'Africa is a lost cause'. This is a cynical view held widely in the West, in much of the world and even in Africa. Many people in the old European colonial powers - and not only the dwindling band of 'old Africa hands' who served in the colonies - are in despair, lamenting maladministration, corruption, civil and inter-state wars, poverty, famine and the seemingly unstoppable march of AIDS. And all in a great continent with abundant human and natural resources. The other side of the coin is that hope is beginning to dawn as Africa's plight is recognised by the Africans themselves and its vital strategic, political and economic importance in the age of globalisation is gaining universal appreciation. An 'African renaissance' may seem far-fetched but there is perhaps light at the end of the tunnel. This is the backdrop against which Andrew Sardanis' fascinating story is set. It begins with his work as a journalist in Cyprus - on the receiving end of British colonialism - and moves to Northern Rhodesia where he played a leading role as an international businessman and in the politics of independence leading to the new nation of Zambia. He was at the heart of Zambia's political and business development, and always a sympathetic but critical observer and adviser, both in government and in business, also a close but objective friend of leaders including Kenneth Kaunda.
'Africa is a lost cause.' This is a cynical view held widely in the West, in much of the world and even in Africa. Many people in the old European colonial powers - and not only the dwindling band of 'old Africa hands' who served in the colonies - are in despair, lamenting maladministration, corruption, civil and inter-state wars, poverty, famine and the seemingly unstoppable march of AIDS. And all in a great continent with abundant human and natural resources. The other side of the coin is that hope is beginning to dawn as Africa's plight is recognised by the Africans themselves and its vital strategic, political and economic importance in the age of globalisation is gaining universal appreciation. An 'African renaissance' may seem far-fetched but there is perhaps light at the end of the tunnel. This is the backdrop against which Andrew Sardanis's fascinating story is set. It begins with his work as a journalist in Cyprus - on the receiving end of British colonialism - and moves to Northern Rhodesia where he played a leading role as an international businessman and in the politics of independence leading to the new nation of Zambia. He was at the heart of Zambia's political and business development, and always a sympathetic but critical observer and adviser, both in government and in business, also a close but objective friend of leaders including Kenneth Kaunda.
This is a vivid personal history of an international business career. "A Venture in Africa" takes the reader through the twists and turns of doing business with African states and leaders in the turbulent 1970s and later. Drawing on his long experience of modern Africa and international business, Sardanis portrays the crises, disasters and personalities he has encountered in the continent. He shows how the old Africa of corruption, despotism and nepotism is being replaced by a new Africa in which a rising generation of business leaders is emerging - with practical technical and professional skills and free from the post-colonial mentality. A hugely intriguing and entertaining story which shows that Africa, despite the bad press, presents an immensely important and a rich source of commercial opportunities for the successful businessman.
In contrast to the rich tradition of academic analysis and understanding of the pre-colonial and colonial history of Zambia, the country’s post-colonial trajectory has been all but ignored by historians. The assumptions of developmentalism, the cultural hegemony of the United National Independence Party’s orthodoxy and its conflation with national interests, and a narrow focus on Zambia’s diplomatic role in Southern African affairs, have all contributed to a dearth of studies centring on the diverse lived experiences of Zambians. Inspired by an international conference held in Lusaka in August 2005, and presenting a broad range of essays on different aspects of Zambia’s post-colonial experience, this collection seeks to lay the foundations for a future process of sustained scholarly enquiry into the country’s most recent past.
In The Objects of Life in Central Africa the history of consumption and social change from 1840 until 1980 is explored. By taking consumption as a vantage point, the contributions deviate from and add to previous works which have mainly analysed issues of production from an economic and political perspective. The chapters are broad-ranging in temporal and geographical focus, including contributions on Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Angola. Topics range from the social history of firearms to the perception of the railway and include contributions on sewing machines, traders and advertising. By looking at the socio-economic, political and cultural meaning and impact of goods the history of Central Africa is reassessed.
In 1964 Kenneth Kaunda and his United National Independence Party (UNIP) government established the nation of Zambia in the former British colony of Northern Rhodesia. In parallel with many other newly independent countries in Africa this process of decolonisation created a wave of optimism regarding humanity's capacity to overcome oppression and poverty. Yet, as this study shows, in Zambia as in many other countries, the legacy of colonialism created obstacles that proved difficult to overcome. Within a short space of time democratisation and development was replaced by economic stagnation, political authoritarianism, corruption and ethnic and political conflict. To better understand this process, Dr Larmer explores UNIP's political ideology and the strategies it employed to retain a grip on government. He shows that despite the party's claim that it adhered to an authentically African model of consensual and communitarian decision-making, it was never a truly nationally representative body. Whereas in long-established Western societies unevenness in support was accepted as a legitimate basis for party political difference, in Zambia this was regarded as a threat to the fragile bindings of the young nation state, and as such had to be denied and repressed. This led to the declaration of a one-party state, presented as the logical expression of UNIP supremacy but it was in fact a reflection of its weakening grip on power. Through case studies of opposition political and social movements rooted in these differences, the book demonstrates that UNIP's control of the new nation-state was partial, uneven and consistently prone to challenge. Alongside this, the study also re-examines Zambia's role in the regional liberation struggles, providing valuable new evidence of the country's complex relations with Apartheid-era South Africa and the relationship between internal and external opposition, shaped by the context of regional liberation movements and the Cold War. Drawing on extensive archival research and interviews, Dr Larmer offers a ground-breaking analysis of post-colonial political history which helps explain the challenges facing contemporary African polities.
In captivating prose, Dowden spins tales of cults and commerce in Senegal and traditional spirituality in Sierra Leone; analyzes the impact of oil and the Internet on Nigeria and aid on Sudan; and examines what has gone so badly wrong in Rwanda and the Congo.
Copper King in Central Africa offers a detailed account of the corporate history of the Rhokana/Rokana Corporation and its Nkana mine. Thematically and chronologically organised, it explores the discovery of viable ores on the Northern Rhodesian/Zambian Copperbelt in the late 1920s, which attracted foreign capital from South Africa, Britain and the USA, prompting the development of the Nkana mine and the formation of the Rhokana Corporation in the early 1930s. It follows through the evolution of the copper mining industry up to the re-privatisation of the Zambian mining sector in 1991. The book ties into a single narrative the disparate themes of corporate organisation, labour relations, and profitability of Rhokana, demonstrating how the firm was, for a time, the most important mining entity in the Northern Rhodesian/Zambian mining industry. Rhokana was both an investment firm on the Copperbelt and a mining company through Nkana mine. Thus, the Corporation was central to the development and profitability of the copper industry in Zambia. Its corporate and labour policies influenced the Copperbelt as a whole. Employing the largest labour force in the mining sector, Rhokana spearheaded the labour movement on the Copperbelt. Its Nkana mine was also the largest producer of copper in the Northern Rhodesian mining industry between 1940 and 1953, and contributed hugely to the war economies of Britain and the USA. Throughout its history, Nkana was also a major source of cobalt. After nationalisation of the mining sector in 1970, Rhokana surrendered its investments in the wider copper industry, but remained central to the Copperbelt’s smelting and refining operations, owning the biggest metallurgical facilities in the industry.
Political campaigning affects numerous realms under the communication umbrella with each channel seeking to influence as many individuals as possible. In higher education, there is a growing scholarly interest in communication issues and subjects, especially on the role of music, in the political arena. Music and Messaging in the African Political Arena provides innovative insights into providing music and songs as an integral part of sending political messages to a broader spectrum of audiences, especially during political campaigns. The content within this publication covers such topics as framing theory, national identity, and ethnic politics, and is designed for politicians, campaign managers, political communication scholars, researchers, and students.
The African continent is in the midst of a renaissance of monumental proportions... ...As a result, the dawn of the new millennium constitutes an exciting period of change and opportunity for all those interested in the future evolution of the African continent and its peoples (Schraeder, P.J. African Politics and Society (2000: 2) President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, the current Chairman of the African Union, is being associated in a special way with the concept of African renaissance. Mbeki's notion of renaissance is fundamentally "African political renewal and economic regeneration" (Ajulu, R. 2001 in Review of African Political Economy Vol. 24 No. l 87, February: 27-42) The concept of African renaissance, which is in vogue in political and academic circles, encapsulates a vision of rebirth of Africa as the African peoples come to terms with the challenges of the 21st. century. It is a vision that eschews the dictatorships, economic mismanagement, suppression of the civil society and ascendancy of state monopoly of power that have hitherto characterized the operations of post-independence African governments. It is a vision that rejects, according to the Constitutive Act of the African Union, the policy of tolerating in its membership those African leaders who obtain power in their countries undemocratically, unlike the toleration of dictators that characterized the Organization of African Unity, the predecessor of the African Union. This book aims at being part of that vision, and that is why its title is Education for Renaissance in Africa. It aims at showing the centrality of education in the achievement of that vision. Indeed it is obvious to all that African renaissance is primarily a mental achievement or simply an educational achievement. If we are to contribute anything to the political or economic order for the development of Africa we must have acquired certain kinds of knowledge and attitudes that involve commitment to our goals as prerequisites for any action that can change society. However, it is the contention of this book that education for the renaissance of Africa must not be haphazard. It must be conceptualized in a manner that lays foundations for its effective working in the practical order. The philosophy of education envisaged here has to be liberating, characterized by creativity and social commitment, which presupposes social consciousness. Here we define the notions of liberation, creativity and social consciousness, and strives to situate these concepts within a historical trajectory that not only includes Africa but other parts of the world as well. We have tried to show the suppression of African subjectivity during the colonial period with the result that liberation, creativity and social consciousness were inhibited in both the educational and other spheres of life. We argue that humans are radically free and that they need not succumb to this kind of socialization, which has tended to negate their subjectivity. We note in particular that Kenyan educational commissioners have been cognizant of the harm that was done to African subjectivity by the colonial and missionary experience. We also consider to what extent, if any, the philosophy of education as an academic discipline has prepared teachers for the challenging task of making education liberating, creative, and imbued with social consciousness. We suggest ways in which the training of teachers can best fulfill these worthy goals of education. We address the nature of social consciousness, which we consider to be central to the learner's involvement in development of his or her country. We have endeavored to discuss the minimal and heroic forms of consciousness as exemplified in such leaders as Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, and leaders of African liberation struggle. An attempt is made to come to terms with diversity in social consciousness and to seek ways of living on the basis of unity in diversity
