President Akufo-Addo interacting with some of the leaders
President Akufo-Addo got special mention when leaders on the continent met in the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa yesterday to elect a new leader to steer the affairs of the umbrella body, the Africa Union (AU) for the next 12 months.
This was during the ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of state and government of the AU.
Expectation
Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, the outgoing chairperson of the AU Commission, congratulated Presidents of Ghana, The Gambia, Sao Tome and Seychelles, Nana Akufo-Addo, Adama Barrow, Manuel Pinto da Costa and Danny Faure respectively and charged the Ghanaian President to, as it were “lead them (Ghanaians) in their quest for unity, prosperity, peace and continental integration for the confidence reposed in him.
“Of course, we expect a lot from the President of Ghana to continue with the legacy of our founding father, the [then] President of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. So we expect Ghana to lead in the quest for unity, prosperity, peace and integration of our continent,” she declared.
Tribute
She also paid glowing tribute to the memory of the late Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, who according to Dr Zuma “played a critical role in the global struggle against colonialism and imperialism and for non-alignment and unity of the countries of the South.”
She highlighted his sustained contributions to Africa, with specific reference to the support to liberation movements in newly-independent states, the development of African education and health systems, training of health personnel, all in the spirit of solidarity, friendship, internationalism and mutual respect.
If nothing at all, the greatest tribute that Africa as a continent and the AU as an organization could pay to Castro is to continue our friendship and solidarity with the Cuban people for the full lifting of the economic embargo and the return of Guantanamo Bay to the government and people of Cuba, she added.
Charge
Speaking on the theme for the summit, “Harnessing the demographic dividend, through investment in African Youth,” Dr Zuma indicated that the continent has 200 million young men and women aged between 15 and 24 and that by the year 2025, a quarter of the world’s youth would be Africans.
The comparative advantage that Africans have must translate into demographic dividend.
To harness these resources, the outgoing Chairperson of the AU insisted that “we must firstly provide all African boys, girls and young people with opportunities to be in school, complete secondary education, have access to vocational training and universities and to expand their knowledge in science, mathematics, engineering and technology.”
“Since 60 percent of the unemployed are young, with their unemployment rate double that of adults, we must resolve to decisively tackle youth employment,” she charged, insisting that “our programmes of beneficiation and economic diversification of agricultural modernization and the development of agro-processing must necessarily target the creation of jobs and economic opportunities for young entrepreneurs.
From Charles Takyi-Boadu, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia