Why Africa is Poor: the result of power-hungry dictators

Mills' hard-hitting book pulls no punches about Africa's condition. The first sentence of the introduction to his book, Why Africa is Poor: And What Africans Can Do About It, reads: “The main reason why Africa­’s people are poor is because their leaders have made this choice.” This sentence is repeated in the middle of the book. It is repeated again at the end of Mills’s conclusions. Could this insistent message be plainer? Or will Africa just continue to ignore the lessons of international reform as it suits them?

It reminds me of another book titled Africa: Dispatches from a Fragile Continent. (published in 1990), written by Blaine Harden of the Washington Post. In it he made the following observation:

There are countless reasons to despair for Africa. At the end of the 1980s, per capita income was lower than it was thirty years earlier. Seventy percent of the world’s poorest nations are in Africa. The region is slipping out of the Third World into its own bleak category: the Nth World.

Africa is the most successful producer of babies in recorded history and the world’s least successful producer of food

And, like Greg Mills, Harden blames Africa’s power-hungry dictators for the tragic state of affairs:

As I travelled around Africa, it was the vulnerability of Africans to the depredations of their own leaders that — more than famines and wars and poverty — sickened me most.

If you took a quarter-century worth of His Excellencies the African leader and tossed them in a blender, you would come up with a Big Man who looks like this:

His face is on the money. His photograph hangs in every office in his realm. His ministers wear gold pins with tiny photographs of him on the lapels of their tailored pin-striped suits. He names streets, football stadiums, hospitals, and universities after himself. He carries a silver-inlaid ivory mace, or an ornately carved walking stick or a fly whisk or a chiefly stool. He insists on being called “Doctor” or “conqueror” or “teacher” or “the big elephant” or “the number-one peasant” or “the most popular leader in the world.” His every pronouncement is reported on the front page. He sleeps with the wives and daughters of powerful men in his government. He shuffles ministers without warning, paralyzing policy decisions as he undercuts pretenders to his throne. He scapegoats minorities to shore up popular support. He bans all political parties except the one he controls. He rigs elections. He emasculates the courts. He cows the press. He stifles academia. He goes to church.

(p217, Blaine Harden, Africa – Dispatches from a Fragile Continent, 1993)

Mills’s book should be required reading for every South African cabinet minister, senior (and upcoming) government official, business leader — for everyone interested in the development of what the Economist some years ago called the “hopeless continent”.

Mills also discusses South Africa’s resistance to globalisation and generally Africa’s eagerness to attend the myriad international events to which its leaders are invited, instead of submitting strategic and detailed execution plans at these events.

“Africa has the biggest voting bloc in the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other such organisations,” Mills notes. “But what does it ‘trade’ its vote for? Help for Cuba and the Palestinians, blocking UN managerial reform, and manoeuvring around tougher action on Burma and Iran. None of this does one bit for Africa­ or for Africans outside of the New York diplomats, who revel in such posturing, or those leaders overwrought by their own anti-colonial complexes. Africa is often the subject of these meetings, but its leaders generally miss the point.

“As the collapse of the global trade talks in Geneva in 2008 showed, the WTO was perhaps the worst example. Led by South Africa, 40 African votes were locked together with China, India­ and Brazil, with the aim of resisting European and United States demands for the South American and South Asian giants to open their markets.

“Fine for them, but those same countries had as high — or higher — tariffs on African goods as the EU and U.S. did. If African votes in support of their positions had been exchanged for commitment from those countries to provide duty- and quota-free status to Africa (a small price for them to pay given the limited share Africa would gain in their markets), this position would have made sense . Instead, Africa sold its votes for some form of ‘South-South’ solidarity, without any return to serve its own interests. India, China and Brazil must laugh all the way to Geneva for every WTO session.”

For how much longer does Africa want to be known as the failed continent?

Consider this comment in The Times (UK) by a former Conservative MP and influential columnist, Matthew Parris, responding to the constant squeals from African leaders that the West are trying to recolonise them:

“Great powers aren’t interested in administering wild places any more, still less in settling them; just raping them. Black gangster governments sponsored by self-interested Asian or Western powers could become the central story in 21st-century African history. The continent is in many places run by outfits that resemble gangs rather than governments. You hardly need visit  … the gang’s territory … you simply give it support, munitions, bribes and protection to keep the roads and airports open and it pays you with access to resources. It is when China, then America, and perhaps even Russia or India follow, that the scramble for Africa will truly be resumed.”

Parris wrote that comment in April 2008.

"Yet it is within the power of African governments to make more civilised arrangements. Why don’t they do it?"

Surveying Africa’s record, Mills writes: “In a half-century of independence, Africa has not realised its potential. Instead, its greatest national assets have undermined its prosperity. Africa’s youth, far from being a huge source of talent and energy to be harnessed, are regarded as a destabilising force because they are largely unemployed and uneducated.

The principal problem with African economics is politics, and the choices that leaders make in the interests of their short-term expediency of staying in power and ensuring control."

Far from being the world's breadbasket, Africa's agriculture potential has similarly been squandered. Despite many African states possessing natural advantages, 35 of 48 sub-Saharan economies were net food importers at the end of the 2000s. Africa's share of world agricultural exports has halved since 1970, to under 4 percent.

If Africa's dismal economic performance can be put down to bad choices by African leaders, then we have to ask: Why have they made them?"

When African leaders read what further Mills has to say, they should squirm, because they know it applies to most of them: “Things are highly politicised in the small sense of the word — keeping matters in the party’s ambit, rather than true checks and balances on government.

Screw ABSA!

ABSA sucks... Since when did OUR money become THEIR wealth? Not any more! My money is out of ABSA! I am from tomorrow an ex Absa Private bank client ....... Boycott ABSA and their affiliates, do not support anything ABSA is a sponsor of! Action this as something you HAVE to do, because if you don't this kind of thing will simply not stop!

Today. Tomorrow. Never! Good riddance to pathetic service and ridiculous bank chargers

"Dear Absa..."

I am deeply concerned about the alleged discriminatory communications issued to Oregan Hoskins by my bank Absa. My money is obviously not good enough because of the colour of my skin and I have made the decision to move ALL of my accounts to another bank, a bank that puts all of its paying clients first. Absa uses our money to invest in sports like rugby and sponsor them and then have the cheek to shun and insult their white customers by demanding quicker transformation in rugby without addressing the real issues at hand.

Since when does a bank adopt a political stance in sport and interfered to score cheap political points from the government? I guess maybe it’s because they want their business, unlimited funds is an attractive client, and the government seem to have endless reams of cash? Who knows? What I do know is Absa is a BANK, not a political bargaining tool.

It is disgusting, and as a progressive thinking young person I am dismayed at Absa's poor foresight and lack of respect for its clients who are a mix of all races.

I may not be your biggest client, but I do know that all your little clients added together make up your biggest client and a lot of them are dismayed with your attitude towards them.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
We are 15 years into the transformation process and it is not working in business and in sport because there is not enough quantitative investment by government and private companies at the grass roots level. When I talk about investment, it’s not just about throwing money into something. It’s about investing time, and commitment for the long haul.

Young white kids like me grew up playing rugby; I was literally born with a rugby ball in my hands. You can’t just force black players into positions and by doing so ruin their careers, look at how many black players springbok careers have been destroyed because of transformation and coaches being forced to play players who just aren’t ready and haven’t had the correct sustained coaching and investment from a young age.

Do you think players like Fourie Dupreez woke up one day, went to a two week rugby coaching academy and was “transformed” into the best scrumhalf in world rugby? No, he has practised for hundreds and hundreds of hours from the age of 5 and fought hard to be at the top. Rugby is a religion to many of us and we are born into it.

Where are all the development clinics, and rugby facilities in poor areas? And I am not just talking about “fly by night” clinics and clubs that set themselves up to make a quick buck and then disappear with all of the investment capital in their pockets, I am talking about a professional sponsored model, similar to the Australian model that develops players at club level from a young age and is constantly monitored. What mechanisms are currently in place to monitor development?

Transformation needs to start at the beginning and work its way up to the top, and not the reversal which is what you are suggesting. Those black players that you want to see playing first class rugby need to be developed from 6 years old, they can’t just be created when they are 18, totally inexperienced and thrown to the lions. No pun intended.

So before blaming the unions and demanding certain transformation conditions for continued sponsorship, maybe it’s time to look at the causes of the symptoms that you are not happy with in SARU. Maybe it’s the sponsors that are putting their money in the wrong places and wanting the most exposure possible, so called bang for their bucks, after all nothing is free in this world.

Spare a thought for those white kids too young to know what discrimination against blacks was. Imagine being told you’re good enough, but not black enough. Try to make sense of that from a liberal perspective, and what resentments are planted in that young impressionable mind where there were none to begin with?

We forget sport is about winning. Sport has as much to do with politics, as Selebi has to do with scruples. We need the best players and coaches in order to win and remain competitive. And I am afraid to say being the best has nothing to do with the colour of your skin, it has to do with your abilities. If young black kids are not being developed properly it is not the fault of current white players selected on their abilities. These things take time, and as we can see we cannot force transformation from the top down.

Today, tomorrow, together….. remember?

Regards

Wayne G

Source: http://www.news24.com/MyNews24/YourStory/

The R4m luxury home Cele made you pay for

Official residence not good enough for top cop

The government spent R4.2-million buying and furnishing a plush home for police commissioner General Bheki Cele in an exclusive Pretoria suburb of Waterkloof after he turned his nose up at the official residence he was offered.

The house cost R3-million with transfer costs, and the SAPS forked out a staggering R1.2-million for luxury furnishings, including a R500000 home gym that is under construction.

Cele's new house in Waterkloof Ridge, Pretoria

The SAPS appears to have kept the costs of decorating Cele's house just below the R500000 level that would require a tender by splitting the invoices between goods and services. Lavish furnishings came to R499800, and the interior decorator was paid another R249900 for her services.

Documents show that while Cele was approving scaling back on services to poor communities in KwaZulu-Natal, his Waterkloof house was being fitted with every imaginable luxury. An approved Mirisa Interior quote includes:

• R8000 for upholstered queen chairs at the ends of an eight-seater wooden table;
  
• R12500 for a braai-area day bed;
  
• R5000 for a vase with artificial flowers;
  
• R11000 for a Mombasa King headboard and base set in the master bedroom;
  
• R27500 for three flat-screen TV sets, for the lounge and two bedrooms.
  

This extravagance is at odds with the image Cele presented in parliament last week. He told MPs he was determined to root out consultants who are "there to milk - that money is huge", and vowed to ensure his department's scarce resources were spent on fighting crime, especially in poorly serviced rural areas.

The home was bought - and paid for out of the SAPS budget - after Cele rejected a spacious house previously occupied by Asset Forfeiture Unit and Special Investigating Unit head, Willie Hofmeyr, in a secure police compound that would have cost taxpayers nothing.

This makes Cele South Africa's first police chief since the end of apartheid - and possibly the only civil servant at director-general level - for whom a new house has been bought.

Cele's predecessors, Jackie Selebi and George Fivaz, lived in privately owned homes.

Government policy does allow officials in the security forces to be provided with housing.

But a senior official in the Department of Public Service and Administration, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said this typically meant existing official accommodation, such as on a military base or police compound. "If a DG comes to live here (in Pretoria) from another province he must buy a property on his own," the official said.

"To the best of my knowledge there are no other DGs who have had houses bought for them."

This week, Cele said his procurement staff had to take the blame if there were any irregularities in buying and equipping his house. He stressed he did not own the house, and paid "rental" in the form of housing benefit deductions totalling R8968 a month.

But this rental payment would account for roughly only R800000 of the purchase price.

Cele argued that a plush interior was needed to entertain important guests. "If the head of Interpol visits me I don't want him to find me living in a shack or a house with one pot," he said.

Cele's legal adviser, Lieutenant-General Julius Molefe, said the free house previously occupied by Hofmeyr, which is inside a guarded police compound occupied by its elite unit, the Hawks, was not deemed suitable because of "serious security concerns".

It was also unfair to compare Cele with other top government officials. "He's not the DG of water affairs," said Molefe.

Cele also came under fire this week for approving a 10-year lease for more than R500-million at inflated rentals without going out tender to house the new police headquarters in a building owned by a friend of President Jacob Zuma's, Roux Shabangu. The deal forms part of an SIU investigation also covering two leases signed before Cele was appointed.

Today the Sunday Times can reveal the details of how Cele allegedly tried to strong-arm his generals into approving the Shabangu deals worth R1-billion. (see full story here) We were forced out because we questioned deals - generals - Times LIVE

Good stats, bad stats

by George Annandale

Seems we are really making progress in this great year that saw the great African event of the century, the Soccer World Cup, taking place right here in our country.

Hot on the heels of the World Cup, we are told that our murder rate is down. We now, collectively, murder only 46.3 people per day compared to 50.7 in the previous year.

That is not all. According to the Minister, all but one of the top ten violent criminals are in prison, the only exception being one Msilikathsi WaAfrica, a violent man who, according to the Minister, fought off an army of policemen and was only subdued once the Hawks, Budgies and Parrots stepped in to lend a hand in subduing him, after which he was brought to court where, unfortunately the case collapsed, probably as a result of corruption in the National Prosecuting Authority and he was released.

Happily it is not only the murder rate that is dropping; it seems life expectancy is also dropping rather sharply, from 65 years in 1995 to 47 years currently. It is no wonder then that health workers had to take a few days off, to celebrate this milestone and to demand a bit of monetary recognition for their efforts in controlling a rampant population growth rate.

Talking about flagging fortunes, our Universities are putting in some stellar performances in the race to achieve African standards with the highest ranked SA university, The University of Cape Town, dropping in world rankings from number 146 to position 164. No wonder a local professor inferred that, given the current deterioration rate, we should soon have our universities competing with the top high schools of the world.

Whilst the universities are making solid progress our basic education system has arrived. We are now officially ranked as the worst in Africa. No mean achievement I have you know.

We should however not rest on our laurels. If we can stop the striking teachers from sending their children to functioning former Model-C schools, we can still aim lower. Let us however not deny these teachers their just deserved praise; without their dedication to cultural pursuits such as strikes and boycotts and the commitment of several education ministers and the ANC to transform to African standards, we would never have reached this great point in our history.

However, like all great champions, this title should not be allowed to go to our heads. If we can get rid of the remaining Model-C dinosaurs and the private schools with their haughty teachers and all we can plunge depths never seen before.

As in all things, everything revolves around money. Money obtained from selling and trading things; things that have to be manufactured and produced competitively. Well; we shall not be disappointed.

Our efforts over the last 15 years are also being rewarded with the exhilarating, but not unexpected, news that South Africa has dropped nine places, from position 45 to 54, in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Ratings. For a few years now we have just seemed to have gotten ourselves stuck around 45; unable to achieve that critical break through.

Now finally – thanks to our remarkable education system, the relaxed disposition of our workers and a shift away from old western styled business leadership, we have finally dropped through that barrier that, to some, must have what seemed like a solid wall of burning tyres.

The country’s most famous polygamist, father for the 22nd time - pregnant fiancée, wife N0.6, bride-in-waiting! Taxpayers (“suckers”) to foot the bill

South Africa's polygamous president, Jacob Zuma, is to become a father for the 22nd time following news that his fiancée is pregnant.

Jacob Zuma, Gloria Bongi Ngema.

Bongiwe Gloria Ngema, who recently accompanied Jacob Zuma on a state visit to China, is expecting a child early next year, according to media reports citing her close friends. The pair already have one child and are due to marry in December, which will bring to four the number of South Africa's First Ladies.

Reports of the pregnancy comes only a fortnight after the arrival of Mr Zuma's 21st child, which was born to the second of his current wives.

The boy, named Manqoba Kholwani which means "believe it", arrived amid claims that he could be the result of an affair between his mother and her bodyguard. The president has dismissed the claims as malicious rumours.

Now aged 68, Zuma has faced repeated calls to live a quieter life and devote more of his energies to leading his country out of the griding poverty which confronts the majority of the population.

Zuma's advisers insist that, as a proud Zulu, his culture permits him to have as many children as he wants with as many partners as he likes. However, the president was forced to make a humiliating apology earlier this year following the birth, out of wedlock, of his 20th child to the daughter of a family friend.

While polygamy is accepted in South Africa, the spiralling cost to the taxpayer of Zuma's cultural observance has led to bitter clashes between the president's ruling African National Congress and the leading opposition party. News of yet another child and another marriage is bound to reignite the debate.

Taxpayers are already spending more than R15.5m a year to support Zuma's current wives and some of his children. Generous friends are also known to help "sponsor" additional costs which do not have to be declared in public.

The "presidential spousal budget", which had doubled in the space of a year, was condemned as "exorbitant" by the opposition leader, Helen Zille. This prompted a sharp riposte from the ANC which accused Zille of "cultural intolerance".

The spousal office, which organises access to the president for his wives and fiancée, also pays for the women's personal support staff, such as secretaries and researchers, as well as domestic and international air travel and accommodation.

Mobile phones for the consorts and their secretaries, laptops and printers and a special daily allowance for "incidental" expenses are also covered.

"It is impossible for anyone, even on a president's salary, to look after a family of the size of Zuma's without relying extensively on private benefactors and the taxpayers' money," Zille said.

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk