AFRICA: FAMOUS FOR THE WRONG REASONS AND THE HYPE Part 2

A year ago, I wrote an article entitled ‘Africa: Famous for the wrong reason’, and it is with pleasure that I continue to write the part 2 of this fantastic topic. Even though, the first part received mixed emotions, I glad to state that ‘African history is African history and we should not compromise on how we tell the African story because that will automatically change the content of our history. For African history must be told and celebrated so that the new generation know where we have come from as a people and continent respectively’.

 

UNEXPECTED WEDDING BELLS

Indeed, a lot has happened and changed since I wrote the first part and I must confess Africans are natural performers, if not comedians. Even more, this can be highlighted through a series of stories that made headlines across Africa such as, when a Kenyan man publicly offered President Obama a herd of 150 cows, sheep and goats for his Daughter’s hand in marriage. The man seemed geared for Obama’s daughter and was in high spirit airing out his emotional affection while claiming that it was an issue of destiny, not infatuation as most people might say.

Secondly, while waiting for President Obama to respond to the surprise proposal, another social media stampede was created in southern Africa, Zambia when President lungu’s daughter made rare public appearance alongside her father that captured everyone’s attention that led to a Mr. Eric Jere, to make his intentions known of wanting to marriage her while offering 50 cows and 200 goats. Besides the first proposal already made, another man by the name of Joe Moono, an economist by profession took a leap of faith by countering Mr. Jere’s offer by offering 17 cows and 50 goats for her hand in marriage.

In addition, what is even more interesting about the above is that the girl and lady involved in these stories had no idea marriage proposals were made for them and this can be seen in the lack of response on the ladies’ part, but no doubt the gentlemen made us laugh with their five minutes moments of fame.

THE ENDLESS DRAMA UNFOLDS

YEAR ISSUED	CONSTITUTION COMISSION LED BY
1964	Independence Constitution
1973 One-party constitution	Mainza Chona Constitution
1990	Patrick Mvunga Constitution
1996	John Mwanakatwe Constitution

And from funny moments such as the Nigerian’s missing budget documents to Zambia’s amended constitution that the opposition  claim  to discriminate against women and worse than the colonial master and I wonder what has led to the heated exchange when this people driven constitution was long awaited.

And the reason was simple and straight forward the government introduced a ‘senior secondary certificate clause’ as a requirement to run for parliament and this is huge because 2016 is an election year and this move is seen as a prevention measure by the government to create an elite only system. Though a question may be asked, where were the oppositions when such bills were being signed which can be answered by a simple statement like,’ they signed something that favored them upon appearance, but has backfired on them on the long run, hence they have to suffer the consequences of their actions’. And this can be attributed to the increasing poor reading and research culture among parliamentarians. 

And in this year’s segment of famous for the wrong thing, I would like to add a special feature ‘ famous for the right reasons’ to one leader who is making headlines for his bold decisions that seem to have awakened a new social revolution in his country. His Excellency Dr. John Pombe Magufuli, president of Tanzania is indeed a 21^st century model of African leadership. Even though, some information suggest that Magufuli lost to Edward Lowassa, he has smoothly led a remarkable wave of reforms that has united the divided electorates into one force that has forgotten about the elections rumors. And hardly in office for 6 months, are Magufuli’s reforms are more effective and popular than his presidency and in a time like this when most African presidents are ‘flying or tourist presidents’, Magufuli’s has resorted to cut on foreign trips due to the costs.

	Hype Moments (characterized by the personalized decisions made)	nicknames
Dr. john Magufuli	-cutting unnecessary government spending -firing incompetent and lazy government employees -cancellation of independence celebrations -cutting of foreign trips	Bull blazers
Late Michael Sata	-more money in the pocket in 90 days -fight against corruption	King cobra

WHY IS THE MAGUFULI HYPE A LITTLE BIT DANGEROUS?

It is important to know that the direction the president has taken is dangerous and in ordinary language we term it as ‘roadside politics’. Roadside politics is a strategy that is used to improve a person’s popularity and social image by making of popular personal decisions that create conflict of interests in the long run.   I believe decisions of this magnitude have to be debated and collectively agreed upon so that self-righteous individualism will not be the president’s middle name which is likely to be the case in Tanzania. And it is important to understand that governmental business should never be personalized because the presidency becomes a one man show that eliminate the power of collectivity possessed and displayed throughout Tanzanian history.

About the Hype

African politics is always characterized by a hype moment that ends up in a crisis for example, in Zambia, a country that borders Tanzania on the west underwent a hype moment when late president Michael Sata popularly known as ‘king cobra’ made personalized decision to fight corruption and a promise of putting more money in citizens’ pockets that ended up in enriching his supporters at the expense of the now disappointed Zambians. Today Zambia’s debts is huge and the government is yet to borrow more money to help revive the slowly collapsing economy.

With the above, in mind a similarity can be observed in sata’s personalized hype moment with the Zambian people to Magufuli’s current hype decisions. And therefore, to simplify this article all I can is a hype moment is not a reform or vice versa hence the sooner our leaders realize the difference the better. Magufuli’s decisions maybe truthful, but it will take him more time to fight against the internal system that benefit directly from corruption than the external factors.


Written by:
Sishumba Musanda
To read part 1 you can CLICK the following link: https://sishumbamusanda.blogspot.ru/2014/12/africa-famous-for-wrong-reasons.html
Happy International Women's day 

WHY FACEBOOK DOES NOT CARE AND WONT CHANGE ITS POLICY?

According to my relate observation and conversation with my comrades I discovered that in written all lives matter, but in reality not all lives matter and this is self-explainable through recent sad events that shocked the world and claimed many lives. Above all, the relate French terrorism attacks attracted a lot of media coverage to an extend of Facebook, the world’s leading social media creating a program that enabled its users to show solidarity towards terror victims by putting the French flag as a profile picture which is different to what is done to show solidarity to people losing they lives in Africa or Mideast Syria. I believe at this moment many are wondering why Facebook does not really care and I will explain in the following sub title WHY.

WHY

Firstly it is important to understand that Facebook is a business whose main agenda is to serve its many users, but to issues relating to terror attacks and coverage, I believe face book’s board of directors used two concepts to choose what to cover:

1.       The majority wins concept:

Please observe that this ‘majority wins concept’ did not apply to the board of directors but applied to its users in a way I will explain. France has a population of 66 million people and approximately 22 million Facebook users compared to Nigeria’s population of 173 million and only 6 million users and the same applies to Syria. Therefore, Facebook’s board of directors saw it fit to give coverage to the French crisis due to its many users because it had to protect its interest.  Business first

2.       The ‘where your treasure is, that’s where your heart is’ concept:

This is an extract from a religion scripture that most of us are familiar with and yes the Facebook board of directors used this concept on their choice of coverage. The directors understood that they ‘treasures’ are and will expand more in France and definitely they move payed off because by 2020 the number of users will increase drastically from 22 million to 30 million users compared to Nigeria’s stagnant 6 million users which may increase to 6.5 or 7 million users by 2020. In today’s world and business, remember statistics really matter no matter the situation statistics really matter and I believe the directors had to protect the interest of users using statistics.

NAME OF COUNTRY	GENERAL POPULATION (Million)	FACEBOOK USERS
FRANCE	66.03	22
NIGERIA	173.6	6
SYRIA	22.85	5
KENYA	44.35	1.8

And to those Africans who would want to ask Facebook why it did not react to terrors in Africa and Mideast the same way it did for France, under the humanitarian act that advocates for equality despite someone’s race, geographical location, creed or religion, then it’s important to understand that the humanitarian act or generally human rights do not apply for countries outside Europe and American because:  

In 1789, the France’s national constituent Assembly signed the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen or Declaration des droitis de l’homme et du citoyen which advocated for equality before it was restored by Napoleon in 1802 and re-abolished in 1848, therefore, it is important to observe that even though France had colonies overseas like Africa, the declaration signed in 1789,1802 and 1848 did not include the natives of the colonies meaning the equalities or humanitarian did not apply to them. And the same applies to the 1948, United Nations General Assembly’s  Universal Declaration of Human Right which represents ‘ a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations’, while in the actual sense, Africa was under the rule of the colonial masters 

meaning the human rights did not apply to them.

Therefore, with the above already out lined, I believe it is important for us to STOP crying over ‘the humanitarian act card’, because it does not work and not many understand, hence it is the our duty as Africans to let the Facebook and the world at large our grief, even when we surely know that nothing will change, but a statement has been made and will be they reminder in the near future.

Let us learn to pray for the world #2016resolution#

written by Sishumba Musanda

FOCUS ON ZAMBIA: THE LAST THURSDAY POLITICAL THROWBACK

STATE OF AFFAIRS

China’s never ending thirty for mineral resources has helped many southern African countries like Zambia to experience massive economic breakthroughs. With Zambia’s copper been a key export has enabled china to flex its financial powers to acquire the resources, but concerns has risen over China’s recent slowdown or economic crisis which has had a negative impact on many African economies. 

With that in mind, many politicians in Zambia have found that reason enough to make many excuses, but the truth is Zambia’s economic has more to do with poor investment and financial mismanagement to the china slowdown the government attributes its problems to.

Furthermore, with a weak kwacha currency and economy Zambia’s future is definitively uncertain and the government seems not to be in the right position to restore confidence and former glory of the country. And this can be observed in the ‘gambling kind of borrowing’ the government has ventured into and forgetting the most recent national prayers that were done to seek spiritual interference an initiative that the president come up with since Zambia is a Christian nation.

With the above in mind, Zambia’s problems never seems to be ending or getting better, in a matter of months millions of dollars will be needed (borrowed) for elections and to keep the angry electorate and civil servants happy at the expense of a dying economy.

THE AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION

The idea of a new constitution has always been a cry among Zambians with many wanting to limit the powers of the presidency which the considered to be too powerful while other sectors of society wanting the introduction of a bill of human rights. However, the constitution making process was just a source of conflicts between the ruling and opposition political parties who had different motives to satisfy. And even though, military coup d’état are so uncommon in Zambia, I might confess constitutional coup d’état is the new anthem of the day and can be observed in the rejection of clauses that were equally important to those adopted by the so called majority in parliament. And to explain about the constitutional d’état, it’s simply a fashionable 21^st century kind of clinging to power through clauses, referendum and amendment of constitution in favor of the sitting president. In reality this whole process is supposed to be illegal, but since it’s done in a fashionable way, bloodless and without any guns people do not see its dangers.

ADOPTED CLAUSES	REJECTED CLAUSES
50+1 for winning the presidential candidate	Mixed Proportional representation
Running mate	Appointment of cabinet ministers outside parliament
Dual citizenship	Provincial assemblies

And as we cross our fingers in waiting for the Head of state to sign or reject the amendments a lot of reflections must be done by the people, political parties and the Head of state because the outcome of the constitution making process will determine the way forward of the country as a whole. Of course, it is impossible to satisfy all parties involved, but it is possible to put their respective arguments into consideration.

CALL FOR A COALITION GOVERNMENT

Unlike other countries of the world where formation of coalition governments is the norm of the day, Zambia cannot have such because the opposition parties are too weak to pose any serious opposition to the current government. And in the past year,  Zambia has had some coalition or pacts were as two parties coming up together to form one party, but all these coalitions or pacts could not agree on simple issues such as candidates to file on election. With the above in mind, coalitions or pacts in Zambia do not work because they expose the opposition parties’ many unknown and known weaknesses, therefore to avoid such exposure the opposition has to work extra hard to earn the respect and support of the electorates for nothing is impossible.

In conclusion, I believe 2016 is both a good and bad year for Zambian for a lot of activities ranging from elections to redeeming of the economy, awaits the population and all will depend on people’s attitudes towards national development and personal choices in the booth

Merry Christmas and a filled New Year and thank you for reading and commenting the blog throughout the year. For your reading and commenting is what has kept this blog going.

Until next year 2016 God bless. 

Sishumba Musanda

GRAND FINALE: MISS PLUS SIZE INTERNATIONAL

The Miss Plus Size International was indeed the best event that marked the end of 2016 with a huge BOOM, even though the cold winter of -10 degrees did seem like a hindrance in the first place, but that did not prevent the ever blazing students from witnessing history in the making and crowning of the new queen in town.

The excitement of seeing the presenters on stage introducing the contestants for the opening dance was emotional for viewers who chanted  slogans in support of they favorite contestant in different foreign languages. And some could not hold it back other than singing and dancing while watching the fulfillment of an evening of glitz and glamour.  

For this contestant began like a joke between friends would thought of  transformation that could be turned into a major international annual tradition with countless students around Russia vying to be part and parcel of the students’ modelling history in Tambov. Furthermore, the thought of transformation was 'an easy said than to be done', because most people were afraid of the outcome of organizing such an event. Initially, a leap of faith was taken with the help of the University and other dedicated individuals led to the first modeling competition among students some years ago.

With time, many students were willing to come on board and assist in and that might be reason enough, as to why many students from different faculties and members of public embraced the cold winter weather and  showed up to the much talked about event and indeed the event was not short of any entertainment because the contestants displayed character and determination in all what they were doing. And with no doubts, these ladies’ work ethnic will advance their careers, personal and humanitarian goals as they seek to improve the lives of others.

ALL HAIL THE QUEEN

Profile of Miss Plus Size International Name: Martha Ndeshihafela Mwatile Age: 25 years Hobbies: Cooking, dancing, laughing Personal bio: Martha an imaginative and strategic thinker who loves to have a plan for everything not forgetting her many talents such as massaging and cooking no wonder her favorite part of the hostel is the kitchen. Furthermore, Martha has a personal philosophy which can be described by one term empowerment which she attributes to her background and teaching through motivation. A 6th year medical student hopes to become a psychiatrist or psycho-therapist. Quote:’ I am the kind who dress the mood and I like to connect with my clothes or anything that surrounds me’.

With a total of 6 beauties who battled it out on the catwalk last night, the winner walked away with a compound prize including cash and other things. Running under the theme,’ Beauty. Intelligence. Plus size’, yesterday marked the first time the Miss Plus Size Tambov International was hosted under that theme. With contestants going through various dress categories including, traditional, high fashion casual and elegant gowns

NAME OF COUNTRY
Martha Ndeshihafela Mwatile	Miss Plus Size Tambov International 2015
Natalie Thokozani Tanyanyiwa	1st Princess
Hendrina Lazarus	2ND Princess
Aily Nangolo	Miss Personality
Hendria Lazarus	Miss Punctuality
Martha Ndeshihafela Mwatile	Miss Public Choice

The Miss Plus Size International is courtesy of Miss International Student Tambov, the most prestigious student competition dedicated to showcasing student beauty and intelligence. Until, next year the founder of the pageant Miss Margaret thanked her team ( Mo, Rania Christabel 'summerline' , Benjamin, Chima and Manga) and assured us of more beautiful events in the future, before she extended her message of praise to the brave contestants and viewers who embraced the cold weather to be apart of the event.

MISS PLUS SIZE INTERNATIONAL: STRAIGHT OUTTA TAMBOV PART 2

On Monday evening after my last class of the day, I took the opportunity to attend the rehearsals of the Miss Plus Size International and I was impressed with the commitment of the participants and I kept wondering where the draw they motivation after such a hectic day. And after a long time of observation, I discovered a lady who kept repeating instructions tirelessly with a sharp voice and with time I learnt that the lady with the sharp voice is all about serious business even though, she shared light moments with the participants, commitment and focus is what really described her ever actions.

At this moment, I believe calling her the "Naomi Campbell of Tambov" is an under-statement that lacks in all aspects of what she has achieved. Margaret has established herself not only as a model, but a mentor who is giving mentor-ship to many ladies. Among her many achievements is the Miss Tambov International Pageant which has proven to be a success and has since attracted much speculation among students in Tambov and Russia as a whole.

And it’s no doubt, that this year's Miss Plus Size International will receive massive recognition due to the commitment of her team that includes the talented young lady Mo who has assured and encouraged the participants about the success of this pageant. Even though, she hardly receives recognition for her many roles she plays in the buildup of events such as this one, do not underestimate her ability to host and organize events and indeed she is a force to work with. And in the fashionable society of Tambov Mo has created herself a reputation as a medical student, socialite and fun person to be around.

EVENING OF GLITZ AND GlAMOUR

For now all is set for the grand finale on the 28^th of December and for a 350 rubles ticket you will be able to witness history in the making because Miss Plus Size International is the ‘must see’ event of the month and year respectively. And this years’ event starts at 18hours at the beautiful Dinamo Economic Institute concert hall and ‘red carpet’ photo shoots and moments starts at 17hours, therefore if you want to enjoy an evening and event of glitz and glamour then do not miss and come on time to lender full support to your favorite contestant. 

NAME OF CONTESTANT	COUNTRY
Aily Nangolo	Namibia
Faith	Nigeria
Hendrina Lazarus	Namibia
Sophie Sikobizahora	Swaziland
Rania	Morocco
Martha Ndeshihafela Mwatile	Namibia
Natalie Thokozani Tanyanyiwa	Zimbabwe

In additional, the models are ready to showcase what they have been preparing for and  to find out more about the likes, dislikes and personal biographies for our 7 beautiful finalists who are competing for the title on the 28^th December, then visit our Facebook page at ‘MISS international Students Russia’ to like and view their respective profiles. And remember, liking the video of your favorite contestant will enable them to winning a trip to the beautiful city of Voronezh with the Founder of the Pageant.

Beauty. Intelligence. Plus Size

MISS PLUS SIZE INTERNATIONAL 2015

 Beauty. Intelligence. Plus Size

Are you a beautiful and inspiring woman who wants to prove to the world that you can be plus size and confident? Then join one of the world fastest growing movement which is PLUS SIZE, INTELLIGENCE AND BEAUTY.

BACKGROUND

This pageant celebrates and educates plus size students the importance of loving self and feeling comfortable of who you are and how you are. Even though, this pageant is one of its kinds among the international students, it is important to observe that quality won’t lack because this pageant will present itself as a platform for plus sized ladies to make a statement of their presence and beauty.

Furthermore, this pageant celebrates beauty openly in a non-judgmental environment and shows that a part of the world does really appreciate curves. And most importantly, it serves as a reminder to the rest of the world that we are not intimidated by the continuous pressure from the media to fit into a certain size label to be deemed acceptable in society. And of course, not everyone wants to be a size zero hence this pageant is here to prove that there is life after a size 18.

UNDERSTANDING THE PLUS SIZE PAGEANT

For we live in a world that openly criticizes and rejects plus size ladies and no one is there to stand up against such hush reality, therefore we are here to change the perception of the world that only acknowledges and sees fit beauty as slim and nothing else. We this initiation of this pageant, the world know that it is possible to be plus size, intelligent and beautiful.

We at Miss Plus Size International do not encourage or promote obesity, we purely provide a platform for the plus size women of Tambov and Russia to showcase their beauty on a catwalk that has previously been reserved for slimmer sisters.

AN X-RAY OF THE AFRICAN-RUSSIAN RELATIONS.

To have a clear understanding of the African-Russian relations one has to have knowledge of the Soviet Union and the Africa’s hunger to be in touch with the world in the early 1960s. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics commonly known as Soviet Union or USSR was a multinational union that had a centralized government and economy under the governance of the Communist Party in Moscow. Even though the idea of this union was birthed by Vladimir Lenin after leading an October revolution which replaced the leadership of the Tsars (monarch leaders), it is believed the impact of this union was only felt by the world at large after the British Empire recognized it on 1 February 1924 and this marked massive growth such as total electrification of the country.

And since USSR was now recognized it had to make its presence felt through the establishment of educational exhibition and scholarships to developing countries such as those in  Africa which the leaders of the soviet union believed were ‘socialism- oriented’ and military aid in  the fight against what the termed ‘capitalism’.  Moreover relations with the Soviet Union were considered ‘evil’ by African elites who were against the ideology of socialism, but loved what the Soviet Union had to offer for friendship. And in countries such as Angola ideological war was in full force when in the early 90s Angolan government adopted pro-western foreign policy replacing the Marxist-Leninism policy and this led to Soviet union supporting Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) fight against its political  rival the National Liberation Front of Angola backed by United States and China. I believe the above is one of the many consequences that most African elites feared about having friendly ties with the eastern or western bloc of Europe.

Even though war was a result of some of the above this did not prevent many African countries sign bilateral agreements and memorandum of understanding that saw thousands of African students benefiting from the rich soviet educational system. To date, even though the USSR broke up in 1991, the Russian Federation still offers educational scholarships and military aids which is a privilege to many African students studying and living in Russia.

In conclusion, even though the Federation of Russia is different from the Soviet Union problems faced by students are still the same such as racism, language barrier and the fearsome Russian winter and it is important to finalize by stating that African-Russian relations is one fruitful relation that has yielded many fruits through outcomes such as ‘mixed’ marriages, political context and development for 50 years now.

written by Musanda Sishumba (writer at africaworld news)

http://www.africaworldnews.net/africa-x-ray-russias-50-years-relation-africa-musanda-sishumba/

Zambia At 51

This week on the 24th of October, Zambia celebrated its 51 years of independence, but to my amazement not many Zambians are celebrating because of the lack of development and high standard of living all attributed to poor leadership. Zambia in the early year after independence was a southern Africa power house that demonstrated its dominance in southern Africa politics through the provision of aid and educational to other southern Africa countries that were still fighting for independence.

And I guess those were the good old days, for today’s Zambia faces a hush reality of an economic crisis and a fast depreciating currency (Kwacha) and few days ago the local currency was declared the worst trading currency which means investors’ confidence to invest in a free falling economy are low. Furthermore, Zambia faces a huge energy crisis which is characterized by the norm of the day ’load shedding’ which has deeply affecting the mining sectors’ productive and has resulted into job losses and that’s a big headache for the current government with general elections coming up as soon as mid next year.

And for a country like that is dependent on the mines as a job provider for its 13 years population, the load shedding and low demand of copper on the world market has left the economy beyond redemption. That’s why many Zambians feel celebrating of independence is a mockery because poverty is still norm of the day and some sectors of the population are now calling for the second colonization by Britain since African leaders have failed to govern.

ZAMBIA’S PROBLEMS	RESULTS
Depreciating Kwacha	Weak economy Low investor confidence High standard of living
Load shedding/ energy crisis	Low productive  high job loss
Unplanned borrowing	More debts High standard of living
Unconcerned citizens	Wrong leaders chosen

In other words, what Zambia is experiencing is what we can term as ‘midlife crisis’ caused by poor governance. And this can be seen through the two Eurobonds the government has borrowed in less than 4 years, but cannot account on how it was spent.

In conclusion, I believe Zambia’s future is bright if only new economic and social reforms are put into put and the government as the elected representative of the people becomes more concerned about the welfare of the electorate.

Written by Sishumba Musanda( writer at africaworldnews)

You can read more at http://www.africaworldnews.net/zambia-zambia-at-51/

THE IDIOTIC AFRICAN

Who is an idiotic African?

Is an African that has been brainwashed to hate and look down on the African people, culture, food and music because they found themselves in a different place far away from Africa. More to that, an idiotic African can be one that uses chemicals and other substance to change they beauty and identity of the motherland by bleaching of skins so that they can fit in their new found area. Even though, the above horrors might be done it is important to understand that our darkness or black beauty must be preserved since this hostile world seems to hate the black man with a passion.   The following are some of the thoughts of an idiotic African and hostile world:

Black is ignorance

Black equals poverty

Black equals undocumented

Black equals slavery

Black equals crime

Africa is corrupt

Africa equals war

Black is a curse without cure

Black is inferior

Africa equals cannibalism

With the above thoughts of an idiotic African and hostile world, you would discover that ignorance plays a big part though brainwash is one big aspect that most African are subjected  to before there are made to believe that being a black or African is a curse and inferior. And with my stay in Europe, I can testify that being African or black is a statement that gets you an automatic pass of being called an undocumented immigrant, drug kingpin or just an uncivilized barbarian taught civilization from society and that’s why most Africans end up bleaching their skin in a bid to fit.

Africa is our home while being black is our identity, let no one belittle or brainwash from taking pride in being a proud African, and it is of great significance to understand that Africa as a continent has not fared well in terms of social-economic and infrastructure development, but that does not mean we all have to disrespect and belittle our motherland to others like the idiotic African,  Africa is just a 'dark continent', but to patriot Africans 'Africa is a paradise' and home to many unique cultures and tribes.

Reminder

'Black is beautiful ‘is not just a random statement, but a reality to those that choose to see and believe the beauty that lies in the black complexion and the African continent. And for those that choose to see the negative in the complexion and African continent, I respect they chose and I believe they opinion is not subject to any debate because if debated upon then we shall give room to ignorant concepts that are motivated by hate and pride. African indeed in the past has had its short comings, but we cannot judge or enslave they people based on the past.

 

Conclusion

To sum-up with a statement by a blogger who said, ‘the biggest ignorance that the world has faced is its ignorance about the African continent and its rich culture’. Quiet well the world seems to know about the mineral resources Africa possesses, but yet underestimates its people. I believe the world can learn a lot of lessons from the Africa continent. For Africa is the real deal.

THE AFRICAN PRESIDENCY: THE END OF LEADERSHIP, THE BEGINNING OF BUSINESS

Africa’s determination to self-governance through independence was seen in the rise of leaders who were driven by a passion to see a revived Africa and almost 50 years after the first steps of true leadership was laid down, today's Africa seem to be in a crisis that we cannot describe. The true leadership and patriotism that led to self-governance and independence has long been forgotten and replaced by pot belly and pocket styled form of selfish business now called leadership. Dear readers it is a known fact that Africa’s current copy of leaders are something we can liken them to predators that prey on the helpless poor majority and this is seen in failure by most leaders to account for national wealthy which they audition to foreign multinational cooperation for personal gains.

If am not mistaken, African and leadership in general is always characterized by serving through the provision of services that satisfy needs and wants of the people, but that seems to have faded with the 1960s and a new 21st century type of leadership has just been adopted mainly in Africa. This 21st century type of leadership is self-seeking and business-oriented, all it does and longs for is making a personal wealth at the expense of the poor majority while laying a blind eye and deaf ear to their needs and wants.

Furthermore, the presidency has lost its value due to the controversial that surrounds its selection in the sense that, the choice of the majority is never respected and the power of a vote is usually made valueless. As shown by the above idea, it can further be illustrated with a common situation that has been seen in most African countries were leaders have  preference for foreign investors without voting rights to its own citizens who possess the right to vote and hold citizenship.

At this point, I believe if our founding leaders such as Thomas Sankara, Nelson Mandela, Nalumino Mundia were asked to air out they views on the directions of the continent, I strongly believe regret, anger and shame would characterize they reaction because Africa is still the same with high unemployment and corruption rates not forgetting, foreign aid dependent economies while our leaders seem too focused on getting credits such as euro-bonds,  but failing to put up a road map on how the monies will be repaid hence signing auctioning off the youth's future through petty deals. And truth be told, the continent’s economies are not growing at all, what I see is a 'Mary-go-around' economy meaning the economies of the continent are stagnant because most of Africa’s economies are controlled and styled for countries like China, Russia, United States, therefore I wonder how growth can be experienced if African economies lack an African identity.

In a nutshell, Africa’s next generation will live in debts because by the time we realize that our own leaders are our greatest enemies, our land and our tradition would have been sold to the Asians or Europeans by our leaders. Africa's leadership needs a revival and its time the youths showed interest in their future.  

Written & edited by
Sishumba Musanda

XENOPHOBIA: AN AFRICAN TIME BOMB

 Xenophobia is one thing that South Africans should not embraced because in my opinion I view xenophobia not being different from terrorism or slavery, but the fact that notable figures such as king Goodwill Zwelthini of Kwazulu and the president's son openly supporting it, then I am forced to a conclusion that South Africa is back stabbing the African leaders, countries and the gesture of humanity they showed the people of south African during the apartheid era. For African countries embraced and welcomed South Africa political refugees with open hands, but open hatred through xenophobia is what Africa gets in return. And what I see is a seed of hate sown in mid-2008 when South African government failed to prosecute the criminals and today the government is failing to stop the recent attacks on fellow African because the seed of hate planted seven years ago has outgrown the system, therefore government efforts cannot contain it.

                                                          

REALITY TIME CHART   1. King Goodwill Zwelthini, the originator of the recent attacks on foreigners was once provided with passport and financial aid to escape the brutal apartheid regime and exiled to St. Helena from 1968 to 1971. It important to understand that the African countries that King Zwelthini is today calling 'foreigners' are the same countries that funded for his escape.	WHAT IGNORANT SOUTH AFRICANS THINK? 1. Africans are stealing our job, forgetting the fact that, most of Africans that go to south Africa are professionals that contribute to the social and economic development of the country.
2. Today south Africans are calling neighboring countries 'dirty and undeveloped', but the truth is that leaders like Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia risked the collapse and progress of Zambia to oppose apartheid through funding of the Africa National Congress (ANC). And it is this supported that risked Kenneth Kaunda's governance by agents of apatheid.	2.All foreigners are 'aliens' or illegally in south African forgetting the fact that most of the foreigners in south Africa are legally there and are abide to rules and laws of the land.
3. During the apartheid era, Nigeria contributed US$61 billion to black south Africans during the apartheid struggle from 1974 to 1994 to combat apartheid. And the above sum was raised through civil servants donating 5% of their salaries to fight apartheid.	3. African foreigners’ equals trouble and competition while treating foreigners from India and China as potential investors whether legally or illegally staying in south Africa.
4. And we cannot forget efforts by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nigerian only prime minister who was the first to advocate against apartheid and the first leader to provide financial aid at the expense of his citizens.	4. Foreigners are source of unfulfilled promised by the government and the ruling party.
5. During apartheid, neighboring countries and many other African countries schools and universities were flooded with south African combatants turned students and yet no citizen put a restriction on the ungrateful south African who are now repaying with hate. For South Africans in Zambia were considered Zambian and were given equal treatment.	5. South Africans are superior compared to other Africans.
6. During apartheid, the south African defence force attacked neighboring countries that hosted the African national congress (ANC) bases.	6. South Africa does not need the rest of Africa, but needs the Indians and Chinese.

And if the south African people feel the is need for an immigration crackdown, I absolutely agreed there is need to control immigration through a 21^st styled method should be used and they should not stigmatize every African immigrant in south African as illegal. For violence is a tool of the oppressors such as Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab and should not be used to counter attack immigration.

Furthermore, for those that do not understand the term 'xenophobia' then I will simply define it as 'unseasoned fear or hate towards foreign' and this hate is motivated and directed to fellow Africans by Africans. And I believe it’s time to let the people of South Africa and the leadership that’s 'Africans' lives matter' and we shall not lie a blind eye or deaf ear to the crying and lost lives. For Africa is everybody's home despite the race, sex and language.

On paper through embassies protocols, agreements, bilateral and treaties, Africans are free to live anywhere in Africa but in reality as in South Africa, brutal killings is the harsh anthem fellow Africans cry. For Africa faces an uncertain future of doom characterized by religious radicalism and hate such as xenophobia and it is the duty of ever African to take responsibility and advocate against the recent violence.

In conclusion, I believe South Africans are using foreigners as scapegoats for their anger and frustration over lack of service delivery by the government and it’s important for the citizens to channel their energy towards their government. And it’s equally important for the rest of Africa not to boycott products and businesses by South Africans, because that will only harm our own economies for injustice cannot be solved by another act of injustice.

  

Written and edited by:

 Sishumba Musanda