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AFRICA AND THE WORLDReconstructing the "one-world"by Maurice Onyango(900 words)
Many people associate Globalization with the other term "the world has become a global village". But is that all to it? Partly yes. Because deep down into remote interlands of Africa, along small feeder roads and even pathways in villages are billboards of such transnational conglomorates as Coca-Cola, Sony, Toyota, BP shell and others. You will find, also in the "remotest" parts of Africa small grass thatched-mud walled shops painted in colours of BAT Company colours or Kiosks painted in uneliver product colours. You may hear of a Kenyan, Zairean, Nigerian or other African citizen take breakfast in Africa, take lunch in Europe and maybe late supper in another continent altogether. The world, for sure, has become that near. But to whose advantage and at whose expense? According to Rev. Lawford Imunde, a Kenyan born Presbyterian priest, it is to the advantage of the First world and at the expense of the Third world. In a paper "Globalization: a challenge to the International Civil Society and Churches," presented at seminar at Evangelische Akademie of Bad Boll, near Struttgart, Germany, Rev. Imunde stresses on the need for an alternative world society tailored to Christian Principles. Rev. Imunde sees "globalization" as no more than a term or conduit pipe for further exploitation and subjugation of the third world. "Globalization" says Rev. Imunde "connotes innocence but contains little truth to remain persuasive. It hides the painful -hurting side to the unsuspecting suffering poor" During the meeting whose seminar theme was, Courage for tomorrow: The perspective of Civil Society, the priest attempts to define and lay bear Globalization for what it is and points a way forward from an African/Christian perspective. His is a challenge to the International society of NGOs and churches. "Globalization concept" says Rev. Imunde, "is trans-border expansion of markets, commerce and information. The phenomenon can be likened to a moving train that throws some people off while others are coming into the same." Globalization in his view is the latest episode in an old story, which is a confirmation of the colonial system which milked resources from colonies to build the metropoles but claimed the purpose was to civilise, develop and modernise. It is the contamination of the story of conquest and exploitation of the South for the benefit of the North. The result is that the formerly colonised Third World remain underdeveloped in spite of being linked to the capitalist system. Far from the Third World getting a breather in the so-called global market economy, the South has become more vulnerable, hooked to the capitalist system, "people have become more brutalised than before. It is colonisation in a more subtle way but with greater intensity". The response to this sad state of affairs has not been lacking. Victims in the South are resisting. People are against the free market ideology and the co-option of the official governance in the South into the dominant model. "People are attacking it (market model) because it smells of death". They know they are in a quagmire. An endless sojourn in paupacity by a majority of her people. The church is indeed apprehensive and sympathetic. "But", cries out the Presbyterian Priest, " the churches and developmental NGOs have their hands tied. They subscribe to and operate within the framework, values and ideals of the Bretton Woods institutions (the fund, the Bank and WOT). They cannot meaningfully face the challenge posed by globalization unless and until they delink from the dominant model and throw in their lot with the peoples of the South". Rev. Imunde, who was at one time a political prisoner at the height of political repression by the then one party ruled Kenyan government, calls for alternative strategies, (the construction of the "one world") to Globalization. He insists that in spite of the calls for reforms or improvements of this system mainly from western scholars, that is not it. "The present system cannot and should not be reformed. What it requires is a total overhauling, total restructuring from the scratch". "The way forward then lies in all of us, each contributing in part to the process of reconstruction. "Let those from the South make their contribution, let those from the North give their peculiar contribution, let the new "one World" be a product of this social mixed grill. The end product would be wisely acceptable because it would be a product of co-operative effort". Rev. Imunde insists that the answer and solution to this situation is neither in the North only or South only but in the two worlds working together. And they should start now and here. "The task of reconstructing the present capitalist market model is a life and death matter that cannot be put off to a later time. It has to be carried out now-otherwise tomorrow would be too late. The task cannot be done by one segment of humanity for and on behalf of others. All of us must participate in the task of rebuilding on inclusive community," avers Rev. Imunde, in what can be considered as the priests, "tour de force". One may not necessarily accommodate all the views of Rev. Lawford Imunde but the paper has been logically argued and articulately presented.
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PeaceLink 1997