Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has urged African leaders to include youth persons in decisions that affect them.
To him, African leaders can not talk about sustainable development without incoming young people.
He made the remarks when he represented and delivered a speech on behalf of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the ongoing YouthConnekt Summit this afternoon.
The three-day event was under the theme: “Africa Beyond Aid: Positioning the Youth for the Post COVID Economy and AfCTA Opportunities”.
He said, ” Africa can not talk about shaping the future without talking about the welfare and wellbeing of young people”.
He said Africa should not fail to realize that we are at the brim of the breakthrough because it is currently at the stage of Asian Tigers.
He said we must take advantage of the big opportunities because we have a large youth population since it does not automatically guarantee us growth and prosperity of the continent.
He bemoaned the rate of unemployment adding, that the situation was a ticking time bomb.
In his view, the Arab Spring is enough testimony that lack of employment opportunities can undermine social cohesion and political stability.
He stressed that the continent must pay attention to job creation since 10 to 12 million youth join the labour force in Africa every year.
He challenged Africa’s youth to take a lead role in positioning the continent as the giant of the future, with the large and growing human resource at her disposal.
He said the African could be as successful as any other, and urged the youth, on behalf of the President, to acquire the necessary mental and physical skills to take their rightful place in shaping the continent’s destiny.
By: Rashid Obodai Provencal/Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
