{"id":112210,"date":"2026-01-22T17:41:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T17:41:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=112210"},"modified":"2026-01-22T17:41:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T17:41:13","slug":"africa-must-invest-in-skills-unity-and-industry-or-risk-being-left-behind-mahama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=112210","title":{"rendered":"Africa must invest in skills, unity and industry or risk being left behind \u2013 Mahama"},"content":{"rendered":"
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President John Mahama has called on African countries to invest boldly in skills, industrial capacity and unity, warning that the continent risks underdevelopment in a fast-changing global economy if it fails to act decisively.<\/p>\n

Addressing global political and business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, January 22, President Mahama said the world was entering \u201can era where countries must compete, innovate, and build or be left behind \u201d.<\/p>\n

He said Africa\u2019s growing youth population was watching closely and losing patience with slow progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur young people are watching. They\u2019re brilliant, they\u2019re hungry, and they\u2019re running out of patience,\u201d the President told the gathering.<\/p>\n

President Mahama outlined five key priorities he believes African leaders must focus on to secure the continent\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

First, he said, the need is to invest in skills that respond directly to the real economy, rather than education alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must invest in skills. Not just education, but skills that match real jobs in the real economy,\u201d he said, pointing to digital skills, green energy skills and manufacturing skills as critical areas. According to him, Africa needs \u201ca generation of young Africans who can build, not just consume \u201d.<\/p>\n

Secondly, the President urged African countries to work together to industrialise, arguing that no single country can succeed on its own.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo African country can industrialise alone,\u201d he said, calling for regional prosperity platforms, shared manufacturing zones, energy grids and digital infrastructure that can give businesses the scale they need and workers better opportunities.<\/p>\n

President Mahama also called for a united African front in international negotiations, especially on trade, minerals and climate finance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we bargain separately, we\u2019re weak. When we negotiate together on minerals, trade, and climate finance, we\u2019re formidable,\u201d he said, adding that unity must go beyond rhetoric. \u201cUnity should not be a slogan; it must be the strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Furthermore, he said, the importance of producing key goods locally is to reduce dependency on external markets.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom vaccines to semiconductors to solar panels, if we don\u2019t make it, we\u2019ll always be dependent on someone who does,\u201d President Mahama said. <\/p>\n

He rejected the idea that industrial policy is outdated, noting that \u201cindustrial policy isn\u2019t old-fashioned. It is what will make us survive \u201d.<\/p>\n

Finally, the President mentioned the need for accountability and reform within African states, warning that corruption and weak systems undermine confidence and investment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot ask the world to invest in us if we tolerate corruption, waste, and systems that don\u2019t work. reset means reform. And reform means results,\u201d President Mahama said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"AfricaPresident John Mahama has called on African countries to invest boldly in skills, industrial capacity and unity, warning that the continent risks being left behind in a fast-changing global economy if it fails to act decisively.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1972,5323,1883,10,9,1206,7840,1887],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-africa","category-industry","category-national","category-politics","category-popular","category-president-mahama","category-skills","category-top-story"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=112210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112210\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=112210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=112210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=112210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}