British prime minister pledges additional £4bn support for African economies

Theresa May, British prime minister, has pledged to boost Britain’s investment in Africa after Brexit with £4 billion, which would target growing the economies on the continent and create jobs for young people.

May, who is visiting the continent as prime minister for the first time, gave the pledge in her speech delivered in Cape Town, South Africa

This is even as she also promised a “fundamental shift” in aid spending to focus on long-term economic and security challenges rather than short-term poverty reduction interventions.

She announced that the UK has secured its first post-Brexit trade deal to boost British exports in Africa, and confirmed that Britain would replicate a deal the EU currently has with six southern African nations.

The prime minister said the “driving focus” of the UK’s development programme will be to ensure the governments in Africa have the “environment, knowledge, institutions and support” to private sector investment.

“And to help bring those investments about, I can today announce an additional £4bn programme of UK investment in African economies that will pave the way for at least another £4bn of private sector financing.”

She disclosed this moments before she held a bilateral meeting with South African president Cyril Ramaphosa at which the agreement laying the ground for the deal was to be set in stone.

She said she wanted to see “strong African economies that British companies can do business with” adding that the “integrated global economy means healthy African economies are good news for British people as well as African people”.

Theresa May, Wednesday arrived Nigeria’s statehouse, Abuja and was received by Muhammadu Buhari, the country’s president.

The Nigerian government Wednesday said, “the two leaders will hold discussions, as well as sign vital defence and economic agreements involving Nigeria and the UK”