Africa’s biggest problem is brain drain – Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh

Ghana Minister for Energy Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh has called on Africans in the Diaspora to come back home in order to help in the development of the continent.

He is of the view that the return of these experts to the home countries is the surest way to drive development needed for Africa, especially in challenging times.

The man who is popularly referred to as NAPO was speaking at the Oxford Africa Business Forum via Zoom streamed online

He said “one thing that I always say is that we need the human capital and in most African countries human capital resides outside Africa. We need to bring our diasporans with the Technology and the skill that they have attracted to add value to what we are doing in Africa.

"I don’t remember a continent that developed in the last fifty years without its diasporans coming back. India, Japan, South Korea. They went got trained, got educated and came back home to help in the struggle and emancipation of their countries. That is what we are lacking.”

He indicated that what the African continent lacks is human capital clarifying that it is not the lack of incentives for investors, it’s not because we haven’t got natural resources.

“It’s not because we lack incentives for investors, it’s not because we haven’t got natural resources. We have more natural resources than any continent. What is lacking is the human capital, human endowment, the human capacity to add to what we have to take us to where we want to go.”

Dr.Mathew Opoku Prempeh used the forum to advise African Students studying across the globe to make it a point to go back to their countries and make good use of the experience they garner.