|
|
|
|
|
Leadership in Africa
There is a great deal wrong in Africa. The continent has the highest
ratio
of internally displaced people in the world, we generate more refugees
than
any other continent, and we are poorer now than we were before
independence.
We are the Aids capital of the globe and our life expectancies are
retreating on a scale seldom seen in history.
Why?
It's not for lack of resources - we have those in abundance and if we
rated
Africa on the basis of population to its natural resource base we would
find
ourselves at the top of the log. It's not for a lack of energy - we are
now
a major producer and exporter of oil, we have vast reserves of coal and
hydroelectric potential to light the continent for decades to come.
It's not
for a lack of aid from richer countries - many States in Africa draw up
to
half their annual budgets from donors in the West. Per capita we are
one of
the largest recipients of aid in the history of the world
The reason for all these problems lies not in our history nor in the
predation of industrial economies, it lies in our leadership.
No better example of this could be found than the latest meeting of
African
Heads of State in the Gambia. This leadership summit of the African
Union
was expected to yield new consensus on Darfur, condemnation of human
rights
abuse in a number of countries, including Zimbabwe and the adoption of
a
Democracy Charter for the continent. On the sidelines it was expected
to
yield a breakthrough in the crisis in Zimbabwe.
Instead we have the spectacle of the Heads of State rejecting the
Democracy
Charter, refusing to face up to the genocidal activities of the
government
of the Sudan and complete failure to come to grips with the crisis in
Zimbabwe. A two-year-old report on human rights abuse is again deferred
at
the request of the perpetrators. I despair and so do many others who
hold
the welfare of Africa and its people's dear.
Of particular concern to us is of course the complete failure to come
to
grips with the Zimbabwean crisis. Here is a prime example of the
failure of
leadership in Africa. The most educated government on the continent,
one
that came to power 26 years ago with such hope and promise has swept
the
rule of law aside, corrupted the whole democratic system and
deliberately
and systematically destroyed a functioning and relatively efficient and
competitive African economy.
This regime, led by Mr. Mugabe who struts the AU stage like a Pharaoh,
has
seen the life expectancy of its people decline by half in ten years,
seen
its economic output slashed by half and its exports by two thirds and
reduced the value of its currency to a tiny fraction of its value. A
third
of its people have fled the country as refugees and another third are
effectively internally displaced. A million people will leave the
country
this year as the human tide continues to swell and all State
institutions -
especially those of health and education are simply disintegrating in
front
of our eyes.
Many argue that we have gone beyond the point of no return. That we are
destined to become another Somalia or Congo. There is absolutely no
expectation here that the present leadership can address these mammoth
problems and perhaps turn the tide of disaster and despair. When
Rhodesia
and South Africa presented a similar outlook to the world, because it
involved white leadership of predominantly black countries, the
oppressed
peoples of these countries could rely on the solidarity of the OAU and
the
'Front Line States' for their well being and future prospects. They
could
rely on a world community that would not hesitate to impose mandatory
global
trade sanctions on tiny Rhodesia and global sanction of the regime in
Pretoria.
When the final crunch came and change became essential for the
prospects of
the people of these two countries, the global community rallied - first
behind Henry Kissinger and P W Botha to remove Ian Smith from power and
then
12 years later behind Margaret Thatcher, to force F W de Klerk to
accept
reality and begin the process of closure on 40 years of Apartheid. In
neither instance was domestic pressure and resistance the primary
reason for
the act, which brought closure to these regimes.
Now that we have an African Head of State behaving in a similar manner
and
also destroying his country on the alter of his ego and avarice, no one
is
willing to take up the cudgel and come to the rescue of the ordinary
citizen
held captive by the Zanu PF regime. Not Mr. Mbeki, not Kofi Annan, not
the
AU or the 'Front Line States' who have so much at stake. Instead they
shrink
back into a defensive huddle knowing full well that they are often just
as
guilty as Mr. Mugabe when it comes to failure of their leadership
responsibilities.
The decision by Annan was especially difficult to comprehend - he knows
the
facts, he has 6 months to go and does not need the votes of Africa to
win
another term and he has the authority and the support of the major
nations
to do something useful for once. But no, he ducks the issue, blandly
tucks
Zimbabwe and it's suffering people into a Tanzanian cubbyhole and walks
away. I hope he enjoys his hard currency pension while we pay the price
of
his failure to lead.
Well at least that clears the air for us - we now know we are alone in
this
struggle and that we must liberate ourselves or face disaster in every
way.
We have ourselves and our faith in God. In the latter respect we are
one of
the most Christian countries in the world. This gives us the appearance
of
docility that is deceptive. I always said it took a great deal of
provocation to get the people in Zimbabwe to finally confront the
situation
here in 1970.
Well now perhaps we are there again. Only this time we are really
standing
alone. Nothing wrong with that - the Bible promises that 'they that
wait
upon the Lord, will not grow weary'. We will not quit this struggle, we
will
not give in and in the end our struggle will produce a better
government
than we have now - one which will look to the interests of our people
and
not their own. A government that will restore our basic rights and
freedoms
and allow us to work and play in the land of our birth. A leadership
that
will respect our democratic right to choose our leaders and to dismiss
them
when they do not act in our best interests.
Eddie Cross
Bulawayo, 4th July 2006.
|