Prime Cabinet Secretary Dr. MusaliaMudavadi has said Kenya and Africa now have the opportunity to build dignityamong its young people with the reality of the diminishing availability of donor funding.
Mudavadi said that it was time for thecontinent to use its merger resources more efficiently and end corruption sothat it could improve the lives of its people and earn their respect.
Speaking during the opening of the inaugural AfricaXchangeConvening at a Nairobi hotel, Mudavadi said while being a Treasury Minister in the 1990 he noted that globe-trotting with a begging bowl was not dignifying.
“We need to look at this exercise of the diminishing donor funding as amoment for us to give dignity to these young men and women in our respectivenations. They need respect. They need dignity,” said Mudavadi.
Mudavadi said that it was time for the continent to rededicate itself to the spirit of Harambee, not just the raising of funds but the pulling together of people for better tidings.
“We have lost what was the actual principle slogan Harambee that means pulling together, used by the Indian immigrants during the construction of the KenyaUganda railway at the time of the last century, we should go back to it,” said Mudavadi.
Mudavadi said what the administrationin the US was putting in place would become very difficult to undo once they were done, and that it would take a very long cycle, perhaps it will take a coupleof decades for some of those policy positions to reverse.
In the context of this environment that is changing, the PCS said whether it is the health, education sector, Africa needs to look at it differently.
“I also think we need to talk to ourselves in our societies to realize that we all have to look internally,think, better work, better use our media resources more efficiently,” said Mudavadi.
Mudavadi said that the world is experiencing significant shifts, presenting challenges and opportunities that compel the continent to redefine how to empower communities across Africa.
For far too long, PCS said Africa relied on donor-driven community support models that, though well-intentioned,reinforced dependency rather than promoting self-sufficiency.
“Africa has long been a recipient of philanthropic aid but the time has come for us to recognize that aid only provides temporary relief that is not sufficient to transform people’slives,” said Mudavadi.
He said the cutback on aid bythe United States and the planned reduction in aid budgets by the United Kingdom and several European countries underscore the urgency of finding betterways to operate.
PCS said that while international support remains valuable, Africa must now leverage its ingenuity and partnerships to bridge the gap between its needs and available resources.
“Philanthropy must focus onlong-term strategies including building schools, financing innovation,supporting entrepreneurs, and creating an ecosystem for Africa to thrive fromwithin.
It should collaborate with development institutions to scale up fundingto enable Africans to create, innovate, and lead in this new digital age,” said Mudavadi.
PCS said that Kenya and Africa must invest more in its youth, who constitute over 70 percent of Africa’s population because they were the architects,disrupters, and builders of a more prosperous Africa.
Collaboration betweengovernments and stakeholders he noted presented a great opportunity for enhancing the dreams of Africa’s youthful population by deepening their accessto capital, mentorship, and markets.
“Philanthropy can fill the void left by dwindling foreign aid and build ladders of opportunity for our youth totransition from job seeking to creating jobs.
It must focus on enabling long-term economic resilience through funding for youth mentorship programs,tech incubators, and skills training aligned with future jobs,” he said.
Philanthropic work in Africa, Mudavadisaid, must look at issues including the high cost of administration, and shouldstreamline operations to increase funds flow to community activities at thegrassroots and invest in local enterprises, which will create wealth and reduceaid dependency.
“Transparency, accountability,and community involvement must become the cornerstones of modern philanthropy.
Governments, private sector partners, and funders must work together to cutwaste and ensure that every dollar delivers maximum impact to the targetbeneficiaries,” said Mudavadi.
