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By Victor Osula, Abuja
The founder and president/CEO of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, identified the offer of irregular electricity and inconsistent government policies as important obstacles to the industrialization of Africa.
Dans made it known on Friday during a panel session at the 32nd general annual meeting during Afreximbank.
The session, focused on the topic “The path to make Africa great again”, He was moderated by the Ancora of the CNN and corresponding, Eleni Giokos.
The industrial billionaire stated that the industrial growth of Africa was struck by chronic infrastructure deficiencies, a particularly unstable energy supply and unpredictable government policy changes.
He praised Afreximbank for his instrumental role in supporting the refinery project of Dangote, stating that with 10 similar institutions throughout the continent, Africa would become a global economic force within a few years.
“We are the only ones who can make Africa great. Yes, there will be ups and downs, but we must remain concentrated. It is not just about accumulating wealth, but of creating value through the creation of jobs,” said Dangote.
He recalled that during the meeting with the Minister of Energy of Zambia, Makozo Chikote, at the refinery of Dangote in Lagos in early March, had shared the way he had studied the failures of past industrial efforts, including those of his grandfather, before venturing into large scale industrialization.
According to him, power remains a fundamental challenge.
“If there is no power, there will be no growth. For example, everything I want to do abroad will cost me 30 % less because it is plug-and-play, it is not necessary to build infrastructures.
“Connect your factory to the network. But in Nigeria, we had to invest heavily in the generation of electricity for refinery and our other factories. This does not happen in developed countries,” he said.
In addition to power, Dangote has criticized frequent changes in government policies as another great obstacle to investments and industrialization throughout the continent.
“One of the problems is political inconsistency. It is like being a footballer who is about to score, and then the government moves the goalpost and tells you that it is now behind you. So you have to go back and face new challenges again,” he said.
Dangote has urged governments to recognize that he is the major beneficiaries of successful industrial initiatives due to the taxes and works they generate.
“In our concrete activity, for each N1 we turn, 52 Kobo goes to the government in taxes: 30% of the taxes on companies, VAT by 7.5%, 2% of education, 1% of the health withdrawal. And if shareholders take money, there is a 10% source tax.
“This is only the federal level: when you add state and local government withdrawals, the burden is much higher,” he explained.
He warned that when companies closed because of these constraints, governments are the largest losers in terms of loss of revenue and increasing unemployment.
Supporting a “Africa First” strategy, Dangote encouraged Africans to invest locally rather than abroad, taking inspiration from the development model of Asia.
“If we invest abroad, it becomes difficult to convince foreigners to come to invest here. We must build a strong manufacturing base, improve agricultural systems and strengthen our financial institutions,” he said.
He also revealed the plans to become the largest world manufacturer of urea within the next 40 months, noting that 37% of the production of the injunction of the damage is currently exported to the United States.
Reacting to the restrictions on the immigration of the United States, Dangote observed: “Why are people so anxious to go to the United States? Everything we need is right here in Africa. We make Africa a production continent. The growth potential is enormous”.
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