Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Kingsford Bagbin has thrown a challenge to the African continent, its leaders, and the people at large to renew their mindsets as part of efforts to pave way for the significant economic independence all Africans are yearning for.
According to Mr. Speaker, there cannot be true progress and transformation without the renewal of our minds as Africans.
“We recognise that the mind is not just a powerful tool, it is the engine of progress. God has made the mind so powerful that whatsoever it wills the rest of the body obeys, we recognise that there cannot be true progress and transformation without the renewal of our minds. That is why the Holy book in Romans 12 verse 2 admonishes us not to conform to this world but to be transformed by the renewal of our minds,” he emphasized.
Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin made this known in a speech read on his behalf at the 18th African Union (AU) Day Prayer Conference organised in the auditorium of Ghana’s Parliament House on AU Day recently.
The Prayer Conference was organised by Mission Africa Incorporated in collaboration with the Parliament of Ghana, the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), and Inland Empire Concerned Pastors Carlifornia-USA.
The event was under the distinguished patronage of Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament.
Mission Africa Incorporated has successfully held this significant Prayer Conference for solid 18 years and counting.
The AU DAY PRAYER CONFERENCE aimed among other things at ensuring that the objective of the Africa Union may become a reality particularly instilling the concept of the African Democracy among leaders by the year 2030.
Also, that the vision for the full integration of Africa, One Passport, One President can be achieved as well as the Free Movement of Africans and the one currency agenda.
The Prayer Conference was also meant to pray and push the AfCTFA trade agenda to become a reality by the year 2024, initiate constituency development and job creation for Africans and more importantly undertaking more TVET-oriented training and skills development in Africa.
This year’s event was on the theme: “Bezaleel Economic Empowerment: Solutions, Skills for Job Creation, All Manner of Workmanship.
Mr. Speaker passionately prayed for the forgiveness of Africans who contributed to the gruesome killing of Africa’s heroes and heroines whose sweat and blood fought for the total liberation of Africa.
“Oh! Lord have mercy on us and forgive us for any individual or collective roles we all might have played knowingly or unknowingly in causing disunity in the country. Grant all of us the spirit of courage that you gave to Osagefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Patrice Lumumba and the many heroes and heroines with whom you bless Africa for us to become true ambassadors of African unity in our cabinet meetings, chiefs facilities, church sermons, homes and business places,” he prayed.
Mr. Speaker further interceded for the total transformation of the educational system of the African continent.
“Lord, you have said in Proverbs 29-18 that where there is no vision, the people perish. Anoint the minds of our leaders to collaborate and coordinate effectively in a manner that will let them pursue a consenting tendencies and have a clear vision for the African continent.
And let that vision inspire what is taught in our schools, let the government of the African continent prioritize and allocate adequate resources for the acquisition of knowledge, technical vocational infrastructure for our vocational institutions to prepare the human capital of the continent for the total economic transformation.”
He added “Anoint the staff of our educational institutions with the needed management skills and let them teach content that will lead to the renewal of our mind that will result in the transformation of the continent. Lord open the minds and eyes of parents and their wards to see to the huge economic potential in learning trade/Technical to the benefit of the continent.”
Mr. Speaker concluded…”Finally, we pray for total peace and security for the continent of Africa and the whole world. We recognise that where there is no peace there cannot be development.
We pray committing the judicial system onto your hands, inspire wisdom, fairness and equity in their functionality and let your will be done through them. Revive confidence in the justice system so that wherever conflict arises, the parties involved will go to court instead of resorting to arms. Let not the judicial officers become Gods themselves. Raise for us Oh Lord officials who will stand by the truth and not corrupt.“
Taking his turn to speak at the prayer conference, the President of the Mission Africa Incorporated, Dr. Kodjoe Sumney Ph.D. called for a new order and paradigm shift in African governance to change the status quo.
He proffered an antidote to Africa’s woes which he terms and believes as the “AFRICAN DEMOCRACY,” which presents a system of corporate governance of including key stakeholders and interest groups to achieve results.
According to him, it’s high time Ghana and for that matter Africa, prioritised just one manifesto with a definitive clear vision and timeline and the requisite legal backing that will compel leaders to work towards it to achieve economic independence.
He further stated that there is a critical need to fully develop our technical and vocational education to boost all manner of workmanship and expand skilled labour which China has done and has succeeded today and become so powerful.
Dr. Kodjoe Sumney talked about the African Democracy and focused on the theme Bezaleel Economic Empowerment.
He said from 1963 to 2013 making 50 years, the vision of our founders of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to unite Africa to give Africa Economic independence that vision did not materialise.
This is because the gadgets in which the African leaders are traveling to achieve African unity is not the right vehicle for African Unity.
“Then they came up with the AU (African Union) in 2002 with the hope that it can accelerate the economic independence of Africa and that also regrettably 20 years after we have failed. So in all, we have spent 70 years in pursuing African Unity and Africa’s economic independence but it has never happened.
This simply means that the vehicle in which we are traveling, the body is good, the interior of the vehicle is good, the system is good but the engine and the gears which will take us to the African destination we need must be changed.
He advocated for the critical need for African Democracy which he identified as a Democracy with five Chambers.
“The first of these 5 Chambers of the African Democracy include the Political Chambers, where those who contested for elections by the percentage they won in the elections, we should share the governance. If the first party got 40, the next 30, the next 10, they should all have one manifesto and one corporate governance not the union government so that we can have everybody contributing towards the agenda of the party and the nation.
The Second Chamber should be the Traditional Chamber, where Traditional leaders including the paramount chiefs, paramount Kings must also be in Parliament to know what decisions are being made for their land and the constituency so that they can be able to contribute their quota in the decision making.
Then also we can have the 3rd Chamber which I call it the Religious Chamber. The Religious Chamber is the Chamber where religious leaders cannot be exempted from the decision making of the nation. We should all be shareholders of the decision making, why because Muslims vote and Christians vote therefore they should have their representatives in parliament to go over what decisions are being made in Parliament or L.I. being made for the nation,” he said.
He added “the 4th Chamber should be the Chamber of the renowned and most successful business people who understand business, practices, imports, exports and farming, high levels of commerce and industry and not just politicians who haven’t even got the experience in those areas to make decisions that matter in such areas of commerce and businesses.
So we should invite all the successful businessmen as many as 16 or more if we are going to use Ghana as an example to be in the Chamber of renowned business people in Parliament. For example in Ghana we have business people like Sam Jonah, Despite, not really about educational background and being elite but rather about success in business, commerce and industry.
For example any time we have the best farmer or the most successful farmer, he can advise about the right and best practices that can help us foster ahead and grow our economy. So that is the fourth Chamber.
Then we can also have the next generation Chamber which is the youth who are already in the system competent to be groomed along the line of these four Chambers I have mentioned to know what is being done to be able to contribute their quota because if the country decides to take any loans, they are the ones going to pay for those loans with interest in the next 20, 30 to 50 years.
They will pay the price while the older people are gone so they have to know and they deserve to how things are being done in the country. The idea is to change the status quo so that those leaders do not leave them with huge debts to come and pay. I also propose the 6th Chamber which I call the proper Council of State.
The Council of State this time around should comprise the renowned statesmen and women including retirees, Bank managers, and governors from all the regions who are already working and we don’t need to pay them salaries like we are doing today.
Some of them in most cases those who are willing to serve in the interest of the nation and not those who will be handpicked at random by the President, the government, or elected. People are just picked at random and given salaries as Council of State members for doing virtually nothing.”
He also urged Africa to consider and look at the social Democratic system of the Chinese and how their system encourages the unitary party.
Dr. Sumney noted that the African Democracy simply means all the five stakeholders in the country must be in charge of the governance so that together we can better manage our natural resources to take care of our youth.
“Africa needs to model after China because they have 29,000 technical and vocational schools in China and every region or province has a factory producing excessive products to contribute to the whole of China. And they have 55 provinces or tribes and in every tribe there is a huge factory.
29,000 skill development institutions covering the Middle class and everybody is working so when you look at their finishing line of products we are all witnesses to what Chinese products can do. They produce polished technocrats, polished technicians, first class in these areas. They have used their own language to develop their system and country and they all work together because they don’t need to speak French or English to be able get to where they are now.
China is successful because they have a corporate governance, corporate ideas shared together and everybody is contributing their quota. So, now if Ghana or Africa wants to become economically independent, then they must have a timeline with an agenda that let’s say by the year 2030, all African countries must speak their major languages especially in Parliament so that people can express themselves in their respective constituencies to digest issues to the level of local government.
“Most parliamentarians have not spoken on issues on the floor of parliament and because of fluency of foreign language they are compelled to speak based on their constitution,” he observed.
Dr. Sumney proposed to the AU Commission that a timeline to speak local dialect should be in place by the year 2030.
This, he said is to enable someone or people who are not privileged in English or French to speak their constituency language.
“Some, you only hear them when it’s time to say YEAH, YEAH, which is not the best.”
Dr Sumney also used the occasion to lead officials and the congregation to raise and hoist various flags of all the 55 African countries and interceded for them.
The program was well attended at the auditorium of the Parliament of Ghana, on 25th May, 2022.
ABOUT MISSION AFRICA INCORPORATED
Mission Africa Incorporated is a 21st Century Global Humanitarian and Missions Work founded by Dr. Kodjoe Sumney.
It is a Christian Non-Profit Organization based in California, USA and Accra Ghana which develops global partners to offer natural and spiritual humanitarian assistance to the needy of Africa, starting from Ghana.
The organization has brought over one thousand Americans from the United States of America to Africa and many times to Ghana through the good works of Drs. Kodjoe and Akosuah Sumney.
Its mission is geared towards developing a practical approach for networking global partners to form teams of volunteers for human development, capacity and community building with expertise from various backgrounds including medical, professors & technical, professionals etc., to collaborate for the restoration and development of remote villages, towns, cities, nations and the whole continent of Africa.
