Can you imagine the boost the global economy would get if Presidents Tinubu and Ramaphosa jointly announced that they want a 2024 African Marshal Plan on Dec 31

Ayo Akinfe

[1] Officially known as the European Recovery Programme, the Marshall Plan was an American initiative launched in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. Basically, the US transferred $13.3bn (equivalent to $173bn in 2023 to Western European economies at the end of World War Two to help them rebuild

[2] I have repeatedly drawn parallels between the coronavirus pandemic and World War Two as from an economic standpoint, their circumstances were similar. World War Two was the last time we had global commerce and industrial output massively affected

[3] The African Union missed a trick by not seeking to expand output on the back of the Coronavirus pandemic. We lost the opportunity to fill a massive industrial vacuum as the USA and USSR did after World War Two

[4] Knowing mankind, by the end of 2024, global industrial output will most likely be double pre-coronavirus levels. It is just in the nature of humans to rise from the ashes like a Phoenix and turn adversity into opportunity

[5] What my African people appear not to get is that it is not sustainable for a continent to account for 18% of the world’s population and just 3% of global trade and 1% of manufacturing. We simply have to address this anomaly

[6] After World War Two, the US spent $173bn on Western European economies. Africa got nothing under that plan despite being a major source of materials for the war effort. Even North Africa that was ine of the biggest battlefields of World War Two did not see a penny of Marshall Plan funds

[7] I think Africa has a case to say you know what, we want $173bn in foreign direct investment in 2024. I see no reason why Presidents Ramaphosa and Tinubu cannot make that case vehemently

[8] Can it be made crystal clear that nobody is asking for charity here but investment. According to the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), in 2019, it enjoyed record-breaking returns on investment, generating an average of $112 in US exports for every dollar invested in infrastructural projects in emerging markets. From an economic standpoint, you cannot dispute the merits of investment in Africa

[9] I do not think it is too much for Africa to request that the G-7 nations invest at least $500bn on their continent under a new economic recovery development plan

[10] Presidents Tinubu and Ramaphosa, I want to see a robust shopping list requesting an initial foreign direct investment (FDI) sum of $500bn and then minimal annual investments of $100bn for the rest of the decade