An African Alphabet

In recent years, I have rediscovered the Yaya shopping centre in Nairobi. When living in Kilimani about 13 years ago, I often used to walk from home to do some weekend shopping there, often hand-in-hand with my eldest son (who cannot have been more than 2 at the time). Since then, vast numbers of new shopping centres have sprung up: the Village Market, Adams Arcade, the Junction, and so on, but the Yaya centre remains a great place to shop.

It is blessed with what, in my opinion, is the best bookshop in East Africa: the simply-named Book Stop on the second floor. I regret that I don't know the owner's name, but it is a real pleasure to visit his shop with its great collection of fiction and Africa-related books, both new and second-hand. Yesterday, while en route back to Kampala, I came away with books by two of my favourite authors, Bamboo, by William Boyd and Waiting for the Barbarians, by JM Coetzee, plus a request that if he came across a book entitled Gordon: Misfit or Martyr he should let me know. I have no doubt that he will do so. It is how bookshops should be: owned and managed by book-lovers.

I descended to the ground floor (the Java coffee house) and immediately set about Bamboo, a miscellany of Boyd's experience, reflection and opinion. A tool that he uses in his writing is an A to Z of observations, designed to give the writer some discipline in marshaling his thoughts and the reader the opportunity to assemble his own Gestalt of the subject. There are several examples of this in Bamboo, my favourite of which amounts to a short biography of another of my favourite authors, Anton Chekhov.....

Since for some time I have been in search of a theme for this blog, I have now decided to write my own A to Z, my own African Alphabet, and this is a suitable first post: what better then this for the letter A? In the series to follow, I shall be mindful of the pointedly sarcastic advice provided by Kenyan writer, Binyavanga Wainaina, to non-Africans entitled How Not to Write About Africa (which can be found on fellow-blogger Holli's Ramblings). While I can't promise to follow his advice - Africa is the Land of Wide Empty Spaces - I can undertake that this will be a personal journey through the continent which I now think of as my home.

A is for Alphabet.

That's how the life gets in

Almost 30 years ago, over lunch to a group of fellow students, my confession that I liked Leonard Cohen was met with derision. "Oh God, he's so depressing" shrieked the post-punk throng. I was silenced, lacking the confidence to argue with the popular perception. But Cohen's insights and poetry still enthrall me, whether in the magnificent rendition of Lorca's Little Viennese waltz, or the haunting Hallelujah, or in one of my favourites, Anthem, with the following refrain:

Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack, a crack in everything

That's how the light gets in.

I have just completed an extended journey to the UK, where I attended a Private Equity conference focusing on emerging market opportunities, and to Canada for a long weekend with my two sons. Normally, this would be a bad time of year to visit, but I was lucky enough that my stay coincided with clear, warm and still autumn days. The clear weather provided me with what is probably the best view I have ever had of Essex and London on the incoming flight, looking out at a landscape shaped by humanity and its inventions. Orderly, neat, organised - even the small pockets of woodland apparently planted. The contrast between this landscape and Uganda's - indeed, most of Africa's - is considerable. Red earth, green vegetation, trees apparently scattered randomly across a landscape which bears little evidence of human activity. An occasional village, a marram road, and little more.

One of the blogs that I follow, Hollis ramblings, contained a reproduction of a piece entitled How Not To Write About Africa - in which all the cliches and stereotypes of non-Africans writing about Africa are listed with brutal accuracy. These include talking about wide and empty landscapes, huge skies, sunsets and wilderness, and so on. But the fact is that humans are yet to shape the African landscape to anything like the same extent that we see in other parts of the world. This is partly a function of a lack of large-scale mechanised agriculture, but also due to the disruptive force of nature. The absence of winters, the strong sun and heavy rain create an environment where human works breakdown far more quickly than in a colder climate - and where micro-organisms and vegetative growth flourish. The beauty of the African landscape is created by the powerlessness of man to dominate and control nature.

To paraphrase Cohen, there is indeed a crack in everything. It's where the life gets in.

A liberal's dilemma

Kampala traffic is often bad. Like most cities everywhere, the hours between 7 am and 9 am, and 5 pm to 7 pm, are to be avoided if at all possible. The worst habit, beloved by minibus ("Taxi") drivers, is to drive down the wrong side of the road past an impatient line of vehicles and cut in. This infuriatingly inconsiderate behaviour (which is by no means exclusive to taxis) often results in blocking the road for oncoming traffic. Another unwelcome trend on the increase are VIP convoys, preceded by a siren-blaring police escort, which breeze down the wrong side of the road, usually with at least two or three opportunists in tow behind, compelling drivers to take rapid evasive action. The net effect of aggressive and poorly-supervised driving is that it is by no means unusual for my 11 km journey to work to take an hour or more.

Horrible though this is, it does afford me the opportunity to listen to the car radio. I have become quite attached to a Radio 1 daily morning show entitled Talkback, in which a relevant and topical issue is the subject of a phone-in debate. Recently, however, the subject matter has been profoundly depressing. Over the past two weeks, the issues discussed have exclusively centred around public sector corruption in Uganda. For example:

How can head teachers be prevented from absconding with students' examination fees? (Many children have been prevented from sitting primary examinations for at least one year and cannot therefore enter secondary school)

What should be done about officers of the National Agricultural Advisory Development Service (NAADS) who are unable to account for funds provided to them? (Vast amounts of money have apparently disappeared from regional agricultural extension offices instead of providing much-needed resources to peasant farmers)

How can the Government recover money mis-spent during the 2007 CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting) event in Kampala? (The Auditor-General has reported that many large advance payments by Government for the completion of new hotel construction before the CHOGM conference have not yet been recovered from hotel proprietors)

Will the new National Social Security Fund (NSSF) board be able to curb corruption? (The previous NSSF chief executive resigned over a scandal involving alleged political interference in the purchase of high value land)

And, most spectacular of all, the question of what exactly the Executive Director of Uganda's National Forestry Authority was doing with 900m Ugandan Shillings (getting on for US$500,000) in cash, in his house, under his mattress, before it was reportedly "stolen" by his wife. This story, which defies belief, is covered in more depth at http://www.independent.co.ug/index.php/cover-story/cover-story/82-cover-story/2003-akankwasas-shs-900m-an-opener-into-huge-theft-of-nfa-forests and on other Ugandan media websites.

Generally, callers express a touching faith in the rule of law and the ability (and political will) of law enforcement agencies to prosecute offenders. The fact is, however, that cases are few and far between, and seldom result in successful prosecutions.

It was therefore interesting to hear the Talkback host last week advocating what he descibed as "the Chinese solution - shock therapy for offenders" - on the grounds that corruption had become so deeply entrenched in the public sector that public floggings and even executions were now absolutely necessary in order to change the prevailing culture. Rampant corruption is hideous: it distorts markets, steals from the people, stifles enterprise, creates a "something for nothing" culture, creates anger and discontent, especially among the youth.... the list goes on. Most liberals would recoil at such a suggestion : yet what is appropriate where the social consequences are so substantial and so damaging?

Almost at the same time, a bill has already been drafted for consideration by the Ugandan parliament that substantially increases the current penalties for homosexuality. According to a 2-page spread in last week's East African newspaper by a consortium of human rights NGOs, this bill, among other things, will introduce lengthy prison terms for doing anything that could be seen as condoning homosexuality - while in certain cases authorising the death penalty for practicing homosexuals.

Absurd, isn't it? Corruption proceeds unchecked while parliament debates homosexuality.

the bay leaf in Arusha

Last week in Arusha, I had the great pleasure of staying in the Bayleaf hotel. I can unreservedly recommend it to anyone visiting this neat and tidy city in Northern Tanzania. Beautifully designed and decorated, excellent food and service - a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

It was also good to see that the short rains have finally arrived, albeit sporadically. There is a strong expectation that rains in Kenya and Northern Tanzania will be heavy due to the El Nino effect, but apart from some localised flooding along the Kenyan coast, these are yet to materialise. After two years of low rainfall, Kenya in particular is facing a food production crisis which is likely to continue into 2010, regardless of rainfall, due to a substantial expected shortage in the availability of quality seed.

Vervet and the Big Blues

Sometimes, it's easy to forget, amid the turmoil of day-to-day working life, just how lovely our working environment is.

The AAC/Kilimo Trust office building is located high on Mbuya hill, Kampala, in a substantial and mature garden. It is cool, and removed from the bustle, noise and dust of the city. It is also endowed with a wonderful array of plant and animal life, including a substantial family troupe of Vervet monkeys (a bold member pictured, waiting for a chance to purloin any lunchtime left-overs). These monkeys are a mixed blessing: while they are a welcome reminder of nature's tenacity and adaptability to urban life, they also have the potential to cause significant damage. On two occasions I have found Vervets foraging in my car - on the second occasion the intruder successfully escaped with an apple -, and once there was a brief stand-off in my office over the sugar bowl before he fled, empty-handed, through the open window.

The real stars, though, are the birds. This morning, I was lucky enough to see a pair of crowned cranes over-flying the compound. Residents include two pairs of hornbills, numerous touracos, barbets, sunbirds and at least one pair of owls. And there are countless visitors, among which are my favourites, a pair of spectacular Big Blue Touracos,which occasionally crash through the treetops with their characteristically loud calls.

Battle of the Sexes

Next week, KADS will be staging its annual dinner theatre production at Open House Restaurant on Buganda Road. There's still an awful lot to do to get ready: programme, lights, some props and furniture and costumes - but somehow or other we will get there. And it will be very good!

The two main plays are by Chekhov: excellent, witty, 30-minute comedies belying his undeserved reputation for serious and formless drama. Both casts are extremely capable and highly motivated to do justice to the wonderful language and characterisation.

Where else could you go out and spend $15 for an evening's quality entertainment and a good Indian dinner?

Food for thought

I have just attended a conference in Bamako, Mali, sponsored by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (specifically, AGRA's Program for Africa's Seed Systems). The conference brought together a vast number of crop scientists, plant breeders, soil specialists, seed producers and a few financiers like me in order to exchange information, build networks and devise solutions for the improvement of agricultural performance in sub-Saharan Africa.

Yesterday evening, a lengthy round table discussion took place on the thorny and perennial problem of how best to get quality seed into the hands - and fields - of smallholder farmers. The debate threw out lots of interesting points. I noted the following:

1. Plant breeders need to focus on research into use, develop links and relationships with seed companies, and increase the availability of breeder seed.

2. Large-scale seed production by competent and experienced growers was a serious constraint in most sub-Saharan African countries.

3. Greater product diversity - crops, varieties, seed pack size, etc - was essential for two reasons: first. the excessive focus on hybrid maize cultivation was threatening soil health and was unsustainable in the medium to long term; second, many farmers demand smaller seed packs.

4. Opportunities for seed companies are enormous. Global and domestic demand for food is increasing and, despite the difficulties in managing and financing business growth, new technologies and improvements in markets will stimulate increased demand for quality seed.

5. Cross-border certification and approval of new seed varieties is important. Governments also need to strengthen regulatory frameworks governing the seed industry in order to drive up quality and reduce the risk of counterfeit seed products in the marketplace.

6. The seed industry must focus on quality and look to increase the price of seed. Only by doing so will seed companies achieve profitability and sustainability - and generate income for reinvestment in growth, research and development.

This final point lies close to my heart. It is almost invariably the case that price competition - while good for the consumer in the short run - is the quickest way to create stagnation in an industry. The economics of seed purchase for the African farmer remain favourable with prices two, three or four times above current price levels. If short term price subsidies are required in order to stimulate increased demand for quality seed =- then that is fine - as long as these subsidies are paid to seed companies and the resulting profits ploughed back into expansion and growth.

Industries grow when they are profitable and their participants compete on product quality.

_________________________________________________________

Despite an element of inconvenience, I also think it was very good to hold this conference in Bamako. Far too many conferences take place in Nairobi, Johannesburg and Cape Town, (where, admittedly, airport, conference and hospitality infrastructures are much better), but it is entirely a positive thing to use facilities available in other countries. And I for one have enjoyed my short walk from the Hotel Salam to the CICB (conference venue), through a shady plant nursery with a wonderful collection of tropical trees, shrubs and succulents, with a view of the river Niger across the main road.