Siaw Agyepong, Duffuor, others honoured
Eight successful African personalities have been honoured for their contributions to development on the continent at this year’s Lifetime Africa Achievement Prize (LAAP) in Accra.
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Two other distinguished African leaders, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe and King Mohammed VI of Morocco, were also given special plaques for their exemplary leadership.
Organised by the Millennium Excellence Foundation (MEF), the LAAP was to recognise, celebrate and acknowledge Africans whose work has impacted the lives of many people in their respective countries and beyond.
The eight are Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, the Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies; Dr Kwabena Duffuor, a former Minister of Finance and Economic Planning; Nana Kwame Bediako, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Wonda World Estates, all from Ghana.
The rest are Togolese footballer, Mr Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor, Mr Hanson Sindowe, a Zambian and Co-founder and Managing Director of the Zambian Energy Corporation (Zam-En); Ms Tabitha Karanja; the CEO of Keroche Breweries, Kenya, Mr Mosima Gabriel Sexwale, the CEO Mvelaphanda Holdings, and Ms Leymah Gbowee, a founder member and Liberian Coordinator of the Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET) of the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP).
Each of the eight awardees was presented with a cloak and a plaque.
The awards
Dr Agyepong was presented with the “Sustainable development in Africa” award.
He was recognised for his ability to create an enabling environment at the regional, sub-regional, national and local levels for sustained economic growth in Ghana.
Mr Agyapong has more than 40 businesses under his supervision.
Accepting his award, he said: “The African can make a good life, no matter where he is placed.”
He was of the view that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) could be achieved in Ghana if policy makers came out with policies that could drive the SDGs.
One of his businesses, popularly known as “Zoomlion”, which is a waste management company, creates jobs for more than 3,000 people across the country.
Dr Duffuor was named as the recipient of the “Economic Development in Africa” award.
His award is in recognition of his commitment to the economic development of Ghana and Africa at large.
Dr Duffuor, who was absent, was represented by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UniBank, Mr Felix Nyarko-Pong.
The “Entrepreneur Excellence in Africa” award was presented to Ghanaian businessman, Nana Kwame Bediako of Wonda World Estates.
Established in 2001 to develop and manage projects, the company has also ventured into building the first oil and gas capital of West Africa.
Dubbed Petronia City Development located in Takoradi in the Western Region, the company is aimed at establishing infrastructure for various uses, including accommodation to complement the needs of the oil and gas industry.
In his acceptance speech, Nana Bediako said “the choices and decisions that we make as individuals are what drive us into what we are”.
The “Black Star of Africa” award was given to Mr Adebayor.
Believed to be the most decorated African footballer, Mr Adebayor was recognised for his sterling performance as a footballer and is currently Togo’s all-time top goal scorer with 28 goals.
Receiving his award, Mr Adebayor said his vision was to be able to help others, as he derived satisfaction from being able to “touch the lives of others”.
Other awardees
The “Nation Building and African Leadership” award was presented to Mr Sindowe of Zambia.
The award is presented to an individual in recognition of his courage, dedication and commitment to better the life of others through good governance, justice and development in his country and Africa at large.
Mr Sindowe, in his acceptance speech, said if united, Africans could help one another to achieve a lot for the continent.
He called on Africans in the Diaspora to also help in the development of the continent.
The “Entrepreneurial Excellence in Africa” award was presented to Ms Tabitha Karanja for being one of Kenya’s leading entrepreneurs.
Brewer of Kenya’s first home-grown beer, she is the CEO of Keroche Breweries, the first alcoholic beverage producer to be wholly owned and operated by an indigenous Kenyan.
The “Action for Africa” award was received by Mr Sexwale, a South African who played a major role in the apartheid era.
Popularly referred to as ‘Tokyo’ for his interest in karate, he was imprisoned alongside former South African President Nelson Mandela. He served 15 years in prison before he was released.
Today, he is an entrepreneur in the mining and energy sector where he has established the ‘Mvelaphanda Holdings’.
He is also a strategic investor in the hotels, transport, telecommunication, property, engineering, health, banking and financial sectors.
A philanthropist, he is a trustee of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
The “Peace in Africa” award was presented to Ms Gbowee, a Liberian, for her mediation role in ending her country’s civil war in 2003.
She is said to have led a non-violent movement which brought together Christian and Muslim women who advocated for peace to end Liberia’s 14-year-old civil war.
Africa’s development
The President of the MEF, Mr James Victor Gbeho, in an address at the ceremony, said until Africans recognised their own potential and channelled efforts towards it, development would be long in coming to the continent.
He said the future would be bleak for Africa if there was no economic development on the continent.
He called for networking among Africans to ensure that capital remained on the continent for development purposes.
Mr Gbeho said there was also the need to teach the youth jobs which would enable them to take up the challenge in hastening the industrial development of the continent.
