Dumisani O Nkomo: REVERSE RASICM

Dumisani O Nkomo: REVERSE RASICM: REVERSE RASICM IS WRONG There is a somewhat misplaced belief amongst us as blacks that racism is alright as long as we are the ones that pr...

REVERSE RASICM

REVERSE RASICM IS WRONG There is a somewhat misplaced belief amongst us as blacks that racism is alright as long as we are the ones that practise it and we are not the ones that have it practised upon us . Recently the Southern Eye carried a story on how Maleme Ranch has been targeted by a government official for takeover barely a few months after David Connolly had his farm being taken over by another leading government official who up to then was a respectable bureaucrat . Nobody in their right mind opposes the land reform process as it has been done to reverse the injustices of processes such as the Lippert Concessions ,the Rudd Concession and the Land Tenure Act which reduced blacks to paupers in their own land . This however does not give us the licence to substitute the blatant racism and fascism of the colonialists with our own brand of Africanized racism which alienates whites ,Asians ,Coloureds and people of other races . It is public record that the Cunninghams who own Maleme Ranch are a rare breed of people who have done more for the country and indeed more for black people than many kleptocrats in the higher echelons of power some of whom have made corruption a glorified national institution .The Ranch houses Shalom Campsite which has benefitted thousands of children and youths from the eighties through church and Scripture Union Camps . The Ranch also has an agricultural training centre and a project to empower local communities through chicken and ostrich out grower schemes has been done .A significant proportion of the ranch [ almost 1,000 hectares ] has already been ceded to the community for grazing out of a total of around 2,500 hectares . Indeed it would be sad if we allowed racism to blind both our vision and our judgement .Section 289 of the constitution actually grants every Zimbabwean regardless of race or colour .The letter and spirit of the constitution is therefore to address historical imbalances in land distribution whilst at the same ensuring that reverse racism is not practiced by alienating minorities .Every Zimbabwean has a right to land and indeed even this writer who has for many years sought legal ,moral and ethical ways of purchasing ,acquiring or leasing land as constitutionally provided . The issue of colour should not be the sole determinant of land apportionment as there are many productive white farmers who have actually worked well with black communities .The country will actually be better off if there were partnerships between New Farmers and established farmers . This is what was envisioned in Joshua Nkomo and ZAPU’S vision document “The New Zimbabwe :which was published after independence providing a framework for productive re organization of land without spreading poverty but emphasizing partnerships and wealth creation . There are many white people such as Judith Todd ,Jeremy and Paul Brickhill that contributed to the liberation of this country .Judith Todd the daughter to former Southern African Prime Minister Garfield Todd actually started speaking against white tyranny in the early sixties . Jeremy Brickhill joined ZAPU’s intelligence wing during the struggle whilst his brother the late Paul Brickhill was part of Umkhonto We Sizwe and ZAPU .David Coltart contributed immensely to the revitalization of the education sector and made sure that there textbooks in every school .The president rightfully credited him with the hosting of the Youth Games in Bulawayo and the Sports minister Andrew Langa was also gracious enough to acknowledge Coltart’s efforts by extending a red carpet to the former minister .The late Eric Bloch was one person i knew was committed to the country and whenever we called upon him to attend a meeting or deliver a speech he never disappointed and only declined if it clashed with his beloved Jewish Sabbath .We also have outstanding people from the Indian community such as the Narans ,the Desais[ we called them desires ] and the Naiks who aided the armed struggle . We need to build a new Zimbabwe which is not based on hatred but on love ,liberty and diversity .As Joshua Nkomo said “we do not seek to bring down Brown ,but to lift up Ndlovu so that they are equal “.

Reverse Rasicm

REVERSE RASICM IS WRONG There is a somewhat misplaced belief amongst us as blacks that racism is alright as long as we are the ones that practise it and we are not the ones that have it practised upon us . Recently the Southern Eye carried a story on how Maleme Ranch has been targeted by a government official for takeover barely a few months after David Connolly had his farm being taken over by another leading government official who up to then was a respectable bureaucrat . Nobody in their right mind opposes the land reform process as it has been done to reverse the injustices of processes such as the Lippert Concessions ,the Rudd Concession and the Land Tenure Act which reduced blacks to paupers in their own land . This however does not give us the licence to substitute the blatant racism and fascism of the colonialists with our own brand of Africanized racism which alienates whites ,Asians ,Coloureds and people of other races . It is public record that the Cunninghams who own Maleme Ranch are a rare breed of people who have done more for the country and indeed more for black people than many kleptocrats in the higher echelons of power some of whom have made corruption a glorified national institution .The Ranch houses Shalom Campsite which has benefitted thousands of children and youths from the eighties through church and Scripture Union Camps . The Ranch also has an agricultural training centre and a project to empower local communities through chicken and ostrich out grower schemes has been done .A significant proportion of the ranch [ almost 1,000 hectares ] has already been ceded to the community for grazing out of a total of around 2,500 hectares . Indeed it would be sad if we allowed racism to blind both our vision and our judgement .Section 289 of the constitution actually grants every Zimbabwean regardless of race or colour .The letter and spirit of the constitution is therefore to address historical imbalances in land distribution whilst at the same ensuring that reverse racism is not practiced by alienating minorities .Every Zimbabwean has a right to land and indeed even this writer who has for many years sought legal ,moral and ethical ways of purchasing ,acquiring or leasing land as constitutionally provided . The issue of colour should not be the sole determinant of land apportionment as there are many productive white farmers who have actually worked well with black communities .The country will actually be better off if there were partnerships between New Farmers and established farmers . This is what was envisioned in Joshua Nkomo and ZAPU’S vision document “The New Zimbabwe :which was published after independence providing a framework for productive re organization of land without spreading poverty but emphasizing partnerships and wealth creation . There are many white people such as Judith Todd ,Jeremy and Paul Brickhill that contributed to the liberation of this country .Judith Todd the daughter to former Southern African Prime Minister Garfield Todd actually started speaking against white tyranny in the early sixties . Jeremy Brickhill joined ZAPU’s intelligence wing during the struggle whilst his brother the late Paul Brickhill was part of Umkhonto We Sizwe and ZAPU .David Coltart contributed immensely to the revitalization of the education sector and made sure that there textbooks in every school .The president rightfully credited him with the hosting of the Youth Games in Bulawayo and the Sports minister Andrew Langa was also gracious enough to acknowledge Coltart’s efforts by extending a red carpet to the former minister .The late Eric Bloch was one person i knew was committed to the country and whenever we called upon him to attend a meeting or deliver a speech he never disappointed and only declined if it clashed with his beloved Jewish Sabbath .We also have outstanding people from the Indian community such as the Narans ,the Desais[ we called them desires ] and the Naiks who aided the armed struggle . We need to build a new Zimbabwe which is not based on hatred but on love ,liberty and diversity .As Joshua Nkomo said “we do not seek to bring down Brown ,but to lift up Ndlovu so that they are equal “.

Africa

AFRICA – The CHALLENGES OF GLOBALIZATION ? One of the biggest challenges that the continent has faced since time the slave trade days is the enormous challenge of the net loss or exportation of human resources .Today thousands of Africa’s best engineers ,lawyers ,scientists ,economists are no longer resident in Africa but are found in the capitals of France ,the United States of America ,Canada and the United Kingdom .How will Africa deal with the brain drain issue and how can the continent cope with rapid globalization and the diminishing strength of geographic nation states . Functional Illiteracy There is no debate or question about the incredible human talent that the continent possesses in abundance from Cape to Cairo .Historically and currently Africa has always had brilliant leaders blessed with academic acumen and with quite a number including the Zimbabwean head of state boasting of a string of degrees .In fact the first government of independent Zimbabwe had than more than 10 P.h.d holders .The problem of Africa is therefore not academic poverty but the failure to convert that knowledge ,intellect and academic energy into practical socio economic development .African scholarship and academic leadership is useless as long as it does not result in the transformation of the standards of living of the people of Africa .Prominent African scholar George Ayitey opined that the problem of Africa is that of functional illiteracy which he defined as the failure to translate academic or technical knowledge to practical action .He eloquently argues that Africa has more than enough Professors ,Doctors ,universities and academic debates but what is lacking is praxis .The tragedy today is that Africa is not taking enough time to reflect but it continues to mass produce graduates who at times are not able to interrogate and improve their conditions .I am not against the building of more universities but what is more critical is the quality ,relevance and craft competence of the people produced . The Global Village One of the most critical challenges the continent faces is that of rapid globalization and digitalization contrasted against slow regional and continental integration .Vertical integration a result of technological advances makes it easier for a company or individual in Mutare ,Zimbabwe to order a lap top from E bay or a car from Japan without even thinking twice or blinking ,without considering a similar product in South Africa or elsewhere .The advent of information communication technology has made it easier for African countries to trade with Europe or Brazil ,Russia ,India [the Brics] and the United States of America at the expense of lateral trade relations with each other . Capital and good can be moved from one part of the planet to another at the mere click of a button and the fact that the continent still continues to lag behind in terms of the digital gap means that the continent is paced at a great disadvantage .Geographical location in this age of technology is important but but the reality of globalization is that what is more important is harnessing of Information Communication Technology and bridging the digital gap . A Virtual Continent We need to start imaging Africa not just as a geographic space but also as a virtual concept which embraces Africans in the Diaspora as part of the socio economic development of the continent .Africa as a virtual concept would bring on board African scholars ,scientists ,entrepreneurs and social scientists where ever they may be .We do not need to have them to be physically in Africa but we can still benefit from their skills , ideas ,research and innovation through information communication platforms .Some may argue that these people are not tax payers or rate payers but empirical evidence suggests that remittances from the Diaspora accounts for a significant proportion of revenue in African countries . Africa can still benefit from the creativity ,innovation and scientific pace of Africans beyond the borders of the continent .In addition African scholars and leaders need to practical leadership .Importantly the continent should build a strong scientific and technological base .Africa centric innovations which are of global relevance need to be encouraged . The Global Citizen Next week i will dwell on the phenomenon of the African global citizen as a new concept which needs to be understood and managed . Let us start re imagining Africa !

Africa Rich Yet Poor Part two

Africa So Rich and Yet So Poor Part Two This week i continue with my discourse on the oxymoronic nature of Africa , a continent so rich and yet so poor . Just as a means of comparison British Premier Football League clubs spent over 843,000 pounds [roughly over 1,2 billion U.S] during this transfer window in signing on fees for new players .This is over half of the 2 billion dollars that China has promised Africa through an African Development Bank facility through which critical development projects will be financed .Africa does have the potential to be a powerhouse but the reality is that currently the continent has to overcome a number of debilitating challenges in order to realize its potential . Civil War and Terror The continent has had to spend more time resolving conflicts than on economic development and just when it appeared that southern Africa was becoming a haven of peace the military in Lesotho thought otherwise with a coup that ditched the constitutionally legitimate government of the mountain kingdom .Civil conflict in Libya ,the Central African Republic and the terrorist threat of Boko Harram and El Shabab continue to be thorn in the flesh in Nigerai and Somalia .The Arab spring appears to have been inconclusive in solving governance challenges in Egypt and Libya .These conflicts have severely affected the ability of African countries to focus on economic development .The scourge of Ebola in West Africa has added to the plethora of challenges that the continent faces .It is however important for Africa to remind itself of the pledge that African leaders made in 2001 through the New Africa for Africa’s Development document which states “Across the continent ,Africans declare that we will no longer allow ourselves to be conditioned by circumstance .We will determine our own destiny and call on the rest of the world to complement our efforts “ Thirteen years later Africa appears to have forgotten this pledge and once again we find ourselves continuously being conditioned by our circumstances . Victimise The victim narrative which has pervaded the discourse of even the best African leaders and scholars needs to be replaced by a pro active actions premised on what Africa can do for itself not what the world can do for Africa . It is folly to continue to blame colonialism or neo colonialism for the under development in Africa even though these twin evil have contributed immensely to the historical impoverishment of the continent .Which country for example did Iceland colonize or indeed Sweden ,Norway or Denmark .These countries did not colonize any African country and yet their economies are comparatively far more diverse and stable than most of African economies . Infrastructural Development The NEPAD document of 20001 correctly identified regional infrastructural development as a frontier of African growth and development .Africa needs to invest in the development of energy ,water ,road and rail infrastructure at regional level so as to catalyze economic development and investment thereby creating jobs and opportunities for her people .These infrastructural projects need to be carried out at regional and sub regional level so as to broaden the productive and market base of the continent .Funding for such initiates’ could take the form of the following : 1.Private sector investment in infrastructure and principally exploration of various models of private –public partnerships including Build Own Operate [B.OT],Build Operate and Own[B.O.O.] ,Build Own Operate and Transfer [B.O.OT] . African countries need to create the necessary enabling regulatory frameworks to make this a reality . 2.Africa Development Bank – the Africa development Bank could play a key role in the financing of huge sub regional infrastructural projects .The Chinese government has already unveiled a facility with the bank to fund projects in Africa as of 2014 . 3.World Bank and Multilateral Institutions The World Bank is providing some funding for the 14 billion dollar Inga 111 dam in the Democratic Republic of Congo which is expected to provide electricity for other southern African countries such as South Africa and potentially Zambia and Zimbabwe[ The Africa Report ,July 2014 ].There is need for such regional energy and transport infrastructure projects in Africa . Mozambique is currently sitting on some of the world’s best coal reserves in terms of quality but the poor transport infrastructure in the country is hindering optimum utilization of the mineral . The imperative of infrastructural development is undergirded in the N.E.PA.D blueprint of 2001 which notes that “energy ,transport ,telecommunications and water projects are crucial to Africa’s integrated development “.The challenge of infrastructural development cannot and should not be ignored but there are also issues of funding countries or institutions gaining more from the infrastructural projects than the actual “beneficiary” countries .This has been the case with the Chinese “infrastructure for minerals approach where African countries have lost more than what they have gained through poorly negotiated deals which have seen African countries having infrastructure built but largely by Chinese companies using Chinese labour and at the end of the day very little money finding its way into the African countries . In spite of these multi faceted challenges yes Africa can make it Mayibuye !

Africa so rich yet so poor

Africa – Why Are We So Poor and Yet So Rich? The greatest challenge facing Africa is its oxymoronic economic state where the continent on one had boasts of unequalled natural resource endowment and yet on the other hand the continent continues to labour under the yoke of poverty and under development .Interestingly according to a paper produced by Trust Africa on “Illicit Financial Flows “Africa has lost between $1,2 trillion to $1,4 trillion in a thirty year period from 1980 to 2009 . This is in spite of the fact that Africa contributes almost 42% of the worlds gold reserves not to mention a significant proportion of the world’s diamond ,chrome and platinum deposits .In spite of this Africa continues to suffer the indecency of poor human development indicators such as lack of access to health ,education ,,water and even basic food security .Why is Africa so rich and yet so poor? Lessons From the Bible The Christian bible tells of an interesting episode in the history of the nation of Israel when there was not a single “blacksmith in Israel “”because the Philistines feared that if the Israelites had their own blacksmiths they would make their own weapons .The net result of the lack of blacksmiths was that the Israelites went to their “rivals “ to have their “agricultural implements sharpened “. The key lesson here is that any nation or any group of nations that does not have the technology or means of processing their own raw materials will remain forever a slave to other nations .This brings to the fore some key imperatives for African countries namely : 1.Beneficiation and value addition- This is not a revelation as African activists from the time of Patrcie Lumumbu and Nkwame Nkrumah have been harping on the importance of Africa producing finished products instead of exporting raw materials to the North or is it West and then re importing finished goods from the same countries at a higher prices .Some 60 years later after numerous heads of state summits ,regional SADC ,ECOWAS ,COMESA and African Union Summits there has been a spectacular failure to translate the language of Pan African economic renaissance from the mumbo jumbo of rhetoric into practical action . The imperative of value addition is noted in the Zimbabwe Government’s ZIMASSET policy blueprint and more recently at the SADC heads of state and government’s summit it was a key motif . 2.Curbing Illicit Financial Outflows The SADC Peoples’ Summit hosted by the Southern Africa People’s Solidarity Network [ a consortium of civil society organizations] met in Bulawayo recently and robustly proposed that African nations needed to curb the “illicit financial flows from Southern Africa “ .Importantly it must be noted that the amount of money which southern Africa and generally Africa loses as a result of illicit outflows is much more than what Africa seeks in aid .In effect Africa is like a man who carries a huge bag which has gold and diamonds and every treasure imaginable .However the bag has a huge hole and the man keeps on losing his treasure .Instead of fixing the hole ,the man begs for money from his neighbours to get food for his family .What an irony and what a tragedy ?There is need for African countries to ensure that leakages are plugged through tighter revenue collection mechanisms and anti corruption structures .Sadly it is not just multi national corporations that contribute to the illicit outflows of finances from Africa but also corrupt African leaders many of whom have more money in European capitals than in their home countries . Regional Integration I feel it is critical for African countries to expedite regional integration through Regional Economic Groupings {R.E.G.’s] such as SADC ,ECOWAS and COMESA .Traditionally these groupings have been too immersed in issues of politics and security at the detriment of economic development and integration . It is critical for regional economic integration to be prioritized so that African countries do not compete against each other for markets but are able to harness their collective potential and thus collect a larger economic dividend through greater leverage .Currently most African countries do not have the leverage to negotiate with both western and Chinese companies and institutions because of a lack of harmonized regional markets and processes .Imagine Zimbabwe ,Zambia and Mozambique as individual countries trying to compete with the European Union which already has a common currency and political level political structures and systems . Regional Economic Development Projects It is imperative for Southern Africa in general and southern Africa to vigorously explore the formulation of regional ,sub regional and continental infrastructure projects so as to ensure even economic development and greater value for capital and investment . Such projects should focus on energy ,water ,transport and extractives .Funding models could be premised on Private Public Partnerships which are well articulated in the New Partnership For Africa Development [NEPAD 2001] blueprint ] . A good example of such projects is the West Africa Power Pool [WAPP[ which seeks to create a regional electricity market for west African countries by ensuring that countries in ECOWAS have critical energy infrastructure .Quite possibly the Zambezi Water Project could be viewed a regional project that could also benefit Botswana and Zambia amongst other countries .This would ensure a broader funding /investment foundation with greater social and economic returns .Regional integration will fail as long as there is uneven infrastructural development within lets say SADC countries as it would then be difficult for good and services to move within the region due to poor road or rail infrastructure . Africa also needs innovative leaders who are not stuck in history or steeped in the politics of blame and corruption . Mayibuye

africans as Global citizens

Africa –The Age Of The Global Citizen The tremendous strides in information communication technology has literally revolutionized the manner in which individuals ,corparates and states go about their business .We now have mobile banking ,electronic commerce , e – commerce ,e governance ,internet banking and it has become possible to do business without physically travelling thousands of kilometres of to seal a deal .Nation states which are traditionally defined by territory ,population ,geographic borders and government now have to manage the unstoppable phenomenon of globalization which is transforming people and institutions into global citizens who are only limited by geography in their socio economic and political activities . Global Media It is a fact that most Zimbabweans and indeed Swazis and Sothos have more access to South African television channels than their own media content .Conversely the influence of international news agencies such as Al Jaazeera ,C.N.A. ,France 24 ,B.B.C and to a lesser extent E .T.V and S.A.B.C is much more profound than of local news stations .The failure of the country [Zimbabwe ]to rapidly liberalize the airwaves has meant that people have managed to access independent media on their own without the assistance of the state .Globalization and the impact of satellite T.V cannot be limited in this day and age and politicians have to understand that even if they limit people’s choices to “independent “or “private T.V and radio stations at a national level there will always be international media alternatives .The rapid rise of the internet and the “citizen journalist ‘ also renders efforts at censorship pointless as people now have unlimited access to information through the internet . It is estimated that over 8 million Zimbabweans have access to mobile phones and literally this means every other person excluding babies and small children have mobile phones . Increasingly most phones have access to the internet and thus access to global social connections through face book ,what ‘s app or twitter [ albeit to a lesser extent ]. In countries such as Uganda and Kenya mobile technology has had a profound impact on agro business with mobile applications being developed to suit the needs of farmers in those countries .In the last four years we have also seen how social media literally catalyzed the demise of regimes in Tunisia ,Libya and Egypt although the problems in those countries are far from over .Only China has managed to effectively control internet traffic through the state’s superior coercive superstructure . The Global Citizen Today’s young person is only limited by geographic boundaries , a factor which is increasingly under threat because a person can wake up in the morning and greet face book friend in Ghana ,tweet to a hundred people in the U.K ,and send a what’s app message to another person in Canada .The very same person can spend one year without seeing their uncle in Magwegwe or Gwanda but be in more regular contact with somebody in Canada or Dubai .Business can be conducted through Skype calls or Skype conferences hence reducing the gap between people in different countries . Global Citizen and Sports Why is it that on a Monday morning you are more likely to hear a heated debate about how Manchester United ,Liverpool ,Arsenal or Chelsea performed rather than how Highlanders F.C or Dynamos ,Kaiser Chiefs or Green Buffaloes[ can a buffalo be actually Green] performed ?.Its all about globalization and not necessarily the fact that our local soccer is dying [ although it is ] .It is a function of global culture and access to information .That is why it is possible today for someone to tell you the whole Real Madrid or Barcelona line up and not know a single CAPS United or F.C Chiredzi player . It is not lack patriotism it is just the manner in which the world is rapidly metamorphosing and at the slow pace of integration of I .C.T ‘s in sport ,music ,art ,development ,governance and literally everything in Africa .At the click of a button you can Google any player or any team from Europe and you will have access to updated information through well maintained websites and spaces .We cannot say the same for government ministries , soccer teams and so forth in Africa Zimbabwe in particular . We are still holding on to information dearly as sacrosanct when the world has moved on and left us in the sanctuary of a latter day “stone age “. African individuals however still have access to information about global music ,film , sports ,political or business icons and thus it becomes easier for them to identify with them .It is not just about patriotism but the imperative of ensuring that African entities be they corporate , political ,artistic or sport ensure are techno centric in their approach or else Africa will become irrelevant to its own people who have become ‘global citizens only limited by time zones and geographical locations .