The Retson Tedheke's Blog: December 2015

The Compelling Conclusion About Capitalism That Piketty Resists - Fred Guerin

The excesses of capitalism are not simply a question of bad management and a political unwillingness to properly regulate it by imposing the right sort of checks and balances, but symptoms of a fundamentally and irretrievably flawed system that tends toward destruction of human and other life.

The idea of capitalism as an expression of economic freedom that also secures moral and political freedom of thought, or the notion that "free-market" economies are guided by an impartial mechanism of supply and demand - an "invisible hand" to use Adam Smith's metaphor - are both powerful indoctrinating notions. As such, they bear little resemblance to actual reality. Smith himself never used the word "capitalism," preferring to call his economics a "system of natural liberty." In fact, the inner logic of capitalism can be difficult to get hold of simply because there have been different configurations of capitalism throughout history. In its classic form, before the advent of corporations (when there was still an implicit sense of social responsibility, and insatiable greed was considered a vice), capitalism might have appeared less virulent. Additionally, there is reason to believe that capitalism unfolded differently in different countries with distinct political and legal frameworks.

Quite often when you read newspapers, listen to radio and watch television in the West you learn how poor Africans are and how corrupt African leaders are. But you will never watch, read or hear anything in these media outlets about the role being played by Western banking institutions, property development and estate companies, the big corporations, and the Western political and business elite in promoting corruption in Africa. When it comes to Africa and the developing world, the Western media pretend to be doing a good job only when there is an embarrassing story or a scandal that undermines their credibility as watchdog of the state.

How many times will I try explaining to all these Bad Samaritan economist that Devaluation is bad for Nigeria and any economy in the time of contraction in growth? Right now, Nigerian revenue y/y is down by about 50%; GEJ and the PDP did not save a penny for 6 years and squandered the about $55billion of Excess Crude Account and External Foreign Reserves that Yar’Adua left even when crude sold for an average of $105/Barrel for the disastrous GEJ years. There are many historical examples, stretching at least to the Great Depression, which show currency devaluations tend to go hand-in-hand with economic turmoil. Out of about 48 devaluations that took place during the Bretton Woods era; on balance, they were mostly not successful. We also have recent devaluation efforts of the US, UK, Russia and the recently celebrated China’s attempt to use devaluation to stimulate exports, neither of which has spurred economic growth.

It has often been said that if you think education is expensive, try ignorance. Africa provides many lessons on the damage done by ignorance, and if the continent is to get rid of gloomy perceptions, it will be through education. For the continent to develop, its education must change, writes Pusch Commey. After all, as Nelson Mandela put it: “Education is the most powerful weapon, which you can use to change the world.”

From the eco-systems of Silicon Valley to the slums of Nairobi, and the squeaky-clean streets of Doha, experts are adamant that education as we know it is changing. No longer does a formalised, structured educational system serve global needs. The game has changed to fostering creativity and innovation. The game has changed to finding imaginative solutions. Panel experts at summits and leading entrepreneurs have pointed to the significance of a little bit of craziness, adaptation, problem-solving, innovation, teamwork and disruption. After all, with an element of craziness and innovation, Apple and Google disrupted the way we communicate and the way we seek knowledge. The Internet and email disrupted postal services. All became possible through collaboration, competition and teamwork. So where is Africa going in the field of education? What kind of education is most suited to serving the developmental needs of the continent and at the same time making it globally competitive? How is Africa going to harness its vast human and natural resources in the direction needed, as the Pan-African icon Kwame Nkrumah put it, “To allow the African genius full expression”.

More than 50 years ago, Nkrumah also noted the need to equip students with an understanding of the contemporary world within the framework of African civilisations, their histories, institutions, and ideas. African studies was compulsory in the universities he built in Ghana. The first university in the world was African – Al Karaouine, in Fez, Morocco (859 AD), founded by an African woman. It was a full 229 years before the first European University was erected at Bologna in 1088 AD. Before the disruption of slavery, colonialism, oppression, and destruction from the 15th century on, history tells us of the great African medieval civilisations, and the part that higher institutions of learning played in African academic and cultural life. There is no doubt that in the 13th century, centres of learning such as Walata, Djenna, and Timbuktu had a singular impact on African education and that the University of Sankore, with 25,000 students, had already qualified amongst the foremost intellectual inspirations in the world.

The Historical Paradigm: All over the continent, governments have either settled with the legacy of colonial education or tinkered with reform. But one country that is serious about changing the existing paradigm to an appropriate educational system is Uganda. Bwesigye Bwa Mwesigire, a Ugandan writer, lawyer and academic, writes in an article culled in the online media platform, This is Africa, about the decolonisation process going on in Uganda. “The African experience has been that education during colonial times was driven by missionaries. The conventional wisdom suggests that this was mainly through altruistic considerations – albeit racially tinged – to bring light to the Dark Continent and enlightenment to its natives.” The language used was the tongue of the colonists. This western education expanded the basic numeracy of natives, introduced literacy and introduced new technical skills. There was the good and the bad. Most African leaders, past and present went through a western education. It was elitist. The education system had an in-built slant that meant it suppressed local knowledge, promoted inequalities through unfair access, and helped create a mindset of blind loyalty rather than open minds to new ways of thinking. But the overriding philosophical approach was a top-down master /servant relationship. Knowledge was defined by the master. The system was further designed to serve the economic interests of the colonisers, which was the primary motivation for colonialism in the first place.

Prof. Mahmood Mamdani of Uganda argues in his article entitled “Politics and Class Formation in Uganda”, that the missionary education was designed as a tool of control, not one of empowerment. He points out: “The political usefulness of missionary education, it should be clear, stemmed from its dual nature: that it was technical as well as ideological, that it imparted skills such as reading, writing, and arithmetic as well as values such as loyalty to the existing order and disciplined self-sacrifice in the interest of that order.

“This was not education, but training; not liberation, but enslavement. Its purpose was not to educate a person to understand the objective limits to the advancement of individual and collective welfare, but to train a person to accept and even administer the limits in an ‘efficient’ manner.”

In an uncomfortably high number of cases, the elitist products of the system were hard-wired to mimic and replicate western views and values while thumbing their nose at local knowledge and practices, including those that were progressive. But it also signalled the death of the nation’s community spirit, as the severe individualism of Europe supplanted the African spirit of collective welfare.

“Fast material progress had produced a brand of young men, who though in a sense were quite educated, lacked any intellectual commitment to causes.”

They could read and write but as they were handed the monumental task of building a nation-state, they could neither hear nor learn, notes the Professor. The eminent academic Edward Said writes, in his book Culture and Imperialism:

“Neither imperialism nor colonialism is a simple act of accumulation and acquisition. Both are supported and perhaps even impelled by impressive ideological formations which include notions that certain territories and people require and beseech domination, as well as forms of knowledge affiliated with that domination.”

Bwesigye Bwa Mwesigire, writing on the decolonisation process, notes:

“African pupils and students learnt that explorers Mungo Park (Scottish) and John Speke (English) discovered River Niger and the source of the River Nile respectively despite the fact that the people who lived around these rivers already knew of their existence and had names for them. Something was not true, was not real knowledge until it came off English lips, eyes and ears. And what came off the colonial office was meant to justify colonialism. Thus, through education, Africans were fed an inferiority complex.”

And as many have noted, confidence is half the battle won. The pattern of brainwashing the minds of Africans to subservience was replicated everywhere and illustrated in the last African country to obtain independence, South Africa, where the infamous Bantu education was designed to make blacks aspire to be bus drivers and labourers.

Decolonising The Education Curriculum: On attaining independence, some post-colonial thinkers and politicians embarked on the decolonisation of the education system, to serve the needs of Africans. This has had varying degrees of success and failure. Most failures can be attributed to the colonial mindset of African policy makers and implementers, fostered by the former masters. Arguing for the abolition of the English Department and establishment of the African Literature and Languages Department at the University of Nairobi many years ago, Ngugi wa Thiong’o wrote:

“We want to establish the centrality of Africa in the department. This, we have argued, is justifiable on various grounds, the most important one being that education is a means of knowledge about ourselves. Therefore, after we have examined ourselves, we radiate outwards and discover peoples and worlds around us. With Africa at the centre of things, not existing as an appendix or a satellite of other countries and literatures, things must be seen from the African perspective.”

Mwesigire notes that in Uganda several steps to decolonise the education curriculum have been undertaken to date.

“At present, learners in [classes] Primary One to Three learn about their immediate environment, through the oral strand. They learn about the family, the home, school, neighbourhood and sub-county. This is called the thematic curriculum, and they study in their local languages, with English studied as a subject.

It is at Primary Four that learners transit to studying in English. Under Social Studies, learners are taught about the district in which their school is located. They learn about its location, physical features, vegetation, people, leaders, and how to meet people’s needs in the district. In Primary Five, they look at Uganda, Primary Six, East Africa and in Primary Seven, Africa. There is no doubt that the curriculum is very contextual up to this level. The textbooks in use are almost all locally produced. The textbook industry in the country is booming because materials produced from outside can’t be used to teach the new curriculum. Thus, where John Speke would have been praised as the one who discovered the River Nile, the Primary Five textbook says that the river was called Kiira by the Basoga, who live around it, and John Speke was the first European to see it.

New Trends, Resources, And Lessons From The East: From that historical foundation stone, how does Africa leapfrog its educational deficits and release the African genius? In other words, how will it unleash the African genie from the bottle? The Middle East is moving at a rapid rate to convert its finite natural resources to human resources. Within their own cultural context, the Gulf countries like the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are making great strides in the field of education, and becoming globally competitive in business. For example, their airlines, shopping destinations and investments are becoming global, all built on their cultural foundations and language. Their schools and universities are affiliated to global best practice, but have deep roots in their confidence-boosting culture and self-determination. It is that kind of wisdom that has driven, for the past six years, the Qatar Foundation’s World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE). The patron is Her Royal Highness Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser. At the annual WISE educational summit in Doha, Qatar (4-6 November 2014) – with the theme “Make, Create”, the Chairman of WISE, Sheikh Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani, noted that the natural gas and petroleum resources which have catapulted the Peninsula into being the richest country in the world per capita will run out in about 35 years. Most of Qatar’s earnings are thus being channelled into infrastructure development and education.

The reasons for the tectonic shift to innovation and creativity are not far-fetched. After all, while resources can yield so much that is finite, knowledge, creativity and innovative ideas like Facebook or Google can generate enterprises worth billions of dollars, that exceed in value the destructive extraction of tons of gold, and years of oil drilling. It is also instructive that science, renewable energy and new innovations like fracking will upset the apple cart. Importantly, knowledge and creativity is infinite. The experts at WISE in Doha noted that with creative tools like Google, a web-connected device and bandwidth, knowledge is now at one’s finger-tips. Ignorance is no longer an excuse. It is learning how to innovate and create something new that will drive the world. The old era of standardised test scores in schools is going out of the window. The new world is about mobile schools, online education, and the kind of creative thinking that says a dissertation could be on the impact the song and dance Gangnam Style had on the South Korean economy. Technology, coding and the internet have a massive role to play. After all, Gangnam Style was driven by YouTube, the creative force of technology.

Post-MDGs and MDG2: With the UN-backed Millennium Development Goals coming to a close this year, MDG2, which sought to achieve Universal Primary Education, is as expected under critical scrutiny. Figures indicating the success or failure of this important goal vary globally due to a myriad of issues concerning public health, resources, infrastructure and human resources. This is probably why one topic that garnered extensive debate at WISE was how and why having a holistic approach to the delivery of education and innovative ways to educate children is vital. At the Doha Summit, education experts estimated that all that was required to put every child into school was $26 billion, just a fraction of what is spent on some of the world’s major armed conflicts. On the African front, education experts at the Summit agreed that the quality of education in Africa still needs leapfrogging, with many arguing that simple literacy and numeracy, as well as attaining MDG2, was not enough. Fostering the thirst for knowledge, creativity, innovation, solutions, and a growth-oriented mindset were some of the suggestions made for the continent to progress. But what is the African leadership’s common position on education after the 25-year-old MDGs? The jury is still out on that one.

Unleashing the African Genius: Very few will dispute that in the quest for an appropriate education, best practice should form an integral part of the African agenda. And that means shopping around the world, and adapting best practice to one’s special environment and circumstances, whether from England, China, India, South Korea, Singapore or Malaysia. Some African educational experts on the continent and in the Diaspora are adamant that the right foundation and direction in education for the African child must be African-centred. Similar principles have been adopted in developed and developing countries that are making great strides; Chinese education is Chinese-centred and so is German education, German-centred. In the diaspora, some African parents prefer to send their children to Afro-centred schools or use an African-centred home schooling curriculum, many arguing that the status quo negatively impacts their children’s self-esteem and confidence.

But What Does African-Centred Education Mean? An African-centred education is defined as education designed to empower African people. A central premise is that many Africans have been subjugated by limiting their awareness of themselves and indoctrinating them with ideas that work against them. In a 1992 article, US anthropologist Linus A. Hoskins wrote: “There is a vital necessity for African people to use the weapons of education and history to extricate themselves from this psychological dependency complex/syndrome as a necessary precondition for liberation… If African peoples (the global majority) were to become Afrocentric (African-centred), that would spell the ineluctable end of European global power and dominance. This is indeed the fear of Europeans… Afrocentrism is a state of mind, a particular subconscious mind-set that is rooted in the ancestral heritage and communal value system.”

Beyond these confidence-building values, the creativity of the African child must be unleashed in schools, to cultivate a focus on solving problems and creating, making and selling stuff to the whole world. For, after all, when the Gross National Products of countries are measured, it is precisely about the harnessing of the human resources of that country to deliver goods and services. The natural resources are just an enabler. As ideas about the ideal global educational paradigm shift like the desert sands of Qatar, so must African policy makers rethink education, ensuring that it is in the best interests of the continent, and resist influences and pressures designed to entrench a status quo. Anything short of that will be slow suicide. That is why there is an urgent need for disruption in education, and also why teamwork involving all Africans on the continent and in the diaspora is vital.

Pusch Commey is a Barrister of the High Court of South Africa, Award winning writer and associate editor of New African Magazine since 1999. He is based in Johannesburg South Africa. He is the author of 9 books including the best selling 100 great African kings and queens, and Tofi's Fire Dance. He is also the CEO of the South African based Real African Publishers, and the founder of the Real African Writers series. The original article can be found here

Religion has been a part of humanity since the first astronomers peered into the sky and created elaborate stories to define the movements of our universe. It made its way into our minds as we fearfully created devils and demons to explain the danger lurking in the darkness of night. It has both enchanted and burdened us as we attempt to define our world with the information available to us as we work our way through history. However, things are quickly changing. For a growing number of us worldwide, what was once indescribable is now easily explained by the vast data we have gathered as we work towards refining our understanding. We are becoming painfully aware that, although our religions gave us a starting place for thinking about how our world functions, they no longer serve us in that process; and in fact, have left a trail of destruction in their historic path. Here are 11 ways religion is destroying humanity:

Nigeria is the Second Most Religious Country on earth behind Pakistan; Highest number of Churches on earth; Among the top three most Corrupt country on earth; Most looted country on earth; Highest number of Almajiris in the World. Now guess the obvious:

1. 45% of Christian Youths like my brother Sylvanus Omoniyi Rightly said are going into Pastoral Miracle Fraudulent High Yield Businesses and not technical industrialized training.

2. 50% of the Northern Youths Lacks any form of formal Education and nothing is being done about it; They are roaming the Streets as Almajiris without care and I am informed it is Religiously Justified. The Northern leaders have started shipping their children and family members to schools in the US and Britian; The infidel countries, what an Irony.

3. Young Men, Women and Children are willing to die to go to an imaginary Heaven and a supply of unlimited Insured Virgins and with an Ideology that is Barbaric to Humanity. While the leaders of these religious bodies are living in heaven on earth. Willing to sacrifice their their members to continue their evil agenda.

4. Pastors are Psychologically Looting from their own Parents; Uncles; Aunts; Brothers; Relatives and friends in the Name of Miracles; Breakthroughs; Material Upliftment and Just pure Hypnotism. Private Jets, Mansions; Multi Billion Naira auditorium is the norm in the land of Poverty, Hunger, Unemployment, Darkness, Inequality and Impossible pessimism.

5. We have Generally Ignored our History and our Humanity; For Christians it is all about the Imported Jesus Christ and for Muslims it is all about the Imported Prophet Mohammed. We have no Idea who we are and we won't once we have bought into the Neo-Colonial Stupidity. It is a Shame how we know very little about our own people, but can quote the Bible and the Quran from cover to cover....But cannot accommodate one another.

The best of our Youths are too Scared to ask questions; To Challenge Corruption; to unite as an indivisible power to change Nigeria....We are a generation of Idiots high on the weeds of Brainwashed Religion. We cannot even ask how many people of the 7billion of human Population are Christians and Muslims...A Bible and Quran Centric Youth; Not Interest in Nationalism and National Growth; but only interested in consumerism.

This is a 200million Mumu Country as my brother Fatoki Taiye Timmyalways say and we are all GUILTY.

PROSPERITY GOSPEL: AKA POSITIVE CONFESSION: AKA NAME IT AND CLAIM IT: AKA BLAB IT AND GRAB IT…..A PONZI SCHEME USED TO SANCTIFY WORLDLY LUST FOR MONEY.....ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT GOD IS A BIG SUCKER.

INTRODUCTION

Our Lord Jesus Christ, when giving His Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24, had this warning to give His disciples: “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” (Matthew 24:11, 12).The Church throughout has history and even in present day has seen myriads of heresiarchs and false prophets, each with a peculiar damnable heresy. In these modern times, the one heresy that has infiltrated many Christian churches, particularly ones that claim to be “Spirit-filled”, is none other than “Prosperity Gospel”. Defined simply, “Prosperity Gospel” is nothing more than the ancient heresy that the Blessed St. Paul had to confront when addressing a letter to Timothy, which states: “If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.” (I Timothy 6:3-5).

"The goal of neoliberal economic globalization is the removal of all barriers to commerce, and the privatization of all available resources and services. In this scenario, public life will be at the mercy of market forces, as the extracted profits benefit the few"

The thrust of international policy behind the phenomenon of economic globalization is neoliberal in nature. Being hugely profitable to corporations and the wealthy elite, neoliberal polices are propagated through the IMF, World Bank and WTO. Neoliberalism favours the free-market as the most efficient method of global resource allocation. Consequently it favours large-scale, corporate commerce and the privatization of resources. There has been much international attention recently on neoliberalism. Its ideologies have been rejected by influential countries in Latin America and its moral basis is now widely questioned. Recent protests against the WTO, IMF and World Bank were essentially protests against the neoliberal policies that these organizations implement, particularly in low-income countries. The neoliberal experiment has failed to combat extreme poverty, has exacerbated global inequality, and is hampering international aid and development efforts. This article presents an overview of neoliberalism and its effect on low income countries.

On the free market it is legal and customary to violate the dignity of our fellow human beings.

When I ask students attending my lectures at the Vienna University of Economics and Business what they understand human dignity to be, I frequently encounter a general, awkward silence. The students do not appear to have heard or learned anything about it in the course of their studies. This is all the more alarming considering the fact that dignity is the highest value: it is the first-named value in countless constitutions and it forms the basis of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Dignity signifies value: the same, unconditional, unalienable value of all human beings. Dignity requires no “achievement” other than existence. It is from the equal value of all human beings that our equality derives – in the sense that all human beings living in a democracy should have the same liberties, rights and opportunities. And only if everyone really does have the same liberties is the condition fulfilled for enabling everyone to be really free. Immanuel Kant wrote that human dignity can only be preserved in daily life and interactions if we deem and treat each other as being of equal value: “So act that you use humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, always at the same time as an end, never merely as a means.” [emphasis Kant’s]

Introduction: More than three decades after most African nations became independent, there is no consensus on the legacy of colonialism. With most African countries still only tottering on their feet and many close to collapse, some people ask whether the problem is due to Africa's colonial experience or inherent adequacies of the African? For apologists of colonialism the answer is simple. Whatever may have been the shortcomings of colonial rule, the overall effect was positive for Africa. Sure, the colonial powers exploited Africa’s natural resources but on the balance, colonialism reduced the economic gap between Africa and the West, the apologists argue. Colonialism laid the seeds of the intellectual and material development in Africans. It brought enlightenment where there was ignorance. It suppressed slavery and other barbaric practices such as pagan worship and cannibalism. Formal education and modern medicine were brought to people who had limited understanding or control of their physical environment. The introduction of modern communications, exportable agricultural crops and some new industries provided a foundation for economic development. Africans received new and more efficient forms of political and economic organisation. Warring communities were united into modern nation-states with greater opportunity of survival in a competitive world than the numerous mini entities that existed before. Africa is in political and economic turmoil today, defenders of imperialism say, because it failed to take advantage of its inheritance from colonial rule. It was, they summarise, Africa’s inadequacies that made colonisation necessary and the outcome of post-independence self-rule suggests that the withdrawal by the colonial powers was premature.

"Rooted in imperialism and racist ideology, Zionism is a bulwark of Western domination"

Since the late 18th century various European powers and proponents of colonialism have advocated the establishment of a Jewish state in alliance with imperialism. Since 1948, when the State of Israel was formed and officially recognized by the United Nations, its legitimacy has been questioned by not only the people of Palestine but historians and political analysts from various nationalities, including many Jewish intellectuals, activists and religious figures themselves. The advocacy of a Zionist state coincides with the development of slavery, colonialism and the mass removal and extermination of indigenous peoples throughout Latin America, North America, Africa, Asia and the South Pacific. With specific reference to the Atlantic Slave Trade which began in the 15th century, millions of Africans were removed from their homeland and subjected to super-exploitation for over 400 years as human chattel. Even after the outlawing of the Atlantic Slave Trade by Britain in 1806, the system would continue well into the 19th century. Slavery was officially abolished in the British colonies in 1833 only to be replaced by a system of apprenticeship that closely resembled the involuntary servitude. In regard to France, the colony of Haiti, its most prosperous, became an outpost for the exploitation of African labor. Prior to the refinement of the slave system in Haiti, the indigenous people, described as the “Carib Indians”, were largely exterminated to make way for European dominance.

I reported earlier this month that the Financial Times published a pair of important articles asking why the goal of a firm is to maximize short-term shareholder value is still being taught in business schools. “While there is growing consensus that focusing on short-term shareholder value is not only bad for society but also leads to poor business results, much MBA teaching remains shaped by the shareholder primacy model.” The challenge is massive because shareholder value is now deeply embedded in the basic economics that is taught in business schools and economics faculties around the world. Moving on from the shareholder value theory, which even its foremost exemplar, Jack Welch, has called “the dumbest idea in the world”, will entail re-thinking and re-writing much of the basics of modern economics.

“Does it ever worry us that history which neither personal wealth nor power can pre-empt will pass terrible judgement on us; pronounce anathema on our names when we have passed? We have lost the twentieth century; are we bent on seeing that our children also lose the twenty-first?”

Those are the words of Prof. Chinua Achebe, the late literary icon and author of the world-famous ‘THINGS FALL APART’ that accurately mirrors the decline in standards and morals which have befallen African societies. As Prof. Achebe rightly said, history is not on our side any longer because everything has fallen apart and it is essential for Africa to set her house in order, and be rid of the menace called corruption, which smothers her growth and development.

AN INSIGHT INTO CORRUPTION: Corruption generally refers to the act of being fraudulent or dishonest, often involving the act of bribery. According to the Merriam Webster’s dictionary, corruption refers to an impairment of integrity, virtue, or moral principle. The global anti-corruption body, Transparency International (TI), through its corruption perception index (CPI) defines corruption as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain, in public and private sectors. While the first two definitions of corruption are acceptable, TI’s description of corruption appears broad and embraces the aspect of governance. Corruption is universal and cuts across every sector of the global society. All societies of the world, developed and underdeveloped alike, are plagued with stories of widespread mismanagement, racketeering, tax evasion, bribery, extortion and other vices. Phillippa Lewis in an article he wrote for the Think Africa Press opines that: “corruption is by no means a uniquely African phenomenon. In fact, taking a closer look at corruption and expanding our understanding to beyond just bribes and kickbacks enables us to see that corruption exists across the world and that even in ‘African’ corruption, developed countries are deeply implicated.” Transparency International’s corruption perception index shows that 70 per cent of all countries scored less than the 50 out of 100, with a global average of 43. Hence, corruption is not a problem typical of African societies only, but a nuisance that still troubles most of the world. Examples of this abound, and are well documented.

However, despite the prevalence of corruption in various regions around the world, some have been more proactive than others in the fight against it. Sadly though, the battle against corruption in Africa has been no more than a ‘fistfight’ whereas other regions have employed their whole ammunition in fighting the scourge. The situation in Africa is sickening. Corruption in Africa is a cankerworm that has eaten deep into the fabric of the society, beginning from those who parade themselves as leaders, who in reality act like rulers, to the citizens themselves who engage in various forms of bribery, nepotism, impropriety and so on; perhaps worse the rulers themselves do. The Transparency International’s 2010 corruption perception index released in October 2010 identified Africa as the most corrupt region in the world. Its 2012 CPI also ranked 90 per cent of African countries as scoring below 50 (on a scale of 0-100, 0 being ‘highly corrupt’ and 100 representing lack of corruption); Somalia was deemed to be the worst offending African country with a score of just 8, along with Afghanistan and North Korea. Experts refer to corruption in Africa as systemic. Corruption is dominant across all sectors of society, be it religious, social, economic or political, and involves all social classes. It is reflected in the policeman who demands bribes (even from criminals), the professor who falsifies students’ results, the religious leader who cannot keep his eye off the treasury, the parent who purchases certificate for his or her child, the politician who has public funds stashed away in faraway Switzerland and so on.

WHY IS CORRUPTION SO WIDESPREAD IN AFRICA?

The prevalence of corruption in Africa has led both Africans and foreigners to ask questions that need an answer: Why is corruption so widespread in Africa and amongst Africans?

Walter Rodney in his thought provoking book “HOW EUROPE UNDERDEVELOPED AFRICA” offered unique insight in solving this puzzle. He suggested that most of the corrupt practices exhibited by African leaders are encouraged by the West; often times through their corporations who offer African leaders inducements to acquire the rights to exploit the resources available in their countries at bizarrely low prices to the detriment of Africans. Other experts have however disagreed with Rodney’s suggestions. Many have suggested (while not totally absolving foreign corporations of their role in encouraging corruption through kickbacks) that the real cause of corruption is lack of patriotism. Their reasoning is that leaders like the great Nelson Mandela who show a deep love and respect for their country would find it hard to sell out their country. Furthermore, it has been pointed out that decades of wars, ethnic unrest, famine and destruction have left many Africans poor and economically incapacitated (estimates suggest that 80 per cent of Africans live on less than $2 per day) which has left them with no other option than to engage in corrupt practices. In other words, the deep-rooted cause of corruption is poverty. Many economists have suggested that reduction in poverty could lead to reduction in levels of corruption.

The negative impact of corruption in Africa is overwhelmingly devastating. Apart from the pervasiveness of absolute poverty in the region, the negative effect of corruption on the social, political, psychological, and economic aspect of Africa is represented by poor infrastructure, capital and intellectual flight, high unemployment rates, low levels of literacy, high crime rates, lack of or insufficient power and low levels of productivity. Not precluding high infant and maternal mortality rates (D.R Congo ranks as the worst country to be a mother in, according to ‘Save the Children’), poor health facilities and reduced rates of life expectancy, near or complete erosion of the value system, missed opportunities for advancement and many more. According to a study carried out by the African Union a few years ago, corruption was estimated to cost the continent roughly 150 billion dollars per year. Former Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Anan, while speaking recently on the BBC’s Newsday programme echoed the crushing impact corruption has on Africa and Africans through loss in government revenue. In his words: “We are not getting the revenues we deserve often because of either corrupt practices, transfer pricing, tax evasion and all sort of activities that deprive us of our due.” He further explains, “Africa loses twice as much money through these loopholes as it gets from donors.” Summing up the impact of corruption on Africa, he states, “…it affects the life of women and children- in effect in some situations it is like taking food off the table for the poor.” Since Africa finds herself in this regretful situation, can anything be done to remedy it?

FIGHTING CORRUPTION: In the fight against corruption in Africa, not all hope is lost as long as we exhibit the needed courage and enthusiasm to fight it. For Africa to overcome the menace of corruption, Africans need to act! There is a need for us to be more proactive than reactive in our efforts. This fight against corruption in Africa is not new. Over time, African leaders have often pledged to annihilate the scourge of corruption but have often lacked the will and courage to follow through with their promises. Corruption in Africa can be annihilated completely in many ways. Most of these processes are ‘tried and tested’ and have been employed by developed nations in their own fights. They range from preventive methods like standardised financial reporting, to reactive approaches ranging from jail terms to awarding punitive damages. Perhaps, the first step towards eliminating the threats of corruption in Africa is the implementation of the ‘United Nations Convention Against Corruption’ (UNCAC) which was ratified in 2005 by 145 countries and takes a holistic approach to corruption fighting under four main pillars: prevention, criminalisation, asset recovery and international cooperation.

Furthermore, the growth in popularity of the internet together with the development of mobile platforms has opened up opportunities for African countries to exploit jointly in the fight against corruption. Corrupt financial practices can be minimised or totally prevented with the restructuring and re-standardisation of the financial system in place, particularly those concerned with financial reporting, monitoring and evaluation. According to Laurence Cockcroft, a former chair of TI, “the size of the unrecorded economy which means African countries’ unrecorded transactions, amounts to at least 40 per cent of GDP, constituting a vast reservoir from which corrupt payments can be made without trace.” In Congo, much of the output or transactions involving the purchase or sale of its diamonds are largely unrecorded. In Nigeria, oil theft enriches both the local and national players often with strong ties to the government and involves the sale of thousands of barrels per day to enrich themselves while billions of dollars, largely unreported, are lost annually. The case is no different in Tanzania where the price at which its booming mineral exports, notably gold, platinum and uranium, enter the world market is controversial and secretive. However, there seems to be a glimmer of hope as the introduction of superb initiatives such as the ‘Extractive Industries Initiative’, (which commits both companies and governments to reporting the revenue they respectively earn and receive from the exploitation of mineral resources), and the ‘International Financial Reporting Standards’ (which seeks to unify the method used by companies throughout the world in the computation of their financial accounts so that company accounts are comparable across countries) appear to be useful tools in combating illegal transfers and money laundering. Equally important is the introduction of policies and legislation to clamp down on tax evasion. Governments lose billions of dollars through tax malversation at the hands of corporations that refuse to pay tax or pay it below the required rate. A recent ‘Africa Progress Report’ which was produced by a panel of dignitaries including the ex-president of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and headed by the ex-UN chief, Mr Kofi Annan, expressed concerns that “firms that shift profits to lower tax jurisdictions cost Africa 38 billion dollars a year.”

Another important tool to eliminate corruption is public accountability. Allowing public oversight and giving citizens the power to hold elected officials accountable is believed that corruption will be minimally reduced. Public accountability can be encouraged by passing the ‘Freedom of Information Act’, which gives citizens the right to be privy to otherwise, undisclosed information, and allows them to have special knowledge of how their government is being run when they need to. To further discourage impropriety in governance, the ‘immunity clause’, which protects public officers from prosecution, should be removed. Since the tenets of the rule of law and democracy proclaim equality before the law, it is absurd for anyone to be outside the reaching grasp of the law. Many African leaders have hidden under the covers of immunity from prosecution to perform lots of atrocities and improprieties. For Africa to overcome the scourge of corruption, all these need to change.

In addition, in the fight against corruption, there is need for proper restructuring and strengthening of existing anti-corruption bodies. The efforts of existing anti-corruption bodies in fighting corruption cannot be over-emphasized. Under Nuhu Ribadu (in 2008), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nigeria’s anti-corruption body, recovered about 5 billion dollars in stolen public funds and secured 250 convictions. Sadly though, despite best efforts of anti-corruption bodies, the spate of corrupt activities remains highly palpable. A recent report by respected Nigerian daily newspaper, Business Day, indicates that the perception of corruption in many African countries has increased over time despite government efforts, such as those of Mozambique and Angola, introducing extensive anti-corruption legislation. Angola ranked 157th out of 176 countries while Mozambique ranked 123rd and Nigeria 139th in the TI corruption perception index. Thus, for anti-corruption bodies to be able to fight corruption there is a need for them to be better equipped in the areas of financial intelligence. In addition, the remuneration of anti-corruption officials needs to be competitive to prevent them from seeking alternative sources of income in the course of their duty. Equally important is the fact that anti-corruption bodies need to be independent and completely insulated from any form of influence or intimidation from any arm of government. Anti-corruption bodies should be granted special powers to prosecute any individual irrespective of his social or political standing. When an anti-corruption body is dependent on the government — particularly the executive arm — the travails of former Nigerian anti-corruption tsar Nuhu Ribadu at the hand of the government at the time, readily comes to mind.

Furthermore, towards encouraging good governance, it is important to promote the tenet of democracy, which gives citizens the right to elect their leaders. Consequently, corruption can be overcome in Africa with free, fair and transparent elections, which in turn produce legitimate leaders who will act in the best interest of the majority and who are aware that any form of impropriety will prevent their re-election to office. For this to become a reality however, it remains the job of every stakeholder, citizens and public officials, to ensure that the vote of everyone counts and that no amount of inducements can buy their votes. More so, a virile and responsible legislature along with an honest judiciary ensures that the right elements of checks and balances are in place to curb the excesses of each arm of government.

In addition to this, corruption can be reduced by ensuring income equality. The high rate of income disparity in Africa is a root cause of corruption among the populace, majority of who live on less than two dollars per day. The disappearance of income inequality coupled with the emergence of an economic middle class would very surely reduce the level of corruption while increasing the level of accountability. In achieving income parity, sizeable investment should be made in the technology and education sectors to improve access, quality and affordability of education. More so, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship should be encouraged for employment generation.

Perhaps crucial to the fight against corruption is the need for international cooperation. Countries of Europe and America need to lend a hand in the fight against corruption by collaborating with local anti-corruption agencies in bringing money launderers to book. A critical and controversial topic in the relations of the developed economies with Africa is centred on aid and donations, which many believe is enough leverage to be used by the West in helping Africa to fight corruption. However, this does not seem to be the case as studies have found that whilst the governments of developed economies suggest that aid is conditional on the pursuit of anti-corruption measures, they often turn a blind eye to how the aid is disbursed and still continue to provide financial support even while there are shouts of widespread mismanagement in the country. Over time, the mismanagement of these funds has left African countries with ‘service debts’. For example, in Egypt 22 million dollars will be spent this year servicing debt accrued by the past military regime of Hosni Mubarak for military purchases. Countries like Gabon, Lesotho and Nigeria also reportedly owe more than 50 per cent of their national debt to export credit or aid agencies like the British Export Credit Guarantee Scheme (ECGS).[1] While aid is not meant to induce corruption, developed economies must help African states fight corruption by demanding proper accountability for aid provided and tie its provision to the achievement of certain goals or milestones in their efforts to reduce corruption. This would prevent some leaders from using aid and loans as a front for corrupt activities considering the level of monitoring and accountability that would accompany them.

CONCLUSION: Finally, corruption is a menace that has eaten deep into the fabric of the society and even though the solutions provided above would go a long way in reducing the level of corruption drastically, it cannot however eliminate it. To eradicate corruption, there is a need for the rejuvenation of our value system. Values of hard work, honesty, contentment, diligence, persistence and other morals have eroded or become extinct. The urgent need for a reorientation of our values is summed up in the words of Joao Martins, the Managing Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers Mozambique, at the 16th Africa Tax and Business symposium, who while lamenting the prevalence of corruption in the form of red tape and agents or intermediaries, remarked that “it will take a whole generation to correct the structure that has been created”. To sum up the views of Africans on the need for a total overhaul of our value system, consider the remark of a youth from Accra, Ghana, in response to a recent ‘BBC Africa’ debate on ‘fighting corruption in Africa’, in her words: “we cannot fight corruption when everyone sees it as a normal thing”. Thus, it is essential for Africa to take its battle against corruption to the coming generation and ensure that they do not follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before them by teaching them our values and the importance of hard work; as it is often said in the Yoruba tribe of Nigeria that “the pruning of an Iroko tree (a giant tree) is done at the nursery stage.” Hence, the need to commence the grooming of our young ones by making sure true values and morals are enshrined in them for a better Africa.

[1] http://jubileedebt.org.uk/reports-briefings/report/the-department-for-dodgy-deals

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Perpetual war represents perpetual profits for the ever expanding business and government interests

In January 1961, US President Dwight D Eisenhower used his farewell address to warn the nation of what he viewed as one of its greatest threats: the military-industrial complex composed of military contractors and lobbyists perpetuating war.

Eisenhower warned that "an immense military establishment and a large arms industry" had emerged as a hidden force in US politics and that Americans "must not fail to comprehend its grave implications". The speech may have been Eisenhower's most courageous and prophetic moment. Fifty years and some later, Americans find themselves in what seems like perpetual war. No sooner do we draw down on operations in Iraq than leaders demand an intervention in Libya or Syria or Iran. While perpetual war constitutes perpetual losses for families, and ever expanding budgets, it also represents perpetual profits for a new and larger complex of business and government interests. The new military-industrial complex is fuelled by a conveniently ambiguous and unseen enemy: the terrorist. Former President George W Bush and his aides insisted on calling counter-terrorism efforts a "war". This concerted effort by leaders like former Vice President Dick Cheney (himself the former CEO of defence-contractor Halliburton) was not some empty rhetorical exercise. Not only would a war maximise the inherent powers of the president, but it would maximise the budgets for military and homeland agencies. This new coalition of companies, agencies, and lobbyists dwarfs the system known by Eisenhower when he warned Americans to "guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence… by the military-industrial complex". Ironically, it has had some of its best days under President Barack Obama who has radically expanded drone attacks and claimed that he alone determines what a war is for the purposes of consulting Congress.

Good For US Economy?: While few politicians are willing to admit it, we don't just endure wars we seem to need war - at least for some people. A study showed that roughly 75 percent of the fallen in these wars come from working class families. They do not need war. They pay the cost of the war. Eisenhower would likely be appalled by the size of the industrial and governmental workforce committed to war or counter-terrorism activities. Military and homeland budgets now support millions of people in an otherwise declining economy. Hundreds of billions of dollars flow each year from the public coffers to agencies and contractors who have an incentive to keep the country on a war-footing - and footing the bill for war. Across the country, the war-based economy can be seen in an industry which includes everything from Homeland Security educational degrees to counter-terrorism consultants to private-run preferred traveller programmes for airport security gates. Recently, the "black budget" of secret intelligence programmes alone was estimated at $52.6bn for 2013. That is only the secret programmes, not the much larger intelligence and counter intelligence budgets. We now have 16 spy agencies that employ 107,035 employees. This is separate from the over one million people employed by the military and national security law enforcement agencies. The core of this expanding complex is an axis of influence of corporations, lobbyists, and agencies that have created a massive, self-sustaining terror-based industry.

The Contractors: In the last eight years, trillions of dollars have flowed to military and homeland security companies. When the administration starts a war like Libya, it is a windfall for companies who are given generous contracts to produce everything from replacement missiles to ready-to-eat meals. In the first 10 days of the Libyan war alone, the administration spent roughly $550m. That figure includes about $340m for munitions - mostly cruise missiles that must be replaced. Not only did Democratic members of Congress offer post-hoc support for the Libyan attack, but they also proposed a permanent authorisation for presidents to attack targets deemed connected to terrorism - a perpetual war on terror. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offers an even steadier profit margin. According to Morgan Keegan, a wealth management and capital firm, investment in homeland security companies is expected to yield a 12 percent annual growth through 2013 - an astronomical return when compared to other parts of the tanking economy.

The Lobbyists: There are thousands of lobbyists in Washington to guarantee the ever-expanding budgets for war and homeland security. One such example is former DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff who pushed the purchase of the heavily criticised (and little tested) full-body scanners used in airports. When Chertoff was giving dozens of interviews to convince the public that the machines were needed to hold back the terror threat, many people were unaware that the manufacturer of the machine is a client of the Chertoff Group, his highly profitable security consulting agency. (Those hugely expensive machines were later scrapped after Rapiscan, the manufacturer, received the windfall.). Lobbyists maintain pressure on politicians by framing every budget in "tough on terror" versus "soft on terror" terms. They have the perfect products to pitch - products that are designed to destroy themselves and be replaced in an ever-lasting war on terror.

The Agencies: It is not just revolving doors that tie federal agencies to these lobbyists and companies. The war-based economy allows for military and homeland departments to be virtually untouchable. Environmental and social programmes are eliminated or curtailed by billions as war-related budgets continue to expand to meet "new threats". With the support of an army of lobbyists and companies, cabinet members like former DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, are invincible in Washington. When citizens complained of watching their children groped by the TSA, Napolitano defiantly retorted that if people did not want their children groped, they should yield and use the unpopular full-body machines - the machines being sold by her predecessor, Chertoff. It is not just the Defense and DHS departments that enjoy the war windfall. Take the Department of Justice (DOJ). A massive counter terrorism system has been created employing tens of thousands of personnel with billions of dollars to search for domestic terrorists. The problem has been a comparative shortage of actual terrorists to justify the size of this internal security system. Accordingly, the DOJ has counted everything from simple immigration cases to credit card fraud as terror cases in a body count approach not seen since the Vietnam War. For example, the DOJ claimed to have busted a major terror-network as part of "Operation Cedar Sweep", where Lebanese citizens were accused of sending money to terrorists. They were later forced to drop all charges against all 27 defendants as unsupportable. It turned out to be a bunch of simple head shops. Nevertheless, the new internal security system continues to grind on with expanding powers and budgets. A few years ago, the DOJ even changed the definition of terrorism to allow for an ever-widening number of cases to be considered "terror-related".

Symbiotic Relationship: Our economic war-dependence is matched by political war-dependence. Many members represent districts with contractors that supply homeland security needs and our on-going wars. Even with polls showing that the majority of Americans are opposed to continuing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the new military-industrial complex continues to easily muster the necessary support from both Democrats and Republicans in Congress. It is a testament to the influence of this alliance that hundreds of billions are being spent in Afghanistan and Iraq while Congress is planning to cut billions from core social programmes, including a possible rollback on Medicare due to lack of money. None of that matters. It doesn't even matter that Afghan President Hamid Karzai has called the US the enemy and said he wishes that he had joined the Taliban. Even the documented billions stolen by government officials in Iraq and Afghanistan are treated as a mere cost of doing business. It is what Eisenhower described as the "misplaced power" of the military-industrial complex - power that makes public opposition and even thousands of dead soldiers immaterial. War may be hell for some but it is heaven for others in a war-dependent economy.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University and has testified in Congress on the massive counter-terrorism budgets and bureaucracy in the United States.

The original article can be found here

The history of colonialism has made it impossible for West African countries to have the infrastructure to properly respond to any crisis particularly a health crisis such as the recent Ebola Epidemic.

Africa Before Colonialism: How could Africa, with all its abundance of mineral wealth and unsurpassed history of the development of science and mathematics, be left so barren by the invading exploiters? Africa’s historic contributions to the world are fundamental and extensive, but are barely mentioned in our primary schools as part of the racist propaganda, which supports colonialism.

Mathematics: For example Africa is home to the world’s earliest known use of measurement and calculation. The continent is the birthplace of both basic and advanced mathematics. Thousands of years ago, Africans were using numerals, algebra and geometry in daily life.

Article was taken for luv4self@yahoogroups internet forum. Inspired by the book "The Miseducation of the Negro" by Carter G Woodson

INITIATING THE MISEDUCATION OF THE AFRICAN - PART I: As African children head back to school to face another school year I would like to make an attempt to explain to our community and particularly to young parents why and how the African child has been systematically mis-educated in the western world during the last 500 years, so that they can better understand the root causes of some of the aberrations and self destructive forms of behaviour they see in our community and to help them realize that if they want a brighter future for their children and for our community, then it is imperative that they no longer leave the education of their children solely in the hands of the western educational system, but rather to follow the advice of Malcolm X who told us years ago that "the black child's education starts when the school bells rings at 4 p.m in the afternoon." (This may vary depending on what time school ends in your country) We didn't follow his advice then and today our youth are suffering the consequences. The situation of African children around the planet has considerably deteriorated since the days of Malcolm X, so that we are now forced to follow the advice of Dr Asa Hilliard one of Africa's great educators who died recently and left us these parting words. "The education of African people is an urgent necessity. It is a matter of life and death. We cannot abide another generation of children who have no identity and who are ignorant about Africa."