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We should free ourselves from mental slavery
2017-07-07Staff Report 2 We can define our own destiny so that we can have good success in every sphere but we literally need set a timeframe for the industrialization of Africa in totality. The tragedy of Africa is that the continent is not well consistent on its own destiny. The situation of our country 27 years after the defeat of imperialism is not going forward but is we seem to be going backward. Sometimes I ask myself what will happen if Kwame Nkuruma, Julius Nyerere and Nelson Mandela were resurrected. What they will be confronted is unending military conflicts in Africa today. Military conflicts is not spearheaded by people who have been heroes, but is being instigated by rich members of the public who are who have sold their souls. These are the people who are used to the comfort of ill-gotten wealth. They will be confronted with how the politicians try to normalise slow progress and give excuses to their lack of implementing as result of low funding. These are also leaders who do not make time to meet the masses to listen to their cries. have people who will never rest and take it fair if they do not have riches in every country in the continent, this in itself is capitalism and result in imperialism. The current situation is that those appointed to fight corruption are expected to appear fight it, but not practically fighting. This is an ideology that is being engraved in everyone’s mind in any institution. If you work with integrity then you are rest assure that your political lifespan in office is short. This has happened to a lot in Africa such Chris Hani, Haile Patrice Lumumba and others were victimised because they stood for the truth. The situation is made worse by the media institutions such as CNN, BBC and other imperialistic media houses. If you stand up against greedy activities and expose it to the public, you will never be aired by CNN or BBC. This is because the institutions are being directed and move in the path set up by greedy politicians as inspired by their bellies. Our leaders are caught up in corrupt mindset and this is what perpetrates the corrupt activities. The situation is where by we celebrate the greed and see nothing wrong with it. Sometimes we are the cause of our own misfortune, because we elect dishonest leaders on the bases of their liberation credentials and yet we expect them to do well while not sure whether an individual can hold a public office accurately. Sometimes we look at bad things happening but we talk of it only mutedly for example the situation of Western Sahara. Through corruption our people’s economic, social and political stability is constantly humiliated. If we let capitalism to take over until vision of Unification of Africa then we are shooting ourselves in the feet and we can forget about African Agenda 2063, rather it will be just a word of the mouth. This will cause us to be depending on donor funding programs and this is the worst thing to do and continue doing. Africa will go nowhere as long as it depends on friends of good will. We should not let everything to come from outside, just because we contained our production with capitalism. In Africa today if we say all what is produced outside must disappear even your basic commodities will disappear Africa consumes what it does not produce and produces what it does not consume, for example the weapons manufacturing plant which our African sons brought in South Africa to produce weapons for the western and eastern people of the world. I wonder why not maize or wheat that we eat here. Going forward as I conclude, what we should work hard and not give up on exposing imperialism activities. Africa must rise up to face its challenges. It begins with an idea which actions will turn into reality. Therefore, our dominant instinct must be that thing of doing well and right. I believe this can be done, and if it cannot be done, we are done. Let us give priority to policies and programmes including youth advocacy and peer-to-programmes for marginalized youth, out of school and out of work youth, to offer the opportunity and motivation to reintegrate into mainstream society. There is a need to provide adequate access to information such that young people become aware of their rights and of opportunities to participate in decision-making and civic life. It is expected that we institute measures to professionalize youth work and introduce relevant training programmes in higher education and such training institutions. We must ensure the constructive involvement of the youth in development agenda of Africa and their effective participation in the debates and decision-making processes of the continent by having legislative framework to enable policy makers to mainstream Youth issues in development policies and programmes. Africa must know start investing heavily in Education and Skills development, Poverty eradication, Socio-economic Integration of youth, sustainable livelihoods and Youth Employment and Protection of the environment. We must see to it that every young person must be protected from economic exploitation and from performing work that is likely to be hazardous to or interfere with the young person’s education or to harmful to the young person’s health or holistic development. The African youth cannot expect governments to empower them whilst they do the opposite by abusing themselves in various ways such as substance abuse. To be able to get maximum benefits from the implementation of the youth empowerment it is expected that the youth would also develop and promote the required self-discipline. I invite our youth developmental partners to assist African youth in their role as custodians of their own development and participate fully in citizenship duties towards the socio-economic development of their countries. It is expected that the execution of those objectives would not only provide the youth with necessary tools for livelihood but also stem the flow of Africa’s most important resources to other parts of the world. I also call on all youth organizations to revive their activeness in the struggle against imperialism, fascism and neo colonialism. * Naftali Kambungu is a vice president of the World Federation of Democratic Youth and member of the Central Committee of SWAPO Party Youth League(SPYL). 2017-07-07Staff Report 2
