Africa's Biggest Problem...

This is a reaction to an email I just received in my mail box. The email opened by stating that, "Africa's greatest problem..." My opinion is that Africa does not have a biggest problem, but Africans are faced with a slew of challenges. Inasmuch as this may seem like mere semantics, since both statements appear to be similar at first take. However from a policy perspective the idea of a biggest problem, which needs to be addressed, is at best sub-optimal.
We are bombarded by social, political and economic problems which will all have to be addressed in tandem. This challenges can not be easily decoupled. Comprehensive policies which do not assume the level of development in Western economies will have to be implemented before any result can be noticeable. I am with Sach's on this one, the policies that will work in Africa will require many arms. If the solution is then going to be multi-faceted, there is a need for agencies to learn to work with each other and feed off of one another.
These is a case for strong inter-agency collaboration. Can the civil service in Africa provide the type of environment required for this to happen. A productive environment, with minimal energy spent on summits and conferences. An environment where the focus is on implementation and monitoring. That brings me to the last point. What role does our custom and traditions play in African Governments and institution. Do the dynamics of our interactions (seniority, title chasing) encourage or deter workplace collaborations. The landscape of the work is changing briskly in other parts of the world, will tradition business process work as well as the new age wiki-style interdependent work environments. Can we compete with the systems we presently have in place or is there a need to overhaul our institutions. Even more interesting to me is whether the new age business processes can deliver the silver bullet to put an end to corruption in African institutions? Inspired by Chapter One of Wikinomics. Stay tuned for the next episode.

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Stand Up For Liberia...

The International Monetary Fund faced harsh criticism on Thursday for failing to meet its commitment to write off $800m in debt owed by Liberia, as Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the country's leader, met US president George W. Bush in Washington.
This broken promise of debt relief threatens the future of Liberia, a country struggling to make democracy work after a bloody civil war, and lift its people out of poverty. Send an email to the International Monetary Fund today and tell them to keep their promise and forgive the debt.
The least IMF can do is to honor its promise to the Liberian people, who desperately need a boost. Post war Reconstruction, good governance, come on who needs debt relief more than the Liberian people.

ONE.org

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Nigeria: Resisting Change...

This weekend I read Don Tapscott's, The Digital Economy, published in 1995 right at the infancy of the Internet. In passing, he talked about the wave of Business Process Re-engineering which swept across corporate America in the early 90's. The big corporations spent loads of money in an attempt to improve the mode and techniques of getting things done, yet the returns on the huge investment remained elusive, even thought the techniques proffered and implemented were apparent no brainers. $52 billion dollars later the black hole that sucked away all the money and possible gains was found. Resistance to change (lack of executive consensus, lack of senior management champion; and unrealistic expectation). Old business practices die hard and they have built-in resistance against their own transformation.
Zoom into Nigeria. In the very serious business of running Nigeria, a parallel can easily be drawn. Lack of executive consensus (Yaradua, Aondoakaa, Ribadu), Lack of a senior management champion (An executive arm of the government at the federal and state level with no actions behind the proclamations to change the status quo), Unrealistic expectations (we are all guilty of this, we expect magic and we easily get fatigued by baby steps). Are Nigerians wired to resist change?

Not that I blame Nigerian, but could it be possible that though we cry foul and scream for help, our rational reaction may be to resist structural changes in governance and society. Could we be resisting change passively or actively without even thinking about it, just because it is the rational thing to do, given the situation on the ground?
Is there any possibility that my people are interested only in the dividends associated with change, but aren't willing to pay the price and face the disruptions associated with change itself? I hope this is not the case. However if there is any thruth in the statement above, we will be doing a disservice to our dear country if they are not addressed. Cleaning up Nigeria is going to be painful and heads will roll. Are we ready for this?

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Re: Investment Horizons (Podcast)

Here is a comment by Seyoyo on the previous blog post, Seyoyo's comment on Africa: Investment Horizons (Podcast). Seyoyo's comment ring true and rather summarizes the podcast. For those who have not been able to listen to this 50 minutes podcast, please read the comment below.
Listening to the pod it's obvious it's only Pineau who gets it. The other two are still stuck in their frameworks. On one hand, there's the ex-IMF guy saying all the tosh they usually dish, and on the other hand there's the US Ambassador stuck in the USAID framework.
Pineau really gets it. Africa gets far less investment than it should and her Botswana example is perfect. The response of the ex IMF guy was daft, saying there's nothing in Botswana to develop.
How daft can some smart people be? What natural resources are there in Switzerland or Japan. The point is that people need food, drugs, leisure, transportation etc, and the supply of these goods is where the opportunities are.
The problem is that it's still convenient to think of Africa as somewhere to take natural resources from.

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