Accra, 04 September 2017 (ACBF) – Ghana’s Finance Minister Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta today commended the African Capacity Foundation for its efforts in strengthening institutional and human capacities in Africa as well as transforming the economies in the continent.
Hon. Ofori-Atta, who is Ghana’s representative on the Foundation’s Board of Governors, gave the commendation while speaking at the opening of the 26th annual Board of Governors meeting of the Foundation holding in the Ghanaian capital Accra.
Over the years ACBF has demonstrated the ability to support capacity building interventions in Africa, which has now earned it the status of the Specialized Agency of the African Union for capacity development.
“ACBF’s contribution to the strengthening of the institutional and human capacities, as well as the socio-economic transformation of our countries, through knowledge production and sharing, technical assistance and financial investments, is surpassed by few,” he said.
He highlighted some of the benefits his country has gained from the Foundation, aside of the fact that Accra is the regional office overseeing West and Central Africa.
According to him, Ghana has in addition received “significant support” from the ACBF which has seen 593 Ghanaians so far received Master’s level training in Economic Policy Management at GIMPA (Ghana Institute for Management and Public Administration) and University of Ghana,” he said. Among the beneficiaries are about 100 senior civil servants who are now contributing their quota to the development of Ghana. Among the graduates is the current Deputy Finance Minister, Mr. Ofori-Atta said.
ACBF has also deepened Ghana’s democracy and economy by giving grants for the recruitment of high-class researchers in top think tanks like the Center for Policy Analysis (CEPA), the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), and the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG) that it is supporting.
“The government and people of Ghana are especially honored to be hosting this meeting in Accra,” he said, adding that contributions during the forum would generate a new energy in “our collective discussions on African development grounded in capacity building.”
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For more information, please contact:
Abel Akara Ticha – Senior Communication Officer
The African Capacity Building Foundation
Harare, Zimbabwe
+263 7+263-4 304663, 304622, 332002, 332014; Ext. 279
Email: A.Ticha@acbf-pact.org
ABOUT the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)
Having spearheaded and robustly coordinated capacity development programs worth over 700 million US dollars across 45 countries and 8 regional economic communities (RECs) in Africa since 1991, ACBF has gathered the requisite experience that makes it the go-to institution for expert knowledge and human resources to advise and support African countries, regional economic communities and institutions on decisive steps to take to develop the practical skills urgently required for the continent’s economic transformation.
Evidence from our cutting-edge work (constituting hundreds of knowledge publications) and the work of several partners show that Africa's development efforts are being hobbled by severe capacity deficits often in the form of shortage of critical skills, deficits in leadership, inhibiting mindsets and weak institutions. The continent’s practical skills shortage is acute in key areas such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Agriculture.
At ACBF, we will continue using our unmatched track record in managing financial facilities for development, our vast knowledge gathering experience thanks to the exceptional skills mix of our core staff as well as our strong strategic partnerships and networks to help countries and institutions identify their capacity needs, advise them on how to plug these capacity weaknesses and on where to find the knowledge and resources to develop the requisite capacity resources, effectively use them and retain them to achieve their short and long-term development objectives.
ACBF’s vision is an Africa capable of achieving its own development.
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