A former Vice President of World Bank’s Africa Region, Obiageli Ezekwesili has called for more policies and programmes to strengthen democracy in the continent.
Mrs Ezekwesili made the call on Thursday, October 3, 2024, at the African Conference organised by the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG).
She stressed that democracy could only thrive when the electoral system is transparent and competent leaders are available to tackle the social and economic challenges faced on the continent.
According to Mrs Ezekwesili, the SPPS programme was initiated to groom young leaders from 20 African countries with the right mindset to improve the standard of governance.
She said, “What we are doing is correcting not just the supply side dealing by having a school that raises a new generation of politicians that will government for the public good for the collective good of the society and not for personal interest.
“We are in fact also focused on the political literacy that is giving to the demand side so that they understand their influence to determine the quality of governance,” the former education minister said.
On his part, a Member of Parliament in Ghana, Zanetor Rawlings, expressed concern over the impact of foreign interference in Africa through the introduction of political and economic models that had impoverished the people.
Ms Rawlings therefore emphasised the need for inclusive governance and accountability to address crimes against humanity in the country.
“When we talk about violent extremism and terrorism across the continent, one thing that always baffles me is where are the weapons coming from, they are not been made magically, every weapon on this planet can be traced.
“So beyond where we say that we have dealt with certain extremists or we’ve taken captive extreme groups, why are we not holding those manufacturing the weapons to account?” she asked.
Also a Cameroonian political activist, Kah Walla said that over 45 million people were displaced in Africa annually due to conflicts caused by poor governance.
He stressed the need to tackle the problems and bring conflict to the barest minimum.
