Africa has many challenges but they are not insurmountable

Editor,What a well penned article! I think we as Africans need to start thinking of ways of amassing capital and start taking advantage of the so many projects currently taking place on our continent.It irritates me so much that in my country, Uganda, almost all the mining, multi-million dollar construction projects and numerous consultancies are being undertaken by Europeans, Asians and American corporations. And yet Africa has so many knowledgeable and highly capable individuals who could have undertaken these ventures and kept the profits home. Most of these people, I will say, are doing pretty much well by any country’s standards, both for themselves and their families. Some of them live abroad and they don’t really mind what’s happening back in their homelands.If such people were encouraged by our governments to start up homegrown companies that will compete for most of the multi-million dollar projects currently running on the continent, it would go so far in helping us achieve the African dream.And if the burden continues for African professionals to not only do well for themselves but for their people as well, the African dream will spread like a wild fire throughout the continent and promote unity as well.Edward Mugisha, Kampala, Uganda*************************I totally agree with the author. The change should only be in our brains and the rest will be creation. Africans lack mainly two things: Unity and organisation. Instead of standing together and join hands to fight the three common enemies (poverty, ignorance and disease) that plague the continent, we are always indulged in useless and stupid endless wars.Please Africans, let’s wake up, let’s fight the darkness in our heads and get united to organise ourselves and the rest shall be fruits in every centimetre of this continent for us and our grand-grand-grand offspring.Leo Mihigo, Kigali, Rwanda*************************I agree with the above comments. Even though the continent is plagued with unfit leaders who are unwilling to let go of antiquated views and only think about stealing from the taxpayers, I still firmly believe that Africa has the potential to become the next superpower.Furthermore, Africans also need to learn to think individually. I noticed that we tend to hold onto what we think is “umuco (culture)” and limit ourselves in our capacity to think. What we need to teach ourselves is to embrace our differences as well as our similarities. That only makes us stronger as a society and on a larger scale, a continent.Shabaka, Toronto, CanadaReactions to Achille Manirakiza’s commentary, “We can live the African Dream”, (The New Times, June 26)

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Africa has many challenges but they are not insurmountable