Maravi

(TALKZIMBABWE) Mutambara gets schooled by African leaders

COMMENT - If there is any doubt left that the MDC is a party of Uncle Toms and the rhodesians who love them (or is that the other way around - perhaps we're talking about some kind of co-dependent relationship), it is this embarassing address to other African leaders by Arthur Mutambara. The world has moved on, and only those who get on board will not be left behind.

Mutambara gets schooled by African leaders
Herald reporter
Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:03:00 +0000

DEPUTY Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara drew the ire of African leaders yesterday when he suggested that no African leader had a brand worth selling where national visions are concerned, and that to be acceptable, the leaders and their countries needed Western endorsement.

Sources said DPM Mutambara, who was presenting a paper on "Strategies for integrating innovations in public service", had to leave the conference hall in a huff after the leaders, one after the other, wished Zimbabwe well should he ever assume the presidency.

The sources said the DPM’s presentation appeared to be going well, up to the point he appeared to suggest that Africa should be a chattel of the West.

"What is Mugabe’s brand, what is Museveni’s brand, what is Kikwete’s brand? If a brand is to succeed it should be endorsed by the outsiders. Africa cannot endorse her own brand, Mugabe cannot endorse his own brand, Museveni can- not endorse his own brand, Kikwete cannot endorse his own brand. We need BBC, you need CNN, you need SkyNews to do it," Ugandan sources who attended the plenary quoted DPM Mutambara as saying.

The sources said DPM Mutambara then said Zimbabwe had no capacity to develop its resources without input from the West.

"On mining we do not have capacity, we are workers, our capacity is Chiadzwa. We need people with technology, from England, from America," he charged as he concluded his speech.

The sources said host President Yoweri Museveni promptly stood up and challenged the presentation.

"Young man, your presentation smacks of a serious inferiority complex," the Ugandan leader was quoted as saying.

"You say you need endorsement from the West yet there is a whole world ranged against us. If you think there will come a time when Africa will get the support of the Western world, you are mistaken.

"Think of China, how it was demonised until they made money on their own effort, now they are a big brand not because the West said yes, but because China said no."

The Ugandan leader then cited the example of Malaysia that followed the Chinese development model.

He drew the Deputy Prime Minister’s attention to the situation in India saying: "Now the West, Europe cannot ignore India, not because India was their darling in the past, but because India stood by its own principles.

"Look at Venezuela right now, they are being demonised, but they are working with a clear sense of self-conviction and confidence, and things will come right. So, we have a saying that when you winnow, you remove seed from chaff, you do not take everything. If ever you become a president with these kinds of ideas, then God help Zimbabwe."

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete then took the floor and echoed his Ugandan counterpart’s words saying he did not know whether to attribute Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara’s presentation to youthfulness or some unknown condition.

"I don’t know whether its youthfulness or what, but this young man does not seem to know that there is no good story that comes out of Africa to CNN, BBC, SkyNews.

"When you want a good story to come out of Africa, you pay for it. Tanzania had to pay 40 million shillings to simply get a good story out of Africa to BBC, they simply don’t want a good story out of us. If one day you become a president, we wish you well with these ideas," the Tanzanian leader said.

Zambian leader Rupiah Banda then drew the Deputy Prime Minister’s attention to the history of Zimbabwe saying: "I want to be historic, I want to be direct, the basis of the demonisation of Zimbabwe is not failure to rebrand, it is rooted in the land question. Let’s not humour each other here. We are talking about a culture of land use, not inability to present a pretty picture of Zimbabwe."

DPM Mutambara laughed off the exchange last night saying everything was done in a spirit of debate, and the exchange had been taken out of context.

"The debate we had was a healthy debate, you know this was a dialogue. I was saying we need to have a product worth branding, you need success stories as you can’t endorse yourself. The tourists who come to our countries do not watch Uganda Broadcasting Corporation, they do not watch ZBC, the tourists watch international media channels like CNN and BBC. Where is Africa’s international channel?

"The second issue was on our challenges, what is the problem in Africa? Why does Africa appear stagnant?

"We agree that there are endogenous and exogenous factors, we spend too much time on the external, what about the internal? But my presentation covered quite a lot of things," he said. - Herald

Labels: ARTHUR MUTAMBARA, JAKAYA KIKWETE, MDC, MENTAL SLAVERY, NEOCOLONIALISM, NEOLIBERALISM, RUPIAH BANDA, YOWERI MUSEVENI

posted by MrK @ 2:56 PM