President Uhuru Kenyatta recently castigated his Cabinet Secretaries for not taking notes during a town hall meeting with the diaspora. The president noted that despite the important points that were being raised in the forum, no one in his team was taking notes. In 2018, a picture of the Kenyan delegation that accompanied the President to a meeting with President Donald Trump revealed a similar trend.

This is not in Kenya alone. A delegation from Somalia that visited Europe to discuss Somalia’s economic plight also exhibited Somalia leaders who were not taking notes, unlike their counterparts. Some of the leaders from Somalia were busy fiddling with their phones during the meeting.

International economic pacts have not favoured Africa due to this stance. African delegations mostly consist of joyriders out to do shopping abroad and earn from political correctness. The teams many times consist of people who do not understand the subject matter of the meetings.  Africa must get serious, do its homework, know its strategic interests and learn the art of documentation and negotiation.