President Paul Kagame said that African countries should build their capacity and make better use of the resources they have, rather than relying on foreign aid because it does not provide a sustainable solution to the problems that the continent has.

President Kagame said this on December 10, 2024 in Nouakchott, Mauritania, at the African Council on Education and Youth Employment, which had the theme “Educating our youth and training for a united, progressive and fair Africa.”

The conference was organized by the African Union in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF.

It was attended by other leaders including President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of Mauritania, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune of Algeria, Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal, Chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat and others.

President Kagame said that the future of the African continent depends on the youth because currently the majority of the population of the continent are young people.

He said, “This new generation has the potential to be a pillar in the transport of development and fertility, not only in Africa, but in the world as a whole. What we need to do is to equip these young people with the knowledge and skills to be able to compete in the labor market. .”

“In the coming years, science and technology will offer many opportunities related to innovation, so we should prepare our young people for that. The main thing is that we should put effort into building a strong education.”

He said that every child should be given the opportunity to learn, because studies show that every secondary level a person has studied helps to increase productivity by at least 10%.

“It is no exaggeration to say that education can change lives,” he said.

President Kgame said that Africa is facing the challenge of not having enough budget to support education, saying that there are two solutions in order to close that gap.

“I want to propose two solutions in order to close this gap, it is the responsibility of Africa to make good use of our resources, relying only on foreign aid is not a sustainable solution,” he said.

He said that African countries should not confuse cooperation with delegating responsibility or leadership to others.

He gave an example of how Rwanda has put effort into education, and increased the budget allocated to it, from 11% in 2020 to 17% in 2024, saying that it should not only be an increase, but quality should also be considered in order to achieve results. long lasting.

“This means training and appointing competent teachers, aligning technology with time and encouraging far-reaching thinking, rather than staying in the conventional mindset.”

Second, President Kagame showed African countries as a solution, which is that international companies and organizations should join forces with the governments of countries to increase existing capacity.

He said, “Many countries are currently asking for changes in the way they provide aid and international debt, this is good, what our developing countries need, is the ability to increase the budget instead of to have more clothes.”

The Head of State said that there are still many young people in Africa who are risking their lives to seek opportunities elsewhere, while there are opportunities to receive opportunities in their own countries.

He said, “I ask that we look further, now we are talking about many young people in Africa who are putting their lives at risk, going to seek better opportunities abroad, this is a sign that we need to do more in empowering our youth, it is a sign that there is more to do, and there is more to do.”