Building lasting enterprise

Is it a sensible thing to advise a man not to attempt reinventing the wheel. 'Don't reinvent the wheel, just apply' is the popular refrain, very true for some things though. Yet, a fact of science and human learning is knowing how things are done and thereby knowing how to fix things when they get bad.

Not knowing how to reinvent the wheel creates a dependence syndrome, a dangerous one that makes the individual subservient to the provider of a technology. It is the argument that makes the case for protectionism, one that has enabled countries like India and China withstand the onslaught of western capital and inventions, and grow steadily in the development of technology.

It is also why African nations have tended to be at the mercy of foreign countries - they lack technical capacity and whatever little is being developed is squashed by newer technologies from abroad, which come with a caveat that they will be maintained by the providers.

For Africa to grow sustainably it must develop technical know-how and protect its economy from foreign sharks, irrespective of the pains. India did it and today it is a significant player in the world economy, even in technology!

The Economy in Recession

The world economy is in recession. That everyone should know by now. The problem is much of Africa is doing nothing to get their economies moving again