By Elsie Appiah-Osei, GNA
Accra, May 06, GNA – Mr Boakye Kyeremateng Agyarko, a Former Energy Minister, has encouraged the youth to seek sequential mentoring to identify their professional paths and assume leadership responsibilities.
Young people should work with older people to acquire best practices and modern leadership abilities, he said.
Mr Agyarko said this during a public lecture in Accra organised by the Young Democrat Union of Africa (YDUA) on the topic: “Democracy and Geo-Politics: A Global Perspective on the Changing Dynamics of International Order.”
Mr Stephen Harper, former Prime Minister of Canada, was the keynote speaker at the “High-Level Public Lecture Series on Governance in Africa.”
Mr Agyarko, a former New Patriotic Party (NPP) campaign manager, stated that “submitting†was a virtue that the youth required to be future leaders, saying, “The youth need to be taught to gain wisdom, knowledge and experience through submission.”
Mr Stephen Harper, 22nd Prime Minister of Canada, also challenged African leaders to rejuvenate the youth to sustain the challenges and be free when times get tough.
“Indeed, I think we are on the path of change and what will be key if society produces a new generation of leaders,” he said.
Mr Harper, who is also the Chairman of the International Democratic Union (IDU), advised the new generation leaders to adopt the right and true values of conservative public policy to solve the challenges of their era.
“Any vibrant democracy has a strong centre-right party that is a strong party of conservatism which is arguably democracies of the philosophy,” he said.
Madam Louisa Atta-Agyemang, President of YDUA, said despite various failed regimes, the centre-right tradition had led Ghana for over two decades.
She said it had given time and room to build a series of tools that provided education, knowledge and information for crucial development.
Madam Atta-Agyemang urged leaders to be mindful of that fact that their next political decision would affect the poor and marginalised in society.
“Let us be guided, let us remember that we have a continent to build with clear political dimensions,” she said.
Madam Atta-Agyemang therefore, advocated that the centre-right politics was the best alternative to build Africa.
Dr Holger Dix, Director of the Regional Programme Political Dialogue for Sub-Sahara Africa, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said the centre-right was currently under threat following Ukraine and Russia’s instability, saying it was exposing Africa to many threats.
Dr Dix said the dialogue was timely to discuss the ongoing political conversation with and within Africa.
Mrs Akosua Frema Opare-Osei, Chief of Staff, Office of the President, said the NPP was making sure IDU values were passed on to the next generation of leaders through YDUA.
“With this, the capacity of African youth in democracy and the rule of law is built through a reference point as this lecture is serving,” she said.
Mr Henry Nana Boakye, National Youth Organiser, NPP, called for the needed attention to capacity building among the youth.
He said that would help shape the global conversation of the youth.
Mr John Boadu, General Secretary, NPP and the Deputy Chairman, Democratic Union of Africa, lauded organisers for the theme and said democracy and centre-right policies were at the heart of the union.
Topics such as economic inequalities, young people’s participation in politics and the older generation mentoring the youth to lead were some of the leading discussions that the open forum centred around.
A youth Conference for members and engagement with former President John Agyekum Kufour as well as a stakeholder meeting with the Institute of Economic Affairs, were some of the activities that preceded the lecture.
The event which was supported by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the NPP had participants who came from Ghana, Tanzania, Cote D’Ivoire, Liberia, Morocco and Uganda.
The others were, Togo, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, and Namibia among others.
Citations were presented to Mrs Opare -Osei and Mr Harper for their efficient and effective leadership roles in their endeavours.
YDUA is an alliance of centre-right political parties in Africa. Founded in Dakar, Senegal, in 1997, it is affiliated with the global IDU.
It has the primary aim of bringing together parties with similar objectives and political goals, such as the protection of democracy and individual liberty, from the whole of Africa, with its headquarters in Accra, Ghana.
GNA
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