Gauteng premier David Makhura has warned that Africa will not compete with other continents until it has ethically sound leaders‚ active citizens and strong democratic institutions.

Makhura‚ who was delivering a lecture at the University of Witwatersrand on Thursday‚ said through honest engagement‚ stakeholders could give a different meaning to what the debate of the Africa Rising narrative should be.

For Africa to start competing with other continents‚ there has to be developments‚ he said.

“Africa can truly rise if it invests in its own people‚ harnesses its natural resources in a sustainable way‚ build its human capabilities‚ invest in infrastructure‚ and pays attention to industrialisation.”

But he cautioned that it was not possible for Africa to rise unless the question of ethical leadership and democratic structures are taken seriously.

“This (Africa Rising) is not possible unless Africa takes seriously the question of ethical leadership‚ citizen activism and strong democratic institutions‚” he said.

Makhura noted there were other challenges that required equal attention.

“We cannot talk about Africa rising without structural transformation of the economy. There may be economic growth but it is not sustainable (if) it is not serving the people of Africa.”