GDP growth must reflect on people’s life – Obasanjo

Posted by: Agency Reporter on May 27, 2013

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo in Addis Ababa on Sunday urged African economists and development experts to address the lopsided Gross Domestic Product growth that failed to add value to the life of the people on the continent.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Obasanjo spoke in the context of the Africa’s five per cent GDP growth rate that placed the continent among the fastest growing global economies.

The ex-Nigerian leader, who was among members of a panel on the United Nations Development Programme Rise of the South 2013 report, code-named: “The African Renaissance in the context of the Rise of the South,” said it was worrisome that the rate of Africa’s GDP growth of about five per cent annually was not showing by way of improvement on the lives of the people.

He urged the UN Development agencies, economic experts and Governments of African countries to address the situation before it becomes a serious setback to the continent’s development.

He said Nigeria had recorded seven per cent GDP growth over the last decade, especially in oil and gas, telecommunication, banking and financial sector and few others.

“But we need a kind of growth that would reflect on the lives of the people and the environment in terms of water supply to the villages, electricity and infrastructure; that is the kind of growth we want.

“The economists should address that to change the current situation, where the GDP is growing while the people continue to suffer,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted Obasanjo as saying at the forum.

He urged the UNDP to reflect on the impact of the GDP growth and find ways of ensuring that it matches or comes to terms with the development of the common man in the rural areas.

On his part, former Ghanaian President, Mr. John Kufuor, harped on the need for good leadership, prudence in governance and people’s active participation in governance to usher in more sustainable growth that would impact positively on the lives of the common African.

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