The Global Fifth Estate

The Global Fifth Estate: Diaspora freedom, borderless-wealth, lifestyle and influence

Sam Mwaka-karama

The state has always had private individuals as friends: These were always ordinary people who did what state machinery weren’t mandated to do… they were shadowy nondescript characters who somehow interacted with leaders [in the olden days – they even arm-twisted individuals under secret instructions of some top leaders] they went for whatever a certain leader wanted and got it – drove around in fancy personal cars. Flew abroad and returned with duty free items the leaders need and may want. They ran secret errands for the big men or made it easier for lower or mid-range foreigners or organizations to access a particular leader or the state; introducing business contacts or managed whatever business for a leader – the ordinary private friends of the leader often organized foreign shopping trips for the leaders’ families; helped with tedious documentations and, tracked the trunks or containers shipped. The errand runners go-for nearly everything the leading family needs or want done.

These sort of contacts and influences of these men [and sometimes women too] are fairly widespread across the world. They were the positive small players who unofficially spread an ‘unseen partnership’ among the men at the top between various countries.

 In the earlier days of African Independence, it was possible for them [unseen partnership makers] to quietly acquire property for a leading family [even royalty] in a city of another country; with understanding between the men at the top who often became partners in such ventures and investments.

When Africa was still vulnerable to coups or military takeover – this sort of networking provided the convenient clandestine logistics, for safe passage, even quiet exiled settlement in another country; not only for the overthrown leader, but also for a whole lot of their relatives and followers… and the same network [sometimes] enabled the underground channels, for able fellows among the exiled group, float a struggle to fight for a return; these are the characteristics of the ‘unseen partnership’ in some cases activated between early African leaders by influences of certain individuals, in the first three decades of African independence; personalized friendships existed between and among some leaders. Ugandans have walked through these tracks with their colleagues – especially when things went wrong and many Ugandans needed support and help.

 This phenomena happens all over the world with deferring levels and degree of impact – but the created [networks] remain a unique diasporas phenomena that for some, have built valuable ‘unseen wealth’ that have over the many-many years become solid visible and perfectly legal property and business assets and investments in a friendly foreign or neighboring country or in some far away country; many rich people around the world [with some luck] made it in this way.

This is the story of fundamental worldly exile; Diasporas life and wealth making. This is the positive story of the ‘Fifth Estate’; the story of the unseen tentacles of influences that have over the past 50+ years of African and Asian independence intertwined with the state becoming an enormous global influence.

Many Asian investments in Africa linked to leaders [back in their home countries] have been the humble initiative of individual non-state ‘unseen influences’ perhaps started in exile… between Asian countries and some Arab countries; cross-country investments between the leading families in each other’s countries are the mainstay of strong national economic ties that enable and ensure mutual development and common peace.

There is strong spillover of these sorts of influence peddling and search for personal wealth creation and developments between leaders and their families in Africa - from the more affluent Asian and some [positive] Arab countries.

The less affluent Africans are still slow to understanding these aspects of Globalization: the leading family wealth interests and the State and country development interests; even tentatively accepting the two as detached from each other and yet secured and complimented by one another - that a leader can use his legitimate earnings in government service to develop family farm, industry and property honestly and bank-ably… these are still virgin fields of thought many traditional thinking African leaders are yet to scale over and accept as normal…

Donor Blackmail and stigma…

Unlike the Asian and Arab experiences in worldly affluence, few African leaders contemplate personal family investments in foreign or neighboring countries… This is largely because the ‘donor countries’ and groups have blackmailed the African leaders against ‘personal wealth interests’; anti-corruption watch-dogs set-up by donor countries threaten and disgrace leaders who seem to be wealthy.

The donors invade foreign banks and fish-out money belonging to former African leaders on the flimsy claims and accusations that they were money obtained from [public development funds]… in certain instances the accusations of the donors were right – however, African leaders should take heed and visibly create their family wealth and build their homes and properties conspicuously [documented from scratch] to deter donor sponsored stigma on their wealth at some future point…

The problem with the old African leaders [1960s/70s/80s] was of cause ignorance or little knowledge; they mostly believed in amassed cash wealth abroad – and have no defendable personal family investment portfolios or farming and ranching activities at home to show as source of their wealth – so the donors ignite local oppositions and syndicate human rights organizations paid by the donor countries to lead the campaign to disintegrate a leader’s wealth-base locally and financial banking status abroad. Shame-faced African leaders [cocoon] their thinking so much that they are defenseless when the donors bring-out the guillotine accusations. The average African leader is not a sport; they don’t see that the claims and accusations are a generalized affront against everything potentiality out of Africa.

The educated Whiteman will never believe that an African has intellect; that given level ground and exposed to equal resources Africans might play the better game – is what the Whiteman perennially fights against. Their strategy is rendering African leaders disgraced! With all due respect to the white race I prefer to tell the truth and shame the real devil in them that spew hate and confusion over nonexistent accusations and stigmatizations.  

The donor countries are on another kind of [in-direct] protracted war: a major programme to ‘keep Africa poor’- to the donors Africa must never get to know how real wealth is made. And if you are careless they waylay you at some point; remove the support and protection you enjoyed while in leadership and throw you down… African leaders are yet to learn how to off-set them and insure your post leadership days; create family wealth that are not challengeable by the Conrad Adenoids of this world.

And if a leader’s village home was weed overgrown and fake looking… then he didn’t have the business acumen to create a wealth base at home – so the donors get the legitimacy to invade his bank accounts abroad – neither did he build a mall or plaza, even industry with a loan from a local or foreign bank; so where does his money come from? What services was the leader rendering to his country outside of his state duty? Such leaders become vulnerable to ‘corruption’ accusations and donors might wrestle his finances down and confiscate them – as ill gotten wealth, probably from donor funds.   

The overseas and local factor   

Between Asia and Africa: Diaspora returns in terms of wealth and influence to the home and neighboring country differ from one country to the other; depending on the sense of organization and loyalty to culture from a variety  of country and tribe backgrounds of the individuals. Asians are certainly in the lead  here – they turned around earned Diasporas wealth [including those earned in East Africa] into investments in Europe, Ireland, Britain, Canada, Australia, US and in some South American countries. This has placed vast share of the enormous global business in the hands of Diaspora Asians who have the superstructures for manufacturing at home and products distributions network worldwide.

Potentially, this should also have been the direction Africans abroad, might have wanted to explore if it wasn’t for overly localized thinking rendering Africans abroad marginal players and non-players at all. The Africans perennially mulling over their vain claims of [non-existent] political victimization at home – when actually they were just sweet-toothed eaters and burping nibblers hooked-up to goodies and comfort abroad, and little else.

Few African exiles in Europe and the Americas actually manage to pull out of the magnet of comfort and good feeding in the diasporas; so that what Asian and Arab diasporans achieved since World War Two – that revolutionized development in their regions [though with extreme difficulties] in certain countries who have reservations and suspicion of western ideas…

Even then, the exile or Diaspora  contributors have changed and developed Asia and the Arab world despite overwhelming and sometime deterrent religious extremism and conservative thinking that the west eventually overcame with decades of [constructive engagement] devised during the Henry Kissinger’s [Shuttle Diplomacy] – which helped the Asian and Arab diasporans soften the ground enough to be trusted with their western friends and their proposals that slowly changed that vast part of the world… making a kind-of business as usual atmosphere [following formation of OPEC] that had affected especially Arab mentality towards the west and the world at large - that al Qaeda actually managed to defused and dismantle much of that ‘constructive engagement Kissinger diplomacy’ will remain the myth of history hard to understand.   

The new African leadership

The local African factor is ever bleaker: the influence and network of [unofficial local contact] used by African leaders outside of the state is diminished! The [unseen partnership] phenomena ended with leaders of the 1960s, 70s and 80s… contemporary African leaders openly use state functionaries even to handle hidden family investment interests at home or in another country or abroad.

This has impacted rather negatively – considering fact that it cuts-off certain build-up of personalized friendships that were developed in the long past; the subterranean current of influential friendship between personalities at the top of neighboring countries is suddenly gone!

Even as the EAC fast-tracking narrowed down the country relationship gaps with better legislature formulated to finally cement the E A Community ties.

Sometimes one gets the vague notion that – while the positive aspect of the ‘Global Fifth Estate’ are gaining in creating the network of contact and [somehow even forging friendship on personal levels with African leaders] there is nevertheless an existing factor of the same; developing the proverbial [negation of the negation]: ‘We want you but we don’t like you’. So that the flow and fluctuation of movement and information in the interactivity of African neighbors’ citizens carry both negative and positive effects; what breeds mutual suspicion and distrust.  

And so just like the EAC process of unification that is being developed amidst ‘expulsions’ of the neighbors’ citizens… AU itself still has massive hurdles to clear. Some African countries are still bundling the other’s citizens on the old beaten-up ‘panda gari’ and we think ‘officially’ the unification of Africa is a workable project? If our leaders do not get the interest of setting-up personal family shop in his neighbor’s city… how will the neighbor country’s peace or no peace ever matter – to whom?

The informal bridge of ‘unseen friendship’ among and between leaders is missing – the potentials of the positive aspect of the ‘Fifth Estate’ has not been encouraged by the contemporary leaders of the East African Countries – we are united by treaties, principles and policies, but the leaders have no personalized investment interests in the others country.

Between us the positive aspect of the ‘Fifth Estate’ is therefore inactivated, while the ‘Global Fifth Estate’ is boldly and actively spreading business interests of foreign leaders, who are forging personal friendship with our leaders - into our countries – and we will never be able to contemplate exchange of personal family investment interests [among our own leaders] within our region - we still believe that only corporate and industrial investments [cross-border] between us will guarantee peace and unity in our region… we are wrong.

The issue is: in order to off-set potentials for donors’ accusations in the future… African leaders must invest openly their family business interests. So that those [developed world stigma-tizers] who feed on the blood of the stigma – in donor countries will be exposed as well and, their heinous crimes of sponsoring violence and terrorism become prosecutable crimes and also exposed – African women are coerced into promised jobs abroad that become sex-slavery; in modern Europe. African women even born in European exile by African parents are turned into sex-objects and drug addicts… heinous crimes openly committed by the stigma-tizers in their own countries that are prosecutable; are covered-up by the human rights sponsors themselves – when will African leaders stand-up and create counter accusations instead of religiously “go marching in” to the ICC.   

What is the ‘Fifth Estate’?         

‘Fifth Estate’ is that body of undefined individual or group used by the state in errand that are outside official known duty of state functionaries; to run any form of errand for a top leader, to help run personal family business within, in another or neighboring country on behalf of any leader, his family or any member of state – such unofficial personalized service provider to a top leader and family - is an entity I call the ‘Fifth Estate’.

In Africa, the best example of the ‘Fifth Estate’ is a negative one - the story of the friendship between a Kenyan leader and a vicious criminal known as “Mark Twist” – the criminal was known to have carried-out some errands, for the leader, in exchange for his freedom after an arrest and that started a friendship that lasted several years.

About Two decades after demise of Mark Twist and the old leader; in October 1995 about ten thousand criminals were forgiven and sent home to rehabilitate themselves back to positive community mentality acceptable to their country… within a few years the criminals created what the world know today as “Mungiki” a crime based organization with tentacles in every government office, institutions, companies, industries, NGOs and have since crept into Embassies and International agencies with offices in Kenya – it is said that to go past an Embassy gate or have your documents carried from there to the inner office for visa, you would have paid well. Inside, to access the diplomats for an interview you pay – Mungiki has become the [buffer between] you have to “respect” to get your visa or any other whatever services you want from any office in that country.

Mungiki influence now border on lobby groups and community concern entities… its strong point is therefore business with support from the state since the mostly criminal founders were under-educated people. Mungiki is the legacy of Mark Twist; created by unseen, unofficial friendship and sympathetic influence that materialize [between leaders and ordinary people] for services privately in the interest of the statesman – That is the [negative or positive] factors of the ‘Fifth Estate’.

These undefined contacts that conduit subterranean friendship influences [outside the state or rigid religion] between leaders so that below the hardness of policy and state function and diplomacy, there is soft footedness and humanity that make ordinary movement, freedom and daily business of citizenry supple and easy – these unofficial contacts have maintained business between leaders for centuries right across the broad spectrum of civilization’s history: but I believe it had never before been called by the acronym I have created – The Fifth Estate.

 Without the subterranean friendship players between and among leaders of a given region: chances are ideologies, principles, policies, white papers and legislatures and policies might more often threaten to grind relationship between countries to a halt; even where well defined treaties exist. The ‘Fifth Estate’ always exists in infinite and diverse potentials to be made use of or ignored by leaders. They are common place people every leader always encounter them one way or the other.

Leaders must always have personal business interests in the next country, a second country, or even an investment abroad… it is the safety valve; because elites are entitled to invest their income. Leaders with little or no personal business investments in the regional community countries might encourage too much selfish country pride that eventually may turn events in the community altogether negative even perhaps counterproductive – what do we really want, a self integrated, consolidated EAC economy – really?; then why not try investing or starting a small family business activity in the neighbor’s country? In the interest of local regional citizens who tend to move about freely and blandly. Why not take your family to explore endowments of your neighboring country – spend your holiday there and see their country side? – I think it is a blatant lie no-one wants this Unification!

Negative aspect of the Fifth Estate

When leaders don’t even visit their neighbors [I am not talking about state visits] relationships might just about remain perfectly official to the letter. However the problem with that is fact that the ordinary citizens who embody the tentacles of the Fifth Estate [like it or hate it] in its negativeness and in its positiveness - might stumble on something and spark a situation – like the Mungiki nearly created a bloody scene on a tiny island between Kenya and Uganda on Lake Victoria in the recent past.

Similarly, a Ugandan General and Minister once lost his entire consignment of Sugar reportedly imported from Brazil – his transit consignment was entangled in the tentacles of Mungiki at the port of Mombasa – according to newspaper reports the Kenyan criminals cannibalized the entire import and, were protected by the state; newspaper reports and investigative stories followed the controversy closely and, legal battle supposedly ensured with the Ugandan minister attending the “Kangaroo Court” that had become Radio Fm laughing matter for a long time.

That was the power of the Fifth Estate; the General had no chance however, had the minister been able to established his business interests in Kenya properly, Mungiki might have not created the loss of his import consignment the way it happened – to me I see that the EAC has a big problem because the negative aspect of the Fifth Estate; the criminal entanglement is already very widely spread and, to Kenyans there is an accepted patriotism to Mungiki that cannot be challenged by law or bureaucracy of any sort. ***

The Author is an Independent Thinker, Blogger and Book Author

Foreign Goods pre-shipping Inspection...

Foreign Goods pre-shipping Inspection 

and the looming impact of ‘Industrial Abomination’

Sam Mwaka-karama

Ancient industrial cartoon junkyard animators, once upon a time, dreamt of the ultimate automated industrial abomination of all times - as the enormous Himalayan sort-of junk-heap manglement of worldly industrial complexity where massive Portland iron smelters - with thick smoke billowing from huge chimneys - characteristically smog the sprawl of urban cosmopolitans, busy city production and consumerism atmosphere; with industrious manufacturing-craft mania, iron mongery, crap-metallurgy and foundry, fabrications, design, finishing, packing and unto the world maritime shipping, road and rail transportations to the final consumer - would become such endless and still unending nightmare - where the 'iron men' would - by the very repetitiveness of their robotic 'dawn to dusk' and 'dusk to dawn' capitalist restlessness - become spider-webbed in this bizarre whirlwind 'megalomania' – the ultimate industrial abomination.

What the cartoon junkyard artist did not bother-with, was the 'off-springs' of these huge pulsating "Theta and Entheta" of this new-world fired-up by worldly consumerism, need and insatiable hunger, quest, fashion, competitiveness and famished want.

The off-springs of these 'iron men' and 'iron women' of the unending industrial revolutions, wars and growths - are the metaphorical ‘Gulliver’ inch-man 'gnomes' - who climb all over the tired sleepy Swartz… Western 'ironman of capitalism' of the modern day.

The invincible industrial Inch-men Gnomes roped an incredible network - in perpetual process of product output; replications, copycat-ism, jinx-craftsmanship, counterfeits, fake-ism and sub-standardization of all types of goods... like tiny colony-ants, they flood the world’s busiest ports with uncontrollable surge of millions upon millions of container tonnage... most noticeably always targeting Eastern African Countries [being conveniently just across the Indian Ocean] where currently governments are evidently overwhelmed! There is already a revolution in ship-building abroad; designers of cargo liners are phasing in new mammoth size ships; ports are threatened with impossible complex congestions; warehousemen are fighting for huge chunks of land for miles and miles of Go downs.

In Uganda, government is moved into [a not so clear state of] consumer protection. And protectionism is a new phenomenon - by and large on average a little less than ten years in practice in the EAC - the protection Schemas could appropriately be defined as embryo in East Africa…

Couple of years ago several Vehicles were tracked-down and impounded in Kampala and other parts of the East African Region - purportedly as having been stolen from Japan – today Monday, July 22^nd, 2013 one of Uganda’s leading daily has a funny front page; …something about ‘58 vehicles impounded by the Police’ – as having been ‘stolen from London’. At the Uganda Media Centre recently, I personally asked the Hon Minister Amelia Kyambadde about the [stolen Japan Cars impounding incident] – she quibbled; “that happened at a time we had temporarily suspended PVoC scheme for evaluation purposes”.   

"Pre-Export Verification of Conformity to Standards" – PVoC  

PVoC - founded under the ‘UNBS Act’ and regulated by the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Cooperatives collaborating with UNBS bureaucracy - had a number of false-starts and on and offs – including the time the “Ministry suspended this program in order to further review its status on 19th June 2013” as explained by Hon Amelia Kyambadde, Minister - in a Press briefing on resumption of the scheme recently – factor triggered by the vast need to get closer to the consumers via the press and [newly formed committee; UNBS, KACITA,UNCCI, MTIC, and PSFU] and generate ideas for defining PVoC functions - which seem to perennially hang in an unclear haze of conflicting desire to work in contract with foreign Inspection and Verification Companies or perhaps work independently [and on the home ground] as PVoC - in a manner likely to duplicate the foreign Inspectors work – somehow; though PVoC's mandate was clearly spelt-out in a six point program-objective lay-out (Ref: UNBS Press Release 1st June 2013). The real magnitude of the problem is beyond the political policy, administrative principles, UNBS guidelines or PVoC mandates… there is just simply an immoral and abominable state of industrial production emanating from some parts of the world!  

PVoC's problem however seems to emanate from simple fact that despite the presence of six International Inspection Agencies: for general goods [SGS – INTERTEK and Bureau Veritas] – while for used motor vehicle [JEVIC - JKAM - EAAS] – based in Japan and UAE and probably operating in most ports of origin in the major exporter countries doing business with Uganda; China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, India, Pakistan, Turkey, EU, Britain and many others – even then sub-standard products [apparently including stolen vehicles] still come openly into the Country...

Meaning that over the next five to ten years; the states of industrial productivity output abomination in the manufacturing and Exporting countries of the far East might go-up five fold – guessing from the new design cargo liners sizes set to be floated on the maritime shipping markets in the not so far away future.

Dramatic increase in the ‘Gulliver’ inch man ‘gnomes’ activities in the Far East over the past decade or so... progressively shift consumerism downwards towards the 'bottom of the pyramid' as it were; spurring the younger generation to work-harder for the sub-standard goods – aggressively sold to the unsuspecting eager and fast spending consumer… it is a haven for the ‘gnomes’... what if it went-up five fold in the next ten years?

Who is the culprit; between the manufacturer, exporter and importer of the fake substandard [& stolen?] goods?

While government seem to think that the culprit in this situation was the 'careless' Ugandan importer... who 'blindly' buys the fake [& stolen] or substandard [and fake] goods from abroad and so should be penalized and also charged to pay stiffly for the internal PVoC inspections system - on the contrary arguably - the Ugandan local importers [I don’t know about the foreigners] were just profit driven business people, keen on meeting their financial transfer obligations to have their consignments delivered on time.

If the foreign manufacturers and exporters were rooted in sub-standardization, even theft - to them, the local importers - those were highly technical policy-matters that should be debated and resolved between Uganda and the foreign countries’ business policy makers.

And if [for example] - the manufacturers’ [standardization] weren't regulated by their own governments - then Uganda officials and business leaders should go out there and table their disquiet... instead of penalizing the importers at home or duplicating the costly inspection process. Or even impounding goods already paid for in foreign exchange – and very much in advance – as having been stolen: Then how did the foreign Ports of discharge fail to verify the [stolen vehicle] particulars; [chassis number, engine number, plate numbers, insurance stickers for five years etcetera] – how will they [foreign ports of discharge] ever inspect anything over the next five to ten years; when finally the industrial abomination blows-up out of proportions with more than five times the tonnage currently passing through their ports; aren’t the foreign inspection and verification companies actually already overwhelmed?    

At best - PVoC should more appropriately become yet another expeditionary work-group [like those in Somalia - etcetera] – if need be to inspect and verify the goods before they were discharged from the port of export. Goods inspection and verifications are apparently becoming a nightmare – considering mushrooming industrial out-put abomination abroad; some manufacturing countries might even pay for local consumer ‘inspectors’ to be stationed abroad in their countries; so that goods get verified before shipping – even then, there is still a bizarre overwhelming factor... inspecting thousands of 12ft, 20ft, 40ft containers in detail everyday of the week, month; how do you even conceptualize such an operation plan? Who is actually the culprit in this Industrial Abomination?

The Author is an Independent Thinker, Writer and Blogger.

mwakarama@gmail.com     

 

Friendship…

    Friendship…

Developing the simple Thinking perception

With Sam Mwaka-karama

Question and Answer

What is friendship?

Friendship is closeness between two people [or more] with liking of each-other as the binding element that keeps them close.

Can friendship also harbor love between the two [or more] people?

Yes! Friendship can also harbor love (like a ship docks at the port) but the [love] becomes a third party; because friendship between two persons [or among people] who like each-other has enough binding element.

That makes [the import of love] third party… because with or without it friendship can still survive and goes-on between the two [or more people].

So what is a harbored [or docked] third party love then?

Harbored [or docked] love becomes the ‘innocent attraction’ factor; like the flower was there and the butterfly got attracted to it! Or the nectar was there and the bee got attracted to it (that is love! Which is different from; [the milk was there and the fly landed on it] that is not love! Because much as the milk which is the fundamental product and substance of love [the fly who is always attracted to milk – does not represent or produce substances of love… like a bee or butterfly].

Now if friendship between two [or more] people “has enough binding element” to it – which automatically relegates [innocent attraction] to third party love, then where does that leave ‘God love’?

‘God love’ is inspirational feeling! It has or represents no physical substantive element… so that [God love] is actually [housed] in celibacy of the mind and soul – parental love.

How so - explain?

‘God love’ is here equitable to ‘parental love’ because it is expressed to the child in a depreciative manner… it is intense at birth and progressively depreciates as the kids grow-up, become adult and eventually a parent... Parents are supposed to progressively and slowly change their love [of their own children] so that it become liking of their children as they grow older; which is why if you [a child] went wrong, your parent told you that it was wrong to do this or that – but her/his words becomes progressively harder [with the use of sticks or cane or insult] as the children grow bigger and older.

Why must ‘parental love’ [God love] eventually change as the children grow older?

Because a child growing older [in the physical world] needs strength [faith] to eventually be cast-off his/her parents to survive on their own – and maintain a distant but [faithful and constantly linked] relationship with their aging parents [you]; you are physically [cast-off your parents] and gain attraction [friendship and maybe love] and attachment [by faith or maybe love] to your partner/spouse where you are supposed to be survived also by another generation [kids of your own].

Your responsibility to your kids is giving them cultural [language] teachings, sense of direction, education and attachment to their roots [before demise of the grand-parents]. That is the norm worldwide.

A parent who betrays his/her partner/spouse creates disability in this process: Better a family thrown asunder by an act of war or natural disaster, than a family torn-apart by the misdirection of a jilted parent’s teachings…      

So when is a person really free – if you must maintain link with your parents at the same time?

“Freedom” per-say does not actually exist… but your attachment to your kind is your life heritage – which is why birds of the same feathers flock together – but then crossing the cultural [or racial] line is also a natural aspect of life, but it might become a [curse] if it causes you to [hate] your parents or shun your roots… living in [self] curse is the problem.

If you crossed the racial line and discovered that your partner/spouse [hates your kind, parents or your roots] then you risk becoming a [slave] locked-up inside an open sourly, infective and eventually festering ‘concentration camp’! If it is your destiny to live that sort of life… then it is your misfortune! Your Karma!

But there is also an element of personality [rooted in faith… “I leave you my faith”] should tell you that; you can pull yourself out of that open prison and seek adventure instead of the cocoon-ism of slavery; you always have a choice. But then again; ‘choice’ is also often subjugated by fear [and ignorance].

No! It is not that you [don’t like this] or [you don’t like that] - it is ‘fear’ and outright ‘ignorance’ that defeated [you].

The writer is an Independent Thinker, Author and Blogger

mwakarama@gmail.com            

Neo-Imperialism and the future Africa

Sam Mwaka-karama

Initially this article was written for World Press Freedom day – I had been thinking of what to share on that fine day. Fine day because it reminds us especially we Africans living on the mother continent; that freedom needs be guarded! Your freedom is valid only as far as you were free to practice in whatever you did without undue state control, all comer hindrances and worst;  peddled malicious foreign ‘influences’ that drag your thinking and actions contra to your legitimate  African journey… was to me the sort of banter to guard against.

In the process of wanting that fairer moments, waiting for what befitting topical moments that never came, I had shelved this article… and did not want to publish its original version because [press freedom day had passed] amid too much chaff and  gamely repartee coming off our parliament (with the four NRM rebel MPs) making the waters of debate even murkier and dialectic with over simplification and gross misunderstanding… the level of reason had suddenly dropped – this article would not blend but instead stick-out or some newspaper editor friends of mine won’t run it either, so I held back on my article, and later re-wrote it for my blog.    

The wider world media thinking was largely developed on the theory that the Press and the media at large watch-dogged upon activities of the state; reported on political, economic, security and generally national issues and happenings with the premise that the State was the leading villainous player and often the culprit… the lopsided debate on ‘freedom of the press’ would therefore be therein anchored. It is syndicated reason; press freedom was from the state - full stop.

However little was often considered when the press encountered hindrances that weren’t exactly state triggered – there are organizations for example that often threaten or even take the press or individual members of the press to court, or even dish-out covert silent sub-terrarium punishment to journalists and editors; or taking advantage of the ‘Libel’ legislature to subdue press objectivity or using other sinister covert means. The difficulty and deprivation of individual pressmen often too, emanate from the free corporate world.

In Uganda this has reached a point where the press is largely endowed with everything tilted to rubbishing the state and government, while creating high-profile imagery of the largely foreign organizations in play: my typical example is; the Oil companies that have been on the front pages of Uganda’s newspapers like Tallow, were still respectably nibbled by the press… even as they [talked of then apologized] for ‘attempting to induce’ a whole presidency for a token… this though was the only time a little bit of teeth showed from the Ugandan press towards a corporate – a softly little bit of teeth – not the sort our press offensive that often chewed-up the state!

What I believe is in the stoical horizon though is the ‘menacing and growling’ of the Neo-Imperial types impatiently waiting for the older generation Africans to depart:  imagine the Mandelas, Mugabes, Musevenis, and Kagames generation of African leaders gone… the younger generation of our sons and daughters obviously won’t manage! At least the stakes are getting stacked too-high against younger generation leadership…

We the older generation now mellowing  have created room for the imperialists in our countries and these fellows love chaos, challenges and wrangle  – it is already evident for example that the many-many NGOs focused on child-everything are here to develop all these “Watotos” for their future control of Africa.

A much larger area of the future of Africa is already occupied by an infant generation they have created out of Africa’s war displacements, orphans, and disadvantaged they have already picked and established contact with... I don’t want to talk about the ones they are preempting; ‘nodding disease’ types and the premature departed who are all victims of queer-ism and devious sex-clinico-mal-practices. Even the Viagra teenage [emergency] red-sex-pest-stampede…

We were celebrating ‘World Press Freedom’ and we were all of the thinking that the freedom was ‘all about love’ –  but then more and more that ‘love’ seem alien even remote; either it is love of religion [God], love in the corporate sense [which is corrosive and often corruptible] or love of imported views and theories. It is not! It is all about objectivity and owning one’s own mind, and not selling your soul.  

Being yourself. Respecting foreigners at harms-length. Jealously guarding your economy and good institutions and generally being aware and on-guard… much as the Walk-to-Work and other elements of the greater reform agenda battled the teargas canisters [for example] – it was wiser to go it several steps shorter than the levels of the Arab Springs. We are Ugandans and we do have our own characteristics – there is a point over which we won’t go on our streets.

Now barely two years down the road… from spring one, the sudden removal of Mohammad Morsi in Egypt so soon after his election confirms that ‘spring revolution’ usurps national power once and for all – the spring-crowd will stone their way into removing any leaders after leaders - once it succeeds a country becomes paralyzed and permanently vulnerable. That crowd is the ultimate mob – whatever it’s religious, political or economic group thinking - its actions once established will recur, again and again. Look at Egypt now [July 2013], so soon after the first spring, the mob came back and ejected Morsi.    

I was recently walking into the Oasis Mall in Kampala – and there was a lone white man about 36 seated with African Ugandan kids; one boy and three girls (12-14/15) – everything about the children was village, actually up country village. Shortly, a waiter arrived with massive plates of grilled chicken and chips, and smiling she looked plain stricken placing the plates on table: to me her point of embarrassment was; these were not the usual children of well-to-do Kampalans - these kids were plain and very much village.

In the 1970s/80s – white Europeans and American tourists did the same in the [Tourist Marrakesh markets] of North Africa. The Marrakesh Market kids are energetic young men today, they are the brothers or other groups – but a child impressed at an early age won’t ever forget… is this another psychological element of Neo-Imperialism? Are we seeing a future being snatched away – and actually we are aiding the process…?

The Author is an Independent Thinker, Writer and Blogger

mwakarama@gmail.com

Are colonial Kenya laws affecting business?

The real issues… [Last year 2012 article rejected by Daily Monitor – as sensitive material]

Are colonial Kenya laws affecting business?

Sam Mwaka-karama

Debatable recent events emanating from the Mombasa Port Authority actions; stepping-up port charges on cargo haulage – triggers questions as to whether Kenya’s industry protection laws that stem from ancient statutes of British colonialist legislature are the devises actually affecting economic progress in Kenya and, sending Kenyan businesses to set-up import shops in Uganda.

The run-away Kenyan companies now registering and setting-up in Uganda, need the front shops here in Kampala  and indeed Ugandan towns generally, so as to take advantage of both the EAC economic union principles and Uganda’s liberal import and export policies; they, the Kenyan companies also again take advantage of the clearly unfair and ill-formulated exchange rates between Kenya shillings and Uganda shillings (Most Ugandans ‘wa-ordinary’ have never actually understood the basis for the ill-balanced exchange rate between Uganda and Kenya).

The Kenyans utilize the (20+ to 1) money-rates advantage (on capital transfer) and utilize Uganda’s free import trade atmosphere to greater advantage over Ugandan companies…  for direct import of goods from countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and other ASEA countries some of who [seem to] have no preferential trade pacts with Kenya.

The goods imported by the Kenya companies through Mombasa as transit goods to Kampala… wind-up re-exported to Kenya on new EAC tariffs [before the ‘free-tariffs’ latest terms came in force] updating customs regulations, which are principally favorable between the member states of East Africa. But more and more eventually disadvantageous to Uganda!

First of all – goods from overseas countries that have no preferential trade treaties with Kenya… eventually accepted into Kenya as re-exports by Kenya companies based in Uganda, negates the very existence of the ancient protectionist laws… if you don’t accept certain category of direct imports, why should you accept - the same - as second country re-export under EAC? 

As a result Kenya has become a rather heavy burden on our country – considering fact that all the imports paid for through Uganda’s exchange control foreign trade rates, made by Kenya companies based in Uganda, have to re-export to Kenya – nearly at zero tariff under the EAC.

In Tea Export - Kenya has imposed at the port of Mombasa for decades upon decades – a tea auction system, where Uganda’s tea has always been trapped, declared as of low quality and bought by auction to obviously be later repacked as “Blended” Kenya Tea.

Again and again - considering exchange rates that are perennially disadvantageous to Uganda against Kenya shillings – it is debatable if the economics, at the end of the day, might not work-out burdening Uganda economy instead. In practical terms, the capital markets fiscal rates and finances might look to the economists very much balanced and desperately competitive – but we Ugandans might still yawn due to sapped strength.

Even bad as the Kenya import policy is biased towards protecting the mostly British and American or European founded industries and other Investments (that might in this age and times have majority share holders from the Arab World or Asia etcetera) play a modern game by ancient rules since Central Bank of Kenya is as well still said to be largely rooted in the 1980s restrictive ‘Exchange Control’ – with very limited and actually tourism rated ‘Bureau de Change’ system still reputed to be in force.

Liberalization of exchange control

Uganda started its liberalization of the foreign exchange system way back in the early 1980s, when the ‘Obote 2’ government introduced the “window two” all bidders foreign exchange accessibility; if you wanted the (at the time) limited foreign exchange that badly, you paid more than the official rate, then termed ‘Window 1’. Some Kenyan traditionalist economists, at the time, criticized [even laughed] at Obote’s ‘window 2’ system. Whose line was never towed then by Kenya. The last three decades the Kenyans have remained rooted in the old principle – perhaps that is why Uganda shillings remain perennially disadvantaged against the Kenya shillings.

However, Obote’s ‘window 2’, became Museveni’s 1990s “Forex Bureau”. Bank of Uganda had come-up with the liberalizing policy – to move ‘window 2’ onto the streets and bazaars…

Impact of the ‘window 2’ factor was immediate way-back in the 1980s. First to benefit was Uganda Airlines, with several local travelers beefing-up its carriage to London, Bonn/Cologne, Brussels, Rome and Dubai. Ugandan traders utilizing ‘window 2’ created many businesses between those European countries and later still when Uganda Airlines opened-up the Dubai route, Ugandans boomed! Soon, a Uganda Golf team went-out and played in Dubai – Ezra Bunyenyezi, a long time renowned Travel agent owner of Uganda Travel Bureau, was billed with innovating that ground breaking Dubai golf tour, together with others including Zia Moshin, a Pakistani travel expert who was Uganda Airline representative in Dubai in the 1980s.

Museveni’s 1990s “Forex Bureau” policy that threw ‘window 2’ onto the streets, set the next phase of Uganda’s traveling trade. And there has been no looking back ever since. Uganda’s biggest problem though, has been Kenya’s internal industry protective laws… that has somehow unfairly kept Kenya’s exchange rates too high against Uganda shillings, what makes business lucrative for Kenyans based in Uganda and disadvantageous for Ugandan business men, or virtually impossible for Uganda businesses to equally flourish in Kenya – for those who might want to do business in Kenya.

For example Kenya’s products are generally more expensive in Uganda shops, than imported versions from ASEA countries – it does not make sense at that exchange rate between Uganda and Kenya shillings, to buy consumer products from Kenya sold by the trick of packaging! Like a Kenyan tooth paste tube selling at a price close to that from Indonesia or Singapore – will be smaller in size, while the packaging might look to be nearly of the same size… that is tricksterism in marketing! A tooth paste from Tanzania beats the Kenyan one in size, price and quality…

Recently Kenya’s Port Authorities have been challenged by the Kenyan importers based in Uganda who triggered that debate… otherwise those port charges rates now [which was] in debate in Kenya are killing business with the South Sudan as well and, affecting Rwanda’s businesses… one might imagine that Kenya having a much larger port should have a more friendly ports charges to the neighboring member states of the EAC, not to be seen as undermining the other members.

So that it is Uganda’s liberal import and export policies that has generally become central to the harmony of business within the region’s hub – otherwise given the uncertain status quo Kenya might have to redress much more than it might ever have imagined possible.

Kenya’s Members of Parliament are [were]said to be set to walk away with about 9Million Kenya shillings at the end of a term. That is about or a little less than 290MillionUgx equivalent - in Uganda that will buy two small three and two bedroom mansions in an estate like Akright or Kensington or even Jomayi. While in Kenya that would build not less than six three bedroom mansions…

The economics of pricing building materials in Uganda and that of Kenya are two really very different formats - Uganda economists might yet have to scratch their heads about. While the building industry is picking-up with the baby elephant strengths all over the Region, a huge bulk of the building materials originate from Kenya industries - shouldn’t Kenya now redress its colonial laws and, make life a little easier for the other neighbors also? ***

Uganda’s endless encounter with classic commission agents

Sam Mwaka-karama

To take Uganda’s economic dilemma into perspective is difficult due to land-locked implications! Mostly those who write on the various aspects and fragments of what constitute the ‘economy’, only tackle the discussions from a premise based solidly on what were the ‘norms’ of the whole matter – like, what might normally be applicable in the understanding and practices of a particular aspect of consumerism - And there are so many aspects and factors of an economy.

However, the ‘norm’ as it were might [actually] also turn-out to be what is considered practicable – in as far as ‘regulations’ and ‘guidelines’ were concerned. Critical factors might more often get construed by cosmetic analysts to mean unworkable views. Negative viewpoints or even dismissed as isolated thinking.

 In the various fields of consumerism, there is always a common denominator which in this case might be seen as commission-driven. In the more modern language deemed as ‘consultants’. The consultants are otherwise known to be commission-driven in a polished kind of way.

Yet, these more and more might actually be the driving factors that critically influence economic performances. Downwards or upwards. Simplified one might say that commission agents market their expertise on short term contracts, for a price.

In this article, I am trying to visualize as rationally and fairly as possible from outside of the [box] ethics (a white woman once commented that some of us have not experienced a [Box] of our own – so I asked – what is ‘Open Courseware?’: my experience). To sort of try and place the pointer of arguments, onto the actual problem-spots where the many-many question-marks ought to be. My theme here is critical view on ‘Classic Commission Agents’.

Classical Commission Agents  

In thinking outside the box, as it were, I would in my own words define them as [foreign] political business venture companies that commonly operate as ‘high profile’ corporate here in the third world. The classical commission agents always existed in Uganda under various names and titles or organ types.

In the 1960/70s these included trade companies fronting for the likes of ‘The Old East’ colonial founded multi-national for far East trade with East Africa or ‘The Old Mutual’ (based in Kenya) the often [cold] company that was reputed to secretly represent (then Apartheid) South Africa even in the heavily embargoed SA pre-independence years or ‘Tywensche Overseas’ the import/export company that operated under the ‘Crown Agents’ where the company enjoyed political protection status with tremendous British influence; shipping in supermarket supplies and exporting tea and coffee with questionable tax anything – if at all!

The classical commission agents were a phenomena all by themselves, in the age of ‘Multi-Nationals’ even competing with Tiny Roland’s LonRho. Actually and certainly ironically the classical commission agents in the twists and turns - exited the multi-nationals. As the World Economic Order of the 1980s and 90s were ushered-in, to be crowned by the century and millennium change over. Mercantile Trade in the third world has since shifted downwards into the hands of the myriads of the lesser even local companies. The old naturally de-functioned, while the millennium also brought about the ICT and Hi-tech to create even more complex Trans Nationals hybrid digital online companies that re-defined commission agent-ism.

The Oil Explorers

Though compared to Gabon, Uganda was [not very surprisingly] indeed, thirty plus years late to get to the point of exploiting its oil reserves – the business end mostly quagmire(ed) in dire and very blind politics – always confused by that ancient rule of the [trade] game... both Heritage and Tallow being actually white-collar  ground-breaker commission agents! To me these companies in the Oil business weren’t like Total or for that matter Shell, who are long time established oil exploration (even deep sea) and vending entities.  

Frankly stated the speculators generally and wheeler-dealers have been Uganda’s biggest problem since colonial times; being a perennial market and a most lucrative ground for financial and commodity speculation and now even oil production wheeler dealing.

Even outright big game hunters and smugglers of game trophies have curved enormous wealth in Uganda. Problem was, they, the international commission agents never left much in their wake – whenever they left Uganda.

Now Tallow’s one arbitration court case is still on in Britain [January 2013 as I wrote this article], another one has reportedly already been triggered in the USA – the revolving-door between Heritage and Tallow is classical commission agent stuff, diplomatically politicized though.

 The bottom-line is; between the two companies the take-over deal just got caught-up and entangled in the widespread tentacles of Uganda’s Direct Foreign Investment DFI and URA taxation statutes, actually the taxation cutting rather thickly into the commission...

Heller’s catch double-double! The terribly imaginative English had once upon a time designed an extra cuff and collar set out of it creating affordable executive shirts [Double Two] ‘stuffed shirts’! - So that the pinstripes and charcoal gray lawyers might sweat it out under the collar in arbitration court rooms - while the commission agents nervously wait it out.

The politicians are at each-other’s throat locally – with oil bribe money accusations - even delaying and actually postponing exploitation of the oil. It all makes no sense! Arguing over who got a bit of the revolving door money! When actually the bulk of the oil reserve is intact deep in the bowel of the Earth, waiting to be accessed, processed and sold for National Wealth and gain of individuals as well... and eventually the Ugandans at large.  

In appraising development it is often misleading to make quotation of experts in short two liner comments – explaining the ‘Norm’ of how things should be! The real life is unlike the ‘Text Book’, things often work themselves differently in reality! The ‘norm’ cannot guide you! ***

The Author is a Free Lance Writer. Book Author.

Mob: 077 7 164787 Email: mwakarama@gmail.com