Ebrima,
That was a wonderful piece. I do not know the audience that was addressed,
but the material was very fundamental. Only radical solutions by very radical
leaders will be able to change and prepare Africa for the millennium. I am
not sure if it was an oversight, but I do not think we all need to fool
ourselves thinking that Africa is very rich in natural resources. All those
resources have either been sold or stolen. The only resources in Africa now
and the last one is the human resources. To solve Africa's' problem arguably
is going to take a dare I do actions. The catastrophe state Africa is now in
needs no book tiger economists to envision that unless we are able to produce
and consume what we produce and focus on the industry of producing the
machinery and inputs based on our needs, the hunger and poverty that wound
Africa in the 20th. century will be its killer in the 21st.
It is always easy to blame the West and their enslaved economic Institutions,
but the real and only criminals are our owns. Africa is betrayed by its
leaders and its paper tiger "intellectuals." As they always say, "our people
will never understand us": when they are the ones who need to understand
Africa better. They are equally guilty of not being able to articulate and
communicate what is needed or even come to face the tasks. Unless they are
also able to grip the reality and forget the conventional meaning of an
"intellectual," they are equally betraying the African interest.
And you know what, one thing you did not mention in the solutions to prepare
us for the better future is Inter-trade in the continent. I am not an
economist, but it sounds very sensible to me and very essential for reversing
the situations for the turn of the century. May be some economist on the L-
will enlighten us more on that.

Ousman Bojang.

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