Africa
African stakeholders restate need for human capital development to grow continent
African stakeholders say human capital development is critical in accelerating growth of the continent.
They said this on Tuesday on the side-lines of the ongoing African Development Bank (AfDB) Group annual meeting in Nairobi.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the meeting is “Harnessing Human Capital for Sustainable Growth and Development in Africa: Demographic Dividend and Circular Movement of Skilled Labour.”
The executive director of African Research Consortium, Professor Victor Murinde, said that quality education and harnessing technological development would enable the continent to reap the benefits of human capital development.
He expressed the need for Africans to leverage the private sector in building funding for skills development, invest and leverage technology, and ensure skills development, especially for youth and women.
“We need to focus on investing in small enterprises, such as women enterprises, as that is where there is potential for growth.
“We will ensure we build necessary skills for young people and women, de-risk their investment, and handhold them by providing mentorship. These are ways of supporting human capital development.”
He said the move was to focus on high-quality research by providing opportunities for researchers on the continent to investigate burning research issues using the African dimension.
According to him, this will build Africans’ capacity to lead research on the problems confronting the African continent.
“The ability for countries to research their issues, conduct actual training to boost the quality of people employed in government offices and do high-quality research is key,” he said.
For his part, Mr Kwame Owino, the Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Economic Affairs, reiterated the importance of education in achieving human capital development.
“There are numerous ways of ensuring human capital, but public education is the most basic. That set of people and the progress the country has made are significant factors in what the country is going to look like.
“So we need to ensure human capital is fully developed,” he mentioned.
Similarly, Mr Williams Asiko, the Vice-President African Regional Office of Rockefeller Foundation, said the foundation was engaging in various projects to ensure human capital development on the continent.
“Part of what we have done is to support institutions where this human capacity can make a difference. Look at areas where there are gaps and build capacity around those areas.
“And one of the areas we focused on is building a carbon market in Africa that is fit for the world,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Martha Phiri, the Director of Human Capital and Skills Development at the AfDB, said that this year was a year of education, and human capital was at the centre of social transformation for Africa.
“The bank recognises that a healthy, productive, and informative workforce will drive transformation, food security, power plants, improved care services and health education, among other things.
“We have taken some approach that is not just about agriculture, but that is all-encompassing to integrate this into all that we do.
“Having affordable healthcare for all is also crucial, as its learning from the experience of COVID-19 on the continent. We support digital health and skills and have provided 600 million dollars to support African countries.
“And as we build skills for young people, we cannot run away from climate impact, so we have to build the necessary skills that are climate-smart,” she said.
(NAN)
Nigerian, South African Defence Chiefs Unite Against Continental Security Challenges
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, has called for stronger ties between the Armed Forces of Nigeria and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to tackle the complex security issues facing Africa.
Gen. Musa made this appeal during an official visit to his South African counterpart, Gen. Rudzani Maphwanya, in Pretoria, South Africa. The call for enhanced cooperation was highlighted in a statement released by Brig.-Gen. Tukur Gusau, Acting Director of Defence Information, on Tuesday in Abuja.
“The meeting is a panacea to addressing the multifaceted challenges bedevilling the continent,” Gen. Musa emphasized. He underscored the importance of mutual cooperation and strengthening bilateral ties to combat regional security threats.
During their closed-door meeting, both leaders discussed various strategies to address these challenges, focusing on the exchange of expertise and forging stronger ties for the betterment of the continent.
Gen. Musa was honoured with Cannon Gun Salutes, a mark of high regard, during his visit. Brig.-Gen. Gusau noted the significance of the meeting between the two largest economies and military powers in Africa.
The meeting also saw the presence of SANDF Chiefs of Intelligence, Policy and Plans, International Affairs, and Joint Operations, among other departmental chiefs, highlighting the comprehensive nature of the discussions aimed at enhancing regional security cooperation.
Cyril Ramaphosa, leader of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC), took oath as the nation’s president for the next five years on Wednesday at Pretoria, the administrative capital.
Ramaphosa, 71, was re-elected as South African president by the National Assembly on June 14 with 283 votes against the other nominee, Julius Malema from the Economic Freedom Fighters, who received 44 votes.
Under the South African Constitution, once elected as president by the National Assembly, the president-elect must assume office within five days.
In the general elections on May 29, the ANC secured 159 out of the 400 seats in the National Assembly.
This is the first time the ANC is falling below the 50 per cent needed to maintain its 30-year-old outright majority in the lower house of parliament.
(Xinhua/NAN)
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said massive investments in basic education for African children are required to help the continent realise its long-term transformation agenda.
Etleza Kadili, UNICEF regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa, said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital ahead of the Day of the African Child that will be marked Sunday.
It said education financing on the continent remains dismal.
It added that less than one in five countries have dedicated 20 per cent of their public budgets to enhancing foundational skills for their children.
“To ensure prosperity in Africa we urgently need to see a continental revolution where commitments are turned into concrete action so children can attain the foundational skills necessary for them to progress to higher forms of education.”
The theme of the 2024 Day of the African Child, which is observed annually on June 16, will be “Education for all children in Africa: the time is now,” underscoring the urgency to realise universal childhood literacy in the continent.
UNICEF said in spite of its role in building human capital to propel Africa’s growth, education financing in the continent has slackened, preventing millions of children from acquiring the basic literacy and skills that they require to thrive.
In spite of significant efforts by African governments over the last decade to boost primary and secondary school enrolment, schools continue to lack basic amenities, are overcrowded, and have insufficient teachers, according to UNICEF.
The UN agency noted that four out of every five African children aged 10 years are unable to read and understand a simple written text, highlighting the dismal learning outcomes on the continent.
UNICEF estimates that about 183 billion U.S. dollars are required annually to support children’s education in Africa and achieve the Sustainable Development Goal on education.
However, available resources currently stand at 106 billion U.S. dollars, leaving a financing gap of over 40 per cent.
The agency further noted that African governments spend around two per cent of their education budgets on pre-primary education, while 20 per cent is allocated to tertiary learning.
(Xinhua/NAN)
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