In his keynote address to a youth summit in South Africa, Mwaanga said Africa should not be left behind and that young people should take up leadership roles.

“Whether we like or not, there is a leadership crisis in Africa and even in the world today. It is often said that you the youth are the future leaders of our continent and the world. Your generation is better educated and has acquired better and more diverse entrepreneurship skills, be it in the fields of politics, science, business and technology. No continent is safe from the seismic disturbances in the way young people think and do things. We have an aging leadership which has been moving from inclusiveness to separatism; from transparency to corruption; from collaboration to anarchy; from eco to ego systems,” Mwaanga said.

“This approach cascades downwards to the masses, resulting in mediocrity, corruption, small mindlessness and non- performance. This is all happening at a time when the world has moved rapidly towards globalization, where no nation is an island. France Austria have recently elected young leaders who was still in their 30s and I hope you all would draw some inspiration from this. Africa should not be left behind and you the young people should fill the leadership gap which has been left by my generation and those before me.”

He said many years ago, Africa was regrettably regarded as a dark continent, saying this tag must be erased because it was no longer a dark continent.

“We are the continent of the future. We are endowed with all kinds of minerals and other national resources which the world will need for many years to come. Through you the youth of our continent, we must now develop skills which are required to mine and process these minerals for the benefit of our people through value addition. In the early years of my adulthood, I read a humiliation book entitled ‘POVERTY ATTACKS AFRICA’. I am now calling upon you the young people who are the pride of our Continent, to take part in writing a new book entitled ‘AFRICA ATTACKS POVERTY’,” Mwaanga said.

“This is the challenge I am giving you today. I know it will require courage, vision and hard work to make OLIVER REGINALD TAMBO proud as he rests in the comfort of his creator. I have no doubt in my mind that you will be equal to this task. It is often said that when the foundations of youth are strong, we should not have anything to fear from the wind, no matter how strong. Young people must show ambition and not be afraid to take risks. You should start small business enterprises and aim at making them big in future. You may stumble and even fall at times, but through this experience, you will gain and recognise your strength and limitations and be better able to do things better next time. Only by knowing your limitations can you fully maximize your potential, because the scope of your limit will lessen over time with experience.”