By Wisdom Ngwira:
Vice-President of Liberia, Dr Jewel Howard Taylor, says for Africa to achieve its development dreams, it needs to start defining what it wants on its own.
The Liberian Vice-President said African countries will only attain their long-term Agenda for Africa 2063 only if they take charge of their own destiny without being dictated.
She was speaking on Monday in her key note speech during the on-going African Bar Association (AFBA) annual conference in Lilongwe.
“For African nations to achieve their development aspirations like the long-term Agenda for Africa 2063, they need to clearly spell out what they want on their own without being dictated by some external influences.
“We are a continent that can achieve its own destiny if we prioritise development steps that favour our countries,” said Taylor.
The Liberian Vice President further said there is a lot of progress that African nations have been undertaking but due to some elements of deception from external forces, they have remained buried.
“For example, let us take charge of our own needs by developing a force that will build a new Africa which will be defined by what we need as a continent.
“As Africans, we should take cognizance of the fact that we will soon hold the biggest human population worldwide and this requires us to unite by having clear visions. I, therefore, urge African nations to ensure that they have good justice systems so that their people enjoy all human rights,” she said.
Taylor then bemoaned the tendency by some external forces which deliberately perpetrate deception about Africa.
In his remarks, President of Malawi Law Society, Patrick Mpaka, concurred with Taylor, saying for Africa to develop, there is need for unity and the development of strategic legal institutional frameworks.
“Africa can achieve greater things if its countries do their things in a uniform way. All African nations should create conducive environments for justice to prevail.
“Our continent has been derailing development wise because of some institutional weaknesses and corruption. We need to root out such things through strengthened good governance systems,” he said.
This year’s AFBA annual conference is being held under the theme “Instituting an enduring legacy of transparent and accountable governance in Africa.”
