The Free and Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) for Ghanaian children will soon be extended to the senior high school, President J.A. Kufuor has disclosed.

At a reception hosted by Coca-Cola International in Cape Town, South Africa, on the wings of the World Economic Forum on Wednesday, President Kufuor said the extension was feasible because of the country’s oil find and the sound management of its economy.

He said extending the programme to the senior high school was necessary to create equal opportunities for all Ghanaian children. President Kufuor said Ghana’s economy had a bright future and extended an invitation to investors to look towards Ghana, adding that Ghana was a land of great opportunities and any investment should be on the basis of a win-win situation. He said the emerging democratic culture, good governance, rule of law and positive economic showing were some of the attractions of Ghana as an investment destination of choice. President Kufuor said as a result of sound economic management, Ghana was gradually becoming the toast of the international community.

At the opening of the event earlier on Wednesday, President Kufuor played up the legacy he hoped to leave in Ghana after his eight-year administration, which ends in January, 2009.

Responding to a question on his legacy, at a panel discussion as part of the opening ceremony of the three-day 18th Economic Forum on Africa, President Kufuor promised a smooth and peaceful transition to the next administration and to bequeath to it an enlightened and educated people, well equipped to move the economy on to another level of development. President Kufuor was one of the six African leaders on the panel that which discussed the topic: “Capitalising on the Opportunities in Africa”.

Other panellists were President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, President Bingu Wa Mutharika of Malawi, President Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi and Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga of Kenya. Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, moderated the discussion. Making his submissions at the forum, which was attended by 800 business and political leaders from 50 countries, President Kufuor said the richest asset of any country was its human resource and for that reason his government had worked to ensure free and compulsory basic education for all children. He explained that his government's focus on human resource development was premised on the fact that educated citizens would be able to look after themselves, hold leadership accountable and be less dependent on others.

President Kufuor said given the resources of the country, educated citizens would form the critical mass to drive the country’s development into the globalised world. On Ghana’s status as the gateway to Africa, President Kufuor said his administration had set in motion the process that would help the country to become a major player in the economic development of the West African sub–region. He said with the realisation of the vision of the country becoming the aviation, railway and energy hub of the sub-region, Ghana would stand tall with dignity. On Africa’s development, President Kufuor said the opportunities for the continent’s development were immense but underscored the need for growing the quality of the people for Africa to face the challenges of the future.

In an effort to enhance the development of the continent, President Kufuor also underlined the need for co-operation and partnership with the rest of the world as well as transformational leadership on the continent to overcome the challenges confronting the people. The President also submitted that building strong sub-regional economic blocks such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was one of the surest ways to build strong markets to make Africa more attractive for investment in the globalised world. Consequently, he called on African leaders to see beyond the artificial borders and break the economic barriers for well-integrated African states at the sub-regional level if Africa was to secure its place and play a crucial role in the changing paradigms of the world economy.

President Kufuor, President Mbeki, President Mutharika, President Nkurunziza and Prime Minister Odinga were all optimistic about the future of Africa but underscored the need for a concerted effort to ensure peace and stability, democratic accountability and prudent management of the continent’s resources. “A new Africa is evolving very well in the correct direction,” President Mbeki stated, adding, “The process is irreversible.” President Mbeki said the conflict in the Sahel belt, which straddles Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Djibouti and Sudan, was worrying and required immediate attention to prevent the situation from spreading to other African regions. On his expectations of the upcoming G-8 meeting in Japan, he called on G-8 countries to emulate the Japan example of setting up funds to deal with specific commitments it had made towards finding solutions to specific problems confronting Africa under the G-8–Africa plan of action.

President Nkurunziza said with the help of the African Union the peace process in Burundi had been completed and stated that the country was now concentrating on unifying the people through education. He said the biggest challenge confronting Africa was increasing population against inadequate resources. For his part, Prime Minister Odinga said lack of investment, ignorance, disease and bad governance were the bane of the African continent. “African leaders must say what they mean and mean what they say,” he said.