Toothless bulldogs must learn to bite 29 June 2008
I have in the past written about the Asian toothless bulldog known as ASEAN (Association for South East Asian Nations), its platitudinous proclamations of support for oppressed people like the Cambodians, and its sheer unwillingness to condemn the dictatorships that keep their brothers and sisters in a state of constant fear.
The African Union is like ASEAN in its shameless disregard for the plight of the oppressed. As Zimbabwe literally goes up in flames, all we get are carefully worded statements about being ‘deeply concerned,’ and ‘embarrassed’ by the ‘grave situation’ while a paranoid dictator that goes by the name of Bob Mugabe appears hell-bent on destroying a nation he once risked his life to liberate.
But that’s not the Bob I want to talk about today. Enough columns have been devoted to his despotic rein and not enough action, certainly by those who prefer to view him through rose-tinted lenses and see a heroic revolutionary rather than the tyrannical demagogue he has become.
Let’s talk about the Bob who smoked weed and wrote the most fabulous songs. Bob Marley’s tribute to Zimbabwe goes beyond the song he wrote for a nation that was on the cusp of a new era. Many of his revolutionary songs could so easily have been penned for the Zimbabwean people today. Take Redemption Song: ‘emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; none but ourselves can free our minds’.
Though there is a lot the world can and should do, at the end of the day, the people have to free their minds. Those who continue to believe the blatant propaganda that their problems are caused by would-be colonialists and the bogey-man of the opposition need to allow for the possibility that their beloved leader could so tragically have lost the plot.
They only have to look at how worthless their currency has become. Twenty years ago the Zim dollar was stronger than the US dollar. You got almost US1.5 for one Zim dollar. Now the mind-boggling exchange rate doesn’t even merit repeating; by the time you get to the end of this sentence it will have added another zero or two. The generals and powerful politicians desperate to hang on to power and protect their narrow interests must also free their minds, and understand that oppression can only go so far. As Bob reminds us in Get Up, Stand Up, ‘you can fool some people for sometime, but you can’t fool all the people all of the time’.
When you look at the original 1979 Survival album cover which carries the flags of 47 African nations, the first flag is the Kenyan one. What an honour for our country. But the question is, what has Kenya done for the people of Zimbabwe lately? Bob Marley says ‘Africans a-liberate, Zimbabwe’. African are supposed to have helped liberate Zimbabwe from the Ian Smith regime.
And maybe they did help. But Bob Marley would probably turn in his grave today if he knew that four million Zimbabweans have fled the country, anxious to be liberated from the man who once led them to victory. What role does the east and central African economic giant that is Kenya, which is honoured on that ground-breaking album, intend to play to rescue the hapless Zimbabweans, if for no other reason that to reciprocate the goodwill Africa showed us when we were busy killing each other earlier this year?
In the track Zimbabwe, Marley says, ‘So soon we'll find out who is the real revolutionaries; And I don't want my people to be tricked by mercenaries.’ It looks like it’s too late for this benighted country. The people have been tricked, bamboozled and terrorized for good measure.
When as many as thirty percent of the population flee the country to escape economic hardships and political repression, one has to ask, what legitimacy can the regime which has presided over this mess claim to have? Sanctions have bitten hard, but they’re no closer to bringing about a resolution than they were when the troubles started. And it’s not going to get any better, not while Mugabe and his henchmen remain at the helm.
At this rate, there won’t be a soul left in the country to govern. South Africa and fellow neighbouring countries have borne the blunt of the immigration. You would have thought the xenophobia that flared up in South Africa a month ago would force Thabo Mbeki to wake up and smell the coffee and exclaim, ‘Exodus, movement of Zimbabwean people!’
In I shot the Sheriff, Marley says, ‘Every day the bucket a-go a well, one day the bottom a-go drop out’. It truly looks as though the bottom is about to drop on Zimbabwe, unless Africa negotiates an exit for Mugabe and says enough is enough. On subjects like Darfur and Zimbabwe, all we get are sanctimonious statements from our leaders who sound just like their ASEAN cousins. For the oppressed, it’s a case of ‘Tears in my eyes burn - tears in my eyes burn; While I’m waiting - while I’m waiting for my turn’. Bob Marley won’t wait in vain for her love; but we wait in vain to see ‘Africa Unite’. ‘So dry your tears I say, No woman, no cry.’
Kenya gears up for a revolution 22 June 2008
After a recently completed study of management in Kenya, I was reminded of the first time I visited Japan in the late 1980s to discover why Japanese businesses were so successful as to threaten the confidence of the mightiest American firms.
In the eighties it had become fashionable to laud the success of Japanese management, with mantras like kaizen (continuous improvement) becoming not only part of the management liturgy but a buzzword on the lips of every manager worth his salt.
Scholars wrote bestsellers about the importance of Japanese culture, the notion that Japan was poised to conquer the world economically. Others saw a conspiracy between the captains of industry and the establishment. And I thought to myself, there is only so much you can learn from the written word. And so it was that a young masters student ended up visiting the largest, most successful and most innovative firms from Kobe, Osaka, Tokyo and Yokohama and learning from world-class leaders just how they did it.
What I found was a fascinating blend of cultural values that bound people to their organization, sound financial, marketing and production strategies, and above all, an overriding determination to succeed through innovative and entrepreneurial practices across the board.
Those in Europe and North America who tried to implement their conception of Japanese management in a piecemeal and ad hoc way found to their dismay that it didn’t work. You can adopt an inventory management system, involve employees in quality circles, but it doesn’t get you very far if managers believe they are the only ones who can generate meaningful ideas. If employees are viewed as mere hands to do the masters’ bidding, with little capacity to think for themselves, why would they make conscious efforts to contribute to the so-called continuous improvement?
My trip to Kenya has been a wonderful homecoming and an enlightening experience. I saw evidence of fascinating entrepreneurial flair, a determination to challenge conventional wisdom and re-invent business practices, a keen commitment to create innovative new products and services. From higher education, telecoms to banking and manufacturing, the modern Kenyan entrepreneur has taken competition to a new level.
Traditional major players who chose to remain stuck in the bad old bureaucratic ways now tremble in their boots in the face of upstart players who thrive on innovation, customer service and a commitment to train and develop their people. Corporate giants who once acted as though they were doing you a favour by providing a shoddy and reluctant service have seen their market shares shrink to levels that would have been unimaginable just a decade ago. You take the Kenyan customer and employee for granted at your peril.
But even as I celebrate the new entrepreneurial initiative, I can’t help but feel regret at the damage this beloved country of ours has suffered through bad leadership. The wasted years, the squandered opportunities, the rape and plunder of the economy that nearly destroyed the very soul of the nation. The shameless destruction of our institutions and infrastructure, rendering millions despondent and unable to fend for themselves, all in the name of politics. From the arts, education to business and agriculture, a people’s capacity to think and act for themselves was reduced to a debilitating culture of fear and dependence.
All that is now history. Or is it? Where do we go from here? The post-election mayhem earlier this year showed just how fragile an economic recovery can be. It is so easy to throw everything to the dogs. And for what reason? What does the ordinary mwananchi struggling to feed his or her family gain by paying heed to the politics of hate? Though a shadow hangs over the world economy, I believe Kenya is on the verge of an economic revolution. We can rouse ourselves from the hangover of a wasted quarter century and come into our own as a beacon of hope for the region and a place where academic, economic, industrial and artistic dreams come true.
It will not be an easy task. Those industrialists, entrepreneurs and professionals who haven’t already done so must abandon their parochial preoccupation with the relatively small domestic market and pursue partnerships with continental as well as global players. With access to technology, there is no excuse not to.
And this is where the Japanese management training approach comes in. Business leaders will not emerge through narrow functional specializations but through solid general management skills, a capacity for continuous innovation, coupled with attitudes that allow them to value and tap into the knowledge that exists even in the heads of the most junior staff.
It is good to see peace has returned to the country. The one thing that remains a scar on the national consciousness is the rampant greed and wanton wastefulness amongst the parliamentarians. In a country where people in public hospitals sleep two to a bed and where the escalating cost of living is driving many into poverty every day, it is inconceivable that the powers that be selfishly insist on devoting mind-boggling budgets to their salaries, innumerable vehicles, houses, travel, amusement and foreign travel at public expense. This level of greed is shameful, criminal and tragically, a back-door legitimization of that familiar monster: corruption. It is unacceptable.
An Obama presidency promises respect for black people 15 June 2008
The US presidential election remains the biggest circus in the world, generating speculation, amusement, provoking all manner of reactions well beyond the country’s own borders. It is the biggest American export right now, combining all those elements of Americana the world loves and hates in equal measure. And the world is right to keep a close watch on this election, for the policies, utterances and actions of the occupant of America’s highest office affect us all, more so in the increasingly global world we live in.
Interest in Asia is just as high as everywhere else. An old white man pitted against a much younger black man who can trace his roots directly to Africa. The comparison alone evokes mixed feelings. Some say, ‘only in America’. They see a farcical element, the sheer improbability of a person of colour clinching the nomination to lead a major party into a presidential election.
Others see hope for minorities around the world, the vast implications for stable democracies, fragile democracies, and totalitarian states should a major democracy create as its leader a man from that much derided race.
Asia has of course taken the lead in creating female presidents and prime ministers. Whether that has changed the lot of women for the better remains to be seen. Many in Asia therefore can conceive of a black US president. Their perceptions will have significant effects for black people not only in Asia but around the world.
There is the person, and the person’s politics. As a person Senator John McCain is part of the tradition of old men who are looking increasingly out of place in a world characterized by loud noises from the young. And Asia is no exception. Everywhere you look, gray-haired patriarchs hang on to power, some in military uniforms, counting on traditional social hierarchical values to legitimize their positions.
We’re old and experienced, we know what’s good for you. Maybe there was a time when age and age alone guaranteed respect if not reverence. But everywhere in the world, the youth feel disenfranchised, denied opportunities. They’re herded to voting booths and then told to wait their turn, and the waiting goes on. John McCain therefore finds himself in the unenviable position of being associated with the discredited policies of an incumbent Republican president, and coming through as an old man with more of the same baggage, including his support of the war in Iraq and the fact that he fought the Vietnamese.
Nevertheless, whatever they think about him as a person, the Republican position on free trade is particularly welcome in Asia. And this is where perceptions of an Obama presidency begin to look less favourable. Obama talks tough on trade and on the massive trade deficit particularly with China. With the US economy in the doldrums, and given the Democratic credentials that favour big government, he has to be seen to be protecting American jobs. And right now, jobs and financial security are uppermost on everyone’s mind. Single-handedly he cannot bring back the jobs that have been lost to Mexico and Asia over the decades. The very nature of competitiveness will ensure that the market makes choices as to where factories are located.
What he can do is intervene through protectionist measures that will penalize China and whoever else is perceived as stealing American jobs. Such a populist approach is guaranteed to win votes. But it also runs the risk of alienating the Chinese in America’s efforts to rein in rogue regimes in places like North Korea, over which China wields vital influence. That’s not necessarily a problem if Obama keeps his word and engages Kim Jong Il directly.
Like every other region, Asia has been battered by the forces of globalization and the current global economic woes. Anyone talking protectionism will be viewed with suspicion. One important weapon in Obama’s arsenal is his ‘soft’, diplomatic approach. US war-mongering is largely responsible for that country’s worsening economic fortunes, which have fed directly into the rest of the world’s economies. We’re all feeling the effects of the energy crisis, which is attributable to, among other things, a shrinking US dollar. Obama represents the beginning of a new era of collaboration and diplomatic engagement. McCain accuses him of naivety. But signs are that the world is weary of wars and belligerence, and Obama might not be that naïve after all. He has in fact demonstrated an uncanny capacity to read the mood of the electorate in this bid for the Democratic nomination.
The big elephant in the room remains the race issue, not because of a reluctance to address it head-on, but because there is a side to it that doesn’t make the headlines. Perceptions of black people in Asia are not exactly favourable, and that is putting it mildly. Africa remains the dark continent, a place bedeviled by misery, civil war and disease. Speculation is rife that having a black person in the White House will change perceptions, especially given that this person’s roots are clearly visible in that dark continent. One would like to think that black people all over the world will gain more respect, and that African Americans will cease to seen as purveyors of rap, gun culture and sporting prowess but as intellectual and political heavyweights in their own right.
Nepal on a rocky road to a republican democracy 8 June 2008
Watching the goings on between the Maoist rebels and the government it was only going to be a matter of time before the monarchy in Nepal came to an end. The insurgency had been going on for too long, leaving at least 12,000 dead and more than 100,000 displaced, according to conservative estimates.
The death knell for the monarchy sounded in 2001 when the then crown prince Dipendra went on rampage and slaughtered most of the royal family. A 240 year old dynasty was effectively ended by a young man intoxicated on a cocktail of drugs and alcohol. All because the parents wouldn’t let him marry the girl of his choice.
The whole saga had all the hallmarks of a classical Greek tragedy. Beyond its immediate family, the tragedy sent a chilling message to conservative parents across the region. But it’s a lesson that is easy to forget, because traditions run deep, and perhaps because no parent expects to be held to ransom by drug-fuelled recalcitrant offspring on a blind quest for love.
King Gyanendra wasn’t a popular figure. Some actually saw his hand in the massacre, strange as it sounds. He was never able to earn the respect and reverence that former monarchs took as a basic entitlement. And he did not endear himself to his subjects by firing the government and assuming absolute powers three years ago. When the people subsequently demonstrated against him, it was hard to believe this was the same country in which kings enjoy god-like status, and are treated as the reincarnation of Lord Vishnu himself, the Hindu god of protection. The tables had turned. No one wanted this man’s protection, or believed he was in a position, moral, political or otherwise, to provide it.
If anything, he looked like a man who needed to be protected by his reluctant subjects, protected from the marauding rebels and politicians. As a king, you couldn’t fall lower. But the man held on, and by immersing himself more and more into politics, succeeded in exposing himself as a mere mortal. It was either a case of unmitigated hubris or a cleverly concealed inside job to render the monarchy irrelevant. Whether it was intended or not, the position of king was no longer tenable, a fact that the rebels capitalized on and made a prerequisite for laying down their arms.
When the government abolished the monarchy, stripped the king of his symbolic status, and declared a two-day public holiday, the citizens didn’t need a second invitation. They were out on the streets, punching the air with clenched fists, singing and dancing to mark the conversion of would-be god into man in the name of celebrating their country’s new status as a republic.
Ordinary people who struggle to make ends meet and have seen nothing positive come out of the king’s short reign are happy to see him go. They’ll hear no more about the legendary excesses of royals on State funding.
I suppose the festivities are well-earned, as befits the dawn of a new era. But not everyone is happy. Royalists who feel hard done by could be the source of future tensions. In these sorts of situations you can never please everyone, especially where a decision is arrived at by politicians through a process of parliamentary horse-trading .
More ominously, it’s worth bearing in mind that the Maoists’s republican aspirations did not really start off as a bona fide quest democracy. Their goals was to create a communist utopia. In spite of their ruthlessness, they gained legitimacy in the eyes of many by championing the interests of the rural poor. The irony was that by remaining embedded in the most deprived areas that the government development initiatives couldn’t penetrate, their presence prolonged their supporters’ plight. Such is the paradox of the revolutionary.
The Maoists have their work cut out for them. They have skeletons in the closet through atrocities committed in the name of the revolution. Part of the international community thinks of them as terrorists. There are deep-seated ethnic tensions especially amongst the rural people. And then you have the vast spectrum of Maoist operatives, from foot soldiers to the undisciplined youth leagues. What will be their role?
The revolutionary years were characterized by atrocities on both sides of the political divide. A history defined by murder and torture, abductions and brainwashing. How will the undisciplined youth leagues be rehabilitated while their leaders acquire new status, new wealth, and official power?
The squabbling over senior political posts amongst the various political parties does not augur well for future stability. And it will take time to achieve real progress in civil liberties, and fighting poverty. The loathed king and all that he stood for might be history. But when the celebrations come to an end, it will be something of a reality check to discover that there’s only so much you can blame the king for. Be that as it may, instability has cost the nation a great deal in terms of lost opportunities for tourism. Located on the world’s highest mountain, blessed with spectacular scenery, the tourist potential remains to be realized. But when that happens, the task will need to be approached with caution because of concerns about environmental degradation.
Asia-Africa relations stalled by lack of vision 1 June 2008
Asia’s interest in Africa is the new scramble for Africa. But it is a scramble in which the Asian giants are reluctant to wade fully into, because of the problems Africa insists on creating for itself.
In 2006, China kicked off the African party by hosting leaders from virtually all the African nations. Many pledges were made, and the Africans went back with goodies aplenty. China’s thirst for resources continues unabated, and although it is fair to say that both China and a number of African countries have come away with benefits, no matter how skewed in favour of China, the relationship has been dogged by controversy.
India has long eyed Africa’s business opportunities as well, but it’s approach has tended to be ad hoc and piecemeal, and often all rhetoric and no real substance, except in terms of exporting labour to Africa. This is hardly surprising, considering that developing countries don’t tend to work closely together, especially when they belong to different continents.
China is of course also a developing country, but one which is particularly keen to learn from the mistakes of its fellow developing countries, and to offer them ideological leadership. India, on the other hand, is more and more like an appendage of the western economic sphere of influence, something it shares with Africa. And India has long yearned to join that most exclusive of clubs – a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
It is the dream of every country that assumes the status of a global economic power. And India is certainly an economic force to contend with. The political equation of gaining a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, or in the case of Taiwan, simply being allowed to join the UN, requires block support. And that is where Africa comes in. When India held its first party for African leaders last month, following in China’s footsteps, all the talk about collaboration in education, food security, industrial growth and so forth was underpinned by a little-talked about subtext, Africa’s support for India’s UN dreams.
Africa is more powerful than it realizes, but it lacks vision, and political instability remains a stumbling block. And because it consistently fails to present itself as a unified, powerful player in these political flirtations, it ends up being treated like a political football. It is sad to see our presidents and prime ministers in their expensive dark suits and embroidered floral robes, being feted in the capitals of Asia, made to sign agreements to allow access to their economies and then being palmed off with promises of aid. Aid! In this day and age. At least the Indians didn’t go on and on about aid. Instead they spoke of partnerships, whatever that means.
Last week, African leaders were on the latest feeding frenzy, this time in the Japanese city of Yokohama. They ate sushi and drank sake. And sat solemnly as Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda promised to double aid within five years. Aid again! When are people going to realize that no country ever achieved economic independence and industrial growth on the basis of aid. Well, alright, so Europe absorbed $13 billion of America’s largess fifty years ago, equivalent to up to $70 billion today, if not more.
But because of the way it was structured and executed, the Marshall Plan succeeded in changing Europe from a continent devastated by war to the economic giant it is today. Aid in Africa has done little to change the continent’s fortunes. A lot of the so-called official development assistance ends up in the black hole of institutionalized graft. The so-called soft loans end up becoming a millstone around the necks of millions who never benefited from the handouts.
China, India and Japan and all those who say they ‘like to help’ should start thinking outside the box, as it were. Soft loans will not help develop Africa. If anything, they condemn the continent to reliance on even more aid. If they really want to help, let them urge their private enterprises to open factories in Africa and thus create employment. Instead of couching aid in the form of contracts for constructing roads, dams and bridges, however needed they are, let them also build industrial estates and establish links with clusters of local suppliers, including jua kali operators.
The turnaround of the Thai economy in the eighties owes a lot to the massive investments by the largest Japanese manufacturers who were at the time anxious to escape the high costs of labour and production in their native Japan. They didn’t just build roads, they built a solid industrial base. Will Mister Fukuda urge the Toyotas and Mitsubishis to build factories up and down Africa, must as they do in North America and Europe? Of course not, because Africa is not perceived as a viable consumer market. It is only good for exploitation of raw materials.
Asian leaders can hold all the summit meetings they like, but they won’t develop Africa with ‘soft loans’. But we can’t blame them for being cautious. One wonders what the South African delegation is telling the CEOs of Japanese corporates about the xenophobic attacks that have rocked their country.