Abidjan

Ghana Astutely Recognizes Importance of Rail Infrastructure

Lawrence , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Ghana’s proposed rail lines of over 4,000 kilometers.

May 14, 2021

The commitment by the government of Ghana to upgrade its railroad system, including a rail line to Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso indicates an understanding of the importance of infrastructure. Railroads build nations by moving freight, connecting the nation internally and externally, and serve as a spine for manufacturing centers.  All progressing economies exist on the foundation of an integrated infrastructure platform.

This new railroad from Port Tema to Burkina Faso, discussed in the article below-Go To Ouagadougou!-(AfricanAgenda.net) is an ambitious 1,000 kilometer rail connection, which will become Ghana’s first ever rail line beyond Kumase.

Prior to 2017, less than 10% of the old British network of 947 kilometers was operational! The Master Plan of the Ghana Railway Development Authority, completed in 2013, envisages a 4,007 kilometer rail network at a cost of almost $21,508,000. Ghana’s president, Nana Akufo-Addo, now serving his second term, has been a major drive of this project.

This is exactly the bold visionary policy African nations need to develop their economies. Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, who together produce the majority of the world’s cocoa beans, can also become the economic drivers of West Africa and the Sahel, through infrastructure investments in rail and energy. New rail lines running north from Cote d’Ivoire’s port of Abidjan, the largest port in West Africa, to Burkina Faso, Bamako, Mali, and Guinea, would complement Ghana’s expansive rail program.

This is how the future of Africa will be built. This is the pathway to industrialization, which can finally eliminate hunger and poverty in Africa!

Go To Ouagadougou !

By investing in frast5ucure, especially in railroads and energy, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana can be the drivers of development for West Africa and the Sahel.

Lawrence Freeman is a Political-Economic Analyst for Africa, who has been involved in economic development policies for Africa for over 30 years. He is the creator of the blog: lawrencefreemanafricaandtheworld.com. Mr. Freeman’s stated personal mission is; to eliminate poverty and hunger in Africa by applying the scientific economic principles of Alexander Hamilton

 

The Africa Integrated High-Speed Rail Network is Feasible and Will Create A Prosperous Future for All African Nations

Lawrence , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Please watch the 30 minute video below, which is a provocative interview with Roland Ataguba, Managing Director of Bethlehem Rail Infrastructure Limited. He discusses in detail the feasibility of An Integrated Railway  Network

Please watch the 8 minute video below on the The African Integrated High-Speed Railway Network (AIHSRN), “An Agenda 2063 Flagship Project” proposed by the African Union.

 

 

This article: http://africanagenda.net/african-new-paradigm/, by PD Lawton, creator of the website: AfricanAgenda.net, reviews major rail and related infrastructure projects that African nations are planning and presently constructing.

 Lawrence Freeman is a Political-Economic Analyst for Africa, who has been involved in economic development policies for Africa for over 30 years. He is the creator of the blog: lawrencefreemanafricaandtheworld.com

US-Africa Strategy Should Focus on Long-Term Development for the Continent’s 2.4 Billion People

Lawrence , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Lawrence Freeman giving a lecture on Africa. He teaches several courses on African history in Maryland.

December 25, 2020

Below is a lengthy year end interview with me by Pan African Visions, published on December 21, 2020, entitled: “Most US Administrations Have Not Had Good Policies On Africa.” In this interview, I discuss a number of issues facing the Africa continent, as well as the past and future of US-Africa policy.

logo

Pan African Visions: We end with the last word on how you see 2021 playing out for Africa, what are your hopes and fears?

Lawrence Freeman: If you look at the problems we have now if we do not implement certain measures today, we are going to have problems 10 or 20 years from now. If you have an approximate population of two and a half billion and approximately one billion may be young people; if those young people do not have jobs, see their nation as providing for them then you can have very nasty operations and demonstrations, regime changes on the continent. On the other hand, we have all these very bright people, if we implement policies today that will bring about the kind of economic growth that is needed then you will not have an increase in alienation, anarchy and protests.

I would like to see the United States join with China and probably Russia to help Africa. They have to unite and assist Africa and not tell them what  to do, and not seize anything. I estimate that Africa needs at least a thousand gigawatts of power to give people access to electricity. These things are primary. If we can begin in 2021 with a robust commitment to developing, then I think Africa will have a very interesting and beautiful future. If we do not, then we could be facing more serious challenges over the years ahead. I am approaching 70 years and I am going to put everything I have to make those things happen. If more people in the United States, Europe, and Africa will work with me on that then I think we can make some improvements that will benefit billions of people that are not only living today but those who will be born in the future. And that is my goal and commitments.

Read the entirety of my interview: Pan African Visions Interviews Lawrence Freeman on US-Africa Policy

Read the entire issue of Pan African Vision for December 2020: PAV-News-Magazine-Dec.-2020-Edition-27

As I am sending out this post on Christmas Day, I would like to wish everybody an enjoyable Holiday Season. At this time of the year, it is important for me to emphasize that ending poverty and hunger in Africa is not an idealistic dream. It is an accomplishable strategic vision for the African continent. All men and women are endowed by the Creator with the power of creative reason. This unites all peoples of all nations as part of one human culture. If we exercise this uniquely human power of creativity with the good will of governments, there is no limit to the qualitative and quantitative growth of civilization. The same brute-force commitment that utilized our creative scientific capabilities to develop vaccines for the COVID-19 virus in record time, can be applied to feeding the world.

 Lawrence Freeman is a Political-Economic Analyst for Africa, who has been involved in economic development policies for Africa for over 30 years. He is the creator of the blog: lawrencefreemanafricaandtheworld.com