So says United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Director Geraldine Fraser-Moleketti. We agree, and believe entrepreneurship is the tool that will allow people to fulfill their potential and bring sustainable development and improvements in living standards to society. From Vuva Vena of the Mail & Guardline online, according to Fraser-Moleketi:
People are the real wealth of nations. Development is thus about expanding the choices people have to lead lives that they value. And it is thus about much more than economic growth, which is only a means — if a very important one — of enlarging people’s choices.
In responding to the challenges of the African continent, I will refer to those identified by former president of Tanzania Benjamin Mkapa and Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former secretary general of the Commonwealth Secretariat.
In the words of Mkapa, in 2002, on the priorities for Africa: “The first priority should be human development, and empowerment for self-development — within nations and internationally. It has to be the war on human poverty. It is the kind of democratic governance that does not feed people empty ideas, but empowers them to feed on real food, to enjoy good health, to educate their children, and to give women a fair chance.
Remember, the UNDP works in 132 countries — those are the 3 billion who want to be part of a global economy where people are valued and opportunity available.
via ‘People are the real wealth of nations’ – News – Mail & Guardian Online.
