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CHRIS KIRUBI Africa’s leadership ‘has failed the poor’ Posted Thu, 03 Mar 2005
Sitting in his office in Nairobi, leading Kenyan entrepreneur, Chris Kirubi (pictured left), seems as far removed from the daily afflictions of Kenyans as can be. But Mr Kirubi is not oblivious of the problems surrounding him. One of his major worries is the extent of poverty in Kenya and the rest of Africa. By Patrick Mwangi
Poverty is the biggest challenge faced by Africa after
HIV/AIDS, but the continent’s leadership is too obsessed
with building its own wealth instead of looking
after the needs of its people, says Mr Chris Kirubi.
In Kenya, an estimated 50% of the population live below the
poverty line. Unless Africans are careful, poverty will become a
typhoon sweeping all before it, he warns.
Mr Kirubi should know what he’s talking about. He has been
investing in Africa for the last 20 years. He has business interests
ranging from property management, insurance, courier services,
advertising and investment funds. He chairs the
boards of DHL
Worldwide Express East Africa, Haco Industries Ltd and Nairobi
Bottlers Limited.
He is also a major investor in, and sits on the boards of, ICDC
Investment Company, Bayer East Africa and Beverage Services,
amongst others.
There is no doubt that Mr Kirubi thrives on being controversial.
But he strikes a chord with many when he rails against
Africa’s leadership as being the continent’s greatest threat.
He decries the fact that Africa continues to beg and wallow
in poverty when there is so much potential. The continent
is richly endowed with resources, but is faced with a dearth of
focused and committed leadership that is determined to work
for their people rather than for themselves.
With poverty reduction demanding a multi-level approach,
leadership is the key to turning around the current situation.
Africans need to rise up and take the leadership challenge. For
now, says Mr Kirubi, leadership is the missing link.
“Africa
needs people willing to challenge these leaders without being
seen to be seeking to be one of them,” says Mr Kirubi.
So why does he continue investing in Africa? “Africa can only
be saved by its own people. It is our duty to stay in Africa and
struggle to turn it around. If we give up on our continent, whom
do we expect to develop it for us?” he asks.
Africa has a lot of potential to do better. We already have case
examples of African countries which have turned around their
economies, such as Ghana and Mauritius.
Mr Kirubi cites as “important” efforts that have been put
together such as the New Partnership for African Development
(NEPAD), COMESA, SADC, EAC, ECOWAS, which are
all aimed at linking up and removing trade barriers within the
continent.
Capital flight and brain drain are two more obstacles to the
development of the continent. Mr Kirubi acknowledges that
Africa’s people are its greatest wealth, but says there seems
no
strategy to utilise it. Instead, a lot of people educated in Africa
using African resources go out to help build economies of other
countries. “Why is this? We Africans do not appreciate our own
people. We need to recognise the talents that African people
have and invest in them,” he states.
Mr Kirubi would also like to see African research and development
institutions playing a key role in the development
of the continent, as well as developing information technology
infrastructure to enable Africans communicate better with each
other and with the rest of the world. “These are the issues that
we need to focus on and address seriously”.
This brings him back to the role of African leaders and how
they weaken the continent. Many political leaders have failed
to create confidence in their countries to attract foreign investments
and develop the continent, he says. Worse, they create
an even bigger challenge of capital flight from the
continent
because they are active participants in spiriting away the
continent’s resources to stash in foreign countries. Domestic
investment is also vital. “We produce goods and services that
are of good quality to compete in both the regional and international
markets, so domestic investment should be encouraged,”
says Mr Kirubi.
Leaders must also understand that Africa is in competition
with the rest of the world. Consequently, Africa’s leaders must
strive to make the continent competitive, asserts Mr. Kirubi.
This should include improved infrastructure, research and
development and Information Technology.
The current situation seems to have sapped the continent
of its confidence and self belief. Says Mr Kirubi: “We seem to
have accepted we cannot do anything on our own, and look for
donors to sponsor even our own economic forums. We have lost
the capacity to be economically independent.
“All these things are in our hands to change, and
we must
make sure development in Africa is not hindered by personalised
issues and self-centered leadership that will have no vision.
We have to keep pushing.”
Amongst his other many functions as a philantropist and
businessman, Mr Kirubi is also the Ghanaian Honorary Consul
General in Kenya. He represents the interests of the Ghana
government in the country. He’s also serves the country’s
Permanent Representative to the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) and Habitat, and sits on the Ghana Investors’
Council.
Mr Kirubi’s most recent investment is in one of the leading
radio stations in Kenya, 98.4 Capital FM. “Media is power,”
he notes.” He wants to use that power to reach out to society
through music and entertainment. He also wants to give a forum
for young people to engage in economic issues and develop
leadership.
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