Thank you so much for the editorial: 'Have the Slaves left the master's house' by Amanda Alexander And Mandisa Mbali.

It is inspiring to see an editorial of such insightful critique. The "masters tools will never destroy the master's house". It is so clear! It is almost oxymoron to think otherwise. We have lived long enough to see all the games that are played. The disguising of enslavement, colonialism, exploitation and disempowerment into other forms and terminology. But we've still not changed our game! We respond to issues and agendas.

We respect only the institutions of others. We steadfastly refuse to innovate in thinking, in strategy, implementation and public service. We do not define our issues and put our heads down and work towards their resolution and take the pain ( no gain without pain) and persist to that greater freedom; of being truly the masters of our wealth creation, masters of providing for our citizens and masters of doing it our way! Reform, tinkering with existing ideas, concepts and structures and obedience to Western modes of operations and framework, institutions and paradigms will not work. They make the rules, in their favour! So clear! Children in the play ground understand that! 'Always be the rule maker'!

African leaders need to have independence of thought and do a lot of thinking or rethinking. Yes it is hard work, compared to taking off the shelf ideas and ways of doing things! Progress is elbow grease! There is no other way .....Those chains must be levered open and now, for heavens sake! I want to see it in my life time!

The Senegalese economist Demba Dembele's my hero - he gets to the point "... that the West will never develop Africa and that most African leaders do not care about the welfare of their citizens". When will our leaders get it and stop playing ball with the west and focus on carrying out their job description for the masses. As painful as the journey will be, As painful as the journey will be, As painful as the journey will be ( so true I have to say it thrice! We need to refuse engagement with the west (naive some will say? Show me where engagement has worked? We are still in a subservient position despite aid galore , commissions galore, developmental NGO's galore , what difference have they all made?) Tell them we will not pay any debt and concentrate on pan African trading, pan African creation of the goods and services. Rethink Pan Africanism, so that it informs our economic policies, our cultural outlook, our vision , our politics our philosophies and concepts!

We are skewered by European capitalism...! Why do we respect such philosophies and economic thinking... you cannot use a framework for which you did not participate in its creation or propagation? We do not affect, we react! The observation that by "...African leaders .. attending G8 meetings and producing a policy document endorsed by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), are revealing that they 'fear freedom, as former slaves who walk back to their masters, not yet ready to leave the master's house'". Get the hell out ! Build your own house and make your own rules (forget globalism - it is not working for Africa!) Use a pan African framework.

In balancing the space for women rights and the space for respecting cultural practices Doreen Lwanga may not be entirely wrong in arguing for 'legislation aimed at protecting women's rights should also include the right to practice a certain culture, even if that might include FGM'. It is an accommodation of the right for cultural space. Is that so wrong? As cultures change and evolve, hopefully FGM will be left behind in time. My only concern in legislating against FGM is the criminalisation of our elders who wholly believe that it is an 'unharmful' cultural practice.

If two leading feminist activists who have the time and the brain power cannot arrive at a consensus on how we balance 'rights and culture' what hope is there for us lay women who want to believe and do the right thing, but at the same time do not want to disrespect our cultural practices.
My Grandmother without, the benefit of western education, rejected this piece of culture, so my mother was not done. My mother in turn rejected this piece of culture and I thankfully was spared. I have not had a daughter, but I do have a son, and he had to be circumcised in line with the cultural wish of the family. Was I wrong? Should I be criminalised (if for arguments sake male circumcision is outlawed)?

Thanks to Demba Moussa Dembele for starkly spelling things out in his article “Poverty Reduction or Poverty Reinforcement?” (Pambazuka News 136) It cannot get much clearer than that. All our leaders should have a copy of the article firmly stapled onto their foreheads and forced to read it. The article gives a moral tale. If you participate in a process, systems, institutions or a game, that is not of your own making, and did not contribute or influence the rule making process, your interests will not be reflected and things may be done in a way that is not consistent with your needs, core values and philosophy. Yes, there are existing world institutions and ways of doing things. But do they work for us? Not now, not 50 years down the line! Despite clear evidence from over time (enslavement, colonialism, neo-colonialism, debt payments, outright theft by foreign multinational / supra nationals, WTO) we still persist in playing in someone else's game and then wonder why the outcome is not so favourable to our needs and interests.

We were not involved in the construction of 'the framework', not involved in the creation of the rules, not involved in determining the logic behind the schemes, and not involved in the rule changes when modification is required. We participate (as if there is no other choice), become earnest members of the 'club', because we may receive aid, grants and are 'country friendly' enough to attract investment. It seems that is the bottom line. That way of thinking constantly puts us in a subordinate position, and than we are surprised at why we are not respected or taken seriously in negotiations within these institutions and their systems and processes ...
duh...

Our leaders truly, want it easy. To tap into something that exists. Some other nations institutions, systems, processes, patterns of logic, language and rationale. And than they wonder why the outcomes are not what they desire. If you play in a 'game' that you do not own, what do you truly expect? So when we ask for debt relief or get involved in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiatives, what should we expect? We have to follow the rules laid down and produce begging documents (poverty reduction strategy papers) with contents that we know will please and be in compliance with the game that is being played.

Countries with huge debts should say "CAN'T PAY, WON'T PAY". In fact, what do we owe? We know how / why those debts came about and the injustice of the calculations of the interest payments of these debts. What do we owe? In fact, we are owed! Where are the apologies and reparations for centuries of organised theft from the continent?

Countries in debt should declare themselves bankrupt (that is not a bad thing, it gives you breathing space) and start the long slow struggle to rehabilitate our economies, rehabilitate our thinking, rehabilitate our way of doing things and set up our own structures in our image. It will be a hard slog, but in the long term the results are more enduring and sustainable. When you play someone else's game, misery eventually unfolds. In reality it is the 'over developed countries' game and we cannot win in that arena. We should set up own game, and ask them to play if they dare.

Surely we have had enough of 'disingenuous policies and initiatives' from the West's institutions and systems. Anyway, why do we constantly expect to be helped? How long do we stay labelled poor when we are not poor? Why do we get hooked in that jargon? We are rich. We are rich in natural resources, human resources and cultural heritage. We have all the resources we need on the continent. What we are poor in is;
* poor managers that cannot organise sustained growth,
* poor caretakers that allow others to loot, buy and control our resources cheaply,
* poor leaders that are political infants that criminally allow themselves and the countries they lead to accept unfavourable terms and conditions, follow an agenda and are incapable of setting an agenda that works for the continent.

We are too trusting and too reliant of Western institutions, constructs, systems and dogma. When European nations were developing and evolving their structures, political and economic logic, did they privatise their essential resources? Or was everything state owned and controlled for essential protection of health, education and water in order to allow these services to be universally provided fairly and justly to all. Why do we buy into dangerous neo liberal policy prescriptions'? If you stay in the club, what would you expect? Even 50 CENTS in his 'in da club' track, 'get rich or die trying' album, provides more cogent economic lessons than you will find in any World Bank document, and guess who we respect?