ENGLISH COFFETABLE BOOK-7

sharing theafrican dreamProfessor Bingu wa mutharika

President of malawi

africa and india are bound by a common destiny. the two continents share a relationshipthat goes back to ancient times.

india has been at the forefront of theanti-colonial and anti-apartheid strugglein africa. as an emerging economy, it hasstriven to contribute to the developmentof africa, particularly in the areas ofhuman resources, information andcommunications technology, agricultureand infrastructure development.

india fully understands the challengesafrica faces, and therefore, seeks to forgea long developmental partnership withafrican countries to share experience,capacity and technology in the energysector for mutual benefit. the two sidesshare the view that internationaleconomic relations continue to becharacterised by inequities andinequalities with large sections of theworld yet to reap the benefits ofglobalisation. this has led to economiccrises and instability in severaldeveloping countries.

Science and Technology capacity building through education is critical to africa’s development. Weneed scientists, engineers, agronomists,medical researchers and economists.india has the capacity to train africa in these areas.

for decades, india has, through the indian council for cultural relations,offered scholarships to thousands ofafrican students to study in india. i amone of the students who benefited fromsuch a scholarship.

i am happy that africa and india agreedon a new Joint action Plan ofcooperation which was launched in newdelhi on march 10, 2010. a keycomponent of the action Plan is capacitybuilding under which india offersscholarships to african men and womento study in indian universities.

the action Plan aims at implementingkey decisions of the first india-africasummit held in april 2008 in new delhi.

084 sharing the african dream

capacity-building through education is critical to africa’s development. the continent needsscientists, engineers, agronomists, medicalresearchers and economists. india has the capacity to train africa in these areas

(Top) Swaziland’s Foreign Minister Lutfo Ephraim Dlamini at the inauguration of the Hole-in-the-Wall Project. A cooperative venture between NIIT, a leading Indian IT education company, and International Finance Corporation, the projectimparts training to students across Africa.

(Right) Students at the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT in Accra.

(Left) A call centre set up by Airtel, a leading Indian telecom company, in Dar es Salaam.

(Below) Workers lay out track atSena Line, Mozambique, built by aconsortium of Rail India Technicaland Economic Services and IndianRailways Construction Company.

088 sharing the african dream

i must state that india is one of the bestcountries to attain quality education. as aproduct of the indian education system,i unequivocally attest to the high qualityof education available in india.

drawing from my experience, a numberof areas can be singled out for discussionbut i will review only a few. first, thetremendous economic turnaround thatindia has achieved in the last decade orso has been facilitated by a breakthroughin technology. the indian economy hasgrown tremendously to become one ofthe largest in the world. this economicprosperity has been driven by the indianpeople themselves using locallydeveloped technologies and equipment. the medium and small-scaleindustries in india are a strong drivingforce of this economic prosperity.

africa’s key challenges are the lack of ownership and control over science and technology and applied engineering on the one hand and the lackof capacity on the other. there is now aconsensus that in order to sustain growthand spur social and economictransformation, africa should fast-trackthe acquisition of appropriate scienceand technology as well as new capacities.this would enable its countries toconvert their abundant natural resourcesand minerals into new wealth.

On the basis of india’s experience duringthe past eight decades or so, i believethat africa stands to gain by learningfrom this experience. in particular, africa can utilise and adapt appropriatetechnologies that have been developedby india in order to add value to our products.

development partners such as india,therefore, should support meaningful andsustainable development in africathrough capacity building in science and technology. We can buildfrom existing cooperation arrangementsto move africa to a higher level in the application of science and technology.

agriculture and food security agricultural development and foodsecurity are the new frontiers in capacity building cooperation betweenafrica and india.

i believe that if africa is to achieve sustainable growth and developmentthere is need for guaranteed foodsecurity. in fact, even in the case of india,sustained growth of its economyoccurred only when the country made abreakthrough in agriculture in the formof “green revolution”.

for africa, the african food Basketconcept which was endorsed by theKampala summit in July 2010, offersnew hope for food security. We mustdevelop appropriate research to increasethe productivity of our food crops. thereis no better partner to assist us in thisresearch than india that achieved a“green revolution” by developingappropriate seeds and chemicals thatrevolutionised their agriculturalproduction systems.

statistics show that africa now uses onlyabout 10 percent of its arable land foragriculture and food production. thecontinent has, therefore, abundant landand water resources that are not beingfully utilised for agricultural production.africa can learn from our indian partners

india is one of the best countries to attain qualityeducation. as a product of the indian educationsystem myself, i can unequivocally attest to thehigh quality of education available in india

(Top) The supercomputer PARAM Net-3, given by India to Tanzania in 2009, is used for,among other things, weather forecasting, bio-informatics and materials modelling.

(Right) Malawi’s President Bingu wa Mutharika with students during a state visit to India in November 2010. The President, who describes himself as a ‘Dilliwalla’ — one who belongs to Delhi — was conferred the degree of Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) at a special convocation at Delhi University. He studied at the Shri Ram College of Commerce and the Delhi School of Economics in the 1960s.

‘mOre POWer tO educatiOn’

india can transform africa through education, says Jean-Pierre ezin, commissioner of the african unioncommission for human resource and science andtechnology. “the au looks to india to set up highereducation institutions in africa. india is doing a lot forthe future of the continent and can transform thecontinent through education,” says ezin.

“What we need in africa is higher education to faceglobal challenges. Per capita investment on educationhas to increase,” says ezin, who visited india in 2010 todiscuss details about training institutes that india plans

to set up in the continent. “if we can put education and research at the heart of theindia-africa partnership, it will be hugely beneficial for the african continent. indiacan play a key role in this transformational process,” he adds.

india will also be assisting in setting up a pan-african university, a network of fiveproposed regional institutions devoted to specific disciplines. disclosing thecontours of the proposed pan-african university, ezin says the au is looking topartner india in setting up a regional institute on life and earth sciences. “this is anarea where we plan to develop traditional knowledge medicines. india is very strongin the traditional knowledge industry,” he says.

in march 2010, india and the au, the pan-african body headquartered in ethiopiancapital addis ababa, launched an action plan that outlined a detailed strategy foraccelerating bilateral engagement for the next four years.

the plan focuses on the development-centric partnership between india and africaand includes the setting up of a slew of training institutes by india. “india is focusedon long-term, low visibility projects which are more focused on the future of thecontinent. india could be key to the future of the continent,” ezin says.

he cites the india-aided Pan-africa e-network that seeks to bring tele-education andtele-medicine to african people as a sign of india’s empowering engagement withthe continent.

“it’s a huge success. it will help in bridging the digital divide and in improving intra-african connectivity. it’s a symbol of new africa, a symbol of india-africapartnership,” says ezin, au’s pointsperson for the Pan african e-network project andvarious bilateral projects that flowed from the maiden india-africa forum summitnew delhi hosted in april 2008.

(manish chand)

training grOundcapacity-building is at the heart of india’s engagement with africa. india will set up 19 training institutes in various african countries. the institutes, envisaged in the delhi declaration that followed the first india-africa forum summit in 2008, were unveiled in the joint action plan india and the african union (au) launched in march 2010

Jean-Pierre Ezin

name Of the cOuntry institute imPlementing agency

east africauganda india africa institute of indian institute of foreign trade

foreign trade

ethiopia Vocational training centre national small industries corporation

rwanda Vocational training centre national small industries corporation

Kenya human settlement institute ministry of housing & urban Poverty alleviation/Building materials & technology Promotion council

West africaghana india-africa institute of educational consultants india ltd.

information technology

Burkina faso Vocational training centre national small industries corporation

gambia Vocational training centre national small industries corporation

togo human settlement institute ministry of housing & urban Poverty alleviation/Building materials & technology Promotion council

nOrth africaegypt Vocational training centre national small industries corporation

libya Vocational training centre national small industries corporation

mauritania human settlement institute ministry of housing & urban Poverty alleviation/Building materials & technology Promotion council

sOuthern africa

Botswana india africa diamond institute indian diamond institute, suratmozambique Vocational training centre national small industries corporation Zimbabwe Vocational training centre national small industries corporation Zambia human settlement institute ministry of housing & urban Poverty

alleviation/Building materials & technology Promotion council

central africa

Burundi india-africa institute of national university of education Planning education, Planning and and administration administration

Burundi Vocational training centre national small industries corporation

gabon Vocational training centre national small industries corporation

democratic human settlement institute ministry of housing & urban Poverty republic of congo alleviation/Building materials & technology

Promotion council

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how to develop simple technologies foruse by small farmers in irrigation,thereby reducing heavy dependence onrain-fed agriculture.

in malawi, we are developing the“greenbelt Project” that would bring upto a million hectares under irrigation.We will utilise abundant water resources which the almighty hasblessed us with to increase productivity.

i am glad to say that the malawigovernment has reached an agreementwith the government of india under whichthe latter will finance the acquisition ofvarious equipment and technologiesneeded to achieve food security in ourcountry. experts will be sent to learn fromindian partners about extensive low-costirrigation schemes, especially for the poorand low-income groups.

New Opportunitiescooperation between africa and india ishistorical and focuses on empowermentof people and institution buildingthrough human resource development.

the african continent is now searching

for new opportunities to partner withindia to build the right capacity for a newprosperous, hunger-free, disease-free andpoverty-free africa. this is achievablethrough the transfer of human skills andtechnology from india to africa.

i always quote the old adage that “to know what to do and how to do it is agood thing”. therefore, for anydevelopment to take place, policy makersand those who carry out such policiesmust know what they are doing. this isbecause economic and industrialdevelopments do not come about bychance but through deliberate policiesand programmes towards specific objectives and priorities.

in my book the african dream: fromPoverty to Prosperity, i have assertedthat african leaders have now fullyrecognised their role as drivers ofchange. the african people are movingfrom afro-pessimism to afro-optimism.they are ushering in an africa of newbeginnings. this is the african dream.africa should be in the hands of africans just as india is in the hands of indians.

(Top) Dock workers at a crane rig in Luanda, Angola.

cooperation between africa and india is historicaland focuses on empowerment of people and oninstitution-building through human resourcedevelopment. the african continent is nowsearching for new opportunities to partner withindia to build the right capacity for a newprosperous, hunger-free, disease-free and poverty-free africa

(Top) Diamonds are forever: India provides technical assistanceto several African countries in diamond polishing and plans toset up a training institute in Botswana.

(Right) Teachers from Nakuru Primary School in Kenya with a senior official of Essar Telecommunication as they receive adonation from the firm for the school.

(Top) African students at a lecture at a solar energy equipmentmanufacturing unit in Jaipur, India.

african leaders now fully recognise their role as drivers of change. the african people aremoving from afro-pessimism to afro-optimism.they are ushering in an africa of newbeginnings. this is the african dream. africa’sdestiny should be in the hands of africans just as india’s is in the hands of indians

tanzania, east africa’s vibrant economy, is looking to india fortraining and capacity-building in the it sector that has the potentialto transform the lives of ordinary people. “tanzania and africashould emulate the success of india in the it sector. it has a huge

potential in transforming the lives of ordinary people,” says John W.a.Kondoro, Principal of the dar-es-salaam institute of technology that housesthe india-tanzania centre of excellence in information and communicationtechnology.

india has a big role to play in creating new it applications to benefit theafrican people, Kondoro says in his office located on the first floor of theinstitute in dar-es-salaam, where over 200 tanzanian students have doneindia-aided computer courses that last from three to six weeks. taking it to rural areas and to farmers that will enable farmers to keep themselvesupdated with the latest information related to the pricing of their agriculturalproduce is one area that will make a huge difference in transforming the rural landscape.

“india can help us in taking it to farmers”, he stresses. Weather forecasting isanother important area where an it-savvy india can play a crucial role. that’sbecause the economy of this country continues to be heavily dependent onagriculture. india has given tanzania a $40 million line of credit for financingand upgrading its agriculture-related infrastructure.

much more could be done, says Kondoro while unveiling plans to establish 10community information centres. india has given a supercomputer to tanzania, that is now used for cutting-edge high-end research and training.

the it centre was set up by indian software engineers at a cost of a little over $2 million in august last year. it is also used by tanzanians for tele-medicine and providing long-distance medical consultancy from top indianspecialists sitting thousands of kilometres away. india has set up a similar itcentre in ghana. tanzania is home to around 40,000 persons of indian origin.

‘africa shOuldemulate india’sit success’

John W.A. Kondoro (Inset), Principal of the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology, which houses the

India-Tanzania Centre of Excellence in Information andCommunication Technology (Right).