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Time ticking in Africa

fricans and friends of Africa must come We have to become urgent in all that we
Atogether and change the story of Afri- do; the clock is ticking. When there is a
ca, Vector Global director Kojo Annan said. level playing field, excellence knows no
“Change the narrative from poor and boundaries,” Annan said.
impoverished to successful and abundant. “[We need to change the African story]
We, all us Africans and friends of Africa, to one of abundance, equity and power-
have a role to play in ensuring all the play- ful modern, all pervasive humanitarian-
ing fields are level for everyone,” Annan style leadership. However, despite the
said. plethora of opportunity, Africa remains
Annan – a successful investor and en- resource-rich and outcome-poor. Gold, sil-
trepreneur – used his presentation at ver, diamonds, oil, copper, timber, etc are
Africa Down Under to focus attention on all in abundance and yet these resources
Africa’s most powerful resource; it’s youth. haven’t been enough to lift the continent
About 60% of the African population is out of poverty. Perhaps because while the
comprised of young people, most of whom world largely focuses exclusively on profit- Kojo Annan
are under the age of 21. ing from Africa’s wealth of natural resourc-
However, despite the spread of young es, it is almost entirely ignoring Africa’s
talent on the continent, every day over most critical resource – Africa’s youth.” the message for Africa,” he said.
22,000 Africans join the ranks of the Annan, the son of former UN Secretary “The mining sector in particular under-
world’s unemployed, a trend which Annan General, the late Kofi Annan, spent Africa stands very well down to the grams per
said needed changing. Week in Perth engaging with the African tonne or the mineral resources and where
To do so, people in Africa need to be diaspora, spreading his message of inspi- your tenement is. The challenge is to un-
equipped and educated so that the young- ration widely. derstand and map and analyse the other
er generation can impress their stance in He encouraged Africans to turn their great resources; the youth that live in the
the world. weaknesses into indisputable strength and communities in your catchment area.”
“It is now time for us to collectively con- to “play life without any fear”.
tinue shaping the African future and fast. “Just do it, don’t just think about it, this is – Mark Andrews

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aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT OCTOBeR 2019 Page 63