FW: TO LIVE OR TO PERISH: A Response to Dr Motsoko Pheko, Johannesburg, Southern Africa
Self-Help News
End of Year Editorial
At the Eve of 2016, as our New Year Statement, our Collective adopts both expositions below, prepared by Afrikan Minds – Dr Motsoko Pheko of South Africa and the Afrika and Diaspora Institute (Adi), a think tank of significance.
Truth glows in the darkness of deceptions. The works give clear Indications of Afrika and Afrikan journey from the 19th and 20th centuries, to current plight of the African Race in the 21st Century. There is a reaching out by an aware, strong and growing global collective, to identify new, creative, applicable and effective strategies for alleviation, in spite of daily challenges. Many are seeing more clearly and understanding the critical need to work with others truthfully and collectively, irrespective of race, ethnicity, gender, religion and individual orientations, and make necessary sacrifices, to bring about mutually beneficial and desired results. It would seem that the whirlwind is now with us and we cannot avoid it.
Editorial Collective
Self-Help News – “Giving Voice to the Voiceless”
From: Afrika and Diaspora Institute [mailto:a...@ubol.com]
Sent: 31 December 2015 03:02
To: 'Mandlenkosi Phangwa' <phangwama...@gmail.com>; panafrican...@googlegroups.com
Cc: amen...@aol.com; selfhe...@ubol.com
Subject: RE:A Response to The keynote address by Dr Motsoko Pheko to the Open Society and Initiative for Southern Africa in Johannesburg
Greetings, Dr Pheko, Mandlenkosi and Pan-African Federalists,
“Fifteen years into the 21st century African people are victims of lack of service delivery, corruption in high places and intensified looting of Africa's riches by foreign powers. There is deepening poverty, with consequences of short life expectancy and highest child mortality among the majority African population.” - By Dr. Motsoko Pheko
We are responding to Dr Motsoko Pheko’s salient, powerful and poignant speech, which is a welcome reminder of the Afrikan Race continued dilemma, even in the twenty first century. The Afrika and Diaspora Institute And our Collective Associates, welcome the consistency of Afrikan voice and tone on this crucial matter of Afrikan Unity. Not only those on the Continent of Africa, but also those abroad. This must also emphasised. If not, that would also be a type potential for the perpetuation of Afrikan disunity. All our horses must pull in the same direction.
A great deal has been written during the past year, with passion, depth and significance. Yet, what is likely to be remembered by most is that none of these gave any clear indication that Global Afrika's conditions had changed in any meaningful and lasting ways, in order to assert impactful influences on world affairs. And there is no known collective plan for that conditions to change anytime soon, partly because of Afrika and Diaspora endemic and stubborn balkanisations in mind, theologies, states and geography.
We hope that this truth will act like a powerful driver of Afrikans, as defined by DNA, whatever our geographical locations, and our Time-tested Friends, to consider the impact of current realities, and take necessary actions at all levels to hasten Afrikan Inevitability.
As it was with Dr Pheko’s speech, we read Minister P.D. Menelik, WADU Co-Founder, recent posting, 14 December 2015 02:56, with significant interest. It read, in part, like a road map detailing levels of continuity and consistency, of our Afrikan resistance to injustices and oppressions, in spite of generational challenges and setbacks, during the period. Many contemporary Pan-Afrikan thinkers and writers seem to be on the defensive, some in fear of a modern type of 'African enslavement'. The question was put "Why are Africans caste as victims?" Are we not a Race, like other races.
Why should we allow ourselves to be 'enslaved' in any form, by anyone during our current Era? Why are we not enslaving others? Is it because we are weak and incapable and of low intellectual values? Why are we not in the high scrum, independent, self-sustaining, competing and overcoming other races as they did to us in the past? Is it that we fear torture, imprisonment and death? This is a definably 'no', as we are 'tortured, imprisoned and die daily, even without fighting for any cause whatsoever. We heard a quote recently which said, "African-Americans murdered far more of themselves daily that the KKK would ever wished to do, if they had a chance. So fear of death is not the issue."
Climbing on a non-sea worthy overcrowded dinghy on the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas and later drowned in their thousands with their dying hope to get to Europe and other foreign lands, many of whose people objected to their entering their countries, also demonstrated a certain kind of Afrikan courage. And so, how do we answer the question - 'why are we not sacrificing and dying meaningfully for Afrikan long-term Cause, at the same rate and consistency as we are murdered by others and ourselves?'
The term 'Radical Islam' has been regular headline news stories in world media. Many, who say that they are Muslims, planned, planning, fought, fighting, died and dying for their Cause. Many of whom were and are poor unskilled and unemployed young people, from low income families, as media reports informed us. One is not aware of reports evidencing children of the rich, who strapped bombs on their bodies and exploded them at will. This act can be said to be the ultimate courage by the poor. That is, if we were able to remove our minds from the emotive issue of theology and saw these 'suicide bombers'' actions for what they were. What made individuals to ignore completely his/her natural sense of survival and sacrificed themselves in this way? What one needs to be told to be convinced to take this type of action?
The fact of the matter is, these poor young people fighting and sacrificing themselves under the Islamic Jihadists umbrella have gained the entire world's attention, even in spite of their leaders being assassinated daily. Yet they rise. Actions of this type shown Afrikans call for real and lasting change, without associated deeds, ineffectual, in the 21st century.
What attention has Afrikan demands gained recently? And What will these demands likely to gained in the foreseeable future? Has Afrikan land distribution demands being realised? Is Afrikan Reparations demand realised? Is Afrikan economic self-determination being realised? Is the call to foreign financial institutions to close facilities to corrupt African leaders, who are removing their nations' finances to foreign banks, depriving development and growth of their citizens being realised? Is the call to foreign banks to return stolen billions of USD, currently in foreign banks, to the Afrikan countries of origin, being realised? Is the call for good and fair governance, based on the rule of law, and the fair distributions of productions being realised to create the conditions whereby Afrikans of any age and gender will not think that there is a need for them to run away from their countries to relatively hostile foreign lands, because of lack of social, educational, economic and political opportunities for them to realise their basic aspirations in their countries of birth.
Should we be surprised that more poor and young Afrikans are joining the 'Jihadist Movement'. Africa’s 'Boko Haram' is probably a very thin end of a long wedge, which may not be contained in the future.
Where injustices exist, real peace is absent. Race, culture or religion are irrelevant. We are motivated largely by our circumstances, conscience and sense of duty to a wider community and not just our narrow individual and nationalist interests. Motivations without which we would not be able to live with ourselves. In this state, people hop onto any vehicle which is likely to give meaning to their values.
Mordechai Vanunu, also known as John Crossman, former Israeli nuclear technician and peace activist revealed details of Israel's nuclear weapons program to the British press in 1986. He was subsequently lured to Italy by a Mossad agent, where he was drugged and abducted by Israeli intelligence agents, transported to Israel, convicted in a trial held behind closed doors and spent 18 years in prison for informing the world that the State of Israel was manufacturing weapons of mass destructions
Edward Joseph Snowden, Activists, USA citizen, computer professional, former CIA employee, and former government contractor copied classified information from the United States National Security Agency and United Kingdom Government Communications Headquarters for public disclosure in 2013. Chelsea Manning, Soldier, also known as Chelsea Elizabeth Manning is a United States Army soldier who was convicted in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses, after releasing the largest set of classified documents ever leaked to the public. Manning was sentenced in August 2013 to 35 years in prison with the possibility of parole in 8 years, and to be dishonourably discharged from the Army
Vanunu, Snowden and Manning are some examples of those who transcended narrow nationalism and took actions to inform the world of activities of their government and allies contrary to best human values. None of the men exploded bombs on their persons, but sacrificed themselves and liberty in other ways, in the name of justice. The world also herd them. Who is listening to Global Afrika in our call for change to our circumstances?
In a recent high profile international conference, the Chairman of the African Union (AU) and President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe was reported to have said that "Africa needs another revolution". Robert Mugabe is one of the leaders of Africa's 20th century revolution, a movement which gained Africa's "political independence".
The significance cannot be overlooked in our hearing the President of the AU calling for an "African Revolution." When will that revolution commence? Or, is it already in progress, under the surface still to reveal itself? This call is probably an indictment of the AU and its deficits in realising Greater Afrika expectations.
President Mugabe knows what revolution is. He seems to be calling now for radical change of current status quo in the 21st century. What form should another Afrikan Revolution take? What should be the core objectives?
There is no ambiguity about the fully blown revolutions in progress in Islamic-led States. It is perhaps inevitable that the 'fire of change' now burning in the 'Middle East' is likely to burn fiercely in Afrika, driven by Justice and Reciprocity.
Those dangerous partly floating dinghies on the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas, transporting escaping people from Asia and Afrika to Europe, thousands of Afrikan, Asian and Arab passengers drowned together, betrayed by their leaderships.
Where is our Global Afrikan Collective strategy for the future? Where is our Unifying Platform constructed for our safety against a future of uncertainties for the African Race. Those of us who are not aware of our Race, we should check our DNA. Science will inform us.
Do we dare to ignore our history, associated Afrikan Data and do nothing, and put of faith in hope that ‘it will be OK’, when other races are actively constructing strategies and positioning themselves to manage collectively their future interests, based on anticipated future changes?
It is, therefore, unlikely that necessary changes required for real benefits of the Afrikan masses will be brought about by the masses. These changes are likely to be brought about by the few, strategically placed and active within Global Afrika.
Ironically, this type of modern Afrikan leadership for real change are likely to be spearheaded by Afrikans located in the Afrikan Diaspora, fully aware of the core strategies of those who would want to continue their unreasonable dominations of the Afrikan Race. Aware and mentally liberated Afrikans working in harmony and effectively with Afrikans on the African Continent.
On 24 September 1897, Henry Sylvester Williams (15 February 1869 – 26 March 1911) an Afrikan born on the Caribbean Island of Trinidad, Barrister-at-Law, registered at the Grays Inn Chambers in London, England, later at the Cape Colony in South Africa (1903-1905) and Trinidad in (1908-1911) was instrumental in founding the African Association. In March 1898 the association issued a circular calling for a pan-African conference, resulted in the July 1900 pan-African Conference in London, England. William Edward Burghardt "W. E. B." Du Bois (23 February 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an African-American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, author and editor. He also played a crucial role in proceedings of the pan-African Conference. Progressive Afrikans, residents of the Traditional African Diaspora, had always played pivotal and lasting roles in the leadership and development of the Pan-Afrikan Movement, at home and abroad.
Arguably, Afrika and Diaspora leadership drive was put on an industrial level by the Great Afrikan, Marcus Mosiah Garvey (17 August 1887-10 June 1940) and Amy Ashwood Garvey (10 January 1897 – 3 May 1969), first wife of Marcus Garvey, and Associates, in their founding of the The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) during the summer of 1914, on the 98% Afrikan populated Caribbean Island of Jamaica, where the Afrikan founders of the UNIA-ACL were born.
The founding of the UNIA-ACL was an historic action which synergised and commenced the popularising of Pan-Afrikan concept as expressed in the liberation song of 1897, “Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika (God Bless Africa), by Enoch Mankayi Sontonga (ca. 1873 – 18 April 1905), Xhosa teacher, choirmaster and lay preacher, born in the city of Uitenhage, Eastern Cape Colony, South Africa and Samuel Edward Krune Mqhayi (S. E. K. Mqhayi, 1 December 1875–29 July 1945) Xhosa poet and historian born in Cape Province, South Africa.
In the late 19th century and the 20th century there was a momentum among aware Afrikans demanding change to their conditions and they found ways and means to bring about those changes. They realised, too, that COLLECTIVISM was the way forward. This is clearly demonstrated by the founding and calling of the pan-African Conference of 1900, followed by subsequent Pan-African congresses - 1919 in Paris, France, 1921 in London, England, 1923 in London, 1927 New York, USA, and in 1945 Manchester. England (5th Pan-African Congress) at which Pan-Afrikan activists from the African Continent and her Diaspora committed to a programme of actions for the liberation of Afrikans, those at home and those abroad, which triggered the greatest movement for change, in Africa and her Diaspora, seen in our modern era. Afrikans sued for independence and self-determination. Revolutionary change. They gained political independence, but not economic independence.
o Mindful of this, Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah, (September 1909-April 27, 1972), Algeria’s Ahmed Ben Bella (25 December 1916 – 11 April 2012), Ethiopia’s H.I.M. Hail Selassie (23 Jul 1892 -27 Aug 1975), Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 Jan 1918- 28 September 1970), Senegal’s Léopold Sédar Senghor (9 October 1906 – 20 December 2001) and others representing Africa’s Monrovia and Casablanca groups to form the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, with 32 signatory governments of African states. On 9 July 2002, the OAU evolved into the African Union (AU).
o
o These states have not demonstrated viable and lasting economic independence in the 21st century. Noticeable among them are dependency, poverty, corruptions, international and external exploitations and vulnerabilities of citizens and states. Here we see clearly the logic for Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe’s call for a new ‘Afrikan Revolution’ in the 21st century.
Our Pan-Afrikan Movement in the 21st century must be meaningful in its concept and application, driven by consensus and competence among our leaderships. The quality of Afrika and Diaspora leaderships must be evident, by benefiting the Afrikan masses, those at home and those abroad. Today we are able to assess the competence and productivity of Pan-Afrikan leaderships of the 19th and 20th century. How do we measure up to their effectiveness?
We need honest self-criticism. Contemporary Afrikans must commit to collective leaderships, as Europe, the USA, Russia, China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan. Afrikans must be part of the progression relating to all human endeavors, including Afrikan shared global leadership.
Progressive Afrikan leaders must be prepared to lead effectively under perpetual threat of assassinations and coup. But, if the individual is not ready to sacrifice his/her life for the people, they should not seek to lead the people. We must learn and apply communalism, the best of Afrikan traditional values. Humanity need Afrika and Afrikans to be strong, in order to take rightful place among the global family. We have been away from that position far too long and our world is poorer for it.
If humanity must have a United Nations Organization, with a Security Council and permanent members with vetoing power, the Afrikan Race Representative must be one of those permanent vetoing members. This is our natural place, including the need for our significant contributors to all policy, strategic planning and implementations of human endeavors. Mediocrity is not part, and must not be accepted by us as part, of our Afrikan DNA.
The SWEP Self-Help Principles must be understood and applied, as we journey in developing collectivity among ourselves. That is, to Share, Warn, Encourage and Protect, in times of plenty and times of scarcity, rejecting mendacity, larceny and slothfulness.
Let us hear more directional speeches as that of Dr Motsoko Pheko’s. We have a clear choice in front of us. Develop the formula for consensus and effective collectivity among ourselves or continue fracturing and parish. Harm to Afrikans is the historical default position during the past five hundred years. What is different since the 19th century is that the enlightened among us and our Time-tested Friends have rejected and resist the status quo because it is not within the interest of our Essence.
Afrika and Diaspora Institute (Adi)
From: panafrican...@googlegroups.com [mailto:panafrican...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Mandlenkosi Phangwa
Sent: 29 December 2015 19:03
To: panafrican...@googlegroups.com
Subject: This is a keynote address presented to the Open Society and Initiative for Southern Africa in Johannesburg on the 3rd August 2010)
Dr Motsoko Pheko
Programme Director, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and gentlemen, It is an honour for me to speak to you at this important meeting of the OPEN SOCIETY AND INITIATIVE FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA. I like the name especially, the words Open and Initiative. We need openness and initiative in Africa.
I have been asked to speak on CREATING A COMMON AFRICAN BASE TO ENGAGE THE WORLD: A Pan Africanist Reflection. I shall humbly do so from a Pan Africanist perspective. You are the architects of Africa’s future and shapers of her present.
Now! How Do I Start?
Well, knowledge has been colonized and information manipulated in order to control the minds of African people, and achieve epistemological domination over them so as to undermine their national and continental interests. There is much that must be known, regained and done to restore Africa to her lost power and glory. Africa created the first human civilization on this planet. In adoration and admiration of the Africa he knew, that great Roman Emperor, Julius Caesar exclaimed, “Ex Africa semper aliquid novi!” (Out of Africa comes always something new).
Africa’s people must engage with the modern world on the basis of interdependence, not dependence, especially economically. Africans must not present themselves to the world as if they are bankrupt debtors with nothing to bring to the world’s table. Creating a common African base to engage the world requires certain things to be observed and done. This also imposes some demands on Africa’s people to meet.
Programme Director, Distinguished Delegates, As Africa’s people, we must learn from our history fast. History shows that Africans are the only people who have always fought their common struggles individually and not as a collective. On the contrary the enemies of Africa have always worked together when destroying Africans. They did so during the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade. They were together at the Berlin Conference in 1885 when they grabbed what was not theirs. They sliced and partitioned Africa into “British Africa”, “French Africa”, “Portuguese Africa”, “Belgian Africa”, “Spanish Africa”, “German Africa” and “Italian Africa.” There was nothing left for Africans except Ethiopia and Liberia, encircled by paupers of land dispossessed people who were now the reservoir of cheap native labour for their dispossessors. Somalia, a tiny African country had the triple misfortune of becoming “British Somaliland”, “French Somaliland” and “Italian Somaliland.”
It is suicidal for the African people to be divided along ethnic, regional and linguistic lines as the history of Africa so eloquently demonstrates.
Programme Director, A slogan of one of the liberation movements in this country is “Africa for Africans, Africans for humanity and humanity for God.” A hymn was also composed by Enoch Sontonga in 1887. He was a teacher in a Methodist mission school. This hymn was adopted by all liberation movements of this country. It is called Nkosi Sikelela iAfrika. God Bless Africa. This anthem does not say God bless South Africa or Somalia, or Zimbabwe or Mozambique. It says God bless Africa. That is the whole Continent of Africa. This is all the people of Africa and of African descent.
The stubborn fact is that Africans are one. They have a common destiny. They will win together or perish together depending on how they look at one another and how they fight their common struggles. We are sailing in the same ship on the African continent. If it sails safely across the stormy seas we shall all be safe. If this African ship sinks, we shall all sink. We must be each other’s keeper. The present calamity of Somalia is an African calamity. The glory of Ghana in the recent World Cup competition when Ghanaians beat the USA is African glory. This should demolish the myth of “makwerekwere” even among the worst elements of Afrophobia.
The hard truth is that when Africans were enslaved or colonized, the perpetrators of these barbaric acts never cared whether you were South African, Mozambican, Nigerian, Angolan, Azanian, Malawian, Congolese or Motswana. They inflicted their atrocities on every African whether in Jamaica or in America. Afrophobia is a dangerous diversion from the real task of rebuilding the broken walls of Africa.
Programme Director, Africa is not a beggar. She has material resources to develop this great continent and banish poverty from her shores. African leaders must stop dealing with some leaders of this world as if they were demigods. Some researchers have found that Tanzania has most kinds of biological resources including mahogany and other woods. Zambia has 36 million tons of copper. Namibia has the largest deposits of the best diamonds in the world. Guinea in West Africa has the highest reserves of bauxite in the world. South Africa is said to have 65 billion tons of coal and Nigeria 32 trillion of gas. Somalia has 30 million tons of jepson, a building material. These are a few examples of the riches of Africa.
Where do these African riches go? Some knowledgeable people have estimated that the Democratic Republic of Congo alone when developed could feed and provide electricity for the whole of Africa. The enormous wealth of the DRC is further demonstrated by the fact that during the Second World War, Congo which was then a Belgian colony paid all the financial debts of the European war. After Belgium was overrun by the Nazi army of Adolf Hitler, Belgium established a government-in-exile in London.
Belgium is the size of Lesotho. Congo Kinshasa is 9O5355 square miles. It is as large as the following twelve European countries put together: Britain, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Italy, Armenia and Albania. The untapped wealth of the Congo is estimated at 24 trillion US dollars. This is equivalent to the Gross Domestic Product of Europe and America combined. It makes Congo potentially the richest country in the world.
The Colonial Secretary of the exiled Belgian government, Godding has boasted that “During the War, the Congo was able to finance all the expenditure of the Belgian government-in-exile in London, including the diplomatic service as well as the cost of armed forces in Europe and America…the Belgian gold reserve could be left intact.”
Senator Jesse Helms commenting on America’s dependence on African wealth told the American people “South Africa is the source of over 8O% of American mineral supply and 86% of platinum resources. I will not go into details of each vital mineral supply. It was former Secretary of State Alexander Haig who said that the loss of mineral output of South Africa could bring: ‘The severest consequences to the existing economic and security of the free world.’ ”
The American Senator elaborated, “South Africa has 96% of the world’s chrome reserves. As you know there is no substitute for chrome in our military and industrial manufacturing. Without South African chrome, no engines for modern jet aircraft, cruise missiles or armaments could be built. The United States would be grounded. Our military would be unarmed. Without South African chrome, surgical equipment and utensils could not be produced. Our hospitals and doctors would be helpless.”
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana was right when he said, “If Africa’s resources were used in her own development they would place Africa among the most modernised continents of the world. But Africa’s wealth is used for the development of overseas interests.”
In 1959 President Mangaliso Robert Sobukwe of the Pan Africanist Congress proclaimed, “The potential wealth of Africa in minerals, oil, hydro-electric power; and so on is immense. By cutting out waste through systematic planning, a central government can bring the most rapid development.” Sobukwe envisioned that “By the end of the 2Oth century, the standard of living of the African masses will undoubtedly have arisen dramatically. Subsistence farming will have disappeared. A large internal market will absorb a very large percentage of the industrial and agricultural products of the African continent.” But lo! Fifteen years into the 21st century African people are victims of lack of service delivery, corruption in high places and intensified looting of Africa’s riches by foreign powers. There is deepening poverty, with consequences of short life expectancy and highest child mortality among the majority African population.
Programme Director, Education is the key to the development of Africa, wise control of its raw materials and use of its human resources. Quality education is the key to creating and controlling Africa’s wealth and to mentally decolonizing her people’s captured minds. There must be high education for Africa’s children. That education must be diverse and tailored to the needs of Africa. All African countries must prioritize and maximize the study of modern science, technology, finance and economics in all their institutions of learning. African children must be equipped with skills and professions that arm their countries with technological capacity to process Africa’s raw materials and export them to the outside world as finished goods.
Where there is urgent need or desperate lack of technology to process raw materials rapidly, African countries must exchange Africa’s raw materials for high technology. In this way Africa can quickly acquire technological capacity to process her raw materials and use the riches of Africa for her people. Countries that enrich themselves from Africa’s raw materials are secretive and reluctant about technology transfer to Africa. Knowledge is power. This is probably why Prophet Hosea told his people in 735 B.C. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
Yes, we are Batswana, Swazis, Somalis, Tanzanians, Zambians, Zimbabweans, Mozambicans, Congolese, Basotho, South Africans, Angolans etc, but the train that will take Africans to their destination and enable them to take their destiny into their own hands is Pan African nationalism, not ethnicity or regionalism. Pan African nationalism is the privilege of the African people to love themselves and give their way of life preference. Pan African nationalism views the personhood and humanity of the African people as equal to any other people on this planet. Pan African nationalism rejects any philosophy that seems to hold that Africans are destined to exist in servitude to other human beings. Pan African nationalism does not look down on other members of the human race. But it demands justice for African interests. Africa’s riches belong to Africans. They are there for the benefit of the African people. They are not there to fuel foreign economies.
Distinguished delegates, Pan Africanism is a solution to many problems facing Africa today. Pan Africanism is a political philosophy that was conceived in the womb of Africa. It was formally organized in 19OO. Its relevance is unquestionable. Its effectiveness and prowess was demonstrated at the 5th Pan African Congress in Manchester in 1945 when it became a weapon that won political freedom for Africa and reversed the African tragedy of the Berlin Conference. Africans have had victories when they were united but ignominious defeats when they fought common struggles divided. Mwalimu Julius Nyerere the first President of Tanzania after some doubts finally said, “There is no time to waste. We must either unite now or perish. Political independence is only a prelude to a new and more involved struggle for the right to conduct our economic and social affairs, to construct our aspirations, unhampered by crushing and humiliating control and interference.”
Honourable delegates, the very people who are supposedly giving “foreign aid” to Africa are getting their own riches in Africa. That is why they are roaming all over Africa looking for Africa’s raw materials, but unwilling to invest in the infrastructure of the Continent and to transfer high technology to Africa. Africa’s riches are enormous. There are hardly any mineral and agricultural products that cannot be found in Africa. What we need is technological capacity to make the riches of Africa work for Africa’s people.
From the Pan Africanist perspective, CREATING A COMMON AFRICAN BASE TO ENGAGE THE WORLD Africa must meet some of the following long overdue conditions:
Promote and maintain peace and political stability on the Continent and lift the living standard of her people and punish any corrupt leaders very severely. Corruption exacerbates poverty and destroys nations; Maximize the study of science and technology in all institutions of learning; African countries must trade more among themselves and produce what they consume instead of being consumers of foreign goods and producing what they do not consume; Africa must have a unified foreign policy. 53 countries speak with too many voices which sometimes compromise or even endanger the security of Africa; Africa must avoid “foreign aid” whose goal is not developmental, but is to keep Africa dependent economically and technologically; Africa must formulate a common foreign investment policy with emphasis on infrastructure -Leave everything that local investors can do to local African business; There must be a common Continental planning for economic and industrial development and Africa’s common defense system; A Pan African Common Market; A Pan African Currency; A Pan African Monetary Zone; An Advanced System Of Communication and Transport; An Advanced Institute of Science and Technology; and A Pan African Skills Bank.
Programme Director, Self-reliance is the best policy. We must learn how to fish for ourselves rather than depending on others to fish for us. We must develop a culture of HARD WORK. Africa must engage the world not from a position of weakness. Africans must develop their own power base. We must remember that powerful people never educate powerless people how to take power from them. We must move away from the dependency syndrome to self help. We must safeguard Africa’s interests for Africa’s people. That is our primary responsibility.
THANK YOU DISTINGUISHED DELEGATES, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.
By Dr. Motsoko Pheko
(This is a keynote address presented to the Open Society and Initiative for Southern Africa in Johannesburg on the 3rd August 2010)
Mandlenkosi Phangwa
1415 Telescope Street
Devland extension 30
Johannesburg
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082 740 40 52
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It takes kindness to be kind.
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