Time to Focus on Invisible Wealth

James Shikwati writes about Intellectual Property Rights "...The West have always sought systematic knowledge that can be replicated and refer to that knowledge as 'science'. It is for this reason that they have moved from focusing on natural resources such as 'land' to resources such as transistors, radios, fiber optic cables from sand. Most third world countries on the other hand have focused only on the 'visible wealth' and 'tribal organization'. This structure instead of fostering wealth, promotes war over resources.The list of inventions and innovations rarely indicates participation from Africa, falsely creating an impression that Africans are not creative and innovative. On the contrary however, long before the colonialist came to Africa, the African people had started ventures in medicine, iron smelting, arts, music, house building, and bead making and curving. The power of innovation was also exhibited in the way they preserved fire for later use, stored foodstuffs and the very fact that they could light a fire by rubbing two sticks together.
However the lack of systematic recording and beyond a collective level of property right recognition(PDF), robbed many innovators in Africa the ability to have their ideas improved upon and made economically viable. More so, the lack of a property rights regime that could measure to the countries that later colonized Africa made it easier for both physical and intellectual property to be seized by the occupying powers..."