The turn around of Mozambique was considered a miracle. It was thought that foreign aid dollars were the impetus in improving the lives of Mozambicans. After a war for independence and a subsequently devastating civil war, Mozambique was apparently an economically growing multi-party democracy.
But the reality is quite different. The vast majority are still poor. They haven't seen progress. Their lives aren't getting better. The rich are getting richer and, in real terms, the poor are getting poorer. Foreign NGOs don't stay long in Mozambique enough to see their programs through; thus, they fail. The Bretton Woods institutions, who supposedly has a role in the remarkable reversal, were responsible for the destruction of one of the most profitable of Mozambican exports, cashews. It wasn't until the government threw away the suggestions of the World Bank and IMF that the cashew market returned to its previous status.
Now, most of the government is corrupt. There are strong ties between President Armando Guebuza and Mohamed Bashir Suleman, a notorious drug trafficker. Illegal drugs are the most profitable business in Mozambique. Mozambique is the second largest transit point for illegal drugs in Africa behind Guinea-Bissau.
Do these realities signify a miracle that the international community should be proud of? Or should the course be changed? Should the Bretton Woods Institutions stop dictating terms and start listening to locals? The free market has failed Mozambique. So did the socialist state of the early independence era. Shouldn't a middle ground be found?
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
The Distrust of Dissent
The history of Malawian politics is filled with distrust of dissent. As is the case with the majority of African nations, an autocratic system of government was instituted by the European colonial powers. To call for freedom from repression was to be deemed a traitor.
Hastings Banda, who ruled Malawi from its inception as an independent nation-state until 1994, continued the totalitarian method of governance he inherited from his colonial predecessors. When his ministers challenged his attempts to legalize his autocratic methods internally and his willingness to ally with white apartheid regimes in southern Africa immediately after independence, they were sacked. Several were killed. In the 1980s, several ministers were "accidentalised," a euphemism for a person murdered and then posed to make it look like an accident, when they challenged Banda's potential choice for succession, John Tembo.
The democratic period has not been able to shake this distrust of dissent. President Bakili Muluzi, who ruled from 1994-2004, was never shy of branding his opponents as threats to the nation. the result was that the three major political parties of the era shifted alliances with one another for the sake of convince like a game of musical chairs. Issues took a backseat to personalities and political ploys.
In 2004, Muluzi chose his successor in the person of Bingu wa Mutharika. The two disagreed on policy. There was to be no negotiation. Instead, Mutharika left Muluzi's UDF and began a new party, the DPP. Muluzi has since been charge with corruption dating back to his presidency. After the change of parties, Mutharika's vice president, Cassim Chilumpha, who was a member of the UDF, was charged with treason.
The bottom line is that Malawi's political leaders will continue to be unable to lead Malawians towards the future they deserve until they are able to argue of policy disagreements without questioning each other's patriotism.
Hastings Banda, who ruled Malawi from its inception as an independent nation-state until 1994, continued the totalitarian method of governance he inherited from his colonial predecessors. When his ministers challenged his attempts to legalize his autocratic methods internally and his willingness to ally with white apartheid regimes in southern Africa immediately after independence, they were sacked. Several were killed. In the 1980s, several ministers were "accidentalised," a euphemism for a person murdered and then posed to make it look like an accident, when they challenged Banda's potential choice for succession, John Tembo.
The democratic period has not been able to shake this distrust of dissent. President Bakili Muluzi, who ruled from 1994-2004, was never shy of branding his opponents as threats to the nation. the result was that the three major political parties of the era shifted alliances with one another for the sake of convince like a game of musical chairs. Issues took a backseat to personalities and political ploys.
In 2004, Muluzi chose his successor in the person of Bingu wa Mutharika. The two disagreed on policy. There was to be no negotiation. Instead, Mutharika left Muluzi's UDF and began a new party, the DPP. Muluzi has since been charge with corruption dating back to his presidency. After the change of parties, Mutharika's vice president, Cassim Chilumpha, who was a member of the UDF, was charged with treason.
The bottom line is that Malawi's political leaders will continue to be unable to lead Malawians towards the future they deserve until they are able to argue of policy disagreements without questioning each other's patriotism.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
The Saudi Memo
According to a memo exposed by WikiLeaks, Saudi King Abdullah urged the U>S. to attack Iran. This should not come as a surprise. Saudi Arabia and Iran have been the two biggest rivals to represent Muslims in the Middle East in general and the Palestinian cause specifically.
Saudis tend to be Sunni. But the leadership is viewed suspiciously within the wider Arab world because of links with the U.S. The U.S. was allowed to station troops in Saudi Arabia in the run up to the first Persian Gulf War. That act was considered an affront to many Muslims because Saudi Arabia is home too the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
Iran has been a staunch enemy of the U.S. since the revolution in 1979. But in an era with increasing tensions between Sunnis and Shiites, Iranians are predominantly Shi’a whereas much of the rest of the Middle East is Sunni. Iranians are also predominantly Persian whereas most of the rest of the Middle East in ethnically Arab.
Iran rush to obtain a nuclear weapon will give it credibility within the Middle East and a louder voice on the global stage. This will diminish Saudi Arabia's regional status. It’s a typical case of leaders concerning themselves with their own egos at the expense of human life.
Saudis tend to be Sunni. But the leadership is viewed suspiciously within the wider Arab world because of links with the U.S. The U.S. was allowed to station troops in Saudi Arabia in the run up to the first Persian Gulf War. That act was considered an affront to many Muslims because Saudi Arabia is home too the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
Iran has been a staunch enemy of the U.S. since the revolution in 1979. But in an era with increasing tensions between Sunnis and Shiites, Iranians are predominantly Shi’a whereas much of the rest of the Middle East is Sunni. Iranians are also predominantly Persian whereas most of the rest of the Middle East in ethnically Arab.
Iran rush to obtain a nuclear weapon will give it credibility within the Middle East and a louder voice on the global stage. This will diminish Saudi Arabia's regional status. It’s a typical case of leaders concerning themselves with their own egos at the expense of human life.
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