{"id":90997,"date":"2025-08-23T01:05:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T01:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=90997"},"modified":"2025-08-23T01:05:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T01:05:00","slug":"photos-former-south-african-president-jacob-zuma-delivers-upsa-annual-lectures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=90997","title":{"rendered":"Photos: Former South African President Jacob Zuma delivers UPSA annual lectures"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), on Tuesday held its 2025 annual leadership lecture series at the university\u2019s auditorium in Accra.<\/p>\n

The event, which brought together high personalities from academia, government, and the clergy, including former President John Agyekum Kufuor, featured former South African President Jacob Zuma as the keynote speaker.<\/p>\n

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Under the theme \u201cThe geopolitics and geo-economics of de-dollarisation: BRICS currency strategy, lessons for Africa\u2019s common currency and beyond\u201d, the lecture created a forum for guests to ask questions.<\/p>\n

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Concerning a unified Africa, Mr Zuma emphasised the need for African nations to adopt a single currency, citing the potential benefits of streamlined intra-African trade, reduced transaction costs, and enhanced economic resilience.<\/p>\n

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He argued that Africa\u2019s continued reliance on foreign currencies, particularly the US dollar, perpetuates a system of economic dependency rooted in colonial history. <\/p>\n

A single African currency would help break free from this dependency and unlock the continent\u2019s vast economic potential.<\/p>\n

He proposed the creation of an African-owned trading platform to facilitate intra-continental commerce and reduce dependence on foreign financial systems. <\/p>\n

This, he said, would prioritise African goods and services, foster self-reliance, and shield the continent from external economic shocks.<\/p>\n

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The lecture highlights the growing conversation around Africa\u2019s economic future and its quest for financial sovereignty.<\/p>\n

By advocating for a unified currency and African-owned trading platforms, Mr Zuma\u2019s proposals aim to reduce the continent\u2019s reliance on external economic systems and promote economic integration.<\/p>\n

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The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), launched in 2021, is seen as a critical step toward achieving this goal.<\/p>\n

Also at the lecture were the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu; former Interior Minister Kan Dapaah; and the Presidential Envoy for Interfaith and Ecumenical Relations, Elvis Afriyieh Ankrah, as well as Zenith Bank Managing Director Chinedu Onwuzurigbo.<\/p>\n

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The opening remark was delivered by the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. John Kwaku Mensah Mawutor.<\/p>\n

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\"Photos:The University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) on Tuesday held its 2025 annual leadership lecture series at the university\u2019s auditorium in Accra.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":90998,"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":[491,1906,7142,1941,10,9,864],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-90997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-hp-news-5","category-jacob-zuma","category-photo-story","category-politics","category-popular","category-upsa"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90997","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=90997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/90998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=90997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=90997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=90997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}