The Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has called for increased access to quality education for young people by African governments.
This call came during his delivery of the keynote address at the annual conference of the Young Democrat Union of Africa (YDUA) which is currently underway in Lilongwe the capital city of Malawi.
This year’s conference has drawn participants and speakers from all over Africa and Europe, most of who belong to political parties with centre-right ideology. The opening ceremony of the conference was held at the Umodzi International Convention Center, Lilongwe on 5th October 2021.
Dr Bawumia, who couldn’t travel to Lilongwe but joined the event virtually, praised the effort of the YDUA President, Louisa Atta-Agyemang, for the effort to put together the conference and working to promote democracy on the continent.
He reiterated the commitment of President Nana Akufo-Addo’s government to invest massively in making education accessible to all Ghanaians and further called on other African leaders on the continent to follow suit, citing Ghana’s Free SHS/TVET as a model worth emulation.
Dr Bawumia further entreated African governments to prioritise the needs of the youth whenever they are setting policies.
“The theme of this conference resonates well with some of the aspirations of the ‘Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want’, the UN Sustainable Development Goals and also with the agenda many African Leaders have set for themselves including my own President H. E. Dr Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the Malawian President H. E. Dr. Lazarus Chakwera. The engagement of young people is critical to the development of African countries. Africa’s biggest resource is our young people and their zealousness to create and make a change. Every policy directive and initiative by governments, state and non-state actors should be done in a way that prioritises the interests of young people as well as the future.”
He further stated how impressed he was with the work of the union even within its short period of establishment.
In attendance at the event were Eisenhower Mkaka, the Foreign Affairs Minister of Malawi and Secretary-General of the Malawi Congress Party, the Chief Advisor to the Malawian President on Public Policy and Governance.
Dr Samson Lembani, the Chairman of the Democrat Union of Africa and Leader of Namibia’s opposition, McHenry Venaani, former New Patriotic Party (NPP) campaign manager and current board chairman of COCOBOD Ghana, Peter Mac Manu, Samuel Awuku, National Organiser of the NPP and Director General of the National Lotteries Authority, Dr Holger Dix, Director of the Regional Programme Political Dialogue for Sub-Sahara Africa Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Olivia Liwewe, Electoral Commissioner of Malawi, Prof Mario Voigt of the CDU Germany, as well as many other dignitaries and delegates.
