Jeffrey Sachs: “Africa should be a unified region politically and economically”
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Development Economist Jeffrey Sachs today in Bali, Indonesia, called for the creation of an African Education Fund at the second Babacar Ndiaye Conference in Bali held on October 13 in Bali, Indonesia.
The two personalities, invited to the series of international conferences introduced by the African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank) in 2017 to honor the late Dr. Babacar Ndiaye, said that such a fund would guarantee every child in Africa a quality education.
“Africa needs to help all children stay in school until they are 18 years old and complete 100 percent of their secondary education,” said Professor Sachs, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University in New York. York. He noted that three-quarters of African children do not currently complete secondary education and said that with an African fund for education and commitment of African leaders, the continent would be transformed into a medium-high-income economy .
The teacher. Sachs argued that the current global imbalance is beneficial for Africa as it offers the African Union (AU) the opportunity to realize its full potential as a grand unifier, believing that Africa should be a unified region politically and economically.
“The AU is the right vision and the right instrument for the unity of Africa,” he said. A unified Africa would be the largest region in the world and could become a world leader by taking advantage of the latest technological advances and introducing open borders of trade.
Sachs said technology has led to a dramatic technological revolution that is playing out in Africa’s advantage, with the continent taking over from development with the adoption of digital technologies. With digital technology and e-commerce, Africa could make groundbreaking advances in health, education, the functioning of the private sector economy and other areas, he said. added.
To achieve this, Africa needed to develop infrastructure and train staff in new technologies. President Obasanjo, expressing his support for the African Education Fund, argued that money is good for good causes in Africa. According to him, people only wanted to know that their money would go where it was supposed to go and that this money would be properly accounted for. He added that it is incumbent on Africans to develop their continent, saying that “Africa is the architect of its own future”.
In his address, Professor Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, said that Africa’s biggest problem was Africa’s neglect of Africa.
Professor Oramah said the call for the creation of an African Education Fund should be seen as a call to action by all and promised that even if education was not Afreximbank, the Bank would support efforts to ensure its creation. .
The series of conferences recognizes and immortalizes Mr. Ndiaye, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) from 1985 to 1995, for his many important contributions to Africa’s economic development, particularly for his crucial role in the creation of Afreximbank.
Dr. Ndiaye, who died in July 2017, has also helped found several other continental institutions, including Shelter Afrique and African Business Roundtable. He is known to have fostered the emergence of many young entrepreneurs who contribute to the construction of Africa today. The event attracted leaders from African and global banks, development finance institutions, business and political leaders attending IMF and World Bank annual meetings in 2018, as well as community members. diplomats, African and non-African policy makers, academics and finance ministers. , economy and development, governors of central banks and CEOs of global and African companies.