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Opinion / Columnist

Africa must make use of it's resources

14 Sep 2022 at 12:21hrs | Views
The African political and economic perspective mindset and landscape need to be changed if we are to reap and tap the gains of our independence.

It looks like African leaders are still holed up in the past and have lost the political radar which pushed them to go into the bush and fight the enemy. Most African leaders are now obsessed with retaining power under what circumstances rather than developing and uplifting the standards of lives of their people.

We were accustomed to taking over power but lacking the developmental part of it.

It's high time African continent self introspects itself without fear or favor and see where it stands since it took the reigns of power from its colonial erstwhile.

It is a fact that African Union and SADC have been caught with their pants down in addressing the challenges facing the continent and waited for westerners to decide on them on what to do or which action to take.

A very good example is what happened in Swaziland and Cabo Delgado in Mozambique just to mention a few where insurgencies occurred and erupted but Sadc took ages to quell the war. This is a clear testimony that the old order are still locked up in a lackadaisical way of solving problems and  their approach to solve a political crisis whenever it approaches is too slow.

We need serious think tanks in this regional geopolitics when it comes to decision making and not to treat each other in comradeship.

Indecision by SADC to come up with a solution was a cause of concern and showed that we are not yet there if we are meant to make an impact as an Afrixan continent.

We need leaders like the late John Magufuli  who radically transformed african leadership by proving that home grown solutions are the nuggets to development and will save the African continent from the dependence syndrome.

Magufuli left a legacy of the fastest industrialising country on the continent. Many of his people will remember him with with the huge projects which he left.

Africa needs presidents who spent much of their tenure roaming the country to meet their constituencies than globe trotting to European countries where they will be enjoying coffee and snacks.

Magufuli would use these tours to address people's needs, relying on his power to demand solutions on-the-spot for the citizens' various complaints.

Africa needs leaders who have the zeal to fight corruption and punish all those found at the wrong side of the law without fear of favour. This is the only way the continent can develop and shrug off the poor governance tag it is carrying.

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema is doing well and is a very good model of an Afrcan leader who wants to see a nation developing.

In Zimbabwe they are still practising stone age politics where the opposition is treated like an enemy of the state. There cannot be meaningful  dvelopment in a country where there are serious media restrictions, where the opposition does not have space on the big media mainstream. The continuation of always exercising face powder democracy will surely isolate the country from potential investors.

Africa is very rich in resources but we are failing to make use of such resources to benefit our own people.

A very good example is the discovery of oil in Namibia. Could be this a curse or blessing to the country as those who have discovered it will have a big share of benefits more than the locals.

In Zimbabwe there was an excitement when we discovered diamond in Marange and how many people benefited from that precious mineral. Just recently    there was an excitement of the discovery of oil in Muzarabani and how many Zimbabweans are going to benefit from the extraction of that oil? Africa must wake up and smell the coffee.

Email- konileonard606@gmail.com
Twitter - @Leokoni
+27616968508

Source - Leonard Koni
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