MwanaFalsafa1
JF-Expert Member
- Feb 26, 2008
- 5,565
- 836
One has to wonder why the richest continent in the world is also the poorest. Colonial history and neo colonialism can be blamed. An unfair market system where the buyer sets the price instead of negotiations between the buyer and the seller. Or what about international institutions like the IMF which dictates policies in order to give out loans and forgive debts? Let's not also forget about the "aid" recieved from donor countries, aid that usually comes with very strong conditions. The fact is we can blame all the outside factors that we can but let us not forget to criticize ourselves.
How can a beggar sit on a golden chair and still beg for money? With all the resources we have that is exactly what we seem to be doing. We seem to not be able to negotiate fair deals for our own resources. What justifies a government policy to only take a 3% cut on it's own gold? What justifies giving a five year tax holiday to multinational companies who only leave or change names after the holiday expires? What justifies leasing land to foreign companies for a hundred year period? To me the answer is nothing, nothing at all.
At the risk of sounding rude, our leaders need to grow balls and man up. They should stop this cowardice practice of accepting the first deal they are offered. They should stop being bullied into inacting policies that favor foreing governments, foreingn investors and a few of the elites but do nothing for the common man. They (the "leaders") have run out of excuses and we should be ashamed of letting them recycle the same excuses.
Another big problem is corruption which to me is the HIV of the government system. This is no way an insult to the 40 million people who suffer from it but the same way that HIV invites are whole swamp of other deseases so does corruption invite all other government ills such as poor leadership, poor management of resources, lack of compation for the people, unpatriotism, poor welfare programs, a poor educational system and so forth. Most of our governments are on life support and just a breath away from collapsing and that is why we keep seeing bankrupt governments, civil wars, coup de tats all over the continent.
What is important is not how much money one has but how well they manage it for even in order for a poor person to prosper he must save the little he has, invest wisely and live within his means. Our governments save nothing, make poor investement decisions and spend more on running the government (salaries, bonuses, per diems, travel expenses etc) than on developmental programs.
As a new generation of leaders step into the mantle of leadership we must ask ourselves what they put to the table. Are they students of history? Do they know what hasn't worked so far for the continent? What fresh ideas do they bring? What new qualities do they possess? Are they truly new or just old wine in a younder bottle? Regardless of what the old guard have done we can still learn from them. Like the Late, Great Nyerere said in 1995, governments should take the good of past regimes and leave the bad. So far we have been taking the bad and leaving the good but all that can change.
The century is still young and the grandchildren of the independence era are just coming of age. They are still opportunities to better ourselves, to improve our well being and promote a more vibrant continent. Everybody through their own positions should play their part. As much as we encourage the educated among us to take a leadership role inI moving our countries forward it is also important to realize that a nation is like a body and in order for the body to prosper all parts should be healthy so they can perform their duties. From the farmer in the rurest of rural areas and the high level government official, from the small vender in the streets to the powerful CEO in the office, from the young preparing to enter the work force to the olde leaving the work force, we all have an important role to play in this ecosystem of government whether we feel we have anything to do with governance or not.
It's true that history repeats itself. From the great Egyptian Kingdoms which gave as the pyramids to China and it's great wall, to ancient Greece end democracy to the power of the United States today. EVery continent has had its moment in the sun at some point in history. We the Africans living today may not see the day our continent takes it's rightful place in the world but we can be the start of an African renaissance, the same experienced by Europe in the 14th century. We can be the start of something great for the father does not labor for himself but for his children so let us today start working towards a better future for our children, grandchildren and Africans for generations to come. We will all eventually succumb to martality and our bodies will be no more but we call be immortalized like all the great names in history by leaving behind a legacy unrivaled like no other in the history of our continent.
MwanaFalsafa
How can a beggar sit on a golden chair and still beg for money? With all the resources we have that is exactly what we seem to be doing. We seem to not be able to negotiate fair deals for our own resources. What justifies a government policy to only take a 3% cut on it's own gold? What justifies giving a five year tax holiday to multinational companies who only leave or change names after the holiday expires? What justifies leasing land to foreign companies for a hundred year period? To me the answer is nothing, nothing at all.
At the risk of sounding rude, our leaders need to grow balls and man up. They should stop this cowardice practice of accepting the first deal they are offered. They should stop being bullied into inacting policies that favor foreing governments, foreingn investors and a few of the elites but do nothing for the common man. They (the "leaders") have run out of excuses and we should be ashamed of letting them recycle the same excuses.
Another big problem is corruption which to me is the HIV of the government system. This is no way an insult to the 40 million people who suffer from it but the same way that HIV invites are whole swamp of other deseases so does corruption invite all other government ills such as poor leadership, poor management of resources, lack of compation for the people, unpatriotism, poor welfare programs, a poor educational system and so forth. Most of our governments are on life support and just a breath away from collapsing and that is why we keep seeing bankrupt governments, civil wars, coup de tats all over the continent.
What is important is not how much money one has but how well they manage it for even in order for a poor person to prosper he must save the little he has, invest wisely and live within his means. Our governments save nothing, make poor investement decisions and spend more on running the government (salaries, bonuses, per diems, travel expenses etc) than on developmental programs.
As a new generation of leaders step into the mantle of leadership we must ask ourselves what they put to the table. Are they students of history? Do they know what hasn't worked so far for the continent? What fresh ideas do they bring? What new qualities do they possess? Are they truly new or just old wine in a younder bottle? Regardless of what the old guard have done we can still learn from them. Like the Late, Great Nyerere said in 1995, governments should take the good of past regimes and leave the bad. So far we have been taking the bad and leaving the good but all that can change.
The century is still young and the grandchildren of the independence era are just coming of age. They are still opportunities to better ourselves, to improve our well being and promote a more vibrant continent. Everybody through their own positions should play their part. As much as we encourage the educated among us to take a leadership role inI moving our countries forward it is also important to realize that a nation is like a body and in order for the body to prosper all parts should be healthy so they can perform their duties. From the farmer in the rurest of rural areas and the high level government official, from the small vender in the streets to the powerful CEO in the office, from the young preparing to enter the work force to the olde leaving the work force, we all have an important role to play in this ecosystem of government whether we feel we have anything to do with governance or not.
It's true that history repeats itself. From the great Egyptian Kingdoms which gave as the pyramids to China and it's great wall, to ancient Greece end democracy to the power of the United States today. EVery continent has had its moment in the sun at some point in history. We the Africans living today may not see the day our continent takes it's rightful place in the world but we can be the start of an African renaissance, the same experienced by Europe in the 14th century. We can be the start of something great for the father does not labor for himself but for his children so let us today start working towards a better future for our children, grandchildren and Africans for generations to come. We will all eventually succumb to martality and our bodies will be no more but we call be immortalized like all the great names in history by leaving behind a legacy unrivaled like no other in the history of our continent.
MwanaFalsafa
