Africa has a hopeful future despite its recent difficulties, says Zimbabwe’s finance minister Tendai Biti.
“I chose this topic, from hopelessness to hope, because I think that our continent is on the rise,” Biti said during the presentation at Carleton Jan. 8.
“There is one theory that I don’t want to dismiss, and that is ignorance. I will not dismiss that,” he said.
Filled to capacity, the room listened with anticipation as Biti delved into post-colonial conflicts.
“At an event like this, though the turnout is small, you get more of a personal flavour and you feel like he’s speaking to you directly,” said Nick Ward, communications officer at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
From rising levels of inequalities to weak institutions and corruption, Africa’s future prior to 1990 seemed cynical, Biti said.
“This is the deficit story. It’s a story of weak leadership, it’s a story of visionless leadership, it’s a story of destructive institutions, it’s a story of a gatekeeping state,” Biti said.
Constitutions were properly established for African countries, but law enforcement remained absent and was dominated by leaders, he said.
“This is where African intellectuals must take blame, must take fault, for allowing this phenomenon,” Biti said.
Modernization through education, communication, and technology drives a new Africa growing beyond the basic financial needs of a continent, according to Biti.
The upcoming elections in Kenya and Zimbabwe could turn the tide in Africa permanently.
“The test is that Africa is on the rise. The test is that we are graduating from hopelessness to hope, but if we fail on Zimbabwe, if we fail on Kenya, it will be a case of one step forward and twenty steps back,” Biti said.
“It wasn’t just rhetoric – he provided some very clear indicators and statistical data to prove his point. He wasn’t emotional or political, I thought that he came across in a very genuine and sincere way – and his humour as well,” said Cecilia Silundika, a Carleton European Studies masters student.
“[Biti] provided a holistic picture and view of Africa as it was, as it is, and what it could become,” she said.
