The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Sometimes when I indulge in conspiracy theories, I speculate that maybe the West promotes these issues as a strategy to divert African elites and their governments from addressing the real factors that undermine rapid economic growth and actual transformation of a society. Yet I know that even a concept as “The West” is nubilous because the West does not have a central brain and it is not univocal on these issues. Besides, the worst dangers to human social evolu-tion have rarely come from self-interested people but self-righteous ones especially when they are intoxicated with ideas they perceive as self-evident truths.
We can safely say that both corruption and authoritarianism have advantages and dis-advantages. We really do not know for sure when and how the disadvantages outweigh the advantages – or if that ever happens.
But I suspect that in the wider scheme of development, it is highly probable that the contribution of corruption or authoritarianism is insignificant. The factor with the most powerful impact on development is a country’s terms of trade i.e. the value of its exports relative to the value of its imports.
If the value of the commodities you export you have corruption, lack democracy and do not respect human rights. In fact, as you keep growing richer, you tend to produce new social forces and classes, which may demand and get an improved form of government with greater democracy, increased respect for human rights and more account-able government. This means better governance is a consequence of development, not the cause of it.
International trade is the arena where countries grow rich by selling dearly and importing cheaply. But it is also a form of hierarchy. Some countries produce cotton, others weave cloth and others market high fashion. Your earnings therefore depend on whether you sell raw cotton or designer shirts. A cotton farmer earns less than 0.01% of what Gucci or Louis Vuitton earn from selling the shirts made from her/his cotton. Some countries produce iron ore others make steel while others sell automobiles. Your earnings depend on the niche you occupy in this hierarchy.
If there is any substance in my claim here, it also means that Africa’s energy has been sucked into quarrels over peripheral issues like corruption, democracy, human rights, etc. In the process we ignored the more fundamental issues of the terms of trade that have the most fundamental implications on our capacity to develop. If most of our fights over democracy and corruption were fights over say, policy independence to build manufacturing by developing a local industrial class and on resisting WTO rules that relegate us to producers and exporters of raw materials, may be our economies would have performed much better.
My frustration, however, is that these heresies do not attract much attention because our brains are clouded with too much religious dogma – corruption, human rights, democracy blah blah blah. It is very difficult, nay impossible, to get a critical mass of African elites to see the real threats to our development. Often, they lie in the ideas we have internalised not the actions of our leaders. Our leaders, like ourselves, are slaves of these ideas.
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amwenda@independent.co.ug
“… resisting WTO rules that relegate us to producers and exporters of raw materials…”. Andrew, could you please cite and explain any two or three WTO rules that relegate us “only” to producing and exporting raw materials? And, how exactly/practically do you want us to resist those WTO rules?
“Our leaders, like ourselves, are slaves of these ideas.” Is this a vote of no confidence in the African leadership? Should we, therefore, state that we have come full circle and that we should be recolonised? Or, should we simply outsource “state managers?” Because some of us our brains are sometimes “awol” (absent without leave), I am requesting that you “breakdown” all you want to state in a “limited version.”
Andrew Mwenda has become quite adept at creating false dichotomies. Who says we can cannot discuss/debate/demand human rights, governance and transparency from our leaders while at the same time fighting to improve our terms of trade in the global market. etc?
Just because the “developed” world had to stumble and fall through centuries of human rights abuses, inequity, authoritarianism, absolute mornachs, while developing by learning from experience, before they got to where they are now, does not mean we have to chart the same course.
We are fortunate enough to be able to leapfrog some stages and learn from their mistakes.
Kadaga should choose between being Christian or traditionalist. Being both is contradictory and, understandably, would attract that kind of uproar. As for development creed, corruption is not an incentive to development, although some countries may have developed despite with corruption. Africa’s development path can be paved with critical balance between development demands and calls for transparency and accountability. What we need is a home-grown approach, as the case with Rwanda, as opposed to compliance with so-called ‘best practices’. The development creed as professed by the West is neither ideologically innocent nor politically altruistic, but serves to perpetuate western imperialism. Until we divorce with erroneous creeds of the west, our search for development and human rights will remain an outright illusion.
Dennis,what is the “African creed” according to you? What is so innocent and altruistic about Rwanda? Is it the so called Gacaca courts, which at best are anodyne to genocide and not solutions? Is it the redistribution of wealth as through 2004 the Land Act? Or, is it the Kagame presidentialism that antedate the Mwami of old? What is ‘African’ about Africa? I hope you quench my curiosity.
It seems what mesmerises most observers Denis included, is the turn-around that Rwanda experienced barely 20 years after genocide that made the country nearly emptied of productive population; both skilled and menial. The country has been fighting insurgents, armed and political for the entire duration of the present regime’s existence; local animosity;albeit veiled not lacking by allegedly francophones who see the present top leadership as ‘usurpers from Uganda’ anglophones. I hear they are hosting the AU conference and auditors have given thumbs-up that they are sufficiently ready….. a country that before the genocide could not accomodate and did not have 500 hotel rooms.The so-called success story may be on the surface as some commentators put it but all the same one cannot deny that Rwanda boasts an IATA certificated airline complete with air bus 380 and other achievements that are impressive. as for genocide ,gacaca and other pertinent issues related and resulting from the genocide, it seems Rwanda is qualified to deal with them…. at least from the way thing look.
As a matter of fact, corruption is an easy tool employed by west to getting these bad deals for Africa signed by bribing the responsible officials and bureacrats. Remember the the way EPAs were signed with all the carjoling , blackmail etc? You can’t expect transparent and good deals for Africa, when it is represented by slopy and self-centered individuals seeking to only enriching themsleves at all costs. In fact, it sounds like getting fair trade without socially-oriented patriots on our side to negotiate them, is not only a dream but nightmare.
Musinguzi there is an interstice between your two statements. 1) “..,corruption is an easy tool employed by west to getting these bad deals
for Africa signed by bribing the responsible officials and bureacrats.” 2) “You can’t expect transparent and good deals for Africa, when it is
represented by slopy and self-centered individuals seeking to only
enriching themsleves at all costs.” In (1), you tend to suggest that, corruption is a “western vice” being imposed onto well intentioned and purposeful Africans (read: responsible officials) and in (2), you tend to suggest that the officials (mentioned in (1)) are “slopy” (read: sloppy). Where is the bridge? Which comes first, is it the corruption, or, the sloppiness? Sorry, but now days I carry a limited head (or have I carried it ever since?) I seek for short and precise answers. Thank you.
Corruption isn’t a western vice,alone. It is a vice afflicting us that even the West takes advantage of to get their agendas pushed through. We can’t therefore say we are corrupt but let us forget about this vice first and deal with strategic interests for corruption will always get in the wayas the few get paid out individually in exchange for the public benefit. I therefore sought to suggest that we need to look at both corruption and trade deals as important issues to tackle concurrently and not sweep one under the carpet as Andrew suggests
Thank you Musinguzi for the clarification. I was looking for the causation as opposed to the narration here. I want to think that you are giving away too much than what this article really deserves. Mwenda has successfully muddled up religion with capitalism. He thus looks at corruption with two different eyes- a cousin of capitalism (which he accuses as part of dogmatism) but at the same time he so “cleanses” it (corruption can develop Africa). CAUTION: DO NOT MORALISE this argument.
Andrew mwenda, I disagree with you on the idea that no developed country observed democracy while still developing. First my concern with mwenda is how he defines or interprets democracy, democracy is just a set of rules that are spelled out in the constitution to cater for delivery of justice, equality, and representation. You mentioned the UK as an example of countries that developed while not observing democracy, Andrew England has been observing democracy since 1212 when the barons forced king John to make peace. The magna carta was made, it spelled out a few important issues that the king John had to abide to.one of the clauses was ” no free man shall be seizes, or imprisoned, or striped of his rights or possession,or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in anyway, nor will any authority proceed with force against any one, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land” this clause was meant to deliver justice to citizens, “to no one we will sale,to no one we shall deny or delay right or justice”. a committee of 25 people’s was established to monitor and compel the king to observe those rights and the king’s property could be confiscated in case he failed to comply. It is this magna carta that most consistution around the world derive from. So can simply say that since 1215, democracy has been observed in England and it has guided England in the right direction. My position is that democracy must be observed at all times.
Andrew your maxim of “giving truth and pay the price” is flawed. When Hon Kadaga was being baptised; there is an invocation she repeated after the priest. If she can dare to back-track on it, then even the parliamentary one she might. And Andrew cease meddling into sensitive affairs pertinent to religious beliefs. to some of us it is life-line. By talking back to the ArchBishop, she proves already rebellious.There are no two ways about it. either you are a Christian or you are not…. no grey area.