Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), on Saturday urged African financial researchers and institutions to conduct research on the economies of their countries frequently in order to chart a unique course to prosperity and modernisation. He said “Africa must be better prepared for a fuller participation in the financial decisions of the World but currently the Asian Development Bank conducts far more research than the African Development Bank and we do not make use of the considerable African expertise in the Diaspora. The African Development Bank must re-orient itself to become the premier institution for the supply of information to our decision makers.” These were contained in an address read on behalf of Nana Akufo-Addo at the opening of Democratic Union of Africa (DUA) conference for its party leaders, being hosted by the NPP with delegates from Botswana, Cote d‘Ivoire, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Seychelles, Uganda and Lesotho in attendance. The conference which is on the theme: “Africa’s response to the Global Financial crisis”, would bring to the fore the impact of the Global Financial crisis and what Centre Right governments and political parties can do to mitigate its impact on the continent. Nana Akufo-Addo said the dissemination of information would help enhance the quality of decision making in the financial sector. He said “There must be a determined effort to encourage African scholars both at home and abroad to engage in African centred research that would improve the quality of decision making and also prepare the continent for the challenges of the new global financial system that would enable us to take better common positions on trade and other such issues”. Nana Akufo-Addo called for the institution of uniform regulation and supervision of Global Finances that would address the differences in the reportage of financial transactions and reduce the cost of doing business. He said “Central banks across the world must develop and apply common guidelines that would help them monitor and supervise better, cross-border transactions across countries and continents. There must be an expansion of the number of countries which make decisions affecting the global economy and I am hoping that G-20 expands to G-24 or G-30 with more representation from the developing world.” Nana Akufo-Addo called for new global institutions and financial architecture that would replace the Bretton Woods Institutions and put people firmly ahead of profits in the global financial system. He urged police and banking officials to work together by sharing intelligence in order to combat crimes such as the sale of illegal drugs, money laundering and terrorism. Nana Akufo-Addo said the continent’s marginalisation in the councils of the world has been caused by factors such as political instability, inability to speak with one voice and weak economies. Mr. Peter Mac Manu, NPP National Chairman, urged centre right political parties and governments to promote its core values such as respect for the rule of law, human rights, equal opportunities, competition, right to private property ownership and support for the poor . Miss Phillipa Broom, Director of International Office of the Conservative Party in Britain commended the NPP government for speeding up infrastructural development in the country. Source: GNA