African academics must go beyond theory - Liz Ohene

Accra, May 24, GNA - Ms Elizabeth Ohene, Minister of State at the Presidency, on Wednesday urged African academics to go beyond theory and provide meaningful solutions to the numerous problems facing the Continent.

She said the Continent had reached a stage where it did not only require people with titles but those who could make a difference in the lives of the people.

Ms Ohene was speaking at the opening of the seventh International Academy of African Business and Development (IAABD) Conference in Accra.

The three-day meeting, which is being hosted by the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), is aimed at finding solutions to the challenges facing the development of African businesses.

The conference attracted participants from 30 Business Institutions in 15 different countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa and Saudi Arabia.

Ms Ohene called for a proper linkage between the various business institutions on the Continent to enhance research activities and to advance the knowledge of African business operations and development. Professor Stephen Adei, Rector of GIMPA, challenged the participants to come out with innovative solutions to the developmental problems facing African countries.

"Through joint educational programmes, collaborative research, exchange of faculty and students, outreach programmes to expose business managers to practices in different countries, we can help African businesses deal with a lot of the developmental challenges", he said. He said it was vital for the Association to marshal all the resources at its disposal to confront numerous developmental challenges facing the Continent since African government's faced limitations in what they could do.

Prof Adei called on IAABD and other organizations around the Continent to work with local institutions to correct what he described as the "mis-education of the country's business leaders". 24 May 06