Linkages with Europe in the 14th century led to the development of a parallel economy… not dependent on the institutions and the pathways of productive enterprise [but] opposed and undermined the tradition of productivity… allowed for acquisition of massive wealth from purely distributive sources that has no local productive content… It was a violent new thought that had impact in the local communities.
…if you project through the era of colonialism and look through its impact on the African psyche; when you come to the recent era: the only conclusion is that the false economy created many years ago has become a culture
From the foregoing, it is imperative that those who work in Africa adopt a systemic perspective that is sensitive to the histories of the people. Africa can only be helped as we integrate and interface every aspect of the community, we must be clear about the challenges and be willing to proffer solution that takes a long termed, historical view rather than a short termed utilitarian, meet – a – need perspective.
The primary thing needing to be changed in the Africa is the productive regime. People must move from the distributive platform to a productive platform. Rural heart of Africa must be re-engineered as a productive powerhouse that serves the needs of the local communities and from the platform of local responsive service, grow to engage with external communities.
Access to foreign resource must be tied to an internal productive endeavor. It should not be on the platform of charity, it must be on the platform of productivity… The point above is not a call to isolationism; it is rather a call to productive engagement that optimizes the strength of partners
FACILITATING CHANGE
There are many things in which Africa needs change:
1. Our perspective on work
2. The ethos that we bring into the work place
3. Our perspective on wealth and our strategy for creating it.
4. Our perspective on the future and our strategy for sustaining it
5. Our perspective of current situations and our resilience in dealing with it.
Africans are extremely adaptable. We are specialists in hope but when it comes to the arena of faith, we are often low on gas… Hope looks good on the surface but when it does not transition into faith, it is a deadly killer; it is not true biblical hope…This is why it seems African are so hopeful but are yet faithless because what is termed hope is in fact fatalistic abandonment…This fatalistic abandonment is due to historic experience of continuous disappointment and leadership failure which teaches the people not to trust…
Faithlessness therefore is a function of long term abuse and misuse experienced at the hands of historic leadership…Restoration of faith will be a function of restoration of historic justice in leadership… Faith must be at the root of every consideration for the work of change. It must be faith in a person, the person of Jesus our precious savior.
Radically Happy 