Africa urged to keep eye on the ball

Africa has been warned to brace itself for a possible economic shock due to the current economic crisis that has hit European countries, Dr. Austin Nweze of the School of Media and Communication at the Pan-African University, Lagos-Nigeria, has predicted.

“If the European Union (EU), Germany and United Kingdom (UK) don’t have the political will to turn things around, the euro will crash and it will affect many other markets -- which will eventually lead to a major catastrophe that will affect businesses globally, including Africa,” he said.

Presently, nations such as Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal are contending with financial and economic crises, and this has in recent times called for an urgent meeting of the heads of EU governments to find possible ways of solving them.

“What is happening in Europe will definitely affect Africa. In terms of trade, Africa’s economy will contract. No country in the world today is isolated.

“If the world economy collapses, it will affect your business and trade,” Dr. Nweze told B&FT in Accra on the sidelines of a five-day annual course for African reporters, organised by GT Bank Plc.

It was aimed at facilitating development of the African media industry in areas of qualitative reporting and relevant knowledge-acquisition. It brought together senior journalists from Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, The Gambia and Sierra Leone.

Dr. Nweze, who spoke on a wide range of issues, said: “Global leaders are looking for economic solutions to end this recession which is unparalleled in the history of the world.”

He therefore proposed that African leaders invest massively in education that will focus on research, engineering, science and technology; this will aid innovation to help them compete favorably in the global market.

“In this global knowledge-based economy, it’s all about innovation; and this cannot happen without research.

“Africa needs to improve on the educational system to come up with technically-based human capital to enable us become original manufacturers of equipment. Until we become original equipment-manufacturers without depending on other nations, Africa will never grow.”

He again suggested massive investment in the infrastructure sector, which will promote easy movement of goods from the rural to the urban centres, and reduce rural-urban migration.

GT Bank’s annual course for African reporters, which began in 2006, was conceived as a tool to facilitate the development of the African media industry in areas of qualitative reporting and relevant knowledge-acquisition. It is part of the bank’s corporate responsibility.

The bank’s hallmark over the last two decades has been its passion and penchant for promoting professionalism, integrity and the quest for knowledge and expertise among its numerous stakeholders.

Being the first bank to undertake the initiative, the programme has continued to generate media support, goodwill and visibility of its brand within and across Africa.

According to the bank, the reporters’ course was designed to enhance professional skills of reporters in brands and marketing, business, and capital market and financial sectors as well as increase their knowledge of the financial industry.

Meanwhile, participating journalists have commended the bank for the initiative -- saying that such could only be done by a socially-responsible organisation. They however encouraged other corporate organisations on the continent to emulate the bank.

Guaranty Trust Bank was incorporated in 1990 and has over 180 branches in Nigeria, with subsidiaries in The Gambia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, United Kingdom and Liberia.

The bank also owns non-banking subsidiaries such as G Thomes Limited, Guaranty Trust Assurance Limited, GTB Registrars Limited and GTB Asset Management Limited.

In Ghana, GT Bank was licenced in 2006 and currently operates 23 branch outlets across the country with 15 Automated Teller Machines.