Bawumia urge African leaders to prioritize capacity development for citizens

• Posted on October 27, 2017
• by Ellsamwise King
• Comment

Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, is calling for a sense of urgency towards building the capacities of Africa’s human resource.

He also stressed on the need to instigate a fundamental change in Africa’s approach to governance.

According to him, the shift would go a long way to integrate all African countries to steer one another towards prosperity, development, and growth, as Africa is at a point where it’s growth is heavily dependent on a people-centred style of governance.

“An integrated and prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development requires a paradigm shift, not only in the way we govern but also in the urgency to develop the capabilities of citizens,” he said.

The Vice President was speaking at the 7th Nordic-African Business Summit in Oslo, Norway, and is on the theme, “Investing in Africa’s Transition – How, not Why?”

Dr. Bawumia further suggested a transformation in each African country’s economy to facilitate the paradigm shift.

He noted that “managing a continent in transition requires a structural transformation of our economies, and key to this end, is how to use technology to innovate production systems from farm to offices, and to manufacturing. As economies become more sophisticated and transactions more complicated, the ability to develop the information base that supports a comprehensive tax system is central to building a strong domestic resource mobilization capacity.”

The 7th Nordic-African Business Summit (NABA), which was first held in 2011, is focused on bringing together leaders in government and business to discuss key issues pertaining to African markets.

This year’s event featured leaders including the CEO of Appolonia City Ghana, Bright Owusu-Amofah; Uganda’s Presidency Minister, Esther Mbayo, and the Managing Director of Norwegian-African Business Association, NABA, Eivind Fjeldstad.