Mahugu

Ready or not, brace yourself. This mama gave the world civilization thousands of years ago. Math, philosophy, art, theater, architecture name it, all came from her. Better yet -she is the origin of mankind as we know it.  Well, now she is back in full steam. Beyond the western mainstream media images of poverty and famine lies a vibrant class of Africans who live a typical American life or better. Wielding network cell phones, brandishing high-speed-enabled laptops even occasionally flashing a cup of foamy-latte-macchiato just to prove a point, this group of young Africans is unstoppable. This is not your daddy’s Africa .Insert applause here!

The new economy consists of the rapidly expanding economic system created by resident and non resident middle class Africans. Unlike other world economies it is not confined to a single geographical location. But, like other world economies it includes the labor, capital, land resources and the economic agents that socially participate in the production, exchange, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

Technological advancement and the resulting globalised world have enabled this scattered nation to connect into one giant economy. It’s a modern African tale with a happy ending.

First, the resident middle class Africans-: This is comprised of more than 50 million well to do citizens living in the Africa continent.

 In Africa being in middle class may mean getting three meals a day, having some sort of entertainment, affording healthcare, school and a decent roof over a family’s head.Ironically due to low labor costs they live better than a typical American life-apples to apples. For example most of them can afford house maids. Some can even afford personal chauffeurs. These are services that a typical middle class American family only dreams of.

Secondly the non resident Middle Class Africans- More than 10 million African born individuals live outside Africa mostly in USA and Europe. They form the biggest group of foreign investors to the continent. About 2 million of that live in USA where individuals making between $25,000 and $100,000 a year are considered Middle Class in common language use of the term.

Ninety nine percent of the middle class Africans are either self employed or employed in private industry regardless of their physical location. This proves that private enterprise is the only strategy that works long term. Does this article attempt to obscure the realities of Africa and its challenges? Nope. Billions of dollars have been poured into Africa for the last 50 years by donor nations, charities and Africans living abroad. Foreign aid should be limited to disasters and tragedies not as a primary development strategy. The fact remains no nation has ever been developed through handouts, period!

Why is middle class important? Any stable democracy requires middle class. 90 % of the African population live in poverty. People in poverty or barley making ends meet are not as actively concerned about politics as middle class people. The other small group of filthy rich individuals live comfortably and may not need change. They have enough change in their pockets. Some of them already participate in government in one way or another. As a matter of fact this latter group stands to suffer if true democracy is implemented.

One of the major obstacles of African attempt to attract investors and tourists is the unbalanced reporting and gross negative portrayal of

Technological advancement has enabled Africans to continue telling

She can’t see the end zone from the kick off line. She has been promised by her handlers that it is only a 100 yards away. She is wearing her designer oversized rubber boots. The barely four feet wide field is brownish green: heaps of garbage-strewn mud in the midst of a massive slum. Located on the outskirts of Nairobi , the Kenyan capital Kibera is the largest shantytown in the world.

The TV crew swims along through the mess to capture the coveted touchdown. Layers of armed mean-looking security guards form an orbit around the foreign star. They ensure there will be no intercepts. This is a single player version of football. It’s a sold out crowd. Thousands of slam dwellers enjoy the free show. Some stand on the bleachers aka rusty tin roofs to catch a glimpse of the action. No tickets required. She holds her nose and takes on the first yard.

The crowd cheers as she wades through the trash and the leaking raw sewage. Twenty yards to the goal and there it is. This end zone is made of a group of HIV patients who have been collected by a charitable organization from around the neighborhood to form a seamless backdrop. The star brazes for impact. And then, touch down! She scoops the custom living trophy admiringly -a filthy covered child with a swarm of flies making a galaxy over his face. There is a stampede as the members of world media scramble for camera angles. Stop the presses! For the western media this is a breaking news story. We interrupt regular programming blah, blah, blah.

As expected she delivers the recycled victory speech. She is not alone. If only promises were horses! Dozens of dignitaries, world leaders, movie stars and politicians have used the same script. They have endured the 100-yards challenge and had a similar photo-op.

Majority of the slam dwellers are not looking for handouts. They want good paying jobs. Many hardworking shopkeepers are looking to expand their enterprises. They want to own land so that they can elect permanent structures. Thousands of smart creative people live in Kibera and including highly educated college graduates.

One of the major obstacles of Africa’s attempt to attract investors and tourists is the unbalanced reporting and gross negative portrayal of Africa by Hollywood and the western media. Most western investors are not aware of the plentiful low-cost labor, fertile land and under-exploited potential for tourism that Africa offers. Handouts and promises of handouts are not sustainable means of developing any nation. Africa needs local investors whose motivation is profit. It’s the private enterprises and trade that will help in wealth creation, jobs and prosperity in the long run.

Technological advancement has enabled Africans to continue telling Africa’s true story to the world. The high-yield-potential Africa . The beautiful tropical beaches. Millions of college graduates. Yes, the Africa beyond the kid with a swarm of flies on his face that the western media and some charities have been peddling for the last 50 years.

Given the pervasive discrimination and bias against any African religion or ritual practice by the western media, please note that Paul and Mani are not African citizens.-And thank heavens.

How fast the world changes! Are we talking about black magic international hullabaloo in Europe and state of the art stadiums in Africa ? It is always the other way round. For a moment nobody is talking about the infamous jungle-bone-in-nose-African-witch doctor. No images of a jive-talking-sorceress clad in animal skins!

Suppose we had a psychic crocodile named Mary. Mary was born in Uganda , caught in Tanzania waters, exiled in Kenya and performs oracles in Congo . Assume the African champion Ghana is offering Mary a political asylum visa to protect him. All these African nations are claiming ownership of the celebrity reptile. The war overflows across the Atlantic Ocean . Jamaica wants to kill the animal. The world would never hear the end of this saga. The western media would show the creature every time an African topic comes up.

That happened across the pond. Its all about Paul the psychic Octopus who predicted World Cup outcomes.We have not seen such tension in Europe since world war two. Paul was born in England , caught in Italians waters, exiled in France and performs oracles in Germany . Cup-winner Spain is offering Paul a political asylum visa to protect him. All these nations are claiming ownership of the celebrity invertebrate. The war spreads across the Atlantic Ocean .Argentina has a bone to pick with the boneless sea creature.

Asia had its own oracle: Mani, Singapore 's World Cup-forecasting parakeet .The psychic bird was not as accurate as Paul but had crowd of football fans.

Western countries have their psychics or soothsayers who claim to divine the future using a multitude of tools and techniques from animals, crystal balls to tarot cards. But the media and Hollywood movies have always associated oracles with Africa , usually to portray some barbaric trend or lack of civilization.

One of the major obstacles of African attempt to attract investors and tourists is the unbalanced reporting and gross negative portrayal of Africa by the western media. Again, thank God there were no famous oracles from Africa during the world cup.For now mother Africa takes the high road. The western media can even afford to write the name Africa and success in the same sentence. That in itself is an oracle – well, a miracle.