Africa loses 20,000 educated executives annually; financial aid help eaten by foreign experts

At least 20,000 educated Africans chose to leave the continent for greener pastures, mainly in the west and as a result the continent is the largest consumer of foreign expertise, says a study.

The study, presented on Wednesday at a regional colloquium on "competence management and enterprise competitiveness in the west African region," finds that foreign experts cost the continent around 4 billion dollars, i.e. 35% of the public aid for development extended to Africa between 1985 and 1999.

Chairman of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, Moussa Toure, deplored the brain drain, calling on economic operators, mainly enterprises, to endeavor to end the hemorrhage.