Africa is biggest loser in globalisation � Molomo
Bame Piet | Thursday July 27, 2017 15:37
Addressing an annual International Conference on Public Administration and Development Alternatives jointly organised by the UB and the University of Limpopo, he said the continent, rich with natural resources, accounts for a majority of the 600 million people living below the Poverty Datum Line (PDL) globally.
“African states are losers in this global exchange, yet Africa is home to a lot of economic resources and accounts for more than half of the 600 million who live below the PDL.
Globalisation should embrace the spirit of Botho, we need to re-energise and re invent ourselves in the era of globalisation,” he said, adding that globalisation does not fit the context of Africa.
Professor Mokoko Sebola of University of Limpopo argued that Africa is not independent as many people think, and said there are many invisible hands that control African leaders and their decision-makings.
He said that it is common to see people showing love and support for a presidential candidate who turns into an autocrat a few months after being elected to office.
He said that African states are weak to make decisions that have impact on global affairs, and leaders use dictatorship tactics as the last resort upon realising that they cannot deliver campaign promises. He said that the most common problem in the continent is that leaders are often faced with jail upon end of their presidential term while some of them prefer to stay in office until death and would use anything at their disposal to silence their opponents.
“Africans have a weak nationalism character that compromises their integrity to lead with integrity, as their integrity remains a subject of scrutiny through foreign lenses. Africa depends on foreign principles and administrative action to solve own problems which ultimately leads to autocracy.”
Professor Sebola said that history is littered with leaders who were loved by their people only for such leaders to turn into dictators when the ‘love’ disappeared. He observed that Africa has adopted Western political systems that do not fit the continent’s history and culture, and which was inherited from colonisers.
“They had administration by kings and chiefs that defended their political and administrative powers within defined territories, and they made trade amongst each other and the far away continents. The imposition of a foreign liberal democracy explains the reason why Africa hardly can survive on its own politically, today.
The failing African political state today cannot be ascribed to an African leader- but to a liberal model that does not suit its context.” He said that this explains the reason why there have been many foreign military interventions on the continent, which were motivated by greed and hunger for natural resources by Western nations.
“It is believed that Africa on its own is far from being politically, culturally and economically independent from western influence. Promotion of good governance through Western ideals is highly unsuccessful with constitutions, regularly contravened without remorse.”
Sebola said many African leaders turn into dictators after they realise that they are powerless and have no means whatsoever to influence global views and events. The theme of the three-day conference is “Independence of African States in the Age of Globalisation”.