Thanks to everyone who attended our inaugural debate
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"Democracy will never be a perfect system because people will always be imperfect beings" says John Mahama, "But the problem with dictatorships is that you don't get to choose which dictator you are going to get"
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The Ghanaian president launched the inaugural debate of The Africa Report magazine, in front of a glittering crowd at the Movenpick Hotel in Accra on 20 November, in partnership with the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.
The debate – what should be the priority, democracy or development – took as its starting point the great economic sprint that Africa needs to make if it is going to provide jobs for the 300m Africans who will join the labour force over the next 15 years.
Ultimately, the panellists on both sides of the debate agreed that the quality of the democracies was the answer, and provided concrete solutions for reform. In the end the debate was summed up by Adhanom Tedros, the foreign minister of Ethiopia, who was keen to stress Ethiopia's commitment to both sides of the argument: “Bread without democracy is bitter. Democracy without bread is fragile.”
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WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR DEBATE
ON THE VIDEO, BELOW:
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VIDEO - THE AFRICA REPORT Debates - 20 November 2015 - Accra, Ghana
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The full list of pannelists and experts included:
- Mo Ibrahim, chairman and founder, Mo Ibrahim Foundation
- H.E. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
- Dr Carlos Lopes, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
- Jay Naidoo, Chair, Partnership Council of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and former South African politician
- Trevor Manuel, advisor and deputy Chairman, Rothschild and former South African finance minister
- Professor Audrey Gadzekpo, Dean of the School of Information and Communication Department, University of Ghana, journalist and policy expert
- Ms Arancha Gonzalez Laya – Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC)
- Clare Short, Chair, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
- Edward Boateng, Chairman of Global Media Alliance
- Vincent Guéneau, Chairman, Kappafrik Group
- Franklin Cudjoe, Founding President at IMANI centre for Policy & Education
- Gregory Quérel, Chairman, Necotrans
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