'Transparency will drive private, public partnership'

Africa's renaissance will be fuelled by transparent partnerships between governments and private businesses working to improve the livelihoods of the continent's population, Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore has said. Speaking at the ongoing 6th Tokyo International Conference of Africa's Development (TICAD) in Nairobi, Collymore noted that better partnerships between the private and the public sectors are creating the right environment for better governance across Africa. "Across Africa, for the first time, building more transparent PPPs is creating the right environment for a true anti-corruption agenda to be taken up," said Collymore. "More African-based businesses and governments are adopting strategies that take into account market opportunities and anti-corruption issues, while carefully weighing the risks of adopting such an approach." He proposed that Africa could borrow from Japa from Japan; on taking the long-term view if its development models are to succeed. "Having worked in Japan and in Africa, my perspective is that Japan has always taken a long-term perspective," said Collymore. "Success requires a long-term view. This is what Africa requires."