We Must Follow Asia's Growth Roadmap

Your Excellency Olusegun Obasanjo, Former Head of State for the Republic of Nigeria,

Your Excellency Hailemariam Desalegn, Former Prime Minister of Ethiopia,

Ministers of Government and All Government Officials here present,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Assalam Aleykum and Good Morning

First of all, I take this opportunity to thank the Almighty God for having enabled us to meet here for the launch of this remarkable and thought- provoking book entitled 'The Asian Aspiration - Why and How Africa Should Emulate Asia.' This title is very inspiring and good enough to attract leaders, politicians, economists, policy-makers and book-readers of all types.

I convey my sincere appreciation and gratitude to all the four co-authors of the book, His Excellency Olusegun Obasanjo, Former President of Nigeria, His Excellency Hailemariam Desalegn, Former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Emily Van der Merwe, Economist at The Brenthurst Foundation and Dr Greg Mills, the Director of the Johannesburg-based Brenthurst Foundation for coming up with the idea of writing this remarkable book. Likewise, I thank all the four authors for organising the launch of this book in Zanzibar. You have made the right choice. I welcome to Zanzibar all of you.

On the other hand, I extend my heartfelt appreciation to the authors of the book and The Brenthurst Foundation for conducting a research on Strategic Economic Plan for Zanzibar. The presentation of their findings and discussions we had this morning in my office were very insightful and have greatly broadened our perspectives on various issues relating to the formulation and implementation of economic plans and policies. The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar will implement the recommendations that have been put forward by the research team. We will also apply the knowledge that will acquire by reading the book to ultimately achieve the economic growth and the shared prosperity we seek.

Your Excellencies and Distinguished Guests,

Today has been a remarkable day of learning and having constructive engagements. We have benefited enormously from the knowledge and experience of the three authors who are here with us today.

The previous speakers have clearly explained what the book we are launching today is about. Now, we all have a bright glimpse of the book from the presentations made by the authors themselves. A lot has been said about the book and the key lessons that African countries can learn, and perhaps avoid, in their development trajectories.

I call my fellow leaders in Africa at different levels in our respective countries to ensure that we read this book and apply the useful lessons portrayed in it. It is interesting to learn how the Asian nations managed to turn the economic hardship into economic successes we all admire today.

For instance, it is very interesting to learn how Vietnam managed to turn the huge economic challenges it was facing in early 1980s into the successes it currently enjoys. We learn that until the early 1980s, the country was facing food shortages and high inflation rates that surpassed 700%. It also had a very weak private sector and banking system with limited foreign investments. But that is not the vision that comes to mind when one thinks of Vietnam today.

By 1986, Vietnam's renovation policy jump started a revolution; first in the agriculture sector and subsequently across all productive sectors of its economy. As a result, the value of its agricultural exports rose from just US$500 million in 1986 to US$40 billion in 2018, an average annual growth rate of over 15%. Today, its coffee producers have the highest yields globally, and the country joins the likes of major industrial hubs and tourism destinations.

Vietnam's successful transition from a low-middle-income to an upper-middle-income country and from a labour-intensive to a technology-intensive economy was no miracle. It was the result of deliberate, thorough and sometimes difficult policy choices and hard work it put forth.

Therefore, the Government and the people of Vietnam have shown us that no one but ourselves can deliver the outcome of our development we want to achieve. We need to have detailed plans in order to meet the aspirations we so desire for ourselves, our country, those who have fought for freedom in times past and the future generations. We must, as the saying goes, take our own destinies into our hands. With pragmatism, a laser-focus on our goals, and by leveraging partnerships with others, we can alter the course of our development.

Your Excellencies and Distinguished Guests,

This book we are launching today also teaches us that we must never underestimate the power of innovation and learning. World War II was catastrophic for Japan's economy. And yet, within a generation, it had rebuilt itself from the ground up, reaching high-income status in two short decades.

A key to Japan's success was focusing on a culture of innovation and pragmatism that allowed them to develop a robust private sector, a supportive state, and an ability to adapt and absorb outside influences, including technology, ideas, machines and capital. Today, Japan has very strong car manufacturing sector, which produces the Toyotas we are all too familiar with here in Zanzibar.

Your Excellencies and Distinguished Guests,

Another vital lesson we can draw from this book is the importance of a unity of purpose for the success of any nation. Singapore has shown the importance of having a shared vision to be able to succeed.

Singapore transformed from an urban slums with social sensitivities and fragilities into an unmatched global city, primarily due to the late Lee Kuan Yew's commitment to the performance and wellbeing of his people — a dynamic that this book calls popular welfare.

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The book teaches us the role of the government should be to create conditions that enable growth — as opposed to being the main driver for growth. Therefore, as leaders, we must be concerned with making those decisions that empower our success, such as investing in education, housing, infrastructure, and policies that make it easy to do business.

Your Excellencies and Distinguished Guests,

The Asian narrative has its successes and failures. But, above all, and as this book excellently highlights, there are no structural impediments to growth and development. This is also true for Africa. The deciding factor thus, of our growth and development depends on the quality and courage of our political leadership. We must, as African countries, possess the courage to make the necessary changes to bring about the development we desire. We need to depart from the norm. Business as usual no longer works. We need to embrace an intentional strategy in our development plans.

Your Excellencies and Distinguished Guests,

I am sure this book will be a useful roadmap in the journey we have embarked on the building of the blue economy here in Zanzibar. The Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar has formulated strategies that are geared towards making maximum and sustainable use of the ocean resources we have been endowed with. We are implementing various initiatives that are meant to promote fisheries, aquaculture, maritime trade and infrastructure, energy, tourism and the oil and gas sectors.

Our goal is to have an economy that champions employment, supports inclusive and sustainable growth and provides shared prosperity. Achieving this will be no easy feat. But it will surely be a worthwhile journey for every Zanzibari, as part of our vision for the future.

The practical and measurable development examples, such as those that the Asian Aspiration highlights, will be necessary to guide our path. And for that, I congratulate and thank the authors for this work and look forward to implementing various lessons that can be drawn from this book.

Your Excellencies and Distinguished Guests,

Once again, I extend my profound appreciation to the authors for coming up with the ideas of writing this book and taking the decision to launch it here in Zanzibar. Thank you for making a number of copies of the book available to those who have attended this launch, most of whom are Government leaders at various levels. I am sure that the demand for this book in Africa and beyond will be huge. Many thanks go to the Hurst Publishers for the wonderful job they have done of publishing this book.

We welcome you again to Zanzibar and I hope you will have time to visit our tourist attractions and enjoy the beauty of our islands.

With these remarks. I have now the honour to declare this book 'The Asian Aspiration' officially launched.

Thank you for your attention!