Africa's destiny is in its own hands: Tanzanian official

Source: Xinhua| 2019-10-26 17:01:33|Editor: Yurou
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DAR ES SALAAM, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- A senior Tanzanian government official on Friday urged Africa to be more proactive regarding its economic transformation for the benefit of its people.

"Africa's destiny is in its own hands," said Tanzania's Minister for Finance and Planning Philip Mpango, when addressing a workshop on economic sanctions and the destiny of Africa with reference to Zimbabwe.

Africa could forge ahead socially and economically if it stopped kowtowing to decisions dictated by the developed world, said Mpango at the workshop televised live by the national broadcaster at the University of Dar es Salaam.

"It is high time Africa lessened dependence on foreign aid and handouts," Mpango said at the event, which diplomats, senior government officials, academicians, political leaders and students attended.

Mpango urged African intellectuals to be at the forefront in overseeing the continent's transformation agenda, adding that the solidarity among African countries is still shaky.

The official said Africa should turn economic sanctions into opportunities for boosting trade and investments, and diversify the continent's economies through increased production and expansion of markets.

Earlier in the day, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), a regional economic community founded in 1992, called for the immediate removal of all forms of sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe to enable the country to engage in socio-economic transformation.

SADC Executive Secretary Stergomena Lawrence Tax said in a statement that lifting the sanctions will benefit the Zimbabwean people, the SADC region as a whole and its cooperation with the European Union (EU) and the United States.

The targeted sanctions imposed since 2002 by the United States, Britain and the EU, which include trade restrictions and withdrawal of bilateral and multilateral financial support, are estimated to have cost Zimbabwe about 100 billion U.S. dollars.

"Sanctions on these entities directly affect the employment and income generation opportunities, and thus the livelihoods of the ordinary Zimbabweans," said the statement.

Tanzania is the current chair of the SADC, which comprises 16 members.

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