Just listen!
Bornwell Mwewa in Zambia
The image
of Africa as the ‘sore thumb’ of humanity is not about to change. The
world scenario is little different since Tony Blair came to power, nor
even since Bob Geldof staged his Live Aid concert for Ethiopia 20 years
ago. In fact, instead of improving, the continent – according to world
economic indicators – has become even more deeply embedded at the
bottom of the world’s poverty scale.
So, will Mr Blair’s initiative, through the establishment of the Commission for Africa, really help to provide the coherent policies needed to accelerate the continent’s progress towards a strong and prosperous future? The truth of the matter is that Africa’s current problems of disease, poverty and conflict are usually complicated by ‘attention diverting interventions’ from foreign powers. The unspoken assumption, which is obnoxious, is that Africans do not know what is good for them. They therefore receive with both hands whatever priorities are made for them by the developed north.
One might wonder why African leaders and opinion makers fail to clearly articulate the continent’s priorities and why they readily accept the policies from the West which exploit rather than enrich the people. The answer is a reflection of the long years of the slave trade and colonization which broke down the pride and self determination of Africans. To make matters worse, the industrialized north does not seem to really accept Africa’s independence and they are therefore always looking for ways in which to influence the way Africa develops.
It is interesting that, for all its problems, Africa still remains a world producer of many natural resources and raw materials for the industries in the north and the Far East. The proceeds of Africa’s vibrant raw material industry are not controlled by Africa and have little or no reflection on the lives of the citizens of Africa.
Yes Africa needs fair trade with the north; yes Africa needs total debt cancellation; yes Africa needs development aid; and yes Africa needs support in conflict resolution. Right now though, the G8 may argue that they are doing most of this in several interventions. Maybe they are, but the problem is that all such interventions are prescribed by the developed north who then export technocrats from their countries to implement these interventions in Africa.
If the Commission for Africa hopes to be different, and achieve what several other commissions and international intervention into Africa have not, they must develop a listening ear: to listen to the Africans themselves and understand how they would like to develop their continent; to give the continent its true liberation; and to support interventions developed and implemented by Africans.
The panacea to Africa’s ills is within Africa and can only be administered by Africans. The Commission must be careful not to extend the dependency syndrome of Africa on foreign powers. No amount of money can cure Africa if its citizens are not part of the processes that administer the salvation.
The commission needs to transform itself into an institution that will advocate for Africa, it needs to take on board more Africans, it needs to sit in Africa and ask Africans, all Africans, not only leaders their ideas.
Whatever happens, it is commendable that Tony Blair has taken time to think about Africa. I hope he and the others will now listen.
Bornwell Mwewa is a development worker in Lusaka, with OneWorld Africa (OWA)