Good News for Africa: Another Day, Another Gain

In my last blog “Why do Governments Engage in Mass Killing, February 18”, I wished Kenyans well in their strive for democracy and restoration of their faith in democracy. Wishes sometimes come true. The Wall Street Journal (Friday February 22), brought the good news.
According to the associated press: “Kenya’s government tentatively agreed to create a Prime Minister’s post to be filled by the opposition moving the East African country a step closer to ending weeks of deadly clashes over the disputed presidential election” (p. A8). In my piece, I wished for a sharing of power, which would ultimately lead to the restoration of the presidential office to the true winner. In the meantime, this sharing of power may be enough to assure Kenyan citizens that their democracy is not fragile, that it will endure. A sad note accompanying this good news, is that the ‘ethnic grievances and violence have left more than 1000 people dead”. Kenya violent conflict unfortunately, has put it in the book as given rise to Mass Killings (see http://attiatott.blogspot.com/ February 18, 2008 for definition of mass killing).
Over the past two years, we at the Institute for Economic Policy Studies have made efforts albeit modest, given our volunteerism efforts and our own resources (no outside support) to put forth the idea that developing ‘human resources’ should be at the forefront in the design, execution and funding for development. Education is and should be the building block for improving the economic conditions for the people. The development strategy often has been devoted to bricks and motors, not to human development or the right human development. It is not enough to throw money on education infrastructure (aside of the fact of being minuscule, compared to other infrastructures), rather it is much more important to ‘know’ how to make use of education infrastructure. Africa may surely lack education infrastructure but they surely have educators who can if challenged and channeled properly effect development.
The title of my piece today, Another Day, Another Gain was motivated by President Bush recent announcement. (Two Routes to Building Africa: Bush Visit (to Liberia) Emphasizes Human Development; Wall Street Journal, February 22, p.A8). US and Western powers are urged to focus more on human development. President Bush went further by announcing that the “US will provide one million text books for Liberia in the next year.” Clearly a step in the right direction. One may ask what text books and for what educational level: elementary, secondary or tertiary? The paper did not say. I am sure the details are now being worked out at the Agency for International Development.
It is a good step no matter what books or at what level. I have been taught that all books no matter how bad are good books in that they will make you think, they will make you see and feel what otherwise could not have been seen or felt and that what education is all about.
I have always wondered about what to do with the surplus of books many of us in Academia, especially those of us with long carriers, who will no longer have needs of these books. Even in the age of the internet there is still something about the wholesomeness of books. Hopefully, the President’s effort of building the reading capacity of Liberia’s people would extend beyond text books, and by opening the door for all who have books to channel these books to Africa would be users, he will indeed have succeeded in promoting knowledge, a vehicle often overlooked as the first building block for development.
Some of my former PhD students in Economics and myself are educators. We believe that education and the use of educators generated knowledge have been overlooked by development institutions, universities and donors. To that end, the Institute for Economic Policy Studies is sponsoring a conference to address this issue. We are encouraged by the President statements. Perhaps the day has finally come to put development on a sound footing.