BELIEVING IN AFRICANS

Yes Together We Can Make Africa Better:

Welcome!
Friends and love ones to this simple site of mine. You can also share your ideas and comments with me. It is about Believing in us as African. One question that keeps popping up in our everyday life is can’t we make it as Africans? I believe in Africa and I know you do. Friends what makes us think that we cannot make Africa a better place for all. Friends in accomplishing great things, we must not only act but also dream, not only dream but also believe. Where ever we are in Africa, I challenge you all that if we make up our minds to be Trustworthy, Accountable, Capable, Reliable, Democratic and Generational Thinkers together we too can make it happen as Africans. Do you remember ……?
In the summer warmth of August 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D. C., the impassioned voice of a young activist was heard – “…We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality… We can never be satisfied as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by a sign stating: ‘For Whites Only’…
I have a dream… I have a dream that one day, on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaves owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood… I have a dream today!”
It was Martin Luther King Jnr, speaking out against black segregation, suppression and oppression. Beyond the hearing reach of this cry for emancipation, in far away Hawaii, an innocent two-year old boy played with his mom, completely unaware of the cords of destiny that tied the words of Martin Luther to this boy’s own future.
The boy, whose father was a Kenyan immigrant to the United States, would 45 years later, deliver an eye-watering speech in Chicago, a speech which would mark a watershed in the presidency of the United States.
History tells us with unprecedented records of many leaders and experts who were convinced that the ideas, plans and projects of other could never be achieved because they lacked the potential and the talent.
Indeed everyone has potential and talent and this is the assumption or premise from which every leader must operate. We all have the potential and the talents, and even our countries or small communities which appear to in poverty and disease driven have the potential and talent. What is lacking is the ability to identify, ignite the potential and make use of the talents.
If we are determined to successes as Africans we should never look down on ourselves and under-estimate our capabilities. We should hold on fast to our dreams and we would one day be surprised at the marvelous strides we might make, because we refused to spite ourselves or yield to other words of discouragement. The same may drive our businesses too. I know with this together we can make Africa a better place for us all.

Ghana – An African model

Ghana has always been a pacesetter. It scored its first achievement when it became the first African nation south of the Saharan to achieve independence from colonial rule.
The epoch making feat and the famous statement made by its founder, Dr Kwame Nkrumah that the independence of Ghana was meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of all Africa, did wonders for the African continent. It helped galvanized many African states to increase the tempo of their struggle against colonialism to become independent.
Fifty-two years on, and after a myriad of years of problems including coups, economic mismanagement and civil wars, Ghana looks set to lead another African renaissance on a journey of good governance, rule of law and democracy.
The world hailed Ghana’s peaceful presidential election in December 2008, as an example of a functioning democracy in Africa that should be a model for the continent.
Ever since America’s 44th president and first African-American president Barack Hussein Obama made the announcement that he was due for a visit to Ghana, public interest was instantaneously aroused. The moot question was why Ghana and not Obama’s father’s country Kenya or the African giant Nigeria.
The statement from the white house was equally revealing for its commendation of Ghana’s effort since 1992 to stay the course as a democratic and peace loving country.
The visit engendered a very lively debate as to why the American president did not make Nigeria with its population of 140 million and the economic powerhouse of West Africa, his first point of call but rather chose Ghana.
According to the press release “the president and Mrs. Obama looked forward to strengthening the U.S. relationship with one of its most trusted partners in the sub-Saharan Africa, and to highlighting the critical role that sound governance and civil society play in promoting lasting development”.
Recently, the president explaining why he chose Ghana as the first sub-Saharan African nation he would visit as president, told AllAfrica.com “that Lifting up successful models” of democracy in Africa encourages more democracy on the continent.
Obama further stated that part of reason was because Ghana had now undergone a couple of successful elections in which power was transferred peacefully, even in a very close election. “I think the new president, president Mills, has shown himself committed to the rule of law, to the kinds of democratic commitments that ensure stability in a country, and we want to highlight that”.
To a question whether he will like to see a lot Ghana’s in Africa, Obama replied; well, part of it is lifting up successful models. And so, by traveling to Ghana, we hope to highlight the effective governance that they have in place.
It is obvious Ghana deserves all the plaudits. Ghana is both a thriving democracy and a political success in Africa. Since Ghana’s return to democracy in 1992, it had conducted five successful elections and a second peaceful transfer of power from one party to another.
There is a vibrant media, a free Electoral Commission and an unfettered judiciary with well functioning civil society groups ready to take on the government for any infraction. After the 2008 elections, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement, “Ghanaians can and should take pride in the democratic achievement. With their continuing show of commitment to the democratic process, Ghana and its leaders are setting an admirable example,”
While Ghana was basking in this plaudit, it had been rosy in other African countries. Mauritania’s first elected leader was overthrown in a military coup in August and army officers in Guinea took power after the death of President Lansana Conte in December.
The instability in Guinea and Madagascar are pointers to what can happen if the message of elections change governments are not continuously reinforced. The attempt by President Tandja of Niger to prolong his rule after the expiration of his constitutionally mandated term of office should not be countenanced.
In the olden days, the world took cognizance of Nigeria and listened when it spoke. Nigeria’s clout as “Big Brother was well established in Africa, especially in the sub-region, so, no important international discussion on Africa would be held without participation of Nigeria.
Nigeria is the world’s eighth largest exporter of oil. The 2007 elections in Nigeria which allowed it to move from one civilian regime to another were so flawed that the world simply turned its back on Nigeria.
The April 25, 2009 gubernatorial election re-run in Ekiti State, during which the ruling party officials were once again widely implicated in fomenting violence, and the INEC officers in vote-rigging and fraud, further dented the image of Nigeria.
Prof. Wole Soyinka, the noble laureate commenting on the proposed Obama tour stated Obama’s choice of Ghana is a wise decision. “If Obama decides to grace Nigeria with his presence, I will stone him. The message he is sending by going to Ghana is so obvious, is so brilliant that he must not render it flawed by coming to Nigeria any time soon,” he said.
The attention of the world is now riveted on Ghana and we must make the most of it to deepen the country’s democracy and continue to serve as a beacon to inspire other African countries to change governments through the ballot box.
The era of coups must be a thing of the past. The era of Africa’s Presidents for life should be a thing of the past. These leaders, Muammar al-Qathafi of Libya 39 years in power, Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema nearly 30 years and President Jose Eduardo dos Santos 30 years, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe with 29 years in power with his country near collapse, must make way for other politicians to take their countries to the next level of development.
Other leaders who have monopolized their country’s leadership roles include President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, 27 years, Zine AL-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, 21 years, Blaise Compoare of Burkina Faso, 21 years, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, 23 years and Paul Biya of Cameroon, 26 years.
Credit to Fiifi Mensah.

TRUTHFULNESS & RECORD KEEPING

- Key to good governance in Africa

Making decisions and implementing them to deal with the needs of citizens is a major concern of every government. Of course, Africans are not pleased with a government that is characterized by unjust and un-enforced legal systems, arbitrary policy making and widespread corruption.
Instead, they prefer a government that would not only help to improve their living conditions but also allow them to have a voice in the decisions that the government makes. Unfortunately, some African leaders do not know that good record keeping and truthfulness is the pivot of good governance.

Transparency and Accountability

One of the pillars of good governance is transparency. Citizens trust their governments and become more concerned about their civic responsibilities when they realize that decisions taken by the Government are open and they followed laid-down rules and regulations. However, this is meaningless without proper records. For instance, how do we know the exact decisions that were taken, the procedure, the people involved and how the decisions should be enforced if there are no records? Probity and accountability are also critical to good governance. Without records, it would be very difficult to hold a government accountable for whatever it says or does.
In Africa, the efficient management of the public sector has been considered as a key factor in economic development. The fact; however is that the ability to retrieve information about government services is a criterion for a successful public sector management. When programmed cannot be delivered because of inadequate information systems, the public stands to suffer because all aspects of the public service including health, pensions and human rights depend on records.

Rule of law and human rights

A government is expected to protect and respect the rights and entitlements of its citizens. However, its ability to do so is based on the quality of the policies, standards and practices employed for the care of the relevant records. Retired workers should not suffer the ordeal of “go and come” when it comes to working out of their entitlements simply because their personal files could not be traced. Similarly, there should not be delays in administering justice with the excuse that the relevant records/dockets are not “readily available” since justice delayed is justice denied.
In government, improved human resource is critical to policy management. For instance, when it comes to performance-related human resource management, the availability of accurate and complete information about the past and present performances of staff is very necessary to be able to either reward hard-working staff or penalize poor performing staff. How could such appraisal be carried out successfully if we did not have the relevant on staff?

Economic development

An appreciable amount of the country’s financial and other resources keeps going down the drain on land and chieftaincy disputes. Such monies could have been used to social amenities, thereby improving the living conditions of the people. We could avoid or minimize those unnecessary disputes by keeping proper records.
We cannot run away from the fact that the private sector contributes immensely to national development.
In fact, some people believe that the private sector is the engine growth as far as economic development is concerned. However, weaknesses in government record keeping could adversely affect the performance of the sector. For instance if records are misplaced or lost and as a result, it takes a government agency several months to reply to a correspondence of an investor, then we could all guess where we are heading as far as investment promotion is concerned.

Corruption

One of the major reasons for the stagnation of the economies of many African countries could be traced to corrupt governments and officials.
People give various reasons to justify their corrupt behavior. Some even say that if you remain sincere and honest in your dealings, those who are “fast” (corrupt) would have whatever they need and leave you behind. It is barely thought that without corruption, governments could not have marshaled the necessary resources for the development at large, thereby making life meaningful for everyone. The fact that such “fast” people are crowned with shame, humiliation, imprisonment and sometimes death after finishing their race of acquiring illegal wealth should be enough to deter us from being participants in such unworthy competition. In fact, no reason whatsoever should be given to justify corruption in any form.
It is rather unfortunate that “ghosts” are employed in African work places, resulting in huge sum of money being siphoned at a great loss to the state. Such monies could have been used to improve the socio-economic standards of citizens.
Personnel files are very important and can serve as evidence that an employee really exists and that his/her grade (rank) is appropriate to the salary paid and that any additional benefits are correct and duly authorized. I am not a prophet of doom but I can say unequivocally that until there is effective management of personnel files, the problem of “ghost workers” would be quite difficult to solve.
It would be unfair to say or suggest that no efforts are being made in Africa to eliminate or minimize corruption. One therefore wonders why the “disease” still persists in spite of different “prescriptions” been used by the countries involved. Archivist, however, believe that by administering a single dose of effective and efficient record-keeping, we can prevent the spread of this “social killer disease”.
The importance of record cannot be overemphasized. If records are properly kept, it would be easy to establish who did what, when, why and how. People would then be cautious of their actions, knowing that they could be exposed by the appropriate documents and punished accordingly. On the other hand if documents are lost due to improper record keeping, culprits could escape justice with ease since there would be no evidence in the form of records.

Concerns

It is amazing the kind of mentality or perception that some people have about the archives profession. We should not make the mistake to think that anybody at all can manage records. It is this erroneous notion that makes some heads of organization transfer staff that they considered to be insubordinate, “problematic” or “useless” from a particular department or section to the registries and archives.
In fact, the archives are considered as a “dumping ground”. The people who take such actions have forgotten that their decision could cost their organizations so much, including the leakage of classified, confidential and unauthorized information to people.
Why is it that untrained and unqualified persons are not assigned the responsibilities of doctors, teachers, engineers, social workers, lawyers, nurses, accountants and other professionals but it is done in the case of archivist and record managers? Is the profession considered so cheap?
I am not suggesting that only people with academic qualifications in archives administration should be made to manage records. After all, I know people who have not been to the university to study archives but who have received the needed training in records management on the job and are performing creditably. My point is that round pegs should not be put in square holes.
As individuals and as Africans, there is the need to be serious with record keeping and also be truthful in the pursuit of our work if really we want to achieve the aim of becoming middle-income countries through good governance.

MAKING THE IMPOSSIBILITY HAPPEN AS AFRICANS

INTEGRITY and accountability are two words that have been much flaunted in society, particularly in the leadership circles of Africa. Considering how often they appear, one may be right in describing them as “notorious” words which pop up just like some adverts do on our computers.
Nonetheless, they are words that cannot be easily dismissed as long as they remain critical success factors in leadership, the destiny of the leaders and their people. African leaders must stand for and embrace integrity and accountability so that they will always have solid principles to hold on to. According to Alexander Hamilton, he said “Those who stand for nothing falls for anything” and that is very dangerous.
Although just two simple words, they send strong messages such as these to people they associate with all the time; “Are our leaders sure they are doing the right thing?” “Watch out, one day, you may be called to explain your actions”.
If this were not true, why is it that people strive to do the right thing whiles those who do otherwise attempt to cover up their trails? At a point, something definitely cautions that we should be careful in everything we do.
History abounds with records of many leaders who were convinced that the ideas, plans and projects of others could never be achieved because they lacked the potential and the talent.
One Edgar Guest, who abhorred this type of reasoning, said “there are thousands to tell you it cannot be done. There are thousands to prophesy failure; there are thousands to point out to you, one by one the dangers that will wait to assail you. But just buckle right in with a bit of grin, Tackle the thing that cannot be done, and you could make the impossible happen”.
Whiles Africans continues to battle with the lack of integrity and accountability, we must be reminded that inordinate desire to become rich, great suddenly or what have you is what drives Leaders to care less about integrity and accountability.
In my research on what can make the impossible happen, I found one thing all African leaders can agree on and which is exemplified by Albert Einstein in his comment on Integrity, which I wish to share with you: “Try not to become a man of success, Rather become a man of value.
As a leader, wish everybody growth and success in all their endeavors and never forget to treat your people well. Every human being wants to be special, to be valued most. Let your people “know, see and feel it that you are there for them and gradually they will also be there for you to make great because as a matter of fact no African trusts his leader. WHY?
Our leaders should have vision and be adventurous. They should not make promises they cannot fulfill. It pays to make public only promises that you can deliver.
Every great achievement was once impossible until someone with an indomitable spirit said let every leader fail but I will still try. Where ever we are, what ever country we come from within the African continent our leaders can be the once we want them to be. They should believe they were also wonderfully created like other leaders elsewhere they can make the impossible happen.