The quickest route to wealth for Africans

AFRICANS are currently receiving education that orientates them towards employment rather than creation of real wealth.

Most value chains for our daily consumables as black people in Africa are controlled by other races despite our huge consumptive population of 1,3 billion people. In southern and east Africa, for instance, the most important value chains are controlled by white people and Indians. In order to attain economic freedom and create real wealth among the black population, we need to increase our spending with each other like other races do.

In Zimbabwe (black population is 99,4%) at a local level we send our children to schools that by and large we do not run or control. Every daily consumable is manufactured, supplied and controlled by other races. We are to a certain extent in control of some value chains through parastatals like National Railways of Zimbabwe, Cottco, Ziscosteel etc, but all these were decimated by structural challenges in the economy notably in 1998, 2003, 2008 and now 2020 and endemic corruption. We had control of wholesale, retail, automotive spare parts, milling, bread-making, but we gradually lost that space when companies like Redstar, Jaggers, Harare Parts, black banks, etc were taken out of the market by structural challenges in the economy. In the aftermath, all sectors of the economy from beef production, chicken production, maize and flour milling, logistics, wholesale, retail etc are not controlled by black Zimbabweans. This, of course, becomes a source of racism locally and globally. I believe that global income disparities between blacks and other races are the key driver of cultural bias and racism.

Empowering and creation of black wealth will involve orientation of blacks towards controlling value chains for their own daily consumables. Education from ECD is critical because necessity is the mother of all invention. We need to align our education towards critical thinking, creativity, innovation and divergent thinking, complex problem-solving, collaboration and advanced communication.

Collective and deliberate leadership is required to ensure that wealth creation in Africa benefits black people who suffer the global brunt of cultural bias and racism caused by poverty and income disparities between blacks and other races.