Having been a free-marketeer nutcase for many years, i felt that it was only appropriate for me to translate my theory about self employment and the genius of the natural market into reality. for the last two years i have been working in a poverty alleviation, skills training and job creation centre. the purpose of which is to teach people basic skills that can be utilised to establish "organic" sustainable home industries.
However the one thing i have found to be crystal clear is that all the free market theory in the world goes to pot when fledgling businesses, and home industries specifically, are exploited by "middle-men". that is people who feel entitled to earn a living by making introductions or arranging stuff, without adding any value to the product or service.
A Tolerant, Open Society that is founded on the principles of Compassion, Mutual Social Respect, The Universal Supremacy of Human Rights and a dedicated belief and practice of the Rule of Law will naturally create opportunities for people - by virtue of the fact that in such a system... everybody deserves a chance.
In Africa where opportunity is scarce, every grease monkey with a burning ambition to skipper a Bavarian Tank, sees local economic development as an impediment to their potentially lucrative option, of indenturing and exploiting the very people doing the work. Africa is regressing into a state of feudalism and its happening fast - the mandarin culture of politics and business being in bed together has led to a situation where only those who are "more equal than others" benefit.
its no surprise then that the very model for this corrupt state of affairs - comes from the USA and its Washington perogative. so while we as African people are struggling to empower our people so that they may at least eat, it is not surprising that European, American and Asian firms are buying up Africa like its the last Monopoly game left on earth.
Once the value of Africa - our minerals, our energy sources, our natural resources are held in foreign hands - we as African people will be further enslaved and colonised by being disconnected from the very things that we need to earn a living. while some people - euro tourists in particular - are fond of encouraging unemployed Senegalese university graduates - to carve wooden animal statues and other such trinkets - how are they going to do so if all the forests in Africa are inaccessible to them?
It is clear to me that we cannot promote Free Enterprise without simultaneously propagating the Rule of Law. its not easy because of the congenital relationship between poverty and unethical behaviour - but it must be done.
Avishkar Govender
eThekwini-Durban
KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
SADC - AU