Zambian president Hakainde Hichilema has called upon African states to sign and ratify the Africa Risk Capacity Treaty to combat the worsening climate change which is devastating the economies.
Hichilema, who was speaking at the opening session of the 4th Mid-Year Coordination Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Lusaka Zambia, said that unity and working together will help in solving most of the problems being faced by the continent.
“We are confident, that despite the pervasive disruptions of climate change, the covid-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine, our continued resolve to work together as a continent will lead us to overcome these challenges and deliver on our shared objective of achieving sustainable, inclusive economic growth and development on the continent,” he said
“To guard against the growing global problem of food insecurity which is being compounded by rising costs of food, energy, and agricultural inputs, we need to raise the levels of productivity in agriculture, emphasize value addition through Agro-processing, accelerate research in agriculture, emphasize on and increase support to rural farmers whose livelihoods mainly depend on agriculture.
According to Hichilema, African countries to further, to expedite the economic transformation of our continent, need to enhance intra – continental trade and take full advantage of opportunities presented by the Africa continental free trade area, which offers a 1.3 billion market size for products from within the continent.
“We need to accelerate the implementation of agenda 2063 flagship projects such as the integrated high-speed train railway network which will improve connectivity on the continent and allow easy, faster, and free movement of goods and people,’
“In addition, initiatives such as the Program on Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) are critical in enhancing regional integration and fostering economic transformation on the continent by opening up our borders and interconnecting our countries,” he added
The summit brought together members of the bureau of the assembly of the African Union and the chairpersons of our regional economic communities on the continent, to discuss pertinent issues related to our integration agenda, and other issues affecting our continent.
It was organized under the theme: Building resilience in nutrition and food security across the African continent: strengthening agriculture, accelerating the human capital, and social and economic development.
Hichilema said that the theme reminds us of the urgent need to reflect deeply and pay special attention to the welfare and well-being of our people, transform our collective potential in agriculture, into tangible results and ensure that nutrition and food security are guaranteed on our continent.
To effectively address the impact of climate change and other shocks, we wish to encourage member states to consider signing and ratifying the Africa risk capacity treaty, which will open up assistance channels in planning, preparing, and responding to these shocks in a timely and cost-effective manner,” he said
“We must work and act together to silence the guns and all hotbeds of violence on our continents – such as the Islamism insurgent activities in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Somalia, the Sahel, and our sister republic of Mozambique, by addressing the root causes of these conflicts,” he added.
