This is Africa’s century - Papa Owusu-Ankomah tells Ghanaian youth in UK

Ghana’s High Commissioner to UK and Republic of Ireland Papa Owusu-Ankomah, has reiterated the call that this is Africa’s Century. Addressing a large crowd of second generation British-Ghanaian youth at the Regent’s University Campus in London during the launch of the Second Generation British-Ghanaian Research Report on Wednesday, 28th March, the High Commissioner pointed out that he has never been so positive about the future of the continent and especially Ghana giving the young human resource which abounds in every sector of the economy.

The event which was organised by an NGO, the Future of Ghana, attracted more than 300 participants drawn from mainly second generation British-Ghanaian youth.

The High Commissioner who delivered the keynote address, indicated that, since assuming office, his main priorities have been to increase the level of trade and investment between Ghana and United Kingdom and deepen engagement with the Ghanaian diaspora Community.

According to the High Commissioner, the event has offered him the opportunity to interact with the second Generation British Ghanaians for the first time.

He commended the excellent work done by the Future of Ghana Group, its chair, Arnold Sarfo Katanka and his team, and pointed out that the research will complement the recent work on Diasporan Remittances undertaken by the Commonwealth Secretariat for the Heads of Government at the next CHOGM Meeting in London in a few weeks’ time.

Touching on the recent call by President Akufo-Addo on moving Ghana Beyond Aid, the High Commissioner indicated that one of the cardinal things involved is to mobilise human resource and channel these resources into the productive sector of the economy. He stated that it also involves diasporans redirecting remittances into investment capital, and welcomed the findings of the research.

Commenting on the findings of the research, the Mr. Owusu Ankomah stated that the establishment of the Diaspora Desk at the Presidency and other targeted diaspora programmes are some of the critical initiatives being pursued by the Government to ensure positive engagement by the diaspora community in the national development discourse.

The Chancellor of Regents University London, Lord Dr. Michael Hastings of Scarisbrick, CBE, commended the organisers and pointed out that the story of Ghana like any other African country, can be likened to the epic movie ‘Black Panther’ with the skills from ‘Wakanda’.

Dr. Hastings in his remarks referred to 10 skills that are presently critical and relevant for the youth including, among others, complex problem-solving ability, critical thinking, creativity, people management, emotional intelligence, negotiation and service making.

The Chair of Future of Ghana, Arnold Sarfo Katanka, highlighted the research findings which show that the dominant form of engagement with Ghana among second generation British-Ghanaians is social remittance. However, a significant proportion also remits financially.



In addition, the findings also show that identity is the most powerful determinant of how second-generation British-Ghanaians either engage or do not engage with Ghana. One critical finding from the research was that the overwhelming majority of participants in the survey, would consider relocating to Ghana.