Loosen State Controls, African Leaders Told at WEF

 　　Several prominent attendees the World Economic Forum¹ on Africa are urging governments to loosen state controls to unlock the continent's growth potential.  Africa remains² a mixed picture for foreign investors³.

　　Former Nigerian Central Bank Governor Charles Saludo said Wednesday that African governments must use their regulatory powers carefully if they want to foster growth.

　　"We have an enormous responsibility to realize that in Africa, the first job is to create the financial infrastructure," said Saludo.  "That is a big topic.  How do you create?  It's not just about regulation, it's about development of something."

　　Saludo spoke⁴ at a United Nations-sponsored conference on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on Africa.  The forum is showcasing the continent's potential as a destination for foreign investment.

　　But the former Nigerian central banker said his experience suggests that campaigns aimed at attracting investment would have limited success.  He said the best governments can do is to create a business-friendly environment and then get out of the way.

　　"The previous governments were going all over the world asking for foreign investors to come in," Saludo added.  "My hypothesis was that, no, it's not a favor.  You're not going to ask them for a favor.  If it is profitable for them to come in, they will come."

　　A new study by the global firm Ernst and Young shows that although investment in Africa is picking up and has almost returned to levels last seen in 2008, the entire continent still attracts fewer investors than India and far fewer than China.

　　Nevertheless, these investments are helping⁵ to spur growth rates of more than five percent in several sub-Saharan countries.

　　But Titus Edjua of Cameroon, a lawyer in the London office of the Clifford Chance law firm, says those figures can be deceiving.

　　"We have to admit that some of the higher levels of growth is a function of the fact that we're coming from ground zero," Edjua noted⁶.  "It's not distorting, it's just that we have to grow a lot faster to get to anywhere closer to the rest of the world.  So that helps the growth figures.  I don't think we should sit on our laurels⁷ and say because we've grown five, six, seven, eight percent, that's enough.  It's not enough.  It has to be sustained over decades for us to get to anywhere we hope to be."

　　The economic forum's Thursday agenda will take up the question of shaping Africa's transformation⁸ in the decades ahead.

　　Sessions will shine a spotlight⁹ on the new generation of innovative¹⁰ entrepreneurs and investors and on issues such as accelerating job creation on a continent where more than 70 percent of the working age population is either without a job or is vulnerably employed.

　　Seven African heads of state and government are scheduled to attend, along with former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan and former British prime minister Gordon Brown.

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 laurels   

n.桂冠，荣誉

参考例句：

• The path was lined with laurels.小路两旁都种有月桂树。
• He reaped the laurels in the finals.他在决赛中荣膺冠军。

8 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

9 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

10 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。