Africa Genius Lectures begin in Accra
The Chairperson of the Reroy Group, Mrs Kate Quartey-Papafio, has urged entrepreneurs to partner the government to create more jobs for the youth in order to reduce the unemployment situation in the country.
Advertisement
She remarked that entrepreneurs were expected to create employment as the government alone could not absorb all working class citizens.
She was speaking at the first lecture of the African Genius lectures series which was on the theme, “Has the African industrialist failed to live up to the name?”
Energy
Mrs Quartey-Papafio emphasised that African industries required sustained energy supply, smooth transportation and transport networks as, well as other basic infrastructure facilities to enhance seamless operation.
In Ghana, it is estimated that the public sector employs 6.3 per cent of the working population, the private formal sector employs seven per cent, while the private informal sector employs 86.1 per cent.
The work of the African industrialist, she said was expected to contribute foreign exchange to the economies of Africa in any year.
“We are expected to produce goods and services via factories and production hubs, to earn, in name and currency, for our beloved nations, ” she said.
The produce, she explained was expected to support the local economies as well as contributed to the forex earnings of economies through export.
Other Trending Stories
Education
Mrs Quartey-Papafio emphasised the need for African governments to form public-private partnerships (PPPs), especially in the area of education in order to make it attractive.
“Without education, the continent cannot adequately harness the potential it has and succeed in its drive towards industrialisation,” she said.
The continent, she explained, would benefit immensely from its economies if PPPs were pursued in the area of education, as industries would benefit from skilled and competent workforce.
Building a strong Africa
She asked that African industrialists be given the needed support from African governments in order to deliver.
Mrs Quartey-Papafio further stated that Africa was not politically correct because success largely depended on who held the political mandate.
She said that the working-age population of Africa was currently 54 per cent of the continent’s total population and would climb up by 2050.
It is estimated that 63 per cent of the total labour force of Africa engage in some form of self-employment or vulnerable employment such as urban street hawking.