Ghana’s High Commissioner to Namibia and Botswana, Abdul-Rahman Haruna Attah,has called for the youth to take center stage in continent’s affairs and drive its next phase of development .
Speaking with Business Outlook Africa, the veteran journalist, publisher and author argued that young people have a lot to offer once given an opportunity devoid of government interference. He pointed to “November in Namibia“—a youth-led bilateral tourism and business initiative between Namibia and Ghana—as proof of what can be achieved when citizens are empowered to drive the system.
“ We should let the people take charge. So governments step back and let the businesses run. Yeah. And the people.You see the the people to people efforts often pay off. I’ll give you an example.There’s an organisation called November in Namibia.Some young people were in charge. They started it. I was just on the side.But they started running it. We are now entering the fourth edition, which promises to be big. And this has nothing to do with government doing this and that.” he described
Explaining how the initiative differs from a standard trade mission, Haruna Attah noted that while the latter relies on government machinery and public servants, this initiative “November in Namibia”belongs completely to the people.
“A typical trade mission is run by the government.If it’s a trade mission, that’s what it is. It is controlled by the civil servants and that kind of thing. But with this one, this is the initiative of the people.” he added.
Regarding how to scale up the initiative, the High Commissioner to Namibia and Botswana stated the program has matured to a point where active partnership with local institutional bodies, like the GIPC, is essential.
“ So now the challenge is how we can involve our local institutions like the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre and those kinds of organisations to come on board. To be part of it.” he stressed .
Born out of a youth-led effort to encourage Ghanaians to explore Namibia firsthand, the “November in Namibia” initiative has rapidly expanded and is steadily gaining major recognition across the region.
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