African leaders focus on what will win them votes – Bawumia

The Vice President of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has observed that political leaders in Africa focus more on what will get them elected.

He believes that, over the years, political leaders have not had the guts to address the structural challenges facing the continent.

Rather, what they have been focused on has been things that will win them votes during elections.

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is of the view that this has to change if Africa and especially Ghana will experience the needed change and development.

“Leadership hasn’t focused on the underlying system that drives economic activity. So when you look at this question, you need to think about the future. For the politician generally, the horizon is so short; you are in office for four years, and if you don’t put the country ahead of your own political exigencies, you will do what gets you elected.

"I will build a bridge, and I can point to a bridge; I will build a road, and I can point to a road; and so you are in that type of mode of economic development. But if you have to put in the system for digitization, that infrastructure is soft infrastructure. You’re building a national ID card, you’re building a digital address system, and you’re doing all sorts of things that may not be very visible but are much more important", he said.