Africa 2009 – Pushing the envelope of knowledge – nationalization

CONVERSATIONS WITH MAWERE

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- Mutumwa Mawere -

Africa 2009 – Pushing the envelope of knowledge – nationalization – Part 5 of 20

Posted on November 22th 2009

South Africa We all have a view on the Africa we see today.

For 53 years of our post-colonial experience, we have attempted to style ourselves as democrats implying that unlike during the colonial era, policies emanate from deliberations that involve discussion among the affected people.

in South Africa, the continent's economic powerhouse, a war of words is raging between the comrades in the ruling tripartite alliance with Malema, President of the ANC Youth League, and Jeremy Cronin, Deputy Secretary of the South African Communist Party providing a voice to one of the greatest debates that any nation must and should engage in on whether or not to nationalize.

Although South Africa is a more sophisticated economic system, it remains an African state exhibiting dualistic characteristics that largely define the continent's concrete and objective circumstances.

Only a few have climbed the opportunity ladder and the role of apartheid/colonialism in crystallizing a small but economically effective class of key decision makers on racial lines.

The majority of the people in the opportunity valley are black and when they try to put meaning to why they are poor the tendency is to explain poverty in a racial and historical context.

One cannot deny that race had an impact on how the resources of Africa are allocated and shared.

To escape poverty, therefore, a viewpoint is held that change must take place in Africa and the racial question must be addressed in its proper context and content. Racial

To the extent that the asset ownership patterns were not market created, a justification is then made that the state must necessarily take an active and decisive role in the transformation process notwithstanding the lack of empirical evidence supporting a proposition that the state can be a reliable agent for any meaningful transformation that is not supported by a determined and active citizenry.

Indeed, one of the greatest issues that confront contemporary Africa is whether this continent can advance its cause without nationalization of resources.

Nationalization is the act of taking an industry or assets into public ownership of a national government or state.
In advancing the interests of the national democratic revolution, a strong view is held that the state, itself a product of the civil rights struggle, can be a reliable instrument for exercising full democratic control over the means of production thereby ensuring that frontiers of poverty can be reduced through a redistribution mechanism.

This is a central theme in many socialist economies where a view is held that the means of production, distribution and exchange should be owned by the state on behalf of the people to allow for rational resource allocation, planning, operation and control of the economy.

Notwithstanding the fact that Africa's democratic constitutional order guarantees citizenship rights to all who choose to be Africans, white Africans are generally not accorded the same rights and identity as the majority black Africans meaning that assets that are controlled by white Africans are generally deemed to be in foreign hands.

We all wish the best for Africa the continent we all love. Economic nationalism is not a uniquely African ideology.

At the individual level, people endeavor to advance their well being and are motivated by an unwavering belief that tomorrow can be a better and brighter day only if they choose to do something about it today.

It is rare that an individual will seek to externalize progress but will more than likely attempt to locate such progress in a family setting.

Equally, when we say a country is doing well we expect that its citizens must show signs of progress and the frontiers of poverty must be reduced.

By citizen, most people will interpret this concept to mean black indigenous people although this may be at variance with the constitutions of the countries in question.

Around dining room tables in South Africa and across the continent, citizens are agonizing about what the future holds and what can be done to make the future what we all want to see.

Africa needs economic transformation and debate on future options is necessary and yet there is silence on the many defining issues in many of our daily conversations.

When, for example, in a population of 48 million, only two people take centre stage in the nationalization debate then one must take note of the real risks that lie ahead.

The biggest challenge in Africa is not the tyranny of the few whose voices dominate conversations but the silence of the many when their future is being debated and decided by the few.

The debate on nationalization is largely informed by ideology. The resources in question are situated in Africa and can, therefore, never be considered to be external.

The real issue is who is best equipped to convert the resources into products and services that can be exchanged in the market place.

History has demonstrated that the state, being an organ of the people, with its challenges on accountability can never be relied upon as an agent of economic change and transformation. World Bank

The state itself is weak in many African states because underpinning it is a dependency syndrome on donor funds.
If African states are institutionally and capacity challenged, how can anyone come to the conclusion that nationalization will advance the economic democratization process?

I have always held the view that anyone who builds in one's yard is in effect glorifying the titleholder.
Equally, people who decide to invest in Africa are in effect advancing the African promise because without such discretionary investment there appears to be no alternative plan.

If an alternative plan does exist, then one would observe the displacement of investment by indigenous Africans by the so-called foreign investment.

It is God who made minerals and hid them our job is to find them at a cost and extract them at a further cost.
If funds for exploration and exploitation are not available as is the case in many situations in Africa, the resources will remain in situ and no amount of rhetoric will lift the minerals from where they are resident.

Even in the case of land, the land cannot be externalized and is where it is and the situation has not changed since the beginning of human civilization.

It would be wrong for one generation to take the view that they own the land instead of taking the view no human being is capable of owning land but in life one can use the land.

Human beings are perishable but in life we all want to be in control. Ownership implies the concept of exclusion.
If we exclude white Africans from using land then one must provide a viable alternative that will see land being used to produce products that can address human challenges.

In many cases we have observed that exclusionary policies have not yielded the intended benefits and yet this has not stopped the use of inflammatory language.

Democracy needs deliberation and deliberation is lubricated by knowledge. Ultimately, democracy is discussion and, therefore, it is incumbent upon us to engage in the great debates of our time.

By pushing the envelope of knowledge on what it takes to build a prosperous and secure nation state, finding a common ground is made easier.

There are just too many of us who believe that Africa belongs only to the people they classify as indigenous forgetting that even indigenous people can elect to migrate to foreign states and in doing so challenge the exclusionary argument that is often advanced that Africa can only advance its cause if its resources are perpetually controlled and managed by so-called indigenous people.

I invite all to join in the conversations of our time so that together we can impact on the world we live in. Let us share ideas. Let us debate. Let us negotiate our future. Let us deliberate.

Our continent needs our voices and more importantly ordinary as we are we can accomplish extraordinary outcomes if we reason together.

As a businessman, I have been advised by many of my colleagues to stop writing and focus on business.
Yes, this makes sense but if our voices are missing at this defining hour in our history then what will future generations say about us?

Let us get out of the comfort zone and be the change we want to see. I joined Africa Heritage Society www.africaheritage.com based on my belief that Africa belongs to all who believe in it. AHS

The face of an African need not be my face but must embrace all who make Africa what it is. We are all human and it is our actions that leave a legacy not our skin color or religion, for example.

If a foreign born person decides to call Africa home let us embrace the person because making that decision is in fact an expression of the affirmation of Africa as a home of hope.

If Africa can convert dreams of foreign-born person into real and tangible wealth why is it difficult for us to spread the message of hope and opportunity to the many that believe they are condemned to live in poverty?

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