This presentation was to take place in SA on the 16th April 2013 but the Conference has been cancelled to a later date. But I think I ought to go on and share my thoughts;
The Broken Dreams from our Fathers
Citizens Rights to Basic
Needs; a Presentation to the Conference of Mayors and Municipal Managers in
Africa at the Premier Hotel, Kempton Park, Johannesburg SA on the 16th
April 2013 by Odhiambo T Oketch
Your Worship the Mayors of Africa,
The Town Clerks of Africa present,
All the Executive Officers present,
The Intelligent Africa Group,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Africa is largely celebrating her
Silver Jubilee- 50 Years since most of Africa became Independent Sovereign
States. We had a dream. Our Fathers had a dream and in that dream they dreamt
of One United Africa sovereign, developed enough to be in a position to give
aid to other Nations of the World.
For in Africa we were rich in minerals
and the land was fertile, the forests were thick and the rains never failed.
It is my great pleasure to join with
you today in this conference as we seek to ignite that dream that our Fathers
had in us. You are the drivers and the engine of development in Africa and you
hold the keys; you can either make it or break it for Africa.
You can choose to have your own Dreams
for Africa.
I have been invited to come and share
my thoughts about the Citizens Rights to Basic Needs and a few things come to
mind immediately;
1. Clean
neighbourhoods and environment
2. Adequate and clean supply of water
3. Affordable
shelter and housing
4. Safe,
secure and timely transport
5. Quality
and affordable food
6. Quality
and Universal Health Care
7. Efficient
communication
8. Fuel
and lighting (Energy)
9. Access
to Quality Education
10. Safety
and Security
These issues are not unique to Africa
alone. These are basic issues all Towns and Cities across the World are
struggling with. And with the vast mineral deposits we have in Africa, I want
to believe that we can be the next big thing in the World. We have gold,
diamond, oil and a huge human resource in Africa. And this is what we need to
make Africa move to the next level.
It
only needs prudent management and a focused service oriented leadership.
The
Fathers of our continent, Nelson Mandela, Kwame Nkrumah, Leopold Sedar Senghor,
Julius Nyerere, Seretse Karma, Ahmed Sekou Toure, Ahmed Ben Bella, Amilcar
Cabral, Patrice Lumumba and Jomo Kenyatta to name a few, had a dream for the
continent. They envisioned a continent that was united, prosperous, highly
developed and peaceful, one that was ahead if not an equal partaker in world
business with the rest of the world, a continent with capacity to give aid to
other continents!
In
1963, the Organization of African Unity was formed to advance cooperation and
solidarity between newly independent African countries and fight against
colonialism. In an attempt to revamp the organization, and move away from it
being seen as an alliance of African dictators, it was re-named in July 2002 as
the African Union.
At
Independence the clarion call was service delivery at the most basic level of
needs- fight against poverty, ignorance, disease. We have gone a full 50 years
into our Independence as Sovereign African States and the dreams from our
Fathers have largely been broken. We are now living in abject poverty with
begging bowls to boot. We have not fought against ignorance and disease is
still rampant across Africa.
We
have also developed some new ways of living- tribalism, Nepotism, Corruption,
Greed, Impunity and all the kind of vices that will never move Africa forward.
And time is ticking and asking for a new crop of African Leaders, men and women
brave enough to have new Dreams. Dreams of a new Africa- safe, secure, happy
and fulfilled.
In
a famous speech given in 1960, Kwame Nkrumah had this to say about the African
Dream:
"We have seen, in the example of the United States how the dynamic
elements within society understood the need for unity and fought their bitter
civil war to maintain the political union that was threatened by the
reactionary forces. We have also seen, in the example of the Soviet Union, how
the forging of continental unity along with the retention of national
sovereignty by the federal states, has achieved a dynamism that has lifted a
most backward society into a most powerful unit within a remarkably short space
of time. From the examples before us, in Europe and the United States of
America, it is therefore patent that we in Africa have the resources, present
and potential, for creating the kind of society that we are anxious to build.
It is calculated that by the end of this century the population of Africa will
probably exceed five hundred million. Our continent gives us the second largest
land stretch in the world. The natural wealth of Africa is estimated to be
greater than that of almost any other continent in the world. To draw the most
from our existing and potential means for the achievement of abundance and a
fine social order, we need to unify our efforts, our resources, our skills and
intentions”
This
was the birth of the African Dream that would have driven us to prosperity, to
complete realization and achievements of Basic Needs. To date, Africa is still
struggling to keep water flowing in our taps. In Nairobi, the Capital City of
Kenya, many households do not have running water from the taps and this has
made the cost of water provision to be way above the reach of many.
We
are still unable to offer our people affordable shelter and housing, and this
has led to the emergence of several informal settlements where law and order in
terms of urban planning is poor, yet, the Local Authorities collect their daily
cess from the people. It is my firm conviction that even in the informal
settlements, we can plan for basis human needs such as roads, water, health
facilities, electricity and schools. It only needs order, clear and firm
conviction and maintenance of the same.
Our
roads are clogged with human and motor traffic that drains the human resource
hours on end everyday in Africa. Again, in Nairobi, you will spend 2 hours
every morning and another 2 hours every evening to cover a 15 Kilometer stretch
that under ordinary circumstances, one would cover in 15 minutes. Again the
cost of fuel keeps rising every other Month to the discomfort of both the
investors and the ordinary worker. And we are doing nothing to invest in our
Roads and in modern Rail Transport. In Kenya, the rail Transport system that
was built by the Coolies in 1895 is dead. And this is having a severe ripple
effect and strain on our roads and yet, our Mayors and Municipal Managers seem
not to know what they should do. It is sad that we are not dreaming for Arica,
yet our Fathers had sweet dreams for our Continent!
We
are doing nothing to enhance food security in Africa yet we are daily facing
the challenges of rural urban migration. Everyday, able bodied young people are
flocking to our Towns and Cities in search of greener pastures at a time a
rallying call to go back to the land would do Africa proud. We must make a
deliberate effort to work for food security in Africa and the best placed
persons will be the Political Leaders, the Mayors and Municipal Managers in
Africa. You can provide the basic infrastructure that would ensure efficient
food distribution across our Towns.
We
must feed our working population in our Towns and Cities and proper incentives
must be given to the people who will go back to the land and engage in modern
agriculture. This comes with subsidies in terms of machinery and fertilizers for
the land, fertile and large as they are, are remaining unattended to. And we
are all just watching.
A
working population needs proper and adequate Health Care System. As Municipal
Managers, it is your responsibility to build the Health Centres and Hospitals
for our people. You will then need to develop Health Care Systems that offer
best services to our people. Many of our Towns and Cities are lacking in basic
infrastructure and little efforts are being put in place to address this. It is
worrying that many of our Cities and Towns do not have clean and secure
Maternity Hospitals, yet our Mothers and Sisters are still very active in
building Africa.
Communication
in Africa is very expensive. The cost of telephony, internet connectivity and
general communication remains high and unreliable in Africa. I remember in
Kenya, our President Mwai Kibaki was taken to the Coast of Mombasa at some
point in time to launch the Fibre Optic Cables Network that was going to see
drastic reduction in the cost of Internet Connectivity as it enhances
Connectivity Speed. That was a mirage and it remains a mirage several years
down the line.
The
cost of fuel in Africa is simply killing the confidence of the investors who
are doing business in Africa. In Kenya, we have the Energy Regulatory
Commission that has decided to be giving us new fuel prices every month. We
cannot build Africa through such ad-hoc management styles. We must have a
predictable pattern in the fuel costing that will make the Industrial Investors
have confidence in building their plants in Africa. It then behooves the Mayors
and the Municipal Managers in Africa to be the agents that seek for this
consistency in order to attract more investors. With more investors, you are
sure of keeping in check the rate of unemployment. But with haphazard fuel cost
planning, we will be in for some very rude developments that keep Africa
remaining the Dark Continent.
Education
is all. President Nelson Mandela once said that the best gift you can give to a
child is Education. And how are we best placed to advance this? At the City of
Nairobi, the Council has several schools and a complete Education Department to
help manage the same. The Council Schools have been doing well despite the
presence of Academies where children from the affluent go to. But as Municipal
Managers, how best do you want to be remembered by our people. Great efforts
must be placed in tapping quality human resource to manage and give
instructions in these Municipal Schools. And you must mobilize for resources to
enable you pay for this human resource. A great deal of parents in our
Metropolis cannot afford to take their children to the Academies and other high
cost schools. It is hence incumbent upon us to put in place structures that
will enhance and develop the quality of instructions in these schools, and to
make them compete at par with the rest.
You
must make Africa safe and secure. Investors will only come in their droves to
safe and secure neighbourhoods.
Last
but not least is Clean Neighbourhoods. Africa has been labeled a Dark Continent
and we have made her a Dirty Continent. Dark and Dirty. Yet, waste and waste
management is the next frontier in human development. Waste presents us with
immense opportunities in terms of Employment Creation. Many of our Towns and
Cities are engaged in shifting waste from one point to another, at a time we
should be taking advantage of the volumes of waste we generate. Garbage and
waste is seriously competing for space with our roads and public utilities.
Waste
and Garbage Management is becoming a big issue and according to projections
from the World Bank in their last report, the Municipal Solid Waste generated
by the Municipalities across the World will hit 2.2
Billion Tonnes by 2025 and this will cost the World some $375 Billion annually
to manage. Africa cannot afford this. But we can do something to
mitigate this by turning the waste problem into an opportunity. We can;
- Register all waste handling
groups across our Cities
- Train the same groups on proper
waste management with particular emphasis to specialization on different
waste streams
- Delineate clear waste streams for
each group
- Create holding grounds for the
waste handlers as they sort and transport each waste stream to the end user
- Create a clear data bank for all
waste users and convertors to enable the waste handlers know where to take
their various forms of waste
- Create a clear payment structure
for each waste stream and make those payments be on real time.
- And then institute the process of
Separation of Waste at Source as a compulsory undertaking by all.
Africa
must rise up and join in the Waste Revolution.
We
may also look at the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and see what he says about
Basic Needs. Maslow identifies 5 levels of needs and classifies them in the
following manner;
1.
Biological and Physiological needs - air, food,
drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc.
2.
Safety needs - protection from elements, security,
order, law, limits, stability, etc.
3.
Belongingness and Love needs - work group,
family, affection, relationships, etc.
4.
Esteem needs - self-esteem, achievement, mastery,
independence, status, dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc.
5.
Self-Actualization needs - realizing
personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak
experiences.
For purposes of this Conference, we
will only look at the 2 lower Basic Needs and look at how best we can be agents
that can help in their fulfillments.
As Mayors and Municipal Managers, you
have a huge responsibility to ensure that your Towns and Cities are well rated
in terms of Service Delivery. When you are elected or appointed into office, a
huge responsibility is placed on your shoulders. It will really matter how you
carry this yoke, for the results shall be seen.
It is our time to turn Africa around.
We can choose to develop Africa or destroy her as has been done by many before
us. We have unnecessary infightings in Africa to the detriment of development.
The DRC Congo has been bleeding. The Somalia has been bleeding and in Kenya, we
had an ugly experience in 2007. Rwanda had a similar episode. Uganda went the
same route. Nigeria, Libya, Tunisia and Egypt have gone through some tumultuous
periods, yet, these are largely issues that dialogue and leadership can solve.
We have enough wealth which when
prudently managed can turn Africa around. And you are the leaders upon which
much hope is bestowed. Our wealth is enough for all of us, but not enough for
our greed.
We have the human capital that is
equal or even better compared to the brains driving the first world, yet, we
are sitting on our laurels waiting for Manna to once again fall from the
Heavens. We went to the same schools and even did better. But of what value is
going to school if you cannot replicate your academic process into reality.
You must be the selfless leaders upon
which Africa must have new Dreams. You must fight tribalism, nepotism,
corruption, greed and impunity and set the tempo upon which Africa shall rise.
And Africa must rise during our time, not any other time.
The time is now and you are the agents who must make Africa rise
from being a Dark and Dirty Continent to being the next frontier in Human
Civilization.
The time is now and you are the agents who must provide clean and
available water to the people of the African metropolis.
The time is now and you are the agents that must provide secure and
affordable housing to our people in Africa.
The time is now and you are the agents who must decongests our
roads and make road traffic easy and efficient in Africa.
The time is now and you are the agents who must make food available
and affordable to all our working populations in our Towns and Cities.
The time is now and you are the agents who must ensure that Africa
has affordable Health Care Services.
The time is now and you are the agents who must ensure that
communication and internet connectivity becomes efficient, faster and cheaper
in Africa.
The time is now and you are the agents who must manage the cost of
fuel in Africa.
The time is now and you are the agents who must make Africa have
quality and affordable education across the whole continent.
The time is now and you are the agents who must make Africa safe
and secure for major investment opportunities.
And the time is now and you are the agents who must make Africa
Clean.
Let us join hands and work for a Clean Kenya,
a Clean Africa and a Better World. God bless you, God bless Africa.
Odhiambo
T Oketch is the Executive Director at The Clean Africa
Campaign- TCAC
A very familiar situation in Nairobi
We cannot live like this; this is Nairobi
This is Busis Road in Industrial Area in Nairobi
Garbage and Filth at every turn in Nairobi
Kenyans; eager and ready to join hands in working for a Clean Country
This is Nairobi City- reflecting the general status of most of our Towns. 
The residents of Kondele in Kisumu joining with us in a Clean up Campaign
a common scene in Nairobi
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