{"id":113089,"date":"2026-01-29T00:16:35","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T00:16:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=113089"},"modified":"2026-01-29T00:16:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T00:16:35","slug":"climate-crises-trade-wars-devastating-africa-sir-sam-jonah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=113089","title":{"rendered":"Climate crises, trade wars devastating Africa\u2014Sir Sam Jonah"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>2 Minute, 16 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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Africa is facing unrelenting force from multiple global shocks, including climate change, trade wars, and debt pressures that threaten to overwhelm the continent, business leader Sir Sam Jonah has warned.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the Africa Trade Summit 2026 on Thursday, Sir Sam painted a sobering picture of external threats converging on Africa, describing the situation as a \u201cnear reality pounding at our doors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cClimate crises\u2014fueled by global inaction\u2014devastate our agriculture and communities. Supply chains, once bridges of opportunity, are now battlegrounds, weaponised in trade wars that leave Africa as collateral damage,\u201d the former AngloGold Ashanti CEO told African leaders.<\/p>\n

He added that debts are mounting from these shocks, investments are fleeing amid volatility, and African youth\u2014\u201dour greatest asset\u201d\u2014are watching opportunities evaporate.<\/p>\n

Sir Sam referenced recent warnings from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the World Economic Forum in Davos, who declared the end of the \u201cnice story\u201d of a rules-based global order.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrime Minister Carney\u2019s words cut to the bone: The world is in \u2018rupture, not transition.\u2019 Institutions like the WTO and UN are crumbling as great powers exploit vulnerabilities,\u201d Sir Sam said.<\/p>\n

He argued that this hostile environment makes industrialisation imperative for Africa\u2019s survival and prosperity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new world is not looming\u2014it is here, crashing upon our shores with unrelenting force,\u201d the veteran industrialist declared before an audience that included President Nana Akufo-Addo and several African heads of state.<\/p>\n

Sir Sam specifically pointed to U.S. protectionism surging under aggressive leadership, imposing tariffs that disrupt African exports and inflate costs for the continent.<\/p>\n

He also warned about China\u2019s expanding influence, saying it \u201coffers partnerships but demands dependencies that bind us tighter to external whims.\u201d<\/p>\n

The business magnate called on African nations to form coalitions and assert more control over their economic destiny.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfrica, with our 1.4 billion people, vast resources, and youthful dynamism, is no weakling. We are the emerging force that can redefine the table\u2014or risk being served upon it,\u201d Sir Sam said.<\/p>\n

He urged African governments to prioritise \u201cbeneficiating our minerals on African soil, processing our agriculture into global brands, and manufacturing pharmaceuticals that secure our health sovereignty.\u201d<\/p>\n

The industrialist also called for rejecting \u201cexploitation disguised as aid\u201d and leveraging Africa\u2019s collective weight to negotiate from positions of strength.<\/p>\n

\u201cDemand fair terms in every deal,\u201d he told the gathering at the Accra International Conference Centre.<\/p>\n

Sir Sam\u2019s address set the tone for the two-day summit, which focuses on practical mechanisms for financing Africa\u2019s industrial transformation.<\/p>\n

The summit, organised by the African Trade Chamber, has convened finance ministers, industry leaders, and international institutions to discuss actionable strategies for developing industrial value chains across the continent.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Climatefrica is facing “unrelenting force” from multiple global shocks, including climate change, trade wars, and debt pressures that threaten to overwhelm the continent, business leader Sir Sam Jonah has warned.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the Africa Trade Summit 2026 on Thursday, Sir Sam painted a sobering picture of external threats converging on Africa, describing the situation as a “near reality pounding at our doors.”<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1972,2172,1883,10,9,16080],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-africa","category-climate","category-national","category-politics","category-popular","category-trade-wars"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=113089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113089\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=113089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=113089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=113089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}