In part II of these series, the myth of Africa’s leadership deficit, I touched on capital flight as a hurdle, if not the main obstacle to development in Africa. In this piece, I attempt to explore the philosophical question – why is capital fleeing and how can Africa reduce capital from fleeing? Capital flight remains the greatest impediment to economic development as it imposes a constraint on economic growth by exacerbating the unavailability of domestic sources of investment financing. Answering this question in the affirmative manner risks hampering the understanding of the cultural dimension. If an estimated $2 trillion has left Africa illicitly since 1970, then the total capital flight, including remittances, could be a little higher. In contrast, Africa has received $580 billion in aid since 1960, according to OECD DAC statistics.

Why would financial outflows from the poverty stricken Africa far exceed the value of assets coming in? No easy answer. Some have argued a conspiracy theory that developed countries make gains through illicit financial outflows from the continent via multinational and transnational entities. Others have pointed blaming fingers as western banks as complicit in capital flight saying Africa is poor today because Swiss and other western banks collude with African kleptocrats to loot the continent.

As I said previously, finger-pointing is unproductive. To understand why capital continues to flee from Africa draining domestic resources, we should localise the issue within individuals and/or their communities. Let’s take, for example, culture  as the point of departure. A Dutch social psychologist, Hofstede, defined culture as "the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group of people from others”.

Hofstede also likens culture to the computer software (operating system). Being the software of the mind, our behaviour and actions, as Africans, are products of culture. Also being a shared phenomena, the culture we share, as Africans, clearly distinguishes us from other peoples in other culture. For example, this Igbo and Yoruba proverb, "Ora na azu nwa” which means "it takes a whole village to raise a child” exists in different forms in many African languages. ‘Omwana takulila nju emoi,’ in Lunyoro (Banyoro), ‘Omwana taba womoi,’ in Kihaya (Bahaya), ‘Omwana ni wa bhone,’ in Kijita (Wajita), ‘Asiyefunzwa na mamae hufunzwa na ulimwengu’ (in Swahili), approximates to the same. The proverb also explains the shared cultural values among Africans. Culture values are the "glue” which binds members of a society together. One of the most important African cultural values is secrecy. Secrecy is everywhere within African culture. African cultures are rich in proverbs which were used mainly by elders to communicate thoughts in a witty way. The following African proverbs may help explain why there is more financial outflows from the continent. "Let not you shirt know your secret”, African proverb "A secret for two is soon a secret for nobody”, African proverb. "A secret is compared to a bush in which a person hides, that is, your hiding place”, African proverb.

African secrecy values reflect a preference for total confidentiality and non-disclosure of information about a person and/or business to another person (including the state) not involved with its management. "A secret remains a secret only when one person knows it”, African proverb. These values contrast with western values of transparency and publicly accountable approaches. Secrets were an integral part of society and served several functions that stem from the need to preserve security. In African culture, it was held that when the indwelling intelligence (secrets) was allowed to extend to outsiders, harmony and prosperity was compromise. This was a basic premise among the Africans, where a secret is compared to a bush in which a person hides, that is, your hiding place. With the wholesome adoption of Western transparency as means of accountability, our elites do not trust the secrecy of African banks. Worse, they did not trust their fellow Africans. Like the old colonial masters who ravaged the continent, they sent their loot abroad. With all the brilliant managers, technocrats, economic planners in African banks there is one very important – in fact the most important ingredient missing: the culture of secrecy, to make fruitful or fructify ambitious plans for Africa’s silicon Savannah.

What to do?

Watch this space for more on this. In the next shot, I expound why there is need to re-assess and highlight what we perceive to be our unique African cultural values – and discuss why we must think within the context of our African cultural background. I then offer some tips about decolonisation of the mind, a revolution that needs not be violent.

The writer is a Doctor of Business Administration and researcher at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland (UK). His research interests fall in the areas of leadership and culture.

nshutis@yahoo.com