http://www.mutumwa.com Conversations with Mawere en-us Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:25:27 GMT 10 http://www.mutumwa.com/article/324 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:25:23 GMT We are privileged to live in a world that is more wired than in any previous generation. The digital revolution is here to stay and any nation that finds itself excluded from this revolution faces the risk of suffering from a new form of poverty i.e. information poverty that has more devastating implications on human development and growth than biological hunger.The web has and continues to shake world politics. The Internet has unleashed a new toolbox that can easily be used to bridge the knowledge divide that has made it easy for undemocratic regimes to thrive in many parts of the world.It is true that the Internet is a potent weapon against any from of central control. It inspires solidarity and challenges and defies old notions of identity, nationalism and nation building.

]]> http://www.mutumwa.com/article/323 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:49:05 GMT What time is it in Zimbabwe? Is it indigenization time? If black economic empowerment is good for South Africa, why should indigenization be bad for Zimbabwe? If the three principal political parties agreed that at this defining hour in Zimbabwe's history, the country's cabinet needed a portfolio a portfolio to deal with indigenization and economic empowerment, who has the place and standing to be a critical of the implementation of laws that are already on Zimbabwe's statutes?At the core of the indigenization/economic empowerment debate is the unresolved issue of the impact of colonialism on Zimbabwe's political economy. An argument has been made and will continue to be made that blacks are poor because colonialism put God given resources out of reach to them and the process of resource diversion was non-market driven hence the need for the state to intervene to correct such historically determined distortions and inequity.

]]> http://www.mutumwa.com/article/322 Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:43:40 GMT President Mugabe celebrated his 86th birthday last week and Zimbabwe will celebrate its 30th independence anniversary in a few weeks. President Mugabe is the oldest head of state and government in Africa. He has been privileged to have a long and eventful life. Zimbabwe does not know of any other leader than President Mugabe and, therefore, it is difficult to imagine what kind of society Zimbabwe would be if it had had another leader. Zimbabwe was born out of the womb of Rhodesia and its history, challenges, and prospects have been similar to that of other post-colonial African states.

]]> http://www.mutumwa.com/article/321 Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:10:00 GMT We are products of our past. We find ourselves challenged by the future and a past that divided us by the color of our skin and not the content of our characters. Some were lucky to inherit a rich legacy while the majority remembers the pain of life. There is nothing we can do to change the past. Any strategy that seeks to strengthen the weak by weakening the strong is bound to fail and yet Africa can only advance its cause if the majority of its people lift themselves up.We all have memories of the past some ugly but others pleasant. We also live in interesting times when nationalization and indigenization are topical matters for which any rational human being must have an opinion.

]]> http://www.mutumwa.com/article/320 Mon, 15 Feb 2010 03:11:43 GMT When I started writing about Africa's corporate history and the individuals who played a role in laying the foundations of the corporate landscape that characterizes contemporary Africa, I was acutely aware of the risks associated with such an enterprise. How dare a black person glorify the contribution of white people in Africa? I am indeed black and a product of a complex political, economic and social past. There is nothing I can do to change the past. It is easy to ignore the past but what cannot be denied is that the present is a consequence of the actions and choices of those who came before us.The link between colonialism and African poverty has to be critically examined. The need to educate, empower and enhance driven professionals and entrepreneurs to seize the moment and be builders of a new Africa cannot be overstated.

]]> http://www.mutumwa.com/article/319 Sun, 14 Feb 2010 23:50:45 GMT Who has power and on whose behalf is power exercised in post-colonial Africa? How is power held to account and how can it accessed by all who want to play a part in shaping the future?The story of power, influence and control in post-colonial Africa is a complex one reflecting the commonly shared ignorance of the majority about how to use existing and new tools to access, harness the energy and innovation of front-line professionals in Africa and the diaspora, local government, citizens and communities.Africa's many challenges cannot be met by central governments acting alone but by enhancing the rights of citizens and more importantly making institutions more accountable.

]]> http://www.mutumwa.com/article/318 Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:53:16 GMT The world was taken by surprise 20 years ago today when the then last President of apartheid South Africa, former President FW de Klerk, made a historic announcement of the beginning of the end of apartheid. It was a day that will remain etched in African history as one of the most significant and defining one and its historic significance cannot be lost to many who for generations lived under an undemocratic and unjust constitutional order. I was living in Washington DC at the time oblivious of the true significance of the announcement in Parliament by President de Klerk. Given the protracted nature of the struggle and the entrenched nature of the apartheid state, it was unthinkable that real change could flow in an evolutionary and peaceful manner and that practitioners of an evil system could self-correct.

]]> http://www.mutumwa.com/article/317 Sun, 31 Jan 2010 10:20:04 GMT What is the purpose of life? We all know that human life is perishable and yet each day of life provides meaning if it is shared. Social groups exist as personal and direct social ties that either link individuals who share values and beliefs or impersonal, formal and instrumental social links.When individuals interact then social phenomena arises and in the majority of African countries, the interaction is more personal and solidarity is, therefore, mechanical whereas in the world we now live in that is characterized by dissolution of borders there is a new reality that we have to appreciate and accept that compels humanity to invest in organic solidarity that is a consequence of cooperation between differentiated individuals with independent roles.

]]> http://www.mutumwa.com/article/316 Sun, 31 Jan 2010 09:34:03 GMT It was President Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 - July 4, 1826), the third President of the United States (1801-1809) and one of the most influential Founding Fathers of the country, who said: "I like dreams of the future better than the history of the past." The future of any nation belongs to its builders. Jefferson also said: "I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them but to inform their discretion."We, the people, have the power to shape our future and secure it. Jefferson was and would not be alone in holding the view that there is no safer depository of the ultimate powers of any society but the people themselves.

]]> http://www.mutumwa.com/article/315 Wed, 27 Jan 2010 06:27:17 GMT The role of working men and women in nation building cannot be understated. The story of the decolonisation of Africa cannot be complete without mention of the influential role of the trade union movement in determining labour and industrial relations and more importantly in shaping the political and economic agenda of the time.South Africa, Africa's economic powerhouse, has the largest trade union movement on the continent. It is part of the tripartite alliance that has governed the country for the past 16 years. As we look back at the journey travelled so far, what can we say about our collective knowledge of the concept of trade unionism? What are its origins? How effective is trade unionism as an instrument for economic and social change?

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