NEPAD tasks African leaders on infrastructure deficit

By Emmanuel Elebeke & Samuel Moses

The special adviser to the President on  New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Dr. Tunji Olagunju, has urged African leaders to share experience and ideals on tackling the infrastructure deficit on the continent.

Olagunju gave the charge at a technical workshop on infrastructure initiative held in Abuja. He said the call became necessary because infrastructure is critical to economic transformation and eliminating poverty in Africa, but the inadequacies in infrastructure among other constraints’ have militated against the attainment of this objective.

Highlighting other shortcomings of the development at the workshorop, Olagunju said Africa needs to pursue project under the purview of the presidential infrastructure champion initiative(PICI) if it is to overcome its present economic predicament.

Secretary to the government of the federation, Sen. Ayim Pius Ayim who was represented at the workshop by the permanent secretary in the political and economic affairs office, John Femi said the infrastructure gap in Africa has been a major obstacle to effort aimed at transforming and improving the lives of its citizens.

The workshop with the theme PICI; A panacea for sustainable growth and development in Africa is aimed at giving the PICI mechanism a boost for effective implementation and maximum impact.