Visionay Leaders Are Needed In Africa, UN Envoy

Written by Ann Brown

Oct 27, 2013

Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, African Union (AU) and United Nations (UN), Joint Special Envoy to Darfur has emphasized the need for both strong institutions and visionary leadership on the Africa continent.

He explained that the continent needed strong men and women with far sightedness and dynamism to help consolidate the young democracies and transform their economies.

Chambas was speaking at the 2013 Alumni Lecture of the University of Ghana (UG) at Legon.

The lecture, organized by the University of Ghana in collaboration with its Alumni Association is on the topic: “Governance and Leadership”.

The lecture was attended by people from the academia, the university alumni, politicians as well as the public.

Chambas said Ghana had been described as the rising star of Africa for making enormous strides on the social and the economic front.

He noted that Ghana was also a shining example of democracy and stability and that the 2008 elections witnessed the second transfer of power from the ruling party to the opposition party since the country’s democratic journey began in the 1990s.

He said Ghana’s 2008 elections were perhaps the biggest test to the resilience of the country’s democratic governance due to the relatively slim margin between the winner and loser of the contest.

Chambas stated that in the December 2012 elections the country witnessed another test with fear expressed in many quarters but the Ghanaian people showed a deep sense of maturity.