Thanks to all those who are checking me out.
The idea of this blog is not to continue the negative narrative about Africa. There are enough outlets for that.
What I hope to do here is for us Africans to understand the crisis, our economic crisis, own it and find solutions that solve the problems that African nations are grappling with.
I would like to find out what is being done in Tanzania, Zambia, Mali, Nigeria, Cape Verde, Tchad, because while we are considered all the same by external partners...for convenience purposes, the reality is different on the ground.
While some African countries turning the corner, although this is still not enough. We still have coup d'etats, massive corruptions, destroyed healthcare and education systems...and that is not a narrative of the West but a reality on the ground...
Miss Amoyo's "Dead Aid" a great reading, present in a very straight forward way one view of how we the "Generation du concret" as Mr. Wade would name it can impact the future of our nations, well I would like to offer those of you whom are passionate about the continent but do not have access to the special rooms and insight on what is discussed there and with that information, how to approach the problems and fix what we can fix.\
So bring us your facts, perspectives, anecdotes, and solutions. We must share ideas, collaborate and call foul if we see it.
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Initiatives as such show that there is room for hope!
ReplyDeleteOne of the problems in the general discourse regarding African issues is that we seem to generalize the problems, thus generalizing the solutions. I appreciate that a different approach is promoted in this blog. However, wouldn't it be productive to also adopt a more "authentic" approach in how we are addressing these issues. In terms of how we perceive and receive information; our perspective and ideas are molded by the western development agencies, western forums (G8, G20) and other western think thanks, while the African perspective is totally ignored. We are told what to think and how to solve our own issues. Isn't that part of the problem?
Take for example the case of Botswana, who has challenged the sacro-saint principles of the Bretton woods institutions and formulated its own development policy... scholars refer to it as the African miracle! What was the response of the world bank and its consortium? Most importantly, have African countries taken notice?
In one of the posts, there was a mention of reforms and the lack of implementation. What and whose reforms? The post went on to suggest that laws are passed but the concrete follow-ups are non-existent - true! But these laws that are passed and geared toward reforms, are they even understood by their authors? Or are they simply the result of dictations by "higher" entities? The same ones that want to address the global crisis with one magic formula?
I am going on about this just to introduce the idea that we need to configure our solutions in accordance to our needs and not the needs of others. We need to go beyond the concession of the PRSP's and tackle the issues from an angle that is more to our understanding and our liking.
Further discussions, if time allows, will try to address the issue of integration since my dear brother has an inclination for the UMEOA; i will also touch base on political issues (area of expertise) and will follow the flow as the blogger continues to give us more info and articles.
Thanks Joseph for bringing up the point about perspective...It is a very good point..I will do my best to bring in as many perspectives as possible as to enrich your experience here.
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