Shelter is a fundamental human right, or at least it should be, and a government that's serious about development will run up against a wall if it doesn't start off by ensuring all citizens are guaranteed all of their basic rights first. Only then can you speak of the beginning of the possibility of sustained, sustainable development.
The manufacturing base that African economists constantly say is indispensable to Africa's quest to hold its own in the cut-throat and competitive sphere of international trade is a pipe dream if our people are not guaranteed fundamental rights first. The productivity and creativity we need to build and maintain a strong manufacturing base is best built on a foundation of people who are well kept. What we should be chasing, above all else, is corporate well-being.
We are not going to make a bunch of shanty dwellers and semi homeless people eating poorly and drinking dirty water give us the standards that we desperately need to compete in innovation, productivity and creativity on an international level when our competitors are taking better care of their people. We simply wouldn't compete.
The saying "when the food is wrong, medication is of no use" applies to this situation. We can replace "medication" with "schooling" in the same saying and it would still apply. Education is a process that involves the use of the brains. The more healthy they are the better able the student is to learn. Even when saying "schooling is of no use" is a stretch, the basic premise still stands.
And it's that simple.
And it is a requirement that our people be their best when we are bootstrapping. Guaranteeing our citizenry the basic rights is a prerequisite for entry into the progressive country club.
There is in fact no country on earth that is progressive, has a medium to high standard of living, and is holding its own in economic encounters with other nations, that doesn't prioritize the provision of basic rights to its citizenry. Even Russia has this prioritization in order, and it is in my view the reason it could keep up with the demands of the Cold War era to emerge today still a superpower. In this regard, only African governments maintain the ridiculous and laughable situation of having the cart in front of the horse as they chase economic growth while neglecting to ensure that the basis for this, the foundation itself, has properly been laid.
I visited Russia in the late ninenties, and witnessed first hand how the government treats its people there. Contrary to western propaganda about rampant poverty rates in the country that conjures up images of homeless people everywhere you look, looking unkempt and begging, Russians are better kept than even westerners on average.
It is true that the citizens of Russia, on whom the country depends for its labor force, don't have much money in comparison to westerners, and it is glaringy obvious from just looking at the quality of their attire, but each one has a home they live in rent free, RENT FREE ... and the other basic human rights are also assured for Russians. Food, for instance, is cheap in Russia for the Russians. They can buy it cheaply and eat to their heart's content. And we are not talking the cheap glucose/carbohydrate staple that Africans get in abundance, but nutrient and mineral rich foods the likes of which Africans are starved of.
The average Russian can afford an egg and omelette for breakfast, for example, which is a luxury in Africa. Actually, bread itself is unaffordable for the majority of Africans, and of those that can afford it, many consume it dry or with cheap margerine as the basic spread.
The Russians have their act together and it is only for lack of a better idea of what living a comfortable life is that you will constantly encounter the Russian man or woman going on and on about how little they have. Judging by what they can afford to eat and where and how they live, the average Russian is better off than the average westerner, and it's only a western media propagated idea of how much better off people in the west are that is responsible for the form the complaints about life in Russia have.
I walked for days in Russia without seeing signs of human decrepitude that I had seen in western countries, not to mention Africa. The homeless problem in Russia is nothing to speak of, and where it exists it is usually fueled by drugs.
My experience of Russia, and many more observations I have made from traversing the real world, lead me to conclude that the things Kagame is doing for his country can only mean he understands the game like few African leaders do.
I am not religious and it is not in a religious sense that I say Kagame is God sent for his people. This is a manner of speaking. The man isn't just this for Rwandans, but for the entire continent of Africa and whoever else needs this model. He isn't just showing that it can be done, but how it should be done.
There is nothing happening in Rwanda right now that is happenstance or mere show. It is clear that the government of Rwanda understands that it is all necessary for proper progress to be realized, for it to be self powered and self propelled. Kagame is in effect creating a machine the rest in the developed country club, including countries that are rapidly advancing like China, have already created. This is in fact the foundation upon which their remarkably steadfast advancement is occurring.
There is a lot more that needs to be done in Rwanda to ensure the success of this venture, most of which can be gleaned from the history of such foundation laying in other parts of the world, including China. For now, however, we can be confident Kagame understands this game very well and we can also deduce from his many speeches that he will not let the IMF or World Bank derail him from the course he has set, as they usually do in the third world when leaders embark on a semblance of this quest.
The other man who was equally God sent was Magufuli but, as we know, he was assassinated by an unchangeable west hell bent on seeing Africa fail because our failure has always represented their success.
No comments:
Post a Comment