letter from Gaborone

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If you thought that stories of Chinese involvement in Africa were exaggerated, think again. A survey of the businesses in Gaborone – from car dealerships to apparel stores to restaurants even – reveals just how much the men and women from the East have established themselves on this continent.

The locals complain that the goods are of poor quality and all but they buy them nonetheless because they are far much cheaper than other locally made stuff or those imported from South Africa and elsewhere. Another complaint I have been hearing is that the Chinese are not really helping the economy – the local economy that is. “They keep to themselves and bring all they need. They even bring their own food,” one man told me. The general complaint is that the Chinese are simply siphoning profits back home and not reinvesting in the Botswana economy.

I haven’t had a chance to see the level of economic disparity among the Batswana – but from the little exposure I have had to the middle class here, I think I can safely say that they have it nice. Nicer than their counterparts in Kenya even. The government seems to be doing its job alright. Next week I shall be traveling to the desert regions of the North and West to see how life is in the rural areas.

Oops, I have to go now. I have become a football junkie and cannot afford to miss Germany-Portugal. Catch you guys later.

power cuts!! oh no!!

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Just as I thought that my stay in Botswana was going to be such a nice ride, I was rudely reminded of where I was by an unexpected power cut. Yes, I was trying to cook dinner while watching some show on the travel channel when the lights went out. With no torch (flashlight, as some call it) or candles I was forced to cook with my ipod, phone and camera as the only sources of light available. Luckily the lights came just as I started having my dinner. It was not a pleasant experience though.

After talking to people in the know I was told that this is a regular thing that happens to select neighborhoods between seven and nine. I was also told that Botswana, lacking any powerplants, buys its power from the neighboring states.

But I just can’t stop wondering why the government hasn’t managed to build enough power generation capacity to satisfy its less than 2 million people – and with all the diamond dollars. Just how hard can it be?

Botswana

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It’s been just over 24 hours since I touched ground in the land of Seretse Khama. So far so good. Botswana is living up to its reputation as a middle income country in the middle of the sea of despair that is the rest of the continent of Africa. The roads are nice, and wide enough. The people that I have met so far – from the few that I have asked for directions in the street to the lady manning the internet cafe that I am in right now – have all been nice. The exception was just this one lady at the local KFC (may I add that that was my first time in a KFC, anywhere) who wasn’t nice. May be she was tired. Or maybe I was being reminded by the heavens that fast food joints like these should remain off limits for me.

The economy seems to be doing well too. All around there are new buildings being erected and most of the existing ones look new (nothing like River Road, Nairobi if you’ve ever been there). Contents in the local newspapers and CNBC-Africa betray the buzz in the business world here of the government’s intention to make this the financial Switzerland of Africa. And did I mention the service delivery? Getting out of the airport was quick. Clearing through customs was easier than when I return back home to Nairobi. When one of my bags did not arrive (thanks to South African Airways), the lady at the airport was nice and was quick to provide me with the necessary information.

The feeling here in Gaborone is generally of a small town where everyone tries to go out of their way to be nice to you. I know it’s just been a day but the first impression I have of this city is positive. I am a bit worried about all the electric fences I see encircling houses in the suburbs. I hope crime is not anywhere close to Botswana’s neighbor’s down South.

Watch this space for more on Botswana in the coming weeks…..

Un shame, shame shame

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The news reports are shocking and disgusting. In a report published by Save the Children, a British charity, it has emerged that UN peacekeepers in conflict zones have been abusing children as young as six. Yes six years old! After interviewing about 250 boys and girls, Save the Children found that UN peacekeepers were in the habit of exchanging soap, money, food and sometimes cell phones for sex. The interviews were conducted in Cote d’Ivoire, Haiti and Southern Sudan. The UN chief Ban Ki-Moon promised that an investigation will be conducted and that those found guilty will be punished.

What a shocker. The thought that the people entrusted with the task of bringing hope and peace to these regions are the very ones causing physical and psychological harm to children is simply despicable. This scandal also exposes the UN for the opaque bureaucracy that it is. How could this have gone on without the knowledge of New York? Don’t they have independent observers monitoring their aid missions to ensure that staff stick to the code of conduct?

If the investigation takes place as has been promised by Ban and these peacekeepers are found guilty, their punishment alone won’t be enough. The UN should compensate the families of the children that were abused. And in the future New York should keep a closer eye on its staff on peace keeping missions.

Finally, in order to avoid the mess all together, African and other similarly backward and inept governments should get their act together. It is the shocking inability of these governments to run their countries that necessitates the presence of UN peacekeepers in the first place. Perhaps the UN should have a clause stating that once a country has had peacekeepers for more than a given period of time then it should be put under a sort of “receivership.” It wouldn’t be re-colonization – as many nationalists in these countries would be quick to point out. It would be an attempt at bringing normal lives to people who’ve not lived normal lives for decades and who shouldn’t go hungry, remain ignorant and finally die because of the greed of some pin-head War Lords.

xenophobia in south africa

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The images were heart wrenching. Seeing the body of a supposed immigrant on the ground, partly burnt and bleeding made me wonder what got into South Africans this past week. Apparently their excuse for killing and chasing away immigrants is that the foreigners took away their jobs and are fuelling rising crime rates.

But who exactly are the criminals here? I’d say it is the mobs that are necklacing foreigners and burning down their houses and business establishments.  And who exactly is responsible for the lack of jobs? Is it really the immigrants, some of whom have created jobs – like the Kenyan whose supermarket was razed? I would say it is Thabo Mbeki and his men. These are the people that have over the years allowed the immigrants into South Africa to begin with and have failed to create a vibrant economy that provides for all south africans. They are the ones to blame and not innocent Zims and other (Southern) Africans fleeing poverty and tyranny back in their home countries.

And in other stories, I read that there were lynchings of witches in Western Kenya. It is shocking that this type of thinking still exists in people’s heads. African governments still have a long way to go in instilling the rule of law and rational-legal attitudes in their people. It is extremely sad that almost none of them realise just how much they need to do to change the lives of their people and put them on the path to true modernity – the African way.

time to rethink the idea behind sovereignty

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In the book The Bottom Billion, the author Paul Collier talks about the growing international apathy at the suffering of millions of people around the world. This, he says, has been reinforced by a general dislike of interventionist measures especially after the Somalia and Iraq fiascoes. Somalia made the US be wary of military interventions even in dirt poor third world countries like Somalia that hasn’t had a functioning government since Siad Barre was deposed in the early nineties. Enough has been said about Iraq.

But are these two cases enough to make the international community completely abandon millions of people to be tormented and killed by their own governments? I am thinking about the horrible situations that are currently playing out in Burma, Chad, Sudan, Zimbabwe, and many other places where governments are killing their own citizens or letting them die for political or ideological reasons. This is unacceptable and should not be allowed to continue.

I echo Collier’s call that the international community set a precedence; that tyranny against civilians will not be tolerated anywhere on the globe. This is not a call for haphazard invasions all over the place. But there are extreme cases that should be addressed more forcefully. The genocide in Darfur should not be allowed to continue simply because Northern Sudan is a Muslim country with a potential for being jihadist. Thousands of people should be let to die in the jungles of the DRC simply in honor of that ungovernable country’s sovereignty. And does Mugabe really deserve to be sovereign in a country that he continues to drive deeper into hell? And what claim does the military junta in Burma have on sovereignty when they let tens of thousands die and hundreds of thousands without help even when the international community itches to help after a devastating cyclone hit the country?

All these extreme cases should be considered as exceptions. Somalia and Iraq should not stop the international community from ever acting again in an effort to save human lives. I am not calling for a neoconservative style democratization of the world, dictators can be tolerated, but only when they are not actively killing their own people or denying them food and other basic needs. Is this too much to ask of them?

Sovereignty should not be seen as an end in itself. Political leaders should know that the international community will only let them enjoy sovereignty when they act responsibly. I happen to believe that democratic government is the ideal but different places have different needs in different stages of their history. For instance young countries may not necessarily thrive as democracies, but this does not give their leaders a right to act like the Al-Bashirs and Than Shwes of this world.

time to do away with weak african governments

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Northern Sudan’s government just got its nose bloodied bad. And this by a bunch of rag tag rebels from the dusty deserts out West fighting with machine guns mounted on the back of pick up trucks. These rebels, previously confined to Darfur and other hot spots finally made an attempted march to the seat of power in Khartoum. Sudan’s skirmishes with its rebel movements brought memories of yet another African government that was nearly toppled by a bunch of bandits on pick up trucks – Chad. In Chad’s case France came to the rescue. Sudan seems to have taken care of the rebels using its own helicopter gunships and other weapons bought from the Chinese in exchange for oil.

As I have stated before, I have no sympathies for rebel movements, regardless of what their cause might be. It is in a large part because of these movements that most of Africa has remained underdeveloped because resources were shifted to fighting useless wars instead of focusing on the advancement of African people. Violent uprising will never solve any problem. Somalia, the DRC, Burundi and many others are testaments to this fact.

That said, I also think that certain African governments that are too weak to hold their own against rebels and other armed groups should be allowed to die a Darwinian death. When rebels drive for miles to the capital without being stopped by the existing government, you know there is a problem. Why did Khartoum wait for the rebels to reach Omdurman before doing anything?

Khartoum’s genocidal strongman ought to be embarrassed enough to realise that he cannot stop the insurgency in Darfur by killing the rebels and dropping bombs on innocent women and children. This week’s incident has proven that there cannot be a military solution to the rebel problem. The government of Sudan has been exposed as unable to hold its own against these rebels and therefore they have to negotiate with them and perhaps even meet some of the demands of the JEM led rebels.

these are people too….

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The madness that visited Kenya in February served to illustrate just how much the international community is one of unequals. Kenya, being the hub of the region with considerable foreign investment and the headquarters of a major UN agency, was not to be let to go under. But the same is not true for the Democratic Republic of Congo, where millions have died or have been displaced as a result of years and years of fighting.

I just read an article in the Economist Newspaper detailing the kind of atrocities that innocent villagers have had to go through in this horrendous war.

The big question is, why has the world forgotten these people? Aren’t they just as human as Kenyans are? Why can’t the AU concentrate even just half as much effort as it did in resolving the Kenyan crisis?

At this point it is not debatable that the people of the DRC cannot govern themselves peacefully. Order and the rule of law should be imposed on the warring factions and if necessary divide up the country in order to separate those that do not want to coexist in one nation state. The mineral resources can then be managed by an international trustee and shared according to needs of the autonomous regions.

No human being should have to go through what the Congolese have and are still going through. Not in the 21st century at least.

how much longer can Zimbabweans tolerate Mugabe?

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A day after Zimbabwe’s March election there were already rumors that Robert Mugabe had lost and was trying to negotiate a graceful exit from power. But Rob was to have none of this. He ordered the electoral commission not to announce the results of the presidential election even though the opposition’s tallies confirmed their claim to victory. Meanwhile parliamentary results confirmed that Rob’s party, the ZANU-PF had lost its majority in Parliament to the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). In desperation, Rob ordered for a recount in several constituencies but even this did not overturn the original results.

With Mugabe having lost the election and his apparent resolve to stay in power come what may (evidenced by his failed attempt to purchase weapons from China) it remains to be seen just how much longer the people of Zimbabwe can put up with this crazy old man before all hell breaks loose and people pour into the streets. It has to happen at some point. Political Science theory says that revolutions happen just when things begin to get better and Rob may have initiated this process by allowing the MDC to win the elections. He could have simply rigged the vote to give himself a clear win – both for the presidency and parliament. But by allowing the MDC to win parliament and the presidency (although a run-off is in the offing) he has shown his people that he is indeed beatable and demystified himself.

The writing is on the wall for Rob and his cronies. But he still has support from a significant segment of the Zimbabwean population and thus any kind of uprising against him will almost inevitably be met with stiff opposition from his supporters. He may be a thug to most non-Zimbabweans but to his country people he is an independence hero who sacrificed a lot for his country. Because of this there is an increasing risk of conflict within the country.

As the international community continues to watch from a distance, (with South African president Mbeki makeing silly statements like this) Zimbabwe keeps moving even closer to the tipping point. I believe total collapse can be avoided by having Rob step down (forcefully if necessary) before it is too late. The alternative is to wait and send in peace keepers after the fact.

world food shortages, is it time to rethink ethanol use?

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Africa’s food security is under threat; and this time it is not the usual threat caused by poor planning and the use of pre-modern agrarian technologies. This new threat is a result of the continuing rise in world food prices. Already the world food program (WFP) is predicting that this year it will be US $ 500 million short in trying to meet the needs of tens of millions worldwide who depend on it for food. These new developments are especially bad for Africa.

Millions of Africans depend on food aid. And this is not restricted to areas of conflict like Somalia, Sudan and Chad. Even relatively stable countries like Kenya and Zambia regularly need international donors to fill the gap left by ever-declining national agricultural output. As food prices go up and the international donors cut budgets, these countries will be in for even greater shortages.

Which brings me to the topic of this post. It is apparent that the world’s obsession with ethanol might be driving up food prices. This situation has been exacerbated by the rising oil prices due to Chinese and Indian demand and middle Eastern politics. The end result is that expensive grain (brought about by the fact that stomachs are competing with fuel tanks) has become even more expensive due to high transportation costs.

While controlling the price of oil might be difficult (middle eastern politics remain as muddy as ever), I believe the world can control how much food is diverted to the production of fuels. I understand the noble objective of saving the planet through the use of green energy. But I am totally against the idea that this can be done at the expense of developing nations and their millions of hungry people.

It is common knowledge that food deficiency causes stuntedness – both physical and mental – in children and that this persists into adulthood. This is what we shall be doing to humanity if we do not prioritise between endangered animals and humans.

Therefore, before we go all out on ethanol, we should make sure that humans are fed and healthy. For what is the use of saving the planet only to leave it to stunted offspring whom we failed to feed when they were young? Also, I think that WFP should aim at coordinating world food production so that nations like the US which perennially produce excess food can sell grain, at subsidized prices, to poorer, less advanced nations instead of destroying it to keep prices steady.

Most importantly, African agriculture should be pushed into the 21st century. Food production in most of Africa remains pre-10,000 BC. Farmers depend on rain even in places with giant perennial rivers that could be harnessed for iriigation. While appreciating the value of metis and fork knowledge, I believe that more science is needed to improve food production.  Simple scientific agriculture is not rocket science and the knowledge can be disseminated at a reasonable cost in order to improve agricultural output on the continent.

Food production was one of the main drivers of human civilisation. We are thus only as civilised as we are able to feed ourselves.

the new kenyan cabinet, bloated and expensive

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President Kibaki and Premier Odinga are two men without much of a strong will. This is evidenced by their capitulation to the demands of their cronies and allies in the naming of the new cabinet. 42 cabinet including the president and AG was announced by these two men. And this in a country that struggles to feed its people, educate them and keep them alive. Did we really need separate ministries for medical services and public health and sanitation? or education and higher education? And what exactly will the minister for fisheries development do that the minister for agriculture or water cannot do?

It’s insulting how these two men turned a completely deaf ear to the calls made by Kenyans for a leaner, cheaper cabinet. It’s tax payer’s money you are spending Messrs president and premier.

I understand that there was need to please as many people as possible following the events of February, but at the same time I do believe that there could have been a cheaper way of doing this. Perhaps having a more transparent system of government where ministers did not run their ministries like personal fiefdoms would have made people feel included in the government and obviated the need for tribal representation in the cabinet.

And now that we have a cabinet, it will be interesting to see how it actually functions, given the animosity that exists between the ODM and PNU and the rest. I can speculate that there will be a lot of mission creep across amorphously defined ministerial portfolios resulting in intra-cabinet power struggles. I can also see the members of the cabinet continuing in their bad habit of addressing each other through the media like they don’t have each other’s contacts (I seriously think that the media should give such exchanges a black out to teach these men and women a lesson).

Oh, and on all those promises of better government, a new constitution, land reforms, prosecution of corruption, roads, schools, hospitals ………. etc : I am not holding my breath.

do we really need this circus?

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The back and forth tussle that has become of the negotiations between Kibaki and Raila over a coalition cabinet is very unseemly. More than twice, the two men have met and agreed on a deal only to have their mouthpieces issue statements on the contrary.

What surprises me is how PNU is acting like they did not know what they were getting into by signing the Feb. 28th agreement. By agreeing to share power with ODM, they essentially admitted guilt to the shady mess that was the previous December’s general election and thereby allowed ODM to put one foot into government. If PNU thought that ODM would be contented with the ministry of fisheries and such then they were way off the mark. Like any political party these people want power and they will not settle for less.

What Kibaki ought to do now is just give them what they want and then control them via the Finance Ministry. The two most contentious posts seem to be Foreign and Local Government Ministries. Kenya’s foreign ministry is not that big of a deal. Who cares about summits and talk shops around the world? Plus it’s not like the country has any coherent foreign policy that would be severely changed by an ODM apparatchik in the post. And with the ministry of Local Government, I say give it to ODM. It’s not like the major towns and cities – outside of the wider Central region – are not pro-ODM already. Having to fight councils and city residents selling tomatoes in the streets might even make them unpopular come 2012.

My two cents on this is that the tussle is about nothing really. The president can continue to run the entire cabinet through control of the treasury and concentrate power in the hands of the Finance minister. Kenyan ministers are not an ambitious lot so I don’t think any of them will want to do anything revolutionary simply because they are now in charge of local councils or the ministry of heavy industry (I can’t believe they are actually creating these superfluous ministries).

So save us the drama Mr. President and name a cabinet already. Your government will be a joke anyway, with its 40 cabinet posts. Kenyans will pay over 500 million Shillings every year paying for the bloated cabinet and expect and get absolutely nothing in return. Shame shame shame.

I put it to you that what really matters to Kenyans is not what post some fat cat gets in your government but the stuff that increases the number of sufurias of ugali in their homes : equitable economic development.

this childish behaviour is embarrassing

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At this point I don’t even know why African leaders bother to hold elections. In the recent past, Nigeria, Kenya and now Zimbabwe have had rather dubious elections. These three countries have again proven to the world that we Africans cannot manage our own affairs – even a matter as simple as tallying figures and announcing results.

You know, it is very hard to walk with your chin up – as an African – when day after day you have buffoons all over the continent who are too eager to prove to the world how incompetent and myopic Africans can be. Don’t these people have a sense of personal honor? Where is your pride Mugabe? Don’t you realise that every time you pull one of your dirty tricks you continue to reinforce a stereotype about our continent that not only tarnishes our image but also lays the groundwork for future generations of Africans to live in poverty and inferior circumstances to the rest of the world?

It is almost childish what goes on in places like Zimbabwe. Have we completely lost our minds? HOW HARD CAN IT BE TO RUN A COUNTRY? WHY IS THE MADNESS ONLY CONCENTRATED ON THIS ONE CONTINENT? DO THESE GUYS EVER READ THE NEWS ABOUT HOW PROSPEROUS OTHER REGIONS ARE? DOES IT BOTHER THEM THAT MAJORITY OF AFRICANS WALLOW IN PRE-MODERN EXISTENCE?

I just felt like I needed to let that out. It is really sad what we Africans are allowing ourselves to be put through by the Mugabe’s of our world. It is really sad that this is the kind of legacy we are going to leave for our descendants in the decades and centuries to come.

Mugabe nears exit

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The end has come. Judging from what I hear and the stuff I am reading online, it is apparent that Robert Mugabe has lost in last weekend’s general elections. The people of Zimbabwe have finally managed to send home their many faceted leader. Mugabe was at once a militant, a mild mannered gentleman with some class, the independence hero of the former British colony and a tyrant who killed and jailed many and drove his country’s economy deep into the ground.

The supposed winner of the elections, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, is playing it cool. He says that although he is confident that he won he is not going to declare victory until the electoral commission officially announces the results. If indeed the MDC has won then uncle Bob will have done a great job of diminishing my afro-pessimism.

The next few days are going to be critical for Zimbabwe, especially following remarks by it’s security forces that they would not serve under Mr. Tsvangirai. However, it seems that even this threat cannot muffle Zimbabweans’ cries for change. The Times of London is reporting that Mugabe is right now trying to negotiate a settlement that will guarantee him immunity from prosecution under the new government. I guess that is the least they could do for an independence hero.

zimbabwe’s kenya-esque election

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It all sounds too familiar. Elections are held, but the government fears that the wrong people might be winning. The election officials know the results but are not releasing them for some mysterious reason. All things then break loose, with disastrous consequences.

The credibility of the election process is tarnished and everyone is left guessing who really won the election.

I am not saying that this is how Zimbabwe will pan out but I am worried at how eerily familiar the situation there seems.

Right now, with 52 constituencies counted, the government has half the seats and the opposition the other half. Tsvangirai’s party has 25 and Mutambara’s 1. A couple of Mugabe’s ministers have lost their parliamentary seats. Other results are being delayed for some mysterious reason even as Tsvangirai’s party, the MDC, continues to claim that it has won 60% of the votes cast to Mugabe’s 30%. The MDC also claims that it has won 99 seats in parliament against ZANU-PF’s 96 while 15 went to other opposition groups.

The real results have been delayed by the electoral commission …….. no prizes for guessing why. The weird part about this is that even after uncle Bob showed the world what he is capable of over the last two decades, I was still kind of optimistic that he was going to hold a relatively acceptable election (please prove me right Mugabe, please…)

To future would be African “riggers of elections” : if you have to rig, please be tactful. Do it without delaying results simply because this creates suspicion. Do it without having voter turnout being higher than voter registration. And do it in a way that half the government ministers do not lose their parliamentary seats because if they do and you still win, even the dumbest among us will smell a rat.