The New Colonialists

Bill Moyers of Wide Angle interviewed George Ayittey for his reaction to 'Border Jumpers' A documentary that asks the question? "...How does prosperous Botswana secure its borders and accommodate the influx of tens of thousands fleeing hunger, unemployment, and political repression in neighboring Zimbabwe..." On Zimbabwe his response was "... it is a repeat of the same African script where we moved out the white colonialists. And then we have black new colonialists. And country after country, they run their countries down an economic slump. Ghana, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia. All these countries are following the same script. And that is what is very disappointing about Zimbabwe..." Pointing to the success of Botswana he says "...The reason why Botswana has done very well is because it's the only black African country which went back to its roots and built upon its own indigenous institutions...Back to its roots in the sense that if you go to an African village and there's a chief and there is, let's say, a political crisis for example, the chief will call a village meeting. Put the issue before the people. It's called a kgotla. Now put the issue before the people. The people will debate until they come to a consensus. In Botswana, cabinet ministers are required to attend weekly kgotla meetings..."