How can African countries stem this embarrassing outflow of potential human capital?
An Engineer friend of mine has been wondering aloud why skill sets are not being created in a manner that sees wholesale transformation of previously disadvantaged people in South Africa and what can be done to address this.
The answer, in my opinion, lies in the Zimbabwe of 1980 to 2000.
The first point is Robert Mugabe and his government invested heavily in education. Much more than investing in dollars and cents, he advanced a strong cultural bias and attitude towards the love of books and a formal education. He began by saying things like man for man he could line up his cabinet against any other in the world and his team would more than hold their own in terms of academic achievement. It was not unusual in Zimbabwe to find street vendors hawking, not fruit and vegetables but textbooks! It was a revolution in terms of mindset. Then of course, the teacher training colleges were not only retained, they were also expanded as parents urged their children to become Nurses, Doctor's and Teachers in a wave of post independence euphoria. At the same time, it was a common sight to see young men and women soaked in diesel, I believe, tied to some post in city centres across the country as part of the graduation ritual towards becoming artisans. This group went on to make more money more quickly than their counterparts who headed to University, but I digress. Everywhere you went in the country, at one point or another at various intervals, you came across proud graduates wearing their graduation gowns far from campus on their way home with beaming parents by their side. Many a Bull or cow, depending on the type of qualification, lost their lives in many a homestead because of the successful conclusion of study. In some case, girls who had been sent to tertiary institutions but who fell pregnant saw their children being named Diploma or some such Zimbabwean oddity because their irate parents who say, "I sent you to college to get a diploma and you came back with a child!"
Before long, black Zimbabweans such as Nigel Chanakira, James Mushore, Will Nyemba, Doug Munatsi and many others were actually starting and running black owned and competently managed banks. Other black Zimbabweans were doing equally well in senior management in every aspect of the Zimbabwean economy and, in those days, many Zimbabweans who left the country did so on their own terms and on to bigger and better things elsewhere as global citizens.
To answer my South African friend, therefore, here is what I say. Look to the Zimbabwean model of 1980 to 2000 ( it is too early to evaluate the post 2000 model) and take from it what you will. Among my suggestions are:
- bring back the teachers' colleges
- while I believe in moral suasion rather coercion, I would suggest that BEE be backed up by strong compliance policies and laws that are enforced rather than a checklist
- actively promote a culture of artisans through the FET colleges and polytechnics
- use charisma to initiate, grow and imbue a culture of reading and love for education country wide
- lead by example by creating networks that help educated black people to thrive so that the value of a good education is not only seen but highly sought after
- give black owned businesses the chance to prove themselves through business networks
- employ as many black interns as you can and give them the opportunity to get experience
- mentor as many people as you can make time for
- create wealth in your activities rather than (or while) amass(ing) wealth for yourself
Zimbabweans are highly sought after globally because of several reasons among them work ethic and a good educational background. During the crisis, Zimbabweans' ability to "make a plan" came to the fore and saved the country from much much worse. The one thing I know for sure, is many Zimbabweans pursue education for education's sake and the rest follows.
