Former Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Professor Aaron Michael Oquaye has expressed concern over Africa’s deepening debt dependency, an issue he argued should not be left solely in the hands of executive authorities.
He noted that for a long time, development issues facing Africa had virtually been accepted as the exclusive domain of the executives and stressed it is crucial that parliamentarians deeply engage with issues that are vital to the continent’s prosperity and future.
The former Speaker lamented the exacerbation of Africa’s debt challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has strained economies worldwide and stressed that immediate debt cancellation may be challenging, but a postponement or at least some relief is essential to prevent the indebtedness from becoming unmanageable.
Speaking on behalf of the founding fathers of the Conference of Speakers and Heads of African Parliaments (CoSPAL) in Accra on Saturday, Prof. Mike Oquaye emphasized the importance of African countries charting a path toward economic self-sufficiency by leveraging their abundant natural resources.
According to him, Africa has over half of the world’s natural resources—bauxite, manganese, timber, cocoa, oil, lithium, and more and stated, “Our parliaments must examine how we can maximize the benefits of these resources rather than leaving it solely to external investors.”
Recognizing the role of financial institutions, Prof. Oquaye proposed that African countries collaborate closely with institutions like the African Development Bank to pool resources and expertise.
He stressed that by working together, Africa can face the continent’s pressing economic challenges adding, “The knowledge devolution is ongoing, and Africa must take an active role in shaping its own destiny.”
Prof. Oquaye called on the next generation of African parliamentary leaders to shift their focus towards development-driven initiatives.
He argued that there was a time when the priority was decolonization, then democratization and stressed that now it is time for development, development, and development again.
According to him, this goal is at the very heart of why the CoSPAL group was founded and expressed confidence the current members will advance it to the second, third, and fourth stages for Africa’s collective benefit.”
Prof. Oquaye congratulated the conference attendees for their commitment and progress, expressing his optimism for a productive meeting.