It's a very interesting continent, my continent.

It's a very interesting continent, my continent.

I was yet on another journey via Nairobi in Kenya. By the way, if there is one thing Kenya Airways has done well, is the creation of an African hub, Nairobi. Once in Nairobi it's far easier to get a flight to Freetown, Monrovia or even Djibouti or Khartoum, to mention but a few.
So once you are at Jomo Kenyatta airport, you have a better chance of observing fellow Africans in their natural habitat. I think a number, when they get to Johannesburg are not their usual self or those who get to Johannesburg are of a particular breed.
This time there was a group of East Africans going to Libreville for the finals of the AFCON, between Zambia and Ivory Coast (sorry Cote d’Ivoire) which was to be played on Sunday, 12 February 2012. Don't forget South Africa is hosting, by default, in 2013, yes I did say 2013.
Now there are interesting observations.
The group from Somalia is not very good at observing the queues. I reached a conclusion that queues are a luxury of civilization, which is easily dispensed with, when there are other pressing needs.
There were officials of football associations of various East African countries. I pity the South Africans that want some CAF positions. It's a clique/a club. The luxury of South Africans waiting for one person to talk at a time was not on the agenda. So, you needed your voice to be very loud to get a piece of the ears. I entertained myself, puzzled at the same time and hoping that when they are in formal meetings they do things differently.
Out of the 16 people in the business class, there was only one white person. Now this is what you can't miss in the continent. One of the reasons is of course that it is the continent of black people predominantly, but the other one is that if you cannot take harsh conditions get out of the African continent. I don't include South Africa which is referred to as, Africa for beginners.

People who are 40 years old and those that are 31 years old

Let us begin with a bit of arithmetic, move to logic and finally to why all of this.

If in the year 2011 you are 40 years old that means you were born in 1971. If you are 31 years old that means you were born in 1980. Ok, even if this is not arithmetically accurate, the margin of error would be very small to be of any consequence.

Now, if you were born in 1971 that means:

You could not have participated in the 1976 uprisings, because you would have been 5 years old. There is a possibility that you did not go to exile because when Tata Madiba was released from jail in 1990, whey you were 14 years old, the numbers of people "skipping the country" , for the first time, were very low if it was still happening.
If you have any tertiary education, it means some of the years of your tertiary studies would have been under the democratically elected government.

If you were born in 1980, what does it mean?

When South Africa became a democracy in 1994, you were 14 years old and therefore all your high school education, if you have it, could not have been Bantu Education. I do not believe the democratically elected government could have taught people Bantu Education.

It also so means that you did not vote in 1994.

So, where are we going with all of this…

I do not know Mr Fikile Mbalula enough to know his age. I only gathered in the media, specifically some of the print media on Friday 28 October 2011 that he turned 40 this year, 2011. I also understand that " there are some amongst us" who would like to see him being the Secretary General of the ANC sooner. If that were to happen in 2012' as an example, he would be 41 years old.

Ms Lindiwe Mazibuko has just become the DA's parliamentary caucus leader at 31 years old. Some of the same Friday newspapers are even talking about her moving higher.

Let me declare before I proceed, that I am not a fan of politics. I am a business person and very happy at that. My point below is not about politics but about a different "new" generation.

So, it's possible that when South Africa goes to vote in 2014, there will be people who are from the different generation who will have a lot of influence on policy matters. I am hoping that South Africa will go back to discussing policy matters.

This is not necessarily about these two individuals, because they say a day is too long in politics, but I have no doubt that by the time we get to 2014 people born in 1971 and people born in 1980 will be in very influential political positions in South Africa.

This makes me so excited and those that are in their 20's today (28 October 2011) will have a huge responsibility then, because some would be voting for the second time. Their views and decisions would be very crucial.

I have written before about young people but it looks like they are now taking their rightful place.

Help us God, The All Mighty, to be around then to witness this era of significant change is our country.



Sango Ntsaluba

Reconciliation in South Africa will be set back by the R750 000 payment - September 2011

The taste, the settlement reached by Mr Bees Roux and the family of the late Tshwane traffic Sergeant Johannes Mogale, is not a sweet one at all. The timing of it all is very unfortunate indeed.

Sadly, it comes at a time when black communities are increasingly asking themselves whether the call by former President Nelson Mandela for the nation to open their hearts towards reconciliation has not been exploited by some.

My heart goes to Mrs Mogale who has been robbed of her husband. The Saturday Star (September 10,2011)" reported that Mogale's wife, Margaret, sat quietly in the front row of the court, and only spoke when the judge asked her if she was satisfied with and agreed to the details of the plea agreement. She did not speak to the press and quite honestly what was she supposed to say, this was not a match of equals and we will never be sure if the justice system could or even should not have done better for her.


It gets even worse when the same paper quotes Taukobong, the late Mr Mogale's uncle, as saying that “she (Mrs Mogale) was relieved that the saga was over and that she could now finally concentrate on raising her children". The family of the late Mr Mogale is quoted by the same paper as having said "...The Bible says you must forgive in order to be forgiven...."


Many years ago when I used to go to Sunday school I remember we were told that the Bible also says “Thou shall not kill!"

I hope I do not come across as judgmental but I hope that those who know the law better will tell us that justice has indeed been served. I also sincerely hope that those who know the bible better will tell us what should or will happen to those who kill.

I hope the reconciled world that Mr Mandela hoped for has not been set back by the
R750 000 payment.

I hope the timing of this event does not add to the growing list of concerns that black people are being asked to dig even dipper into their reconciliation reserves when other people seem to offer very little.

May Mr Mogale's soul Rest in Peace

WE ARE 17 YEARS INTO OUR DEMOCRACY: August 2011

There is a sense of discomfort as we approach 20 years of our democracy. At 17 years into our democracy, we are nearing the period when panic begins and people start to take a hard look at economic gains made or not made.

Former President Mbeki once said "As a consequence of the victories we have registered during our first ten years of freedom, we have laid a firm foundation for the new advances we must and will make during the next decade." Keep this in mind as we look into some of the recent developments in South Africa.

Post 17 years since our political freedom, don’t we hear voices from a distance urging us to get on with “new advances” as advocated by former President Mbeki when we were only 10 years into our political freedom? Seemingly, the voices are calling for economic freedom or emancipation.

I do not wish, at all, to be part of the chorus on privatization mainly because it sounds like a choir with no conductor. What I want to be part of is a sober but urgent discussion that accepts that South Africa has not made the economic gains for all its citizens as was expected in 1994.

The prerogative of our struggle was political freedom. Our Bill of Rights originates, in its preamble, with " We, the people of South Africa, recognising the injustices of our past..."

It continues to state the values that include "human dignity; all adults will be able to vote; there will be regular elections..., etc". It is clear and understandable that our constitution was mainly concerned with restoration of our dignity and entrenching our political rights.

There seems to be a belief that political stability is one “…of the victories we have registered…”. The question now is whether a lot of the “noises” are not arising from those who believe that it’s now time for economic emancipation.

There are a number of questions which will be asked, amongst them being whether the various pieces of legislation which sought to empower previously disadvantaged people are not adequate.

I seem to hear a response that says so far we have been tinkering in the periphery and now it’s time for a comprehensive economic struggle. There can no longer be a piecemeal and half-hearted approach but a whole movement needs to be behind the economic revolution.

The problem of not having a comprehensive approach is that we will have disjointed and uncoordinated noises, like those that are happening around privatization. Each group will seek to protect their current positions rather than to conduct honest assessments no matter how hard it is.

I hear voices, that sadly will not be silenced soon, that say there is a need, and an urgent one for that matter, for the economic freedom to begin now. Let us ignore the noise but we must please listen carefully to the voices.

Sango Ntsaluba

Is the World listening to What Young People are saying?

Yes! it is young people again who have had enough and are doing something about that, starting in North Africa, Tunisia to be specific. What I am not sure is whether the world understands and hears what they are saying. The world seems to be reacting to what they want to hear and obviously preferring not to hear the other messages that are uncomfortable to the ‘peaceful” world.

In the conference I have just attended in London the stability and corruption indexes showed Tunisia, as shining star, very stable and almost imuned of corruption. These are indeces updated to 2010.

The European community was in the process of finalising yet another arms deal with Libya when the young people gate crashed and spoilt the party.

The Financial times of 3 March, carried one of the articles”UAE offers poor states $1.5 billion. Ask why now?

The starting question being asked by young people seem to be a simple one of “who gave you this right to want to rule us forever”. This is against the backdrop of where most of these rulers were already lining up their family members to take over from them. The questions which I get a feeling the world is closing their ears to are directed at most countries regarded as democracies and have to include:

1.Why are you messing up with our future? The question is directed at countries that collect huge amounts of money from taxpayers and do not develop proper education and training policies and do not adequately invested in education related infrastructure.

2.Why is there so much unemployment of Young people? Look at most of the countries and check the young (up to 35 years) peopleunemployment ratse. It is scary for people whoshould be starting to establish themselves.

3.Why do you continue to trade and do business with despots?
It is amazing that to date, I have yet not heard the voice of the AU on all what is happening.Their silence is deafening,but I can understand. They are confronted with the biblical “let the one who has no sin throw the first stone”. Most are waiting and hoping that this is a passing wave and they will ride it and continue to do what they were doing. I am not so sure.

We should say thanks to Young people for showing leadership and courage. It had to get to a stage like this, the way things were going.

The world had long accepted the suffering of the young people and the world was continuing as though there is no crisis “what crisis” they were asking.

As we look at these developments, we should be listening to the real message. The world has been given an opportunity, by young people, to do serious introspection. Let us not burry our heads in the sand : this is not a wave, it’s a revolution led by your people only armed with the social net working. Will tomorrow be the same as today and yesterday? Let’s answer this question with honesty.

I ARRIVED IN MTWARA

I WAS IN MTWARA, TANZANIA


Flight PW 401 left Dar es Salaam at 8h00 on Sunday, 5 December 2010 for Mtwara; we landed at 9h10 safely, thanks God.


It was a smooth and pleasant flight and I realised after we landed that we had two ministers in our midst, one of them, a minister in the office of the President. How I knew, is that I was very surprised as we were getting off to see a delegation in the tar mark clearly very happy. The first time I saw people accompanying or collecting a dignitary right at the steps of an aircraft was in Lagos, Nigeria. I seem to think it’s an African thing.


Mtwara, maybe, could be forgiven because even though it has a very long landing strip there is hardly a proper demarcation between the terminal building and the landing strip. By the time my friend’s luggage arrived there was still singing and ululation by a group of the political party of the ministers. Remember, Tanzania has just had yet another round of peaceful elections and the new ministers took office the previous week. So, the two were “coming home” for the first time after they had been sworn in as ministers even though both were on second term.


Precision Air is the only airline that goes to Mtwara. The same aircraft that took us in would be leaving in 20minutes time, back to Dar (as it is affectionately called). Even though our business was only 3hrs, maximum, I was to spend the whole day until I go back to Dar the following morning. Travelling in general can be stressful, continental travelling is painful.


Mtwara is a “forgotten” area in the South of Tanzania, at the border with Mozambique. Tanzania share its borders with 8 countries, I am told.


There is a lot beginning to happen in Mtwara. Gas fields have been found, another port is being planned, a fertiliser plant is being considered (there is something between gas and fertiliser) etc.


Amongst other reasons for coming to Mtwara, was to see a piece (big piece) of land the (Tanzanian) friend of mine has bought in what I must consider to be amongst the most beautiful coastlines. He is now the owner of a long beach area along a crispy blue Indian ocean. Call it virgin beauty.

The land was bought from a villager. I had the opportunity to meet the Chairman of the village who came to confirm the piece of land now owned by my friend. He also told him that there was another 3 hectares available for 1.5million Tanzania shillings (+/- $1000).

The chairman, who is a wonderful man, told us a lot of stories one of them was that the Minister we were with in the plane is an MP for the area, and that during her last period as an MP, she visited them around October 2005 and the next visit was in October 2010, just before the elections. The chairman said they, as the community, were looking forward to see her in 2015 again, you could not miss the sarcasm in his face.

The community is very poor. His village has about 768 people, and he is very particular about the count. He invited us to his place; a gesture I thought was of great honour to me. We met his family including some of his 8 children. His house is right next to the beach and has a stunning view of the ocean.

I wish many could see Mtwara. Mark my words, in the next few years, that giant will be awake. I am happy my friend has great plans about developing his place and do something for the community of the chairman.

I believe what he has is a jewel.

I am just not sure anybody reading this piece how many opportunities he/she will identify. All I could say now is VUKA AFFRICA.


Sango Ntsaluba

Two un-ignorable giants: Nigeria turns 50 and Sasol is 60 years

Two seemingly unrelated events but both of significant importance to the African continent and Africans in general and to black South Africans in particular.

Let us start by looking at Nigeria, which was amongst the first countries in Africa to be liberated from colonial rule celebrated 50 years of independence at the end of September 2010. Federal Republic of Nigeria has so many unique characteristics like having the largest population in Africa; estimated at 120million or possibly 159 million - take your guess.

The idea is not to do a historical or economic analysis of the country but rather to look at lessons we can learn. I have had many trips to Nigeria over the years and it’s a country that never stops amazing me. The first thing that strikes me is its entrepreneurial spirit. The country is buzzing with that and because there are many entrepreneurs at the lower income levels, to a foreign eye it looks rather disorganised. It is also a country that is cash flush. The lesson we can learn from this is that economies are driven by businesses and not by governments. The levels of education across the board are very high. Nigeria has also been very receptive to investors from rest of the continent and hence you find companies from South Africa like MTN and Southern Sun amongst others that have thrived in that country.

The entrepreneurial spirit is not only at the lower levels but in larger businesses. One of the first companies to be listed on the main board of JSE from the continent is Oando from Nigeria, founded and headed by one of the smart business people in the African continent, Wale Tinubu.
Of course, I cannot leave the impression that it is a perfect country because it is far from that. It is sad that its 50th Anniversary celebrations were marred by bombings. The fact is: it has not managed to utilise its vast oil resources for the benefit of all citizens. Lastly, the failure of the general population to ensure that State-owned Enterprises, e.g. the electricity utility provide adequate infrastructure for its citizens, the business community and investors is a serious indictment on its citizens. The lesson that South Africans should learn from this is to be vigilant in ensuring that our taxes are used for the intended purposes.
On the home front, another milestone which I wish to scrutinise is Sasol celebrating 60 years of existence. What does Sasol turning 60 years in 2010; have anything with black South African entrepreneurs?

Sasol which was founded as Suid Afrikaanse Steenkool en Olie (SASOL) in 1950 had accumulated assets, about $18.8 billion as of 2009, employing over 3000 people. This was just two years after the nationalist party came to power. Whatever Sasol is today, there is no doubt in my mind that it was established to advance the Afrikaner community.

There are and could be a lot of discussions about its origins and funding, sure, but that is maybe a debate for another time.
Some of the questions we need to ask ourselves are:
· Is South Africa today, with black political leadership, on its way to creating another giant,
like Sasol?
· Will black entrepreneurs 60 years from 1994 stand tall and be a beacon of hope to future
generations; not because they bought into other peoples businesses but because their
entrepreneurial spirit will stands out as a shining example?
· Is there a debate or are there initiatives in that direction, if you know of, please raise your
hand.

I am sure some will be quick to point me in the direction of MTN, AVUSA, etc. They may be correct, I do not know. The question is: Will we arrive in 2054 as proud black business people with a huge track record of enterepreual monuments to showcase?

In the meantime, our aim as black South Africans is to show that it is, at least, a Work in Progress.


Sango Ntsaluba