The 2016 Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party(NPP), Nana Akufo Addo is optimistic democracy can thrive in Africa but with conditions.
According to him, if state institutions are allowed to function independently.
Nana Addo belives democracies grow when citizens are allowed to contribute to decisions affecting their countries .
“At the end of the day, we are talking about democracy, we are talking about a certain way of ruling, certain institutions that help people govern themselves,” Nana Addo said during a discussion on democracy and governance on the BBC on Democracy Day January 20, 2015.
[contextly_sidebar id=”mLjOXS4R2GY017agpsBlmuep1L1rW6Xo”]“We have a structure, that structure is not meant to resolve all the problems of human existence. It has never done so and it cannot do so but what it can do is to provide a base from which important issues can be addressed by the society,” the three time presidential candidate added.
He also emphasized the need for various African countries to “continue to stress in the open system of government.”
Only Africans can develop their continent
Nana Akufo Addo stated that only Africans can develop their own continent.
Foreign direct investment to Africa has grown significantly in the last decade but some critics have said there is not enough to show for all the investment in Africa.
“Nobody is going to build this African Continent for us but ourselves… The only people who are capable of building the Africa that we want of the future, are ourselves, and we can do it and we are best able to do it…”
“Europeans will not do it; when they involve themselves with Africa, they have their own goals, which they have been serving for centuries.”
He said Africans can build its own continent if it focuses on creating institutions of governance.
“If we are focusing on creating the institutions of governance in our countries that allow us to do so… Western media has its own goals when it is projecting Africa and we must have our own goals as well.”
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By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah