Africa needs a revolutionary educational policy -Prez Kufuor

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has reminded African leaders that continent can only develop through a revolutionary education policy that will place emphasis on human resource development.

According to the former President, it is about time African leaders woke up to the reality that they cannot continue to rely on foreign partnership to develop the continent. He noted Africa should rather tap into the potential of its foreign partners to enhance its development.

The former President was speaking Thursday at the First China Meets Africa Forum organized by the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in collaboration with Chengwei Capital

Mr. John Agyekum Kufuour said since independence, Africa has only striven for political independence and not much has been done in the area of economic independence. He added that it was disheartening that most African economies continued to rely heavily on the production of raw materials.

According to him, Africa has huge natural resource potential and in partnering with developing partners like China which has in-depth technical know-how, the two partners could aim for a 'win-win' outcome.

He said, for Ghana to reach the level of economic development that China has attained, Ghana's educational system must be overhauled for it to produce a human resource base which has technical and managerial competence that would put the nation on a better position to negotiate for fair deals with development partners.

He called on African governments to ensure that equal educational opportunities are created for all school children to, at least, go through senior secondary education.

The former president said that without policies to encourage entrepreneurs, Africa's desire to attain economic freedom will remain a mirage.

In dealing with its development partners, Mr. Kufuor said China must not use its strength as a giant economic force to bully an obviously weaker nation like Ghana. Instead, the partnership should be mutually beneficial, he added.

Mrs Wang Yuan, Senior Advisor, China Development Bank who also spoke on the opening day of the two-day forum said Africa cannot develop without building the capacity of its citizens.

According to her, in a global competitive world, Africa cannot pursue the same old policies and expect different results.

She reiterated the need for African leaders to formulate policies which are friendlier to the private sector thereby enhancing their growth.