National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has urged African countries to shift away from the export of raw materials and focus on building industries capable of transforming the continent’s natural resources into technology, innovation and economic value.

Speaking at the Third Meeting of the Standing Committee of the International Movement for the Freedom of Nations in Russia on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, Mr Asiedu Nketia said Africa’s rich deposits of critical minerals must become a catalyst for industrialisation rather than continue to support the growth of economies outside the continent.

He cautioned that Africa must avoid repeating a cycle where it supplies strategic resources while other countries benefit most from the value generated from those resources.

“The 21st century must not become another chapter in which Africa supplies strategic resources while others capture the greater share of the value they create,” he said.

The NDC Chairman argued that the growing global demand for critical minerals and emerging markets provides Africa with a unique opportunity to redefine its economic direction.

He said the continent’s natural resources should be used to drive local manufacturing, technological advancement and sustainable economic growth instead of merely supporting the industrial ambitions of developed countries.

“My position remains firm: the 21st century must not become another chapter of raw material extraction. True power will come only when we possess the industrial capability to transform our resources into home-grown technology, knowledge and value,” he stated.

Mr Asiedu Nketia said the major challenge confronting Africa was not the global interest in its resources, but whether the continent would participate in the emerging global economy as an equal partner or remain a supplier of raw materials.

“The question before Africa is not whether the world is interested in our resources. Every nation pursues its interests. The real question is whether Africa will participate in this new era of global competition as an equal partner or merely as a supplier of inputs for the ambitions of others,” he said.

He further stressed that political independence alone cannot guarantee prosperity, noting that African countries must strengthen their industrial systems and economic institutions to achieve meaningful development.

According to him, Africa’s unfinished task is to ensure that sovereignty is supported by economic capacity and that freedom translates into shared prosperity for its people.

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