By Mast Reporter
IT REALLY pains me that although Africa has 60 percent of the arable land in this continent, we are only producing 15 percent of the food that we are eating, says World Bank vice president for budget performance review and strategic planning Dr Samuel Maimbo.
Featuring on ZNBC‘s Sunday interview, Dr Maimbo, a Zambian who is aspiring for the presidency at the African Development Bank (AfDB) said Africa was spending more than US$50 billion importing food.
He, however, indicated that he cherished the evolution that Africa was currently taking.
“I think for anybody who has ever grown up on a farm, you keep thinking about the impact that it has. Which is why 30 years later when I am in development it really pains me that although Africa has 60 percent of the arable land in this continent, we are only producing 15 percent of the food that we are eating,” Dr Maimbo said.
“So, when you are in development finance and you are sitting across the table with policy-makers from different countries and you see this disparity, that sort of economic injustice inspires me to ask why and why not. One of the things that I cherish when I think of where Africa is today is the evolution that we are currently taking. I spoke earlier about the traditional sector such as agriculture. But we have got new sectors that are just as exciting.”
Dr Maimbo cited film, books, content creators on YouTube and other platforms and influencers as some of the new sectors.
Such are a significantly large sector.
“Nigeria, just to give you an example, currently raises about US$600 million just from the film industry. That is 10 percent of its foreign exchange reserves. So, the joy of being at an institution like the World Bank, the desire to go and focus a 100 percent of my efforts at the Africa Development Bank comes from that, being able to support governments, being able to support sectors develop and be at their best, that is what inspires me,” he said.
He had spent a significant part of my career working in every part of the continent, visiting the majority of African countries.
‘But I have also spent time outside our continent. And some of these are in Europe and Central Assia,” Dr Maimbo said.
He said “it gives you a wide platform to look at countries that succeed and those that do not”.
The joy of working in Africa was constantly to see that potential.
Dr Maimbo also said there are more than enough plans in Africa to spur development.
He said Africa didn’t need yet another study and yet another strategy because its people knew what needed to be done.
It is about execution, it’s about implementation, it’s about chasing results,” Dr Maimbo said.
“And if there is anything that has helped me progress in my career is building a reputation for a narrow-determined focus on getting results. So, when I look at African countries today, the one thing that I celebrate is that we know our problems, we know what needs to be done. The only this that we need is the support to get on with implementation… if you travel anywhere in the world today and you go to some of our global institutions, and you go to our risk departments, you go to our most innovative, these companies and innovative centres, you will find Africans excelling,” he said.
“In space, in technology, in agriculture, in infrastructure, we have the intellectual might that is equivalent to any other continent in the world.”
Dr Maimbo said the part where Africa was still struggling was that when it came to human capital, it’s a life-long commitment.
“It starts with primary school, it starts with secondary schools, it starts with developing the human capital and that is where I am concerned that when you look across the continent, 85 per cent of our young children cannot read…And in order to sustain development, we constantly have to reinvest in human capital that’s coming on stream. And this is what excites me about the potential of joining the staff at the African Development Bank,” he said.
