[kictanet] Vision 2030: ICT and Other Sectors Converged (Day 3)

[bitange at jambo.co.ke]

Eric,
I think to a large extent we are saying the same thing.  My question is simple.  How much Government do Africans want in their entrepreneurial activities? 

My arguments tends to show that in general if there is less government, policies tend to favour enterprise at the expense of the poor majority.  This is when the government takes politics as a branch of economics as previously theorized by Adam Smith and Milton.  Friedman.  Although greed has been with us for ages, within such an environment, greed is therefore sanctioned by government. 

The extreme end of capitalism is only found in Somalia where the economic activities are independent of government.  Sometimes politics in Somalia is a complete branch of economic activity.

I am surprised that you are defensive about Africa's private sector.  You do not need to do much in Africa to grow at 5%.  The inefficiencies in Africa are mind boggling.  I have extensively written about this in this forum.  Africa can actually grow at a rate of 20% on an annual basis.  We have not even reduced post production inefficiencies to stem food insecurity.

Much of the enterprise in Africa today was due to privatization of state enterprises including the communication sector.  Innovations like Makmende in Kenya were not seen as opportunity to invest in.  You can even ask Liko in this forum.  We have not even taken seriously innovations coming from our youth.  If you apply Schumpeter's creative destruction theory, you will find that there are only a handful of Africans who fit the bill even though we have had opportunities to destroy existing technologies.  Makmende would have dealt face book a big blow.

I attend most of presentations by youth at I-hub and I-Lab.  The angel investors you see in these presentations are not Africans.  By any statistics, if all venture capitalist are foreign then when such ideas break big, we shall simply be onlookers.  Who should be taking the risk? Should government be in business only to privatize when risk is minimized?

Here is our real problem.  Africa celebrates with drum beats with the hatching of one chick while the west would only celebrate with violins when all the chicks have been hatched.  The potential growth rate in Africa has not reached where we can begin to celebrate with drum beats.  We must keep on the pressure.  The private sector must wake up. 

Your celebration of our academics in the diaspora again is too early.  Most of African academics abroad are suspect.  I do not know whether they are genuine or simply saying what is politically correct.  I think they are guilty for not coming back to be foot sodiers of development.  It is easier to cheer or jeer from the sidelines.  They must make sacrifices and come home to share their experiences.  Let us see them take the leadership and show us the way.

On leadership and pragmatism.  There is nothing out of playing in the middle and call it pragmatism.  You either have the Government in business activity or not at all.  Obama is a liberal and a good one after nationalizing the collapsing enterprises of America.  If it was not his intervention there will not be GM or Citi Bank.  This is not politics of the middle, this is reminding the world that economics is a branch of politics.  This what Roosevelt did to safe capitalism.  Pragmatism is when you sit in the fence.

Regards.


Ndemo.
 

Sent from my BlackBerry®

-----Original Message-----
From: "Eric M.K Osiakwan" <emko at internetresearch.com.gh>
Sender: kictanet-bounces+bitange=jambo.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.keDate: Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:51:57 
To: <bitange at jambo.co.ke>
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions<kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
Subject: [kictanet]  Vision 2030: ICT and Other Sectors Converged (Day 3)

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