NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 1 — President William Ruto has called on African countries to move beyond the political liberation secured by previous generations and pursue economic independence through industrialisation, manufacturing and intra-African trade.

📻 Breaking It Down

Addressing leaders at the inauguration of Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema for a second term in Lusaka on Tuesday, Ruto said Africa’s next historic task was to convert its natural resources, markets and young population into prosperity for its people.

“They secured political freedom. We must secure economic freedom,” Ruto said.

Ruto contrasted the priorities of Africa’s independence generation with the challenges facing today’s leaders.

📌 What You Need to Know

He said the generation of Zambia’s founding President Kenneth Kaunda had confronted colonialism and apartheid and secured the political freedom that Africans now enjoy.

“Our generation has inherited that freedom. And history now asks us a different question. What will Africa do with its freedom?” he said.

Ruto argued that the continent already possesses the resources needed to transform its economies, including land, energy, minerals and what he described as the world’s youngest population.

“The challenge before us, therefore, is not absence of resources. It is how we use these resources to create opportunity and to create wealth,” he said.

He called for African countries to industrialise, manufacture and add value to their raw materials rather than exporting commodities and importing finished products at higher prices.

“For too long, we have exported African minerals, African agricultural produce and African raw materials only to import their value back at a premium,” he said.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya