"If you are poor, you are not likely to live long,". These were comments made by Nelson Mandela at his village house in Eastern Cape province for a birthday interview. He went on to mention that "there are many people in South Africa who are rich and who can share those riches with those not so fortunate who have not been able to conquer poverty". This way of thinking has largely been manifested in the relationships between Africa and the West. African governments and private organizations routinely demand hand outs in the form of Aid and Debt Forgiveness, suggesting these are the most effective ways to alleviate poverty. Are resources finite? Can the end of extreme poverty only come with the end of extreme wealth?
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Resources in every nation (including Western countries) are finite but our African leaders and their parties must do a better job of forecasting and planning of these resources-how to acquire, manage and efficiently use them today and in the future. Many of our leaders get sidetracked, some receiving a "cut" of public resources. If in a kitchen you find that all the chefs who are preparing the food are nibbling away at the food, by the time the food is served, how much is left?? It is important that those with extreme wealth have a certain level of social responsibility-that can be helping out their less fortunate relatives, starting up scholarships funds, mentoring people, giving money to charity or helping to build infrastructure with a small portion of their income. They can give back in any form they want to whoever but to give back is important. Another important thing that people forget is that resources aren't just oil, money, roads-resources also include people. Educating and training a workforce is invaluable for a country-it can mean less reliance on outside expertise to solve local problems. The more of us Africans who are trained outside come back, the better off we'll be. Let us be part of the solution for pulling ourselves out of debt-whether we transfer information and skills, stimulate the economy with business, create jobs or help out our less fortunate brothers and sisters.
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