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Africa must break the shackles of the mindset of impossibility for the mindset of possibility – Dr. Bawumia
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has urged Africa to eschew the mindset of impossibility and embrace a mindset of possibility, for the African continent to get to the levels of developed countries.
Addressing participants of Harvard University’s Africa Development Conference in the United States over the weekend, Dr. Bawumia identified the continuous reliance of ineffective systems in Africa as the bane of the continent’s economic growth and development, adding that the status quo remains because the continent has, for many years, not broken the “shackles of impossibility mindsets”.
“The truth is that while African countries are politically free, we still have a mindset that is shackled by the experience of 500 years of slavery and colonialism,” Dr. Bawumia said.
“For the longest time we have not believed in ourselves. The dominant mindset is one of impossibility.”
Addressing issues stunting the economic growth of the African continent, Dr. Bawumia said the over reliance of raw materials instead of human capital development, as well as lack of effective systems such as identity system, property addressing system, huge financial exclusion and manual delivery of public services are some of the major contributory factors to Africa’s stunted progress.
To address these, Dr. Bawumia noted, Africa must embrace the 4th Industrial Revolution to address these basis system challenges, and more importantly, break the impossibility mindset, which he said is a major hindrance to Africa’s forward march.
“Our generation needs to break the shackles of the impossibility mindset and embrace the mindset of possibility! It is time for us to figure out the best ways to be masters of our destiny, to chart our own path and develop on our own terms. It is Possible!”
Back home in Ghana, Dr. Bawumia has spearheaded Ghana’s successful digitalization drive to address some of the basis system challenges he spoke about at the Conference.
He has, however, faced his own challenges of “impossibility mindsets,” and has often spoken about how pessimists attempted to impede and discourage many of the succesful digital innovations he led, as not possible to implement.
The Harvard Africa Development Conference, brings together high level participants to discuss issues relating to the development of the African continent.
Vice President Bawumia delivered the keynote address as the Guest of Honour.
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Prof Alidu Seidu files nomination for Tamale Central seat
The newly elected parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Tamale Central, Prof Alidu Seidu, has submitted his nomination forms to the Electoral Commission.
As of 10:00 a.m. today, he was the only person who had filed to contest the seat.
Nomination of candidates will close at the end of the day.
Associate Professor and Head of the Political Science Department at the University of Ghana Legon, Prof. Alidu Seidu won the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primaries in the Tamale Central constituency with a landslide victory.
The elections, supervised by the party’s Elections and IT Directorate in the Northern Region, saw Prof. Seidu poll 840 votes out of the total valid ballots cast.
His closest contender, Lawyer Hanan Gundadow Abdul-Rahaman, secured 536 votes.
The other aspirants could not make significant gains, with Dr. Seidu Fiter obtaining 44 votes, Aliu Abdul-Hamid 23 votes, and the rest recording fewer than 10 votes each.
In all, 1,500 ballots were cast, with 6 ballots rejected and 7 spoilt ballots recorded.
The results were signed and declared by Dr. Arnold Mashud Abukari, NDC Northern Regional Director of Elections and IT.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) held parliamentary primaries in Tamale Central to choose a candidate for the upcoming by-election following the death of the sitting Member of Parliament, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed. Dr. Mohammed, who also served as Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, tragically died in a military helicopter crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District on August 6, 2025, alongside seven others.
His passing left the Tamale Central seat vacant, as required by Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
The Electoral Commission has scheduled the by-election for September 30, 2025. While the NDC moved quickly to open nominations and vet aspirants, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) announced it would not contest the seat, citing the need to respect the somber circumstances and promote national unity.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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Ghana to locally refine its gold starting October 2025 – Sammy Gyamfi
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board, Sammy Gyamfi, has announced that plans are far advanced for the establishment of a state-owned gold refinery in the country.
Speaking at the 2025 Minerals and Mining Convention, Mr Gyamfi said the refinery will process locally mined gold into bullion instead of exporting it in its raw state.
According to him, it is unacceptable that Ghana, despite being a leading gold producer in Africa, continues to export raw gold known as dore.
He explained that the Gold Board, working with the Bank of Ghana and local refineries, will from October 2025 begin refining gold locally.
He also disclosed that an ultramodern assay laboratory will be built to ensure international standards in testing gold quality.
Mr Gyamfi noted that the refinery will be wholly state-owned and will help Ghana move away from raw mineral exports to value addition.
This, he said, will boost foreign exchange earnings, create jobs, and position Ghana as a hub for gold refining and jewellery production in Africa.
The CEO stressed that the project forms part of government’s strategy to ensure the country benefits fully from its natural resources and to transform the mining sector into a driver of economic growth.
By: Jacob Aggrey
