Editor, REFERENCE IS made to Oscar Kimanuka’s article, “Is Africa reaping from the much hyped globalisation?” (The New Times, June 20). The writer wonders “how we can make our markets work in the face of the flawed rules of globalization”. Perhaps the way out would be for us, Africans, to pause and reflect on how strategically to devise our own course of action. Structured reflection under the guidance of various expert think tanks (see: “Think tanks in business and governance” as suggested by Gerald Mpyisi in The New Times issue of June 9. It is about time we stopped indulging in improvisations, rampant in all sectors of activities. We should now scrutinise the rules of a world game in which, historically, we have been assigned the role of mere suppliers of raw natural resources with meagre benefits. Now out of slavery, of colonialism and gradually out of neo-colonialism, a lucid reassessment of our secular minor role in world affairs is timely and badly needed. François-Xavier Nziyonsenga, Rwanda **************************** IN NOVEMBER 2004, John Perkins published a book entitled “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man”. As a Corporate globalisation whistle-blower, Perkins shows how globalisation has created an uneven playing field that favours multinational businesses over national ones, which in most cases means favouring large businesses from the global north over domestic competitions in developing countries. At about the same time, people wanted to know whose interests were being served by globalisation and at what cost to the rest of us. The capital markets and trade liberalisation are skewed in favour of the global north and hence they are the winners of global liberalisation as opposed to the global common good. Economic hit men like Perkins and his colleagues who worked for organisations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organisation have started a movement against corporate globalisation known as Global Justice Movement. Some of their achievements contributed to the near collapse of the WTO and sidelining of World Bank and IMF. There is need for creation of institutions that can truly serve the global common good so that every global citizen may live in a society where basic needs are provided, where there is enough food, housing for everyone, all children go to school, and where hospitals are for everybody and there is a job for everyone — a job that helps people to maximise their potential as human beings. This knowledge alone should give us hope. Francis Twagirayezu, Kenya
