Interview with Johanes Koku Nyagblordzro, Executive Chairman of CADeP

02 January 2018

How is the Center for Africa Development and Progress involved in humanitarian and development sectors?

The Center for Africa Development and Progress (CADeP) is a nonpartisan research and educational institute dedicated to promoting a strong, just and free Africa that ensures opportunity for all.

Our Core Objectives include:

• To educate Africans on governance issues and how to exercise their franchise, as well as exploring ideas to revitalise African Constitutions.
• To provide public education, especially for young individuals on the essentials of progress and African civilization.
• To promote African entrepreneurship and business in order to sustain economic growth and development.
• To serve as a ‘Think Tank’ that offers policy proposals, talking points, events, news and weekly columns and websites dedicated to improving the lives of Africans through innovative ideas and actions.
• To hold regular conferences called “Focus on Success”.
• To train and develop leadership and personality qualities as a development pathway to true economic, social, political and spiritual progress.
• To provide advisory services to government and State institutions.

CADeP is an advocacy group for good governance practices in Africa via Ghana, and a promoter of quality education and African entrepreneurship.

How is the Center for Africa Development and Progress represented in East Africa?

CADeP has been represented in East Africa through its regular humanitarian projects in Africa. One of the policy objectives of CADeP programs is to strengthen citizens of Africa on their democratic freedoms and to deepen CADeP’s relationship with other advance democratic jurisdictions to support development in Africa. Our priority is geared towards building a strong Africa that does not promote inequality amongst member States.

Although the organisation is based in West Africa (precisely, in Ghana), our representation in East Africa came from our mode of operation (modus operandi) that is being extended to developing Africa and achieving progress.

What are the key initiatives being implemented in the region?

Our key initiative in the region is to empower the African people to become self-sufficient in all endeavours. We seek to instill sensitisation programmes in the region where needed most to help them understand and appreciate the importance of attaining self-sufficiency.

What does your role as Executive Chairman entail?

As the Executive Chairman, I am responsible for spearheading the affairs of CADeP. I have direct oversight responsibility of the operations of the organisation and am responsible for ensuring smooth transitions between the day-to-day activities of the organisation.

As the Executive Chairman, I direct CADeP – an advocacy group for good governance practices in Ghana and Africa, and a promoter of quality education and African innovation. I have been engaging stakeholders in an attempt to improve the quality of education within the firm. I believe that well-educated people would eventually embrace the tenets of good governance and practice the same.

What projects are you involved in?

Through CADeP, I am a known campaigner for peaceful and transparent elections in Ghana. CADeP was a key participant in civil society activities in advocating for a transparent election process in 2008, 2012 and 2016 in Ghana, during which political party representatives, supporters and CSO representatives were brought together to discuss peace during and in the aftermath of the elections. Speakers with diverse backgrounds in politics, governance, and security were selected as the key speakers.

I have also been engaging in philanthropic activities, especially in the education sector. CADeP has distributed free school materials (books and assorted items) to selected schools in poverty endemic areas in Ghana.

What are your main priorities for 2017/2018?

Within 2017, and beyond, CADeP shall be committed to the following prioritised objectives:

1. To enhance the effectiveness of the organisation in the performance of its capacity building functions, especially on how to re-define Education and Leadership in Africa.

2. To start expanding the workplaces of CADeP all over the African Continent.

What will your presentation panel at the Aid & Development Africa Summit address and why is it important for those attending to engage in this topic?

Our presentation at the Aid & Development Africa Summit 2018 will address issues of empowerment of the African people to embrace a more modernised way of transforming our continent.

We, at CADeP, have come to the realisation that Africa has been wishful in its thinking for too long. Leadership has failed drastically, and the time has come for a ‘leadership turning point’. We must begin to walk our talk and wishes. There are lots of ideologies in Africa but how are we transforming these ideologies into creativity and innovation?

The African educational policy has been geared toward a phenomenon I referred to as “Survival”. We misconstrued formal education as only working in the formal sector and placed no value on the informal sector, which requires the undeveloped potential in each and every one of us.

What trends and challenges do you see in Africa’s aid and development?

Concerning aid and development in Africa, there is no laid down mechanism that seeks to eradicate the people from poverty. In our quest to eradicate poverty from the African continent, there should be a way of empowering the people, by expanding their human resource qualities, to be able to fish for themselves, rather than always looking forward to or relying on alms for survival. However, in emergency situations, such as drought, war, floods and other disasters/challenges of this nature, aid is needed most in that part of the affected region.

How can we empower local communities to take leadership roles and be primary agents of their own response?

When we come to playing leadership roles, empowering the communities to take up leadership roles may be very dangerous for Africa’s development. The developed nations are already established and, and such action can result in everybody taking up leadership roles. However, in Africa, we must learn judiciously about how to begin developing our nations in the same way others did before. We must first nurture leaders to attain leadership qualities before taking up roles, rather than just empowering all.

How can innovation and partnerships in information and communications technology become more agile, localised and connected?

In regards to innovation and partnership in information and communication technology being made available to all, there is a need to replicate the same method used by developed nations into our society. In trying to adopt systems used by developed nations, we should also learn how to become creative and professionals.

What is your impression of the upcoming Aid & Development Africa Summit 2018 so far?

On my own and on behalf of CADeP, I have seen the up-coming Aid & Development African Summit 2018 as a great opportunity to revolutionise the African culture of addressing issues.

Why is it important for you and CADeP to engage in such events?

My participation in the forthcoming program will enrich my technical know-how, and I will acquire more skills and experience with working with other colleague change makers. It will also improve my methods of educating people on how to attain development.

To summarise, what is the key message or learning from your work that you’d like to share with the AIDF audience prior to the Summit?

With CADeP having come to realise where education has failed Africa, my key message to AIDF audience is the necessity for a “change of culture” to enhance development.

* * * * *

For more information on the Aid & Development Africa Summit, visit www.africa.aidforum.org or email Alina O’Keeffe, Head of Marketing, AIDF at marketing@aidforum.org.

Image 1 Source: USAID; Image 2 Source: All Africa; Image 3 Source: Care Pathways To Empowerment; Image 4 Source: UN