By Bennie Mundando
AFRICA needs its own economic growth model for countries to develop because the current global economic architecture was not designed for us, Lubinda Haabazoka has said.
In his recent write-up, Dr. Haabazoka said all Africa needed in the eyes of the world was to provide cheap resources for the growth of the other world and that this was how business and global politics were made.
“No African country despite getting independence over 50 years ago has ever put global economic dominance on their agenda. Some African countries despite having the right resources and population needed for global dominance still have aid oriented economic development agendas.
“Prerequisites of economic development include skills development, innovation and capital. When it comes to skills development, Africa is far behind with the number of citizens per school falling behind global average. Zambia, fortunately, has been aggressive when it comes to infrastructure development in that area,” Dr. Haabazoka said.
He said innovation was one such thing that had eluded Africans for a simple reason that the continent had been brainwashed into believing that it could not invent but that the latest Corona Virus pandemic had exposed the continent, with most Africans sitting patiently waiting for Europe and the US to invent.
“In Zambia, the situation stands worse for citizens that believe running a mine is rocket science. One great attribute about Russian education is the ability to make a person understand the world and give them confidence that they can create and even dominate the world. Unfortunately, for our country, we speak highly of others and persecute our own.
“Funding. The world is currently fighting China. Every historian or philosopher will tell you that global dominance changes from one region to another. Egypt once dominated, Greece also dominated, then came Rome, then Persia, then various European countries, the British Empire, then the USA and Soviet Union and now we have seen the rise of China. Those that understand movement from one empire to another know that this dominance comes in form of military and economic might,” he said.
He said in order for a country to dominate, they needed the technology, skills, and funding and the need to expand globally.
“Today, the largest funders of business are the Chinese. If you combine mainland China plus Hong Kong, they are the largest lenders to the USA but when the Chinese come and lend to African countries, it’s a scandal. When you go to Europe and USA today, major companies and even land and property, is being bought by the Chinese,” he said.
