now, as a matter of priority, ensure appropriate fiscal discipline and effective management of their resources for productivity.
African leaders cannot continue with the fiscal indiscipline that has led to unproductivity and consumption which has led to unserviceable debts, unemployment, and inflation, which has impoverished our people.
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While progressive and rapidly growing economies like China, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam have been able to pull many of their people out of poverty through fiscal discipline and prudent management of their resources, Africa has thrown more people into poverty due to fiscal indiscipline and misappropriation of funds. Consequently, sub-Saharan Africa is home to over 60% of extremely poor people, 60% of out-of-school children, and 60% of youth unemployment.
Strict fiscal discipline must now be followed to ensure that all available resources are employed towards productivity in health, and education and pulling people out of poverty through job creation.
We must, henceforth, stop investing in consumption and start investing in production for the economic growth and development of Africa. By so doing, we will be able to build a New and better Africa that will be beneficial to every African and that will rightfully take its place among other developed continents of the world. -PO
