Overcoming Africa’s stigma

Durban - Africa could only overcome the stigma of lagging behind the world by boosting its economic development, KwaZulu-Natal premier Senzo Mchunu said.

Mchunu, speaking in Durban on Tuesday at the launch of the 18th Annual International African Renaissance Festival, said: “We need to overcome the stigma of Africa and lagging behind. It is time we understood our weaknesses and our mistakes.”

Mchunu said South Africa needed to shift its focus and they way it did business to being an export economy rather than having a consumer economy that lived off imports.

“Otherwise we are not going anywhere.”

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The festival runs in Durban from May 21-24 and features a two-day conference attended by some of the continent's leading figures in the academic, political and economic spheres.

The theme of the conference is “Entrepreneurs of Africa”, with an aim on the emphasis on skills development with the aim of seeing Africans obtain the skills to become entrepreneurs.

The conference will also feature an Africa Day Concert at Durban's International Convention Centre Arena on May 21 - the same day that the Organisation of African Unity was founded in 1963.

AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY