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Dlamini-Zuma: Use the abundant resources to develop Africa
Dr Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma, former Chairperson of the African Union Commission, has urged African leaders to utilize the abundant resources the continent is endowed with to the benefit of their people.
“In Europe, I don’t know how many days of sunshine they have, but here we have at least over 300 days of sunshine. We must take advantage of that. We have our rivers, we must use them. And we are blessed with the diversity of water and oil, which we must benefit from,” she noted.
Dlamini-Zuma was speaking on the topic “Why the world needs a Dynamic Africa and what role must each African Play to achieve this goal” at the BOMA of Africa event organized by AUDA-NEPAD and AfroChampions on the sidelines of the Africa Union’s Mid-Year Coordinating Meeting held in Accra last Saturday.
Under the theme “From the Africa We Want to the Africa We Build,” the 2024 edition of BOMA of Africa aimed at celebrating the radical ideas and actions driving Africa forward.
This festival of innovation and unity featured debates, discussions, and announcements of groundbreaking initiatives that exemplify the milestones of African integration and development.
Through focused discussions on health, wealth creation, development financing, and governance, BOMA 2024 aimed to ignite new momentum towards realising Africa’s continental aspirations. By spotlighting major projects and initiatives, the event aimed to foster a spirit of collaboration and determination.
In a world marked by geopolitical shifts, technological advancements, conflicts, and economic turbulence, Africa’s strategic blueprint, Agenda 2063, has become urgent and necessary. The BOMA of Africa serves as a high point for showcasing and celebrating strategic developments on this roadmap, providing a platform to mobilize support for peace, security, and development.
“Our minds and our trajectory to Agenda 2063 cannot be determined only by investors, otherwise, we are colonised. It must be determined by what we can do and what we want to do,” Dr. Dlamini-Zuma said.
According to her, “We need to build our own trains. We need to build our own cars. We need to build roads. Eventually, we should also be able to build our own lakes. Maybe not today. It’s a big elephant, one bite at a time, but we must get there.”
Key highlights at BOMA 2024 included the 2nd Sankore Lecture, the inaugural Sankore Awards, and showcasing transformative projects such as Energize Africa, the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa, and the Home-Grown Solutions Accelerator. These initiatives underscore commitment to advancing regional integration, socio-economic growth, and resilience across the continent.
A longstanding member of the African National Congress, who currently serves as Chancellor of the University of Limpopo, Dr. Dlamini-Zuma advised Africans to not let colonisation and slavery define them, but rather, remember their unique identity.
“Before we were colonised, we were a very dynamic continent and dynamic people. Even the Europeans themselves acknowledge that Africa was a dynamic continent,” she noted.
Dr. Dlamini-Zuma expressed disappointment and worry that Africa, with its huge youthful population, has become a supplier of labour to other parts of the world. She said Africans must travel out of choice and not out of desperation.
She encouraged African leaders to improve the conditions in their countries to prevent their citizens from travelling out of frustration and desperation.
“If they go somewhere else, it should be out of choice, not out of desperation, as it’s happening today. But also, I always get this complaint about how difficult it is around African countries,” she said.
AUDA-NEPAD and AfroChampions, alongside other strategic partners, have hosted the annual BOMA of Africa event during African Integration Week since 2019. This year’s BOMA was aligned with the AU Mid-Year Coordination Meeting, further cementing its significance on the continent’s commemorative calendar.
The Boma of Africa 2024 was held in Accra, Ghana on July 20, 2024 on the sidelines of the AU Mid-Year Coordinating Meeting.
This year’s theme, “From the Africa We Want to the Africa We Build” brought together distinguished leaders, strategists, and innovators to celebrate and assess the remarkable progress of Agenda 2063.
Madam Sandra Seyram Kpedor, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Anloga in the Volta Region, has emphasised the importance of parental involvement in children’s education, stating that education is free, but parents need to do more to support their children.
She said parents, teachers, and students must be involved in addressing the challenges facing the district’s education sector, particularly the poor Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results.
Madam Kpedor outlined some key roles parents should play to promote their children’s education, including providing a conducive learning environment, monitoring their children’s progress, and supporting teachers.
The DCE highlighted some challenges the district faced such as inadequate infrastructure and a shortage of teachers, which have also contributed to the poor BECE results and called on well-to-do parent to help solve the situation through and other supports.
To address the issues, she also announced that plans have been taken to utilise the district’s common fund to implement educational projects, such as constructing school blocks and teachers’ bungalows at Sodzi community, and 2-unit classroom blocks each at Akplorwutorkor and Tegbi-Afedome respectively, among others.
Madam Kpedor also noted that her office had earlier notified the Ministry of Education to deploy more teachers to the area to improve teaching and learning, and encouraged students to work hard and strive for excellence, and work beyond their limit to succeed.
“To my wonderful and beautiful girls, you have to know it clear that women and girls have equal opportunities to compete with men for greater achievements,” she indicated.
The DCE cited her own achievement as a testament to the fact that women can excel in leadership positions, alongside Vice President Nana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, and stressed that girls were no longer limited to domestic roles but can pursue their dreams and become leaders.
Additionally, she mentioned that a meeting was held earlier with assembly members, and other stakeholders to address the district’s educational challenges and improve academic performance.
She promised that the district’s education oversight committee and stakeholders would work together to address the challenges and improve the district’s BECE results and called for parental involvement and support to boost the district’s education sector for children to chase their dreams to become future leaders for the success of the district and the nation.
She urged parents not to leave everything to the government but rather help in the provision of some necessary materials such as textbooks, exercise books, pens, pencils, food, and guidance to children for the successes of young learners. –GNA
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The spokesperson for Dr. Bawumia, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, has criticised the implementation of the NDC government’s No Fee Stress policy, arguing that the programme has failed to deliver on its core promise.
According to him on Starr fm, the policy, which was introduced to ensure stress free payment of fees for level 100 tertiary students, has rather turned into what he described as post stress support.
He explained that students are required to pay their fees first before applying for reimbursement, a situation he believes defeats the purpose of the policy.
He questioned claims by government officials that the policy has been successful and that citizens are happy.
In his view, such claims do not reflect the lived realities of many Ghanaians. He stressed that while some people may appear satisfied, many others continue to struggle.
Dennis Miracles Aboagye pointed to the situation of trained teachers and nurses who have been picketing for nearly six months, demanding employment.
He noted that government responses suggesting it cannot accommodate all of them contradict claims of economic stability.
He further argued that economic indicators such as a stable currency mean little to people who are unable to secure jobs or access promised support.
He observed that telling an unemployed teacher or a struggling student that the cedi has strengthened does not address their immediate challenges.
On the issue of tertiary education, he maintained that no level 100 student benefited from stress free fees in 2025, despite the policy being announced.
He added that in 2026, students have already reported to school without receiving the promised support.
He insisted that asking students to pay fees first and seek reimbursement later amounts to support after hardship, not stress free education.
According to him, this approach goes against what was promised during the policy announcement.
Dennis Miracles Aboagye questioned why a government that presents the economy as strong is unable to fulfil what he described as simple and clear promises.
He added that there is a fundamental problem with the way the economy is being managed and indicated that he is prepared to explain his position further.
By: Jacob Aggrey
