African gov’ts urged to invest in people

THE former President of Ghana, John Agyekum Kufuor, has called on African governments to use state resources to invest in their citizens if the continent is to attain its desired economic development. He said this while addressing the IX Leon Sullivan Summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, a summit that he currently chairs.Kufuor said the Africa Union through the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), had shown how by pooling resources together, Africans could create value, increase wealth and become more competitive in this era of globalisation.“In this era of advancement in Information Communication Technology, Africa can no longer continue to lag behind,” he is quoted in a statement released by his office.“Of all the continents, Africa alone are unable to feed itself largely because both the agricultural and technological revolutions which propelled others forward passed us by” he said, calling for innovative measures to overturn this.The NEPAD blueprint, he said, called for partnerships among Africans and with the outside world on a ‘win-win’ basis in an effort to make up for the lack of technological development on the continent through years of neglect and subjugation.“Africa can only benefit from such partnerships if it empowered its people with the cutting edge skills that will enable them to stand shoulder to shoulder with the best in the world,” he added.Former President Kufuor urged the governments to continue on the path of constitutionalism, saying good governance should be their hallmark while they upheld rule of law and human rights of their people.“Wherever possible, opportunities must be made to ensure free education for all school-going children, to at least the secondary level; healthcare must be affordable, easily and readily accessible and policies such as National Health Insurance Schemes should be instituted as safeguard for their citizenry,” he noted.“Other social safety nets such as Special provision for the indigent should be established to support the poor and those handicapped,” he told the gathering.The summit under the theme, Africa Rising, was opened by the Equatorial Guinean President Obiang Nguema Mbasago, and was attended by President Yayi Boni of Benin and Chairman of the African Union, President Ernest Bailey Koromah of Sierra Leone, Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, Executive Secretary of the African- Caribbean - Pacific Organisation, among others.There were also delegations from 26 African countries, about 150 African-Americans and people of African descent in the Diaspora at the five-day meeting.