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SPECIAL REPORT | THE INDEPENDENT | Private Sector leaders in Africa have been urged to be aggressively involved in influencing good politics in the various countries to help their agenda.
The Africa CEO Forum, a not-for-profit company pushing for a better business environment on the continent says the kind of politics on the continent is continuously making it hard for the private sector to thrive.
Citing the various coups and attempted coups in the last two years, the Africa CEO Forum president Amir Ben Yahmed said both the citizenry and the private sector are continuously losing confidence in the governments to make important decisions.
Speaking to the media ahead of this year’s Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, Yahmed noted that the private sector has left mainly the younger people to demand leadership change, urging them to stop being timid in pushing for better leadership.
This was in response to a question about how the private sector can play a role in having public and private policies that drive the development of a country. Yahmed said that there is no way the political leaders in Africa are going to create a thriving business without the involvement of the private sector.
According to him, there has been enough fruitless, adding that it was time to work with the political leadership because even the digital and financial agendas need focused public policy.
The forum is expected to be attended by 2,000 people including several African Heads of State, private sector and financial industry leaders from different parts of the world as well as other private and public sector leaders.
This year’s theme: At the Table or On the Menu? A Critical Moment to Shape a New Future for Africa underscores the important juncture at which the continent finds itself amidst global economic shifts and challenges.
The forum also seeks to answer the question: as global crises cast long shadows, Africa stands at a critical crossroads: Will the continent remain on the sidelines of history or will its leaders band together to forge a new path?
Yahmed said the forum should help Africa’s private sector and enterprises, in particular, to get the global recognition that they deserve. This should, for example, see presidents involve the private sector when choosing their delegations for foreign travels, instead of just the ministers and state technocrats.
However, according to him, the push for good leadership should also have the push for public and political accountability.
This year’s 11th edition of the Africa CEO Forum aims to tackle four transformative agendas: leadership, digital transformation, continental integration, and financing. It aims to ensure that African business is at the forefront of disruptive innovation; and to leverage Africa’s collective weight through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Nelly Mukazayire, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Rwanda Development Board said, however, that the private sector players and leaders should also be an example in the push for accountability and good governance in the way they do things.
She said the new generation will be influenced by the actions of the current leadership, both private and public.
The two wondered where the promising African leaders, who even drew the global acclaim of “Africa Rising” less than two decades ago, went. Instead, the continent is once against riddled by coups, which are eroding the global interest in Africa, according to Yahmed.
Unfortunately, he said the political terrain is also eroding the ability of African countries to have a common and strong voice, as was shown at the global climate conference (COP28) in Dubai, which the forum must fight.
Amir Ben Yahmed emphasizes: “We call on our community of leaders shaping the future of Africa to recognise the structural and enduring consequences of the actions they take at this critical time. The forum will be a crucible for innovative strategies and partnerships, propelling the continent into the opportunities of tomorrow.”
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