The drive for indigenous Africans to come to the top table where the national economic cake is being cut has the backing of no lesser figure than one of the continent’s most respected elder statesmen, Kenneth Kaunda.
“It is important for people of Africa to become significant players in the economies of their societies, the African continent, and globally. Africa’s economy and Africa’s people have for long been hindered by various factors,” Kaunda said.
The former Zambian president shared his views in an interview conducted, perhaps as a sign of how much has changed, electronically before he was taken ill last week.
“From the time of slavery, colonialism, racism, and apartheid, Africans were placed in the role of lesser human beings,” he said.
“Africans were considered hewers of wood and drawers of water. Africans were by design of external persons and systems excluded, or limited, from active and full participation in their societies. Limits were placed on Africans shaping their own lives.
Clearly, the exploitation and suppression needed to change, thus our fight for independence all over Africa. When we achieved our independence, we did not rest but went on to support our brothers and sisters in neighbouring states to fight for independence and liberation.”
Reflecting on the 50 years after the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (the forerunner to the African Union) in May 1963, which oversaw the liberation of many of Africa’s states in the 1960s, Kaunda recounted the challenges of building nation states from scratch.
“At independence,” he said “we put into place programmes to enable Africans to build their capacities and play significant roles in our economies. We worked to build education and skills level. This contributed to the larger business that Africans could run.”
Kaunda indicated that the colonial regime throughout Africa deliberately skewed the landscape to disempower indigenous entrepreneurs. Africans were barred from engaging in certain business activities that were reserved for non-Africans.
“Before independence,” he said “the biggest businesses we as Africans were allowed to own were small tea carts, handling groceries, and some small shops. Actually, because of the training and economic empowerment programmes started around independence time in many countries, many black Africans have now got to owning and starting businesses in various fields of human endeavour. Many of those businesses were previously reserved for non-Africans.”
While Kaunda marvels at the progress thus far, such that even women now own businesses, he cautions that “still, we have not reached our potential”.
“We have a long way to go to economic empowerment for many of our brothers and sisters of Africa and of African descent. We also need to increase women’s involvement in big businesses and in business in general. Yes, many women are now in business. They are a huge part of the market trade. They run many small businesses. They also run a few medium sized enterprises. There are many women in the informal sector, that major sector which is underrated in our economies,” he points out.
Asked to put into context why, after half a century of independence, big business in Africa is not in the hands of Africans, and whether this is a reflection that Africans are not an entrepreneurial people, Kaunda scoffs at the latter suggestion.
“I do not agree with the notion that Africa’s people do not have the entrepreneurial spirit,” he insists. “Actually, despite extreme challenges in the past and now, Africa’s men, women, and youth are very active forces in our economies. After slavery, colonialism, and apartheid, in post independent Africa, we have had the challenge of HIV and AIDS. This devastating pandemic greatly affected our people and economies.”
Kaunda’s observation is that the HIV pandemic reversed many post-independence gains, including on the business front. However, he is confident that the HIV situation is now stabilising, and that studies in many countries indicate that there is greater control of the pandemic than was the case when it began.
“We are stronger and surviving more and more, thus ready to forge ahead in entrepreneurship and boost our household and country’s economies. Overcoming the effects of the HIV and AIDS pandemic is a way of boosting enterprises and economies,” says Kaunda, vice chairperson of the Champions for an HIV-Free Generation, a group of former African presidents and other influential personalities that mobilises high-level leadership for renewed responses to HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Kaunda speaks highly of the resilience of Africa’s men, women, and youth even in the face of adversity, who are now increasingly building business partnerships across borders.
“Recently,” he says, “I was happy to see young entrepreneurs from Botswana come over to Zambia to meet others. This is a practical way of boosting economic ties and business activities. There are great opportunities in Africa within our country’s borders and across borders.”
He says there is a role in this setup even for those of African descent living in the diaspora.
A deeply religious man, Kaunda emphasises that, “Like others in the world, Africans are also very gifted. The Good Lord God Almighty has not provided fewer skills to members of some groups than to others. Africans have made advances in economic activities. We need to find ways of strengthening ourselves to reach further in business and economic progress.”
He holds the view that for a significant number of African households to be lifted from poverty, it is important that women thrive in their enterprises. To that end, Kaunda suggests that there should be an enabling environment for women in business to thrive.
“Successful women entrepreneurs and managers will lead to more prosperous economies and more prosperous households, who would then be able to afford basic needs,” he explains.
He also calls for more young people to participate in medium size and large businesses. Kaunda cautions that just as it was immoral to put hurdles on the path of people on account of their colour or gender, it is equally reprehensible to consign others to the margins by virtue of their physical disability.
“We must ensure that persons with disabilities are empowered to actively participate in business and the economy. We must make sure that people of all backgrounds are supported in their entrepreneurship. We must do these by moral support, by enabling legislation and laws, by collaboration within and across countries, and by helping entrepreneurs to access the required finances and resources. Economic and financial programmes must ensure that more people are actively involved, whatever their backgrounds,” he said.
Kaunda states that as the world’s interest shifts to the continent, African leaders and entrepreneurs should strive to get the best possible deal for African resources.
“I believe that Africa’s governments and various local and international institutions need to critically consider the current situation of Africa’s entrepreneurs. It is important to increase the post-independence economic activities achieved. We need to strengthen training in various skills that are relevant to the world of commerce and industry,” he says.
