African leaders urged to develop positive political will

There is an urgent need for positive political will amongst African leaders for the continent to be competitive globally, this according to Dezi Lopez, Vice President and Managing Director, African Operations, Oracle Corporation. Lopez was speaking at the South African Oracle User Group conference on Tuesday.

Lopez said all the solutions that are being provided to Africa will not help change the conditions of the ordinary citizens on the continent until the political leadership shift their will to providing better living conditions for their people.

“I find it frustrating that it will take many years to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). We started the MDGs in early 2000 but to date not much has been achieved.

“How can we let human capital bleed? There is urgent need to adopt a positive political will,” he said.

Lopez said Oracle the world’s leading supplier of software for information management, and the world’s second largest independent software company, is passionate about the continent’s development which is why they have come up with solutions to help government deliver their services efficiently.

“We started offering our services to central banks in Africa in order to ensure monetary stability on the continent .”

Lopez also urged African governments to be more transparent in their activities as this will lead to increased Foreign Direct Investment.

“The world needs to have a clear picture that the continent is conducive for business. Investors need guarantees that the environment and policies on the continent will protect their investment,” Lopez said.

By Samuel Mungadze