Youths + Education +Technology = Sierra Leone stands a better chance!! During my last business trip to Sierra Leone from Canada, I had the opportunity to visit Moyamba, Moriba Town, Magburaka, Makeni, Kambia, Port Loko, Kabala and Mile 91; I noticed the government’s effort in improving infrastructure, healthcare system and job creation. While I applaud these efforts, I strongly believe that technology can play a critical role towards achieving realistic results on these fronts. The most critical commodity needed in developing and maintaining the technology we need is knowledge. This is why our youths are so important to our future in these areas. What is now needed is to invest on educating the youths and use their knowledge as an asset to create the future we are yearning to develop. Dr Philip Emeagwali, “the father of internet-Pioneer of supercomputer” has once said “Technological knowledge can be used to create wealth and alleviate poverty in Africa.” Proper application of technology in western nations had increased their food production, created job opportunities, reduced corruption and increased service delivery. Forty years ago, Ghana and South Korea had almost the same income per capita. By the early 1990s, South Korea’s income per capita was six times higher than Ghana’s. Some believe that the difference is due to Korea’s greater success in acquiring and using knowledge and technology. That is why we need a form of economy that is knowledge-based like in South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, where the economy is driven by individual knowledge and not by regionally centralized natural resources. With Sierra Leone’s large youth population, we are strategically positioned to be a leader on the new global information economy – only, however, if we are ready to educate our youth and prepare to leapfrog towards the new technology driven economy!
Posted on: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 16:37:00 +0000
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