ONAPITO EKOMOLOIT to the point
Oct 02, 2003
WHEN President Yoweri Museveni spoke at TICAD 111 in Tokyo, on Monday, his speech was about the only one, among those made by dozens of heads of state, which sparked bouts of laughter.
Musevni Speaks Asian Language
WHEN President Yoweri Museveni spoke at TICAD 111 in Tokyo, on Monday, his speech was about the only one, among those made by dozens of heads of state, which sparked bouts of laughter.
For the uninitiated, TICAD 111 stands for the Third Tokyo International Conference on African Development. Under TICAD African heads of states and donors—led by Japan — have come together every five years since 1993 to mull over Africa’s chronic misery.
Ironically, President Museveni’s words that rattled the audience assembled at Shin-Takanawa Hotel were more serious than funny. What really raised the antennas in the room was the President’s characteristic style of calling a spade a spade — and not a big spoon.
Departing from the platitude of speech making at grand meetings, Museveni said that words like “poverty reduction†would be used for long in reference to Africa, unless the world stopped paying “lip service†to the wretched continent.
He repeated his clarion call that Africa is lost in the woods because it is enslaved by the cannibalistic dynamics of international trade. In this parasitic game — a dangerous one for us — Africans are losing value to the industrialised world because they sell cheap raw materials.
One obvious reason why Africans sell cheap is because their entire countries crowd in supplying a few products like coffee, which the Western world, for reasons of nature, cannot produce.
Meanwhile, the temperate rich world blocks the other agricultural items, such as rice which both it and Africa produce, from its market through protectionist policies, the President explained.
Shaming those who alleged that he sold out to the industrialised world at the failed Cancun trade talks, Museveni declared that the games the Americans, Europeans and Japanese are playing over subsidies “must stop.†He chided Africans for trusting “false friends†who disappoint them time after time. Nonetheless, said the President, there is a silver lining in this dark cloud that hangs over Africa. “It’s good for Africans to be disappointed because when they wake up, they will know their false friends,†he said.
But if there were any people with whom Museveni’s
speech struck a chord, it must have been the Asians in the audience. The President’s week-long Asian swing (through Thailand and Japan) brought him face to face with people whose “language†he speaks. In this land of big islands and quiet monarchs, where prosperity seems to grow like wild trees, talk is not business as usual — empty rhetoric — but business as business. Asians have proved what President Museveni was telling Africans at TICAD 111: Yes, we need foreign investment and markets, but the ignition key for development is in our own hands.
Thailand, a near-tropical land of 65 million people, was almost in the same political and economic quagmire as Uganda 30 years ago. While Ugandans were writhing under Field Marshall Idi Amin (DON’T RIP), the Thai too were gasping for breath under Field Marshall Thanon Kittikachorn.
This is how the country’s Nation newspaper captured the situation in its September 25, 1973, edition: “Prices of food and other consumer items, including rice, have shot up to an unusual level, creating a serious plight among the people.†Today, the Thai would not perhaps recognise their own country of that time. Another article in The Nation, again on September 25 — but this time in 2003 — told it all: “Consumerism Catches Fast,†ran it headline. It reported findings of a research which, among other things, indicated that 49 percent of the villagers in the country own mobile phones. In Uganda less than 4 percent of the entire population owns mobiles phones!
It is these depressing comparisons, knowing where we were both at one time, that took the President of Thailand, in his own words, â€to get some of the magic and take to Uganda.â€
Meeting numerous manufacturers — in line with his crusade to add value to Uganda’s abundant raw materials — Museveni, in true CEO style, made the best
possible pitch for Uganda as every investor’s dream destination.
And there could have been no better place for him to learn rags-to-riches tricks from the political leaders too. The country’s Prime Minister, the suave PhD-holding Shaksin Shinawatra, is one of the richest people in his country. He, among other fortunes, reportedly owns three space satellites. He made his money long before the premiership: He got the job barely three years ago.
At his meeting with President Museveni, Shinawatra churned out business acronyms, such as SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) with the ease a head of a blue chip company does it. He is so hands-on that recently he took to a classroom teaching maths to secondary school students across Thailand on national television!
As for the Japanese, few Ugandans need introduction to their economic might and magic. Just examine your car, television, radio, fan, flat iron, camera et al; chances are it is made in Japan. If only their exceptionally smart taxi drivers could learn a bit more English,
life in Tokyo would be
a lot easier.
Ends
WHEN President Yoweri Museveni spoke at TICAD 111 in Tokyo, on Monday, his speech was about the only one, among those made by dozens of heads of state, which sparked bouts of laughter.
For the uninitiated, TICAD 111 stands for the Third Tokyo International Conference on African Development. Under TICAD African heads of states and donors—led by Japan — have come together every five years since 1993 to mull over Africa’s chronic misery.
Ironically, President Museveni’s words that rattled the audience assembled at Shin-Takanawa Hotel were more serious than funny. What really raised the antennas in the room was the President’s characteristic style of calling a spade a spade — and not a big spoon.
Departing from the platitude of speech making at grand meetings, Museveni said that words like “poverty reduction†would be used for long in reference to Africa, unless the world stopped paying “lip service†to the wretched continent.
He repeated his clarion call that Africa is lost in the woods because it is enslaved by the cannibalistic dynamics of international trade. In this parasitic game — a dangerous one for us — Africans are losing value to the industrialised world because they sell cheap raw materials.
One obvious reason why Africans sell cheap is because their entire countries crowd in supplying a few products like coffee, which the Western world, for reasons of nature, cannot produce.
Meanwhile, the temperate rich world blocks the other agricultural items, such as rice which both it and Africa produce, from its market through protectionist policies, the President explained.
Shaming those who alleged that he sold out to the industrialised world at the failed Cancun trade talks, Museveni declared that the games the Americans, Europeans and Japanese are playing over subsidies “must stop.†He chided Africans for trusting “false friends†who disappoint them time after time. Nonetheless, said the President, there is a silver lining in this dark cloud that hangs over Africa. “It’s good for Africans to be disappointed because when they wake up, they will know their false friends,†he said.
But if there were any people with whom Museveni’s
speech struck a chord, it must have been the Asians in the audience. The President’s week-long Asian swing (through Thailand and Japan) brought him face to face with people whose “language†he speaks. In this land of big islands and quiet monarchs, where prosperity seems to grow like wild trees, talk is not business as usual — empty rhetoric — but business as business. Asians have proved what President Museveni was telling Africans at TICAD 111: Yes, we need foreign investment and markets, but the ignition key for development is in our own hands.
Thailand, a near-tropical land of 65 million people, was almost in the same political and economic quagmire as Uganda 30 years ago. While Ugandans were writhing under Field Marshall Idi Amin (DON’T RIP), the Thai too were gasping for breath under Field Marshall Thanon Kittikachorn.
This is how the country’s Nation newspaper captured the situation in its September 25, 1973, edition: “Prices of food and other consumer items, including rice, have shot up to an unusual level, creating a serious plight among the people.†Today, the Thai would not perhaps recognise their own country of that time. Another article in The Nation, again on September 25 — but this time in 2003 — told it all: “Consumerism Catches Fast,†ran it headline. It reported findings of a research which, among other things, indicated that 49 percent of the villagers in the country own mobile phones. In Uganda less than 4 percent of the entire population owns mobiles phones!
It is these depressing comparisons, knowing where we were both at one time, that took the President of Thailand, in his own words, â€to get some of the magic and take to Uganda.â€
Meeting numerous manufacturers — in line with his crusade to add value to Uganda’s abundant raw materials — Museveni, in true CEO style, made the best
possible pitch for Uganda as every investor’s dream destination.
And there could have been no better place for him to learn rags-to-riches tricks from the political leaders too. The country’s Prime Minister, the suave PhD-holding Shaksin Shinawatra, is one of the richest people in his country. He, among other fortunes, reportedly owns three space satellites. He made his money long before the premiership: He got the job barely three years ago.
At his meeting with President Museveni, Shinawatra churned out business acronyms, such as SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) with the ease a head of a blue chip company does it. He is so hands-on that recently he took to a classroom teaching maths to secondary school students across Thailand on national television!
As for the Japanese, few Ugandans need introduction to their economic might and magic. Just examine your car, television, radio, fan, flat iron, camera et al; chances are it is made in Japan. If only their exceptionally smart taxi drivers could learn a bit more English,
life in Tokyo would be
a lot easier.
Ends