AFRICA IN THE GLOBAL SPACE

Afrocentric, pragmatic steps Africa should take inorder to find her place in the global space

4/1/2013

In this note I outline a few Afrocentric pragmatic steps Africa as a continent can take in-order to find her place in the global context. In answering why Africa is poor today I state the fact; of the history of colonization, and the way it radically altered our tradition, and resources; the trans-Atlantic slave trade that heavily impacted Africa by the removal of energetic youthhuman resource; Unfair trade agreements with the west which keeps Africans poor and sends all the profits back to the big companies in the west and Neo colonialism imposing of economic, financial and trade policies to dominate less powerful countries. Resisting the urge to blame the capitalist and imperialist designs I also acknowledged the fact that our problems do not only come from across the seas but also from within the structures of current and past regimes. For example; poor leadership (bad governance) weak governing structures /institutions, inappropriate policies. Politics of exclusion and disengaged ideologies of postcolonial leadership. I outlined four steps Africa can take to free her-self from poverty. A Return to our history; according to President Mbeki, Africa has a great potential to compete internationally at the level of politics, economics, development and governance. And according to Bongmba (2004: 295) it is a rediscovery of the identity of Africa which has been distorted. Therefore a willingness to return on a journey of self-discovery will be fundamental towards emancipation. In a speech for SA-Mali Timbuktu Project Fundraising dinner Mr Mbeki emphasized that for our continent to take its rightful place in the history of humanity we need to shatter the misconceptions about the history of our continent. Leadership development; if the 21st century is to be Africa century for sustainable growth & economic development, urgent attention has to be paid to the development of appropriate leaders and leadership models (the fish rots from the head). Africa Needs Leadership that is based on Principles of value based leadership (Ubuntu) which includes ideals of humanism and human solidarity, compassion and service to others. Structural adjustment/reforms; there is an urgent need for current authorities in Africa to have policy formulation and implementation, within the structures and institutions that have the capacity to advance development and peoples efforts to realise their aspirations. As stated by President Mbeki during the TMALI orientation week 4th Feb 2013, one of Africas biggest problems is a case of weak institutions / governing structures. Many African internal organs are administratively dysfunctional and institutionally unstable. Establishment of centres of excellence; Massive investment must be directed towards centres of excellence as set out by the scientific Council of Africa in April 1967 endorsed by the OAU which had resolved on the establishment of centres of excellence in the disciplines of; geology, mineralogy, climatology, meteorology; tropical medicine and public health; electronics and hydrology. These skills harnessed can benefit the continent manage its resources, develop electronics products, invent and help Africa deal with changing weather patterns and help fight disease.

KD Maxwell is an esteemed student at Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute in Unisa.