August 26, 2003
African people should think more about "freedom," the word cherished by Africans who fought decades for national independence, as in terms of national development, the freedom is still an illusion in reality.
Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, in his capacity of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) chairman, at the ongoing SADC summit reminded people that political freedom in poverty is only half freedom. "When you are poor in material terms, people tend to think you are also poor in intellect. So they want to think for you, and decide for you. That is not freedom. We must reject such proposition whomsoever the courtier. We can and must think for ourselves," said the president, whose country won independence in the 1960s but lost in the last 40 year with its economy still termed as "aid economy."
The southern African region as a whole is confronted with abject poverty with 40 percent of the population living with less than 1 US dollar per day. Africa, with the past joy of independence, is the poorest continent in the world, suffering a lot on the path to economic recovery.
"Our people need renewed hope. Today, all our countries are free in political terms, but our people still need hope, a different kind of hope, hope not just to live, but also to live well, hope not only to continue to be free, but to be free in decency and dignity," Mkapa said.
Actually, the African leaders have taken problem-solving approach to step forward. The African Union replaced the 39-year-old Organization of African Unity, the political freedom fighter, in 2002 and put forward New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), a blueprint to attract investment inflow and bring Africa into a rapid development track.
SADC, a model of regional integration, is expected launch a 15-year roadmap, the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP), this year to ensure the right direction of the area's development. With a clear vision, strategies should be devised for the implementation of time-bound, prioritized, short and medium term projects that will have impact.
The other day, a Tanzanian friend asked "why we are poor while countries like yours (China) are becoming rich?" Tanzania, like many other African countries, is rich in human, natural, agricultural and mineral resources. "The truth remains that unused, or under utilized, resources have little impact on our development. They may satisfy our egos, but those will be egos wallowing in poverty," said Mkapa, who tries to seek a way to convert those abundant resources into an effective catalyst for broad human development.
He embraced the concept of "smart partnership," which is derived from Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed, based on a belief that the wealth of a country depends on the ability and the skill to translate resources into products or services that can be marketed.
However one thing of more importance than the ability of know-how is one's character. Just remember Kenyan President Kibaki's call to his fellow citizens -- "working hard." That means African people should change the pace of their lives. No "Pole, pole" (slowly) in this fast-moving world and change the fate of lives.
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