Macro-economist Dandy Matata Amsini urged Congolese leaders to invest in the knowledge economy to catch up and make a qualitative leap towards the development of the DRC. According to him, the national executive should, without delay, decree a « state of emergency of the educational sector. » He made this plea during a conference-debate organized on June 15, 2019 in the Showbuzz room in Kinshasa, by the Think Tank « ISHANGO ».
« It is more than urgent to declare a state of emergency in the education sector, to allocate a substantial budget to this sector. This is about sacrificing the present staff in the name of a collective future. So, amputate the operating budgets of political institutions to finance the rehabilitation of our schools, pay well our teachers and teachers and provide us with means to act and play a major geostrategic role in the knowledge economy that is coming already », he recommended.
As a speaker, this Congolese intellectual made his presentation on « the war of intelligence ». Evoking several case-types around the world, he demonstrated how intelligence will be at the center of geostrategic concerns in the coming decades.
« There is a cold war ahead between states around the control of intelligences whether biological or artificial. On the one hand, we see that we have mineral resources that can lubricate this economy of the future. On the other hand, we do not get the full benefit », the speaker said.
Hence, he insisted, the need for the DRC to question how it generates its intelligences, forms its human capital and how it finances research to catch up to development.
He said: « It is important for us, Congolese intellectuals, to appropriate this question and reflect to see how we can make a qualitative leap to allow us to fill our own little delay in the decades ahead. »
During the debate, Amsini Dandy Matata reiterated his firm belief that intelligence has become the new infinite value-added field. He said that advanced countries are already experiencing the benefits of artificial intelligence and biological. To give an indication of the magnitude of the Congolese challenge, this analyst used some figures.
« While the United States of America, China and Japan have invested $ 484 million, $ 443 million and $ 155 million respectively in research in 2017, Africa in general and the DRC in particular are in the region. dark red countries where the Intellectual Quotient (IQ) is less than or equal to 65 », he said.
To get out of this zone, Amsini Dandy Matata reassured that prospective analyzes indicate the possibility for Africa to increase its intelligence quotient, provided that significant investments are mobilized in education, training and especially in scientific research.
This masterful event of knowledge was attended by more than a hundred Congolese intellectuals and the debate was simply high.
As a reminder, ISHANGO is an association created at the initiative of some Congolese intellectuals. It is a Think Tank whose main objective is to promote the emergence of a Knowledge Society in the DRC as a response to the problem of underdevelopment, in a world in profound change.
This initiative also aims to contribute to building a society of excellence in all areas of national life to build a consensual project on the collective future. This, beyond any political cleavage.
ISHANGO’s motto is to educate or perish.
Eric TSHIKUMA