Gerald Synik Mugwenhi's Poem at Hifa 2012(Opening Night)

The chains dug through my flesh and shackled my soul
Watching as everything I loved was haggled and sold
Theres no insurance to recover dreams that are stolen
It wasn’t my hands that held the thread when my (hi)story was woven
Realised my reality was actually a tragedy
Robbed of the majesty granted me by my ancestry
Somewhere in between rock paintings and walls with graffiti
My beauty was eroded till I was an object of pity
Between the dusty paths where the ancient ones had travelled
And asphalt roads, something within me had unravelled
As landscapes sprouted buildings that reached into the skies
My freedom died as my soul was subdued and the evil thrived
Imprisoned, the reason was the wealth I had stored
The result, my determination by self was ignored
So my songs turned into screams, and my dance became forced march
Yet remained a yearning spirit for the universe rewards such
‘This is not forever, something lies beyond
And in the heart of your pain surely you can find a poem
Remember, just a breath can re-ignite an ember
And the sackcloth that you wear now will never hide your splendor’
And as the words settled in my heart and sank into my soul
In the silence from deep within me I began to hear a call
it rode on winds that were birthed in distant lands
Saying my pain would surely fade like words written on river banks
“freedom”, I whispered first,was scared to even speak it
Then I learnt that some words give strength to weakened spirits
“Freedom”…stronger now and slowly standing
Grounded on my roots I regained my understanding
“FREEDOM!!!”, and so the whisper became a shout
That shot from deep within my soul shattering the doubts
“I WILL NOT BE CONTAINED, I WILL NOT BE RESTRAINED”
It was my own fear that kept me locked in the chains
Rising defiantly finally finding my strength within my core
But to find peace I had to withstand a bitter war
And my voice remembered songs of brave women and men
Who held close the small flame that was given to them
And so I fought the evil, strengthened by the presence of a dream
So pure, the universe responded and the heavens intervened
And when the sounds of raging battles had ceased
I discovered that the shackles had been broken and my spirit was free
And I stood stretching forth reaching for the future
My memories speaking of my strength and the past I had endured
But was I truly there, was I standing in the promise
Or was this the start to the dark times of which the gifted ones had warned us

China’s role in Africa

Thursday, 31 May 2012 00:00

Charles Adjasi Since the implementation of the Chinese policy of “opening up” under Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s, China’s evolving role in the world today has attracted much attention from all continents including Africa. It is important to know, however, that China has been in Africa since the 1955 first Asia-Africa Conference in Bandung. In recent times The Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (Focac) is evidence of the deepening importance China attaches to its African engagement. How has Africa viewed China’s involvement in the continent thus far? What are the implications for Africa of an increasing Chinese role in Africa? In this brief I try to highlight the China-Africa story and draw implications for Africa. Official Chinese Statistics indicate that foreign direct investment stock from China to Africa increased from below US$50 million to US$2,6 billion between 2000 and 2006. One of the biggest landmarks in China’s investment in Africa was the Industrial Commercial Bank of China’s           US$5,5 billion purchase of about 20 percent shares in Standard Bank. Trade between China and Africa has grown from US$20 billion to over US$100 billion between 2000 and 2008. Engagements of China in Africa this year alone include partnership between ZTE a Chinese telecom firm and Movicel in Angola to introduce 4G and aid for rice seed production in Nigeria. There are also arrangements to borrow US$3 billion from China Development Bank for infrastructure projects in transport and oil and gas by Ghana and the construction in Uganda of a US$350 million Chinese-funded toll road from Entebbe International Airport to Kampala (see Centre for Chinese Studies Weekly China Briefings). Certainly these are good signs of a beneficial role of China in Africa. A number of critics have, however, viewed China’s involvement in Africa as suspicious and debilitating to Africa’s growth and competitiveness. It is argued that China’s growing presence in Africa is merely based on its search for energy resources (oil and gas-some of her biggest trading partners are Angola, Sudan and Nigeria), an export market for its light industrial products and a destination for migrant workers. Simply put, China’s growing presence in Africa is based on exploitation of natural resources and a distortion of economic incentives in African economies. African businesses are being competed out of their own markets by China. Is Africa really losing out? China is certainly obtaining a possibly generous deal with energy supply from Africa and the benefits may be lopsided to China. To the extent that Chinese-owned SMMEs are growing in African economies and Chinese firms have taken up some of the space for economic activity. But how much of indigenous SMME businesses have thrived in Africa prior to Chinese recent economic engagements? Can we attribute the lack of a vibrant indigenous SMME activity and growth to the presence of Chinese- owned SMMEs? I would argue that we ought to be looking at the net benefits of China’s engagements in Africa and design strategies to engage China rather than concentrate on looking for bad Chinese investments. Take the Beijing model to giving aid; which is based on aid for mineral resources as applied in Angola and DRC where loans were provided for economic and social infrastructure in return for oil, copper and cobalt respectively. This model certain is more appealing to African governments given the absence of the usually intrusive Washington consensus aid conditionalities. As was reported by Jerker Helstrom; an anonymous African leader described the Chinese as follows: “Their game is clear. They say ‘I’ll build you a road, if you give me that mine.’ They are completely transparent.” Though appealing, it is clear that Africa could be losing out in terms of giving up too much of her natural resources, if such deals are not designed strategically. Hence, rather than lobbying against China in Africa there is need for an African strategy on how to engage in such deals for optimal economic and social value. Call it the African consensus, Africa needs to have strategic and appropriate investment policy valuations (this is by no means peculiar to China alone). Such valuations would indicate how much of a mineral resource should be given up for a kilometre of road, rail, hospital equipment, agricultural inputs and machinery, etc and must point to an economic value addition. It does not appear that this is a key strategy in dealing with the Chinese aid model. Another strategy which is oft overlooked in Africa is the need to position domestic entrepreneurs to take advantage of foreign investment in the value chain. For instance, a major oil investment deal to China can be hinged on domestic businesses equipped to benefit from strategic partnerships on downstream activities such as production of fuel oil, paraffin wax, premium motor spirits, lubricants, synthetic rubber, plastics, fertilisers, anti-freeze, and pesticides. Similar partnerships from agricultural investment would include rice and flour milling, leather tanning, cotton ginning, oil pressing, and fish canning in upstream businesses and biscuit and noodle making, textile spinning and weaving; paper production; clothing and footwear manufacturing; and rubber manufactures in down-stream businesses. China has a long history of engagement with Africa, which is intensifying; it is up to Africa to decide whether she wants to sit back and receive China on Beijing Consensus basis or develop an African Consensus to engage China. Charles Adjasi is an Associate Professor of Development Finance at the University of Stellenbosch Business School

The Prisoner

As the prisoner walks down the dark streets of the Sunshine city he meets along the way other prisoners.
The way they walk gives them away.
Besides, he has been a prisoner long enough to know the walk of a fellow prisoner.
He was now getting to a point where he was starting to think that everyone was a prisoner.
That they all had one common enemy.
The police.

As the prisoner walks down the dark streets of the Sunshine City he tries as much as he can not to be seen by the police.
He walks close to the walls and hides in the shadows as the flashing lights of motor cylcles, cars and trucks drive past.
And in their moment of divinity they with their dipped lights bring to light the things that are done in darkness in the Sunshine city.

As the prisoner walks down the dark streets of the Sunshine City
he is brought back to his senses by the noise of his next victims.
Gone are the days when the prisoner used to fear.
His senses had become numbed.
Gone are the days when the prisoner used to think twice about the police or the dangers that surrounded his deed.
When he started there were so many reasons to justify why he did it, but now he just did it.
Like a true prisoner he didn’t know of any other way.
His movements were limited and most of what he did was not out of his choice.

As the prisoner walks down the dark streets of the Sunshine City and approaches what was to be his victim,
a police man appears suddenly out of the bushes.
The prisoner panics though manages to keep his cool.
It seems the police man hasn’t recognized him.
In these dark streets of the sunshine city it is always difficult to distinguish between those free and those bound.
The prisoner breaths a sigh of relief.
That was too close!
As the prisoner walks down the dark streets of Sunshine City he decides that tonight wasn’t going to be another of those nights so he goes back to his cell.

As the prisoner walks down the dark streets of Sunshine City I wonder if he realizes his predicament.
I wonder if he realizes that those he sees as his victims are not the victims.
But that he in fact is the victim.
I wonder if he realizes that the police is not the enemy coming to close him in,
but that the police man wants to set him free.
That the police man wants to protect him from the prisoner.
The real prisoner! It is dark in the sunshine city.
And maybe that’s why the prisoner doesn’t see things clearly.
So as the prisoner walks down the dark streets of the Sunshine City I hope that he gets home safe.

As the I walk down the dark streets of the Sunshine City my heart goes for the prisoner.
For what is life if one cannot do the good they desire to do
and find themselves doing the evil they said they would never ever again do.
As the I walk down the dark streets of the Sunshine City
there is a slight breeze which soon hits my eyes and I find myself crying.
As the I walk down the dark streets of the Sunshine City I think deeply about the prisoners predicament.
Of how tomorrow he will be back at it again.
Of his wasted life and broken dreams.
As the I walk down the dark streets of the Sunshine City
what breaks me is how the prisoner doesn’t seem to realize the situation that he is in.
that he has become a prisoner by choice.
That in earnst he is a free man!
What breaks me the most however as the I walk down the dark streets of the Sunshine City
is that I realize that the prisoner is me…

Just Friends

Sounds like you and Dougy are
becoming an item,”
I Dr Suarez said to
Dorcas. We had tried to catch up for a
while, and each time she had been
doing something with Dougy. “No,” she
replied. “I just like hanging out with him. We enjoy a lot of the same things,
and have wonderful talks. But he is just
a friend.”
“Why isn’t he more?” I asked.
“Oh I don’t know. Whatever that thing
is that attracts you to someone- I just don’t have it with Dougy. But I do like
him a lot and I like being his friend.”
“I can appreciate that,” I said. “Not
everyone is meant to fall in love. Do you
have the ‘thing’ you describe
happening somewhere” “Yeah I do.” I could tell as she said yes
that not all was well with whomever the
‘thing’ was with. “His name is Denver,
and I have been dating him for about 3
months. I have the thing with him, that
is, I am really attracted to him in the more than friends kind of way. But
there are issues.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, I don’t know how to describe it. I
am drawn to him in a physical, romantic
kind of way. I get all thew butterfly stuff, you know. I think about him a lot
and want to be with him. But after all
that stuff, I don’t know what I am
doing.”
“What do you mean ‘you don’t know
what you are doing’” I asked. “Well there is a lot of romance and that
kind of thing. Not that we are sleeping
together, but a lot of physicality in the
relationship. And I have a lot of falling
in love feelings. But there is a lot more
than that when I really look at it. We really don’t talk a lot about serious
things. It is just this dynamic and
longing to be with him that I cant really
explain. Then there are some things
about him that I really would not
normally choose. He is not deep spiritually, And he seems kind of driven
in some other ways. And sometimes he
really does not communicate. But I
know that I am falling for him in some
way that I cannot describe,” she said. “I
feel some sort of aliveness when I am with him. There is a deep part of me
that he gets to, even though we have
kind of a shallow relationship. Doesn’t
make sense, huh?”
“Sounds like to me that you feel you are
‘in love’ with Denver, but have a lot more of a real relationship with Dougy.”
In fact it sounds like to me you need to
find someone with both of these things.
The deep connection and ability to
share things that matter, communicate,
and have fun with like Dougy and also the spark and chemistry that you have
with Denver.”
“Yeah. That would be nice. But it seems
I always have these two types in my
life. There is the kind of guy that I like
and the kind I fall in love with. I have never found them together in the same
one.” She sounded almost weary as she
described her dilemma. I could see that
Dorcas was headed for another
heartache. Truth is she had done this a
few times before and I needed to warn her that she was headed down the
same path again. She always allowed
the chemistry she had with someone
blind her to some very important and
essential things for a good and lasting
relationship. In short she was falling in love with men that she would not
choose to be friends with. She would
go with men who did not share her
values, depth of communication, her
interests and many other aspects about
her life. There would just be this attraction that she did not have the
ability to justify in a rationale sense. The
attraction was strong but unfulfilling
and then she would have all other
needs met by Dougy.
To be continued......

Think..Act...Become..by G Mugwenhi

Don’t ever be ashamed of your thoughts
Even the darkest of them are yours to own
And perhaps within that darkness
Lies a light unexposed
Do not be ashamed of the silent musings of your soul
Untainted by the need for approval
Reaching upwards till your mouth whispers them to a deaf world
Do not ever feel guilty for birthing an idea
That finds nothing it resembles in the realm of man
Condemned to be unique
Do not apologise for feeling
For through these fickle things families have been formed and generations established
Do not despise your minds small talk
Little thoughts fluttering endlessly
Seemingly without direction
Until an answer for a question long forgotten shows itself
Hidden behind the clutter of the most random thoughts
Think. Act. Become
Think
And as ideas are wrapped into words
And bled onto paper
Finding life…perhaps it will inspire one to
Act
Breaking manacles previously thought indestructible
Or just to fill out a job application
Or to fight for a dream that seems so unrealistic you dare not even mention it
Or to help an old soul across a busy road
Or to raise up a prayer in the face of hopelessness
Or a fist in the face of oppression
Or to hold a proffered hand as a sign of unity
Or to rise after you’ve fallen
Or to smile at a stranger
Or to sing a song composed in the fertile soil of a broken heart
Or to give a child a book
Or just, to love
Because the wisest words I have heard are
‘Who knows’
And indeed, who knows what you may yet
Become…