Tio Erastus Nakasole

As far as economic growth is being spearheaded by recent technology, industrialisation, robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and smart devices, the compass to locate our advances in this era requires smart government, hardworking state institutions, perseverance from those with the highest order to lay down policies and goals that can rescue those lavishing poverty. The pushback to advance this should not be associated with solitary confinement knowledge and meritocracy but with the zeal to recalibrate the exploration of those in the diaspora and plough back at home. 

Déjà vu principles

According to Jack Canfield, “the principles always work if you work the principles.” Same way, this piece does not seek to shift blame neither tailored toward those in charge of our current government institution but a robust peer-reviewed analysis that confronts the truth of Africa’s misfortune which may be subjected to addition, supplement and condemnation if can. One of the most pervasive myths in the African culture today is that we are entitled to a great life – that somehow, somewhere someone is responsible for giving us economic hangover for our nations, as associated with continual unhappiness, mismatching career, civil war, corruption, inequality, unemployment and poverty. Africans blame either the British, French, Portuguese, Spanish for their problem. Africa owes the West more money than we and our generation to come can repay. In fact, most of the followers have been confronted with the condition to blame something outside of ourselves for the part of our life we don’t like – either we blame our colonial master, our bosses, our friends, the media, our coworkers, our national partners, the weather, the economy, our astrological chart, our lack of money, the hypothesis in terms geography, culture, ignorance seems to be inimical to the economic growth in Africa.

National focus

It’s a universal believe that each and every society value patriotism and reinforces a shared sense of national identity and purpose. All in all, forty-five countries in Africa differ in their economic struggle because of their different institutions, the rules influencing how their economy works and the incentives that motivate people. Economically, no one decides what, how and for whom a national economy will produce. Similarly, no one decided geographic location the type of resources should be associated with each country. The greater success and determinant with the reference on the above is the level of specialization that each country decided to work on as each country has some comparative advantage. To scrutinize it mildly, why Asian (Indian, Pakistanis, Malaysians, Filipinos) and other who attained independence at the same time as most African countries due to their cooperativeness, living arrangement and demonstrated humility, the value of learning from others, beliefs about works and economic productivity – with entities that they believe as means of providing customers with things of value, for which they will be paid according to that value.

Bona fide

It is now a poignant moment for the wind of change to blow for Africa and not against Africa. It should be time to have high hope, faith and big dream in our continent’s resources and do away with the insidious imposition of foreign rule on us, the looting of Africa’s natural resources by our colonial masters as well as the disrespect and disdain that these colonial masters accorded us would be the story of the past. The likes of Chinua Achebe, Chika Onyeani and Ali Mazrui were the great explorers and fathom what works for us and what works against us. One of the great reality above all is that, we don’t just consume what we don’t produce and produce what we don’t consume but we don’t reap what we saw in terms of professionalism, value addition expert and economist mogul for the developed states. Majority in the diaspora becomes the problem solver for the better off, than for their own grappling in the poverty valley. 

In retrospect and as Pan-African, in order to turn the “wheel” of the will for the people, there is an urgent need to take hundred percent responsibility of all these major causes that created everything that the continent is experiencing. If the system or the policy is not working don’t just rename neither rearrange its content but abolish and replace it with something that bring about the prosperity to the lives of the people. In principles, in order to chart a cause to debacle down and solving the inevitable problems and difficulties confronting Africa, there is an urgent need to demonstrate high levels of “response – ability” towards our economic system, the government of the system, the freedom of the system, the value of the system and terms of trade. 

As per medical field saying, “accurate diagnosis is half the cure”, and therefore it’s imperative to define these bottlenecks clearly in writing. Lastly, it’s high time that we do away with politicising every situation due to lack of proficiency, being unoriginal and intellectually limited in solving our problem but enact ruthlessness discipline in pursuit for excellence in order to become economic warrior and not victims of lifetime.

* Tio Erastus Nakasole is a final MBA student at the Namibia University of Science and Technology, a holder of Honours degree in Economics. Currently serving as the Sales and Service Manager at HiFi Corporation Namibia. The views expressed do not represent those of his employer. theoerastus@gmail.com