Focus on bringing change to people - Kufuor advises WATTNet

Former President John Agyekum Kufour has called on think tanks in the West Africa sub-region to ensure that their work directly focuses on bringing change to the people and the continent.

He said one of the key ways for people to assess the full impact of the activities of think tanks was for them to begin to tackle challenges confronting the growth of the continent.

Speaking at the launch of West African Think Tanks Network (WATTNet), former President Kufour said although think tanks in the sub-region were playing their roles in bringing development to their respective countries, they must also empower the people to demand accountability from their leaders.

“You must begin to empower the people to demand accountability from the leaders they vote into power. This is the only way to put them on their toes and ensure that they work towards development,” he said.

WATTNet is a network of think tanks from West Africa established to promote socio-economic and political development in the sub-region.

The event was hosted by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA).

Former President Kufour said it was the duty of think tanks in the sub-region to focus on identifying development issues and offering solutions to address them.

Economic challenges

Former President Kufuor attributed the slow pace of economic growth in the West African sub-region to the over-reliance on foreign products and trade barriers among the member states.

He said until those problems were addressed, it would be extremely difficult for the continent to attain its development goals.

Former President Kufour said Africa had become a dumping site for foreign products and because of that unemployment had escalated among the youth.

WATTNet determined

The Executive Director of IEA, Mrs Jean Mensa, said the formation of WATTNet was conceived last year after a conference in Istanbul.

“In February 2015, following the Think Tank Initiative (TRIOL) Exchange in Istanbul, a few of us met and committed to establishing a network of think thanks in the sub-region,” she said.

Mrs Mensa said the network aimed to create a viable platform for collaboration in evidence based research, adding that the primary focus would be on pressing economic, social and political issues that would feed into national and regional policy to address key development challenges.

According to her, WATTNet would also promote activities that strengthened cross-learning among think tanks and research institutions in the sub-region.