President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera has called upon African leaders to work together in order to achieve digital transformation across the continent which, he said, has been delayed for a long time.
He made the remarks during his keynote address at the 6th Transform Africa Summit which is being held at Elephant Hills Resort, Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.
He said Africa, as a continent, has been delayed and derailed for a long time as such it is now time to move fast ahead with technology in order to catch up with the most developed countries.
“Africa has, for a long time, been delayed by superstition that threaten new innovative ideas, colonialism that has under developed the continent for a long time and scramble for power which has left behind areas of agriculture, trade, mining, health, security, infrastructure development and education.
“We have been left behind that we can never catch up to the other developed countries which have over 100 years ahead of us in development. The only way to catch up with them is by using a shortcut which is technology,” he said.
Chakwera challenged African leaders to rise above the delays and look towards technology which is the fastest and easier way to achieve most of the social economic development challenges the continent is currently facing.
He said it is time for African leaders to work hard and together to achieve transforming Africa into a biggest digital world by 2030.
The Malawian leader, therefore, pledged continued support to the Transform Africa Initiative to see that the continent that has a single digital connection.
“Malawi, as a newest member of the Smart Africa Alliance, pledges full support to the Transform Africa Initiative by engaging other African leaders to see that we rise through technology to greater heights,” said Chakwera.
The Transform Africa Summit, which is being held under the theme ‘connect-innovate-transform’, aims at discussing practical ways to advance commitment to transform Africa into a fully digitalised economy where technology is harnessed to fully reap the benefits of Africa’s integration efforts.
By Lydia Maganga in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
