 
## African in the 21st Century

### The search for the unknown: Wealth

By Jerry Skhosana

Copyright 2015 Jerry Skhosana

Smashwords Edition

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### Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Culture

How culture has direct linkages with wealth creation generations later.

Chapter 2: Education

The biggest misconception about education

Chapter 3: Wealth

Is wealth what we think it is?

Chapter 4: Role Models

How role models shape our perspective on wealth and abundance.

Chapter 5: Self Reliance

Why collective effort doesn't work

Chapter 6: Adaptation

Are we moving fast enough to attain wealth?

## Chapter: 1 Culture

### How culture has direct linkages with wealth creation generations later

" _To know the story of the 47 RONIN is to know the story of all Japan"_

Narrator's voice movie "47 RONIN" 2013

" _A Samurai does not take credit for victories of others"_

"47 RONIN" 2013

" _When a crime goes unpunished the world is unbalanced, when a wrong is un-avenged the heavens look down upon us in shame, we too must die for this circle of vengeance to close. We will leave this record of our courage, so the world will know who we were and what we did. Tonight we will regain our honor and avenge our Lord. None of us knows how long he shall live or when his time shall come, but soon all that will be left of our brief lives, is the pride our children shall feel when they speak our names"_

Leader of the "47 RONIN" addressing his men

So how can words like this have a profound impact on wealth and poverty generations later?

Before we continue we need to understand a few things about Japan. Japan is the 3rd largest economy in the world, and prior to it being surpassed by the People's Republic of China recently, it held the second position for decades. It is arguably the most technologically advanced nation on the planet, although patriotic Americans might disagree with that, but it's a fact.

The warriors that constituted the 47 RONIN lived centuries ago, way before the industrial revolution of previous centuries. The warriors that constituted the 47 RONIN were following a cultural belief system that has served the Japanese people incredibly well over many generations, and I strongly believe it will do so for many years.

Japan has brought to the world numerous systems which to this day are considered the most efficient on the planet. The 47 RONIN represent a cultural belief system worth emulating, and that which is extremely progressive in its design. Especially regarding the quote that says

"... _None of us knows how long he shall live or when his time shall come, but soon all that will be left of our brief lives, is the pride our children shall feel when they speak our names."_

I am not a religious person whatsoever and yet if the creator, as said by many religious books does exist, he would probably be proud of his creation. This little sentence has a profound impact on the people in that society.

The mere fact that those men saw their lives as but a small part in the greater scheme of things is extremely commendable. The fact that all the men present agreed with that notion, is even more impressive. But how can something seemingly as small as this have a profound impact on wealth and poverty centuries later.

The belief system that places strong emphasis on future generations is generally stronger than that which focuses on the present. The Japanese people have within their social psyche the incredible spirit of creating a better future, for future generations. Their belief system is profound because it is not something that will be taught to them in the formal education system, but is taught to them as they become aware of the world around them. The most important aspect regarding these men is regarding the views they have about their lives, they view their lives as a passing cloud with the knowledge that their pride is not with the people they are currently encountering. The 47 RONIN are true examples of how wealth should be created. The liberated society is not that which has attained liberation, but that which is continually liberating mankind.

As Charles Darwin explained it centuries ago, the species that will fail to evolve and meet the challenges in their environments, will not survive as the climate changes and the world as we know it evolves. Charles Darwin was referring to animals when he spoke about natural selection, but with time that question will soon be extended to human beings.

The Japanese people would say:

" _A samurai does not take credit for victories of others"._

Taking credit for the work of others is rather a complicated way of looking at things especially in the highly complex world that we live in.

In today's world, what would constitute victories of others? The most successful companies in Africa are generally non-African companies. The companies that are investing massive amounts of money into Africa were once infants in their home markets; the people that lived in those environments created those companies through hardship, these companies are now big multinationals we see on the daily basis. Numerous countries on the African continent have not subscribed to the principle of winning your own small victories before asking for help.

The largest companies in Africa are largely South African companies. The companies in question were largely established in the years prior to majority rule in South Africa, even those companies established after majority rule were largely establish by South Africans of European ancestry. The easiest thing to say regarding the ownership of those companies would be colonial beneficiation, but that story does not hold water as almost all African countries that gained independence prior to South Africa, have developed less infrastructure than South Africa prior to 1994.

Currently in South Africa there is an increasing notion of inclusive growth, inclusive growth in this case means redistributing the wealth held by less than 10 percent of the population. Throughout the world the top portion of that country's population generally has the greatest amount of wealth than the bottom portion. The fact that the top portion of that population has fought and won its own battles is somehow discarded in the debate.

Independence should have brought more than what it brought to Africans all over the world. Freedom has brought more consumption than liberation. Liberty is something which has proved to be foreign to Africans all over the world, the failure to create our own multi-nationals, create our own wealth creation mechanisms has forced us to self-pity ourselves for decades on end. Self-pity is soon followed by envy and once those things are connected you create the kind of Africa we have today.

" _It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines consciousness"_

Karl Marx

This quote by Karl Marx is the essence of why Africans in general have not attained wealth.

But can you groom someone into a more efficient cultural system?

We as Africans are extremely socialistic in our ways; there is nothing wrong with it, but it is a proven fact that wealth has no correlation with socialist environments.

As Africans we are extremely communal. And our obligation to the society often overshadows individual brilliance as it is in the West.

A boy growing up in a rural village in Africa, through hard work and determination might acquire significant wealth at an early age. But before he could get acceptance from the society within which he belongs to, there are several things he would need to do in order to feel appreciated and valued. He would need to fulfill that socialistic nature of the African society, it might or might not be forced upon him, but he would need to fulfill that socialistic nature of Africans.

But what are those tendencies or those socialistic behaviors.

The biggest wealth erosion mechanism is charity. The notion that once a person has attained massive wealth should give away some of that money is probably the biggest wealth destroyer of all time.

Charity is extremely problematic especially if the people receiving that charity are not capable of using that money for self-improvement. I am not talking about education I am referring to self-improvement. Education in this case refers to issues that are focused on attaining skills that a person previous never had. You cannot teach a lion how to swimming as it never possessed those skills in the first place. Self-improvement refers to a state whereby the growth you get is directly related to your subconscious mind and it is along the lines of your predetermined predisposition. Self-improvement will not achieve its intended results if it does not resonate with you subconsciously. This principle on resonance will be discussed further on the book and how it can sometimes work against you.

As an African living in Africa, I often see a lot of donations by first world countries into Africa and by using their standards, these donations are classified as relief programs, but are relief programs serving their intended intention? Well like the dog running after a car, the relief does not do any good in most cases. Relief programs are destroying individual initiative in Africa, and because most Africans are socialistic in nature they will always be grateful to receive something they never worked for.

Currently Africa has multiple relief programs ran by institutions which were never based and planned by Africans operating in Africa, helping Africans. Although an argument would be, Africans have never created anything that worked for more than two generation. But naturally the countries that receive the highest relief budgets rarely ever become self-sufficient. And yet the relief programs still keep pouring into those countries year in, year out.

Some of these relief programs are targeted at educating the people of those poor countries, which again leads to an elite few, people without the necessary social consciousness to plough back into their environments. Numerous educated Africans generally migrate from their countries immediately after attaining a qualification; the education relief thus will generally benefit that individual and not the country.

So what is self-improvement in Africa? Well that is a question I would also like to get answered on.

" _There is no possibility in any man that is not in every man; but if they proceed naturally, no two men will grow into the same thing, or be alike. Every man comes into the world with a predisposition to grow along certain lines, and growth is easier for him along those lines than in any other way. This is a wise provision, for it gives endless variety"_

Wallace D. Wattles

We all came on earth with a certain predisposition, that fact has been proven for multiple generations. A family might have twin children within the family unit but as they grow older and with similar opportunities will end up in different places in life. The question one may ask is; why has that principle never been acknowledged regarding different racial groupings?

Why tried and tested principles in the West are concluded to also work in African countries? These African countries don't share similar cultural backgrounds as those found in Western countries.

Culture vs Wealth

What would create circumstances in which Africans would fail to create wealth?

Lobola

Let's take the issue of paying the bride's family remittances, prior to official African marriage, the husband would pay remittances to the bride's family. I find it difficult to believe that one part of the family has to receive payment before marriage. Some people might not see a problem with it, but that situation is riddled with problems.

As a matter of fact in South Africa as the most industrialized economy on the African continent, as much as 90 percent of black Africans practice that culture religiously. But that practice has several ramifications, one being the erosion of wealth. The issue of paying for your bride is extremely problematic as the payment could be as high as double the per capita income of South African households.

The payment of remittances to the bride's family would be a taboo in most cultures of the world, and yet in Africa by not adhering to that practice a person may be considered an outcast. The payment of Lobola is but an expenditure which has no direct linkages with wealth creation. How can wealth be created in a cultural environment were wealth principles are shunned off. The money used to pay for the right to marry, surely can be used to do something better and more productive.

Funeral Plan

In South Africa there is no investment vehicles that has more people subscribing to it than a funeral plan. Growing up in rural South Africa, I realized that when you didn't have a funeral plan, it meant that your loved ones were not going to get a dignified funeral and that is very important to Africans. The bigger the better.

But what is a dignified funeral?

A dignified funeral means extravagance, spending a lot of money on coffins, meals for all attendees, transport for people to and from the gravesite and many other accessories. A dignified funeral means pulling all the stops to impress the entire community. Funerals are a wealth erosion mechanism for most Africans.

It goes back to the view we have on wealth, Africans view wealth in relation to their immediate environments and immediate interactions. Our view of the world is based entirely from a social perspective that has been with us for eons.

" _Money is new to black people; we are the most money wasting people on the planet"_

Chris Rock

But why would you spend that much money for an event that lasts only a single? The respect for our ancestors and maintaining our cultures going at absolute cost has resulted in us failing to attain wealth in significant numbers. But in qualification of that statement, a lot of cultures spend a lot of money for events lasting a single day, nonetheless that should not be a norm among poor people.

Although there are many other practices which are not conducive to wealth creation these two far outweigh most of them, as these are practiced across the board.

This quote by the Japanese is very important in relation to growth in the 21st century.

" _None of us know how long he shall live or when his time shall come, but soon all that will be left of our brief lives, is the pride our children shall feel when they speak our names"_

This quote speaks of an ability to plan for future generations. The Japanese people will subsequently create wealth no matter the situation is, purely based on the premise that is rooted within their culture.

The majority of us Africans view ourselves through the eyes of other racial groupings. Unfortunately that is the case all over the world where Africans reside. But why is that the case. Africans have generally failed to sustain wealth for more than two generations.

In South Africa today the biggest question is regarding social equality, but that can never be achieved. People who are generally smarter than the rest will generally require a place where they are separated from the rest.

Leadership

Countries are not made rich or poor by their leaders, the only thing a leader can do is to set a norm for future generations.

An eagle's egg was placed in the nest of a prairie chicken. The egg hatched and the little eagle grew up thinking it was a prairie chicken. The eagle did what the prairie chickens did. It scratched in the dirt for seeds. It clucked and cackled. It never flew more than a few feet because that is what the prairie chickens did. One day he saw an eagle flying gracefully and majestically in the open sky. He asked the prairie chickens: "What is that beautiful bird?" The chickens replied, "That is an eagle. He is an outstanding bird, but you cannot fly like him because you are just a prairie chicken. "So the eagle never gave it a second thought, believing that to be the truth. He lived the life of and died a prairie chicken"

Shiv Khera: You Can Win

Leadership is reflective of one's personal experiences.

Most African leaders were born and grew up in Africa, and therefore they view the world as they found it. Most countries in African were colonies of Europe and some are still colonies, based on their fundamentals.

People all over the world have often said, these African leaders should take responsibility for their countries development, and yet they base their understanding on principles developed ages ago by certain racial groupings. The current structures of governance in most Western Nations are currently replicated in most African countries with varying degrees of failure. Leadership is but a reflection of the culture of the people in that particular place. Most cultural practices in Africa don't necessarily support the notion of different leadership personnel in less than a generation. Prior to the scrabble for Africa, Africans were yet to develop a system that is close to the equivalence of democracy as seen in the West.

In qualification of my statement, many Western civilizations still subscribe to monarchs, but the difference between us as Africa, and the West, is that most of the Western nations have detached themselves with their monarch rulers. But in Africa there is a strong sense of attachment to those monarchs.

Independence

Since independence most African nations have gone about trying to erase the links they have with their former colonial rulers, and in an attempt to erase all those linkages, most African countries have went about it in different ways. Some countries have gone about trying to detach themselves from their former colonial rulers to an extent that, it has been detrimental to the people of that particular country. Although some countries have strengthen their countries ties with their former colonizers to the detriment of their people as well.

In the 21st century there is no African country that sought detachment from colonial ties like Zimbabwe did. In the case of Zimbabwe it was to the detriment of its people. Prior to the start of the 21st century most of the farm land in Zimbabwe was owned by the descendants of their former colonizers the British. Zimbabwe is known as a country with spectacularly fertile land, therefore when the British arrived in Africa they could not help but establish huge farms and subsequently displaced many indigenous people. Those farms were somehow envied by the indigenous people of Zimbabwe.

The President of Zimbabwe Robert G. Mugabe has been quoted in an interview with a South African television production called (People of the South).

The interviewer asked: "Where you politically conscious?"

Pres. Mugabe answered: "At that time yes, yes just an awareness that the white man came and robbed us of that which was ours, our land and that is why we were in areas called native reserves and there they were (whites) the large tracks of lands on the other side of the river, big farms belonging to white people... We knew that these were once upon a time our grandparent's lands."

Leadership in his case had everything to do with his cultural background than proper reasoning. So what was proper reasoning in this case? Well it's a matter of mathematics.

Zimbabwe had at that time well over 11 million inhabitants and the white Zimbabwean population was less than 300 000 at their peak. The white population of Zimbabwe will generally have lower representation in the economy as the economy grows larger and larger, and although that was the case they took the decision to take that which belonged to less than 300 000 to give to over 11 million people. The argument being promulgated is the fact that the land ownership created inequities in the country and indigenous people lived in high density areas. But high density areas tend to be lucrative for businesses and government service provisioning as you will need fewer resources to achieve more.

The principle of taking from the few and giving to the majority is a principle that is largely visible in African societies.

I myself grew up in rural South Africa and I know the difference between subsistence farming and commercial farming, I know it for a fact that I could run a subsistence farming operation, but not commercial farming. Wealth creation, innovation and productivity are only realizable as economies of scale increase, Zimbabwe although might have distributed the land to the majority of its people but they have eroded their wealth. The Zimbabwean government went about creating subsistence farmers rather than commercial farmers. Although output may rise to the levels and even exceed the farming output of the former commercial farmers, those subsistence farmers would remain as price takers and never price setters. Although it was able to detach its self from colonial Britain, they did that at the expense of its citizens, which have subsequently migrated to South Africa for better opportunities.

By detaching ourselves from the West will not help our cause.

Leadership can never be a cause of underdevelopment as all of our leaders come from the same social and cultural backgrounds as their entire constituencies. By blaming our leaders for the underdevelopment of the African continent will not help anyone, it will just ensure the edition of another topic to the many books to be written on that topic.

## Chapter 2: Education

### The biggest misconception about education

" _Even in my life there is some racism, 'people go really', yeah yeah yes in my life, I will give you an example of how race affects my life ok. I live in a place called Alpine, New Jersey my house costs millions of dollars......... In my neighborhood there are four black people, hundreds of houses four black people, who are these black people, well there is me (Chris Rock), Mary J Blidge, Jay Z and Eddie Murghy only black people in the whole neighborhood........ Do you know what a white man that leaves next to me does for a living? He is a f*****ing Dentist. He is not the best dentist in the world, he didn't go to the dental hall of fame.........See a black man has to fly to get to what a white man can just walk to.........Do you know what a black Dentist would have to do, to move into my neighborhood, he would have to invent teeth....."_

Chris Rock "Kill the Messenger" 2008 HBO Special

Although Chris Rock might have said this in a comedy show but how accurate is this quote all around the world. Although he might have thought and felt that the situation around him might have been related to racism, but it's not.

So what are the dynamics related to this, the answer is wealth. For wealth to be created there has to be wealth in the system already.

For an abattoir to exist there has to be people who eat meat. Your butchery business will never be successful in an area with only vegetarians as the region's population.

How big is African-American wealth in relation to the wealth held by white Americans? Now I am not saying an African-American dentist should not tap into the entire nation's wealth to his/her benefit but the inherent wealth matters. Education is a means not an end, increasing the primary environment creates wealth for the people around you.

Throughout the world, wealth has been attained and sustained as the proportion of wealthy individuals in that country increases. Building a base for wealth creation is more important than creating wealthy individuals, a base for wealth creations involves the creation of structures that require multiple people to fill them before the system is complete. Opening a car dealership in a poor area will not increase the wealth of that place, but opening a car assembling plant would create wealth.

Education itself would not create wealth; wealth should already be in the system.

All over the world you find people with excellent university degrees and yet they hold menial positions in society.

Consider a meeting of the American Women's Association in Nairobi, where I (Orville Boyd Jenkins) appeared to give a presentation of this topic for that group. I happened to have attended the AWA meeting the previous month with my wife, Edith.

On that occasion, the speaker was a professor from the University of Nairobi, the national university of Kenya. He was a Kenyan (Kikuyu) PhD in medicine doing research on traditional healing methods in Kenya. He was to give a slide presentation and a lecture presentation.

The professor arrived about 30 minutes late. The crowd waited, with the program chairperson about to have a stroke. The professor was accompanied by a traditional healer and two student assistants who were to set up his slide projector.

Well, it took about 15 minutes to locate electrical outlets that would work, and then test the projector on the wall, as there was no screen. The professor finally got started, and read a treatise on traditional medicine. This reading went on for about 45 minutes.

Finally as he was apparently stepping down from the stage, someone suggested that he show some slides. He agreed to this, and then proceeded. Several were upside down or sideways, but we finally got through the slides.

He then sat down, never having introduced the Kikuyu healer (herbalist) that he brought with him! Those who were interested remained afterwards to talk with the herbalist and the professor. By then it was after 12:00 noon, while the whole presentation was to have begun at 10:30 and ended at 11:30.

Expectations

Perhaps even for a highly educated medical doctor, distinguished in his field, there was no felt need to plan in detail. Perhaps he was still operating from a different set of expectations, within the traditional African patterns. Perhaps he subconsciously "knew" that one cannot anticipate what might be needed or what might happen anyway!

Finally, in qualification, the possibility must also be considered that the problem in this case is simply a personal characteristic. There are individuals in every society that fail to meet that society's expectations for politeness, planning, promptness, consideration, etc.

Orville Boyd Jenkins: Dealing With Differences 2007

Education cannot possibly reform a person. The best you will get with education is an improvement.

Culture unfortunately surpasses even the best education in the world. When I was working at corporate headquarters for an American multinational in its Africa division I saw this first hand.

By listening to conversations by people from other racial groups there is a sense that, although people might be holding similar qualifications the conversations are generally different, some racial groupings have conversations among themselves that are not wealth creation related in large numbers.

Unstructured conversations tell you a lot about a society, unstructured meaning in relaxed spaces. The people working at corporate headquarters are generally more qualified than the average man on the street. People in finance were interacting with people in supply chain, marketing with legal etc.

But as you are well aware people sit and talk with people they have something in common with, so black people will talk to black people white with other with people, and so on. By the way there is nothing sinister there.

But the conversations between blacks and between white were grossly different. The conversations between black people were more to do with sports, relationships, the well-being of family etc. But with whites it was different they spoke most about the dynamics regarding their job related responsibilities etc. In qualification of that statement, there are situations were black people would speak about things which are sophisticated in nature, but those people are few and far in between.

Culture as a system can fundamentally propel you forward or it can hold you back. But in qualification there are tons and tons of black people all over the world who have changed their thinking regarding wealth creation. But unfortunately the numbers are ridiculously low to have any significant impact on the wealth creation of Africans. Culture again surpasses education.

This notion was expressed by one of my ex-colleagues at the very same company; she is an Indian-South African she said "If you guys (black people) could stop taking about soccer and girls all the time, maybe you could get somewhere". I will never forget that as long as I live, because it's true.

There was a man living in Pennsylvania, not unlike some Pennsylvanians you have seen, who owed a farm, and he did with that farm just what I (Russell H. Conwell) should do with a farm if I owned one in Pennsylvania – he sold it. But before he sold it he decided to secure employment collecting coal-oil for his cousin, who was in business in Canada, where they first discovered oil on this continent (North America). They dipped it from the running streams at that early time. So this Pennsylvania farmer wrote to his cousin asking for employment. You see, friends, this farmer was not altogether a foolish man. No, he was not. He did not leave his farm until he had something else to do. Of all the simpletons the stars shine on I don't know of a worse one than the man who leaves one job before he has gotten another. That has special reference to my profession, and has no reference whatever to a man seeking a divorce. When he wrote to his cousin for employment, his cousin replied, "I cannot engage you because you know nothing about the oil business."

Well, then the old farmer said, "I will know," and with the most commendable zeal he set himself at the study of the whole subject (of the Oil business). He began away back at the second day of God's creation when this world was covered thick and deep with rich vegetation which since has turned to the primitive beds of coal. He studied the subject until he found that the draining really of those rich beds of coal furnished the coal-oil that was worth pumping, and then he found how it came up with the living springs. He studied until he knew what it looked like, smelled like, tasted like, and how to refine it. Now said he in his letter to his cousin, "I understand the oil business." His cousin answered, "All right, come on."

So he sold his farm, according to the county record, for $833. He had scarcely gone from that place before the man who purchased the spot went out to arrange for the watering of the cattle. He found the previous owner had gone out years before and put a plank across the brook back of the barn, edgewise into the surface of the water just a few inches. The purpose of that plank at that sharp angle across the brook was to throw over to the other bank a dreadful-looking scum through which the cattle would not put their noses. But with that plank there to throw it all over to one side, the cattle would drink below and thus that man who had gone to Canada had been himself damming back for twenty-three years a flood of coal-oil which the state geologist of Pennsylvania declared to us ten years later was even then worth hundreds of millions to our state, and four years ago our geologist declared the discovery to be worth to our state, billions of dollars. The man who owned that territory on which the city of Titusville now stands and those Pleasantville valleys, had studied the subject from the second day of God's creation clear down to the present time. He studied it until he knew all about it, and yet he said to have sold the whole of it for $833, and again I say, "No sense."

Russell H. Conwell: Acres of Diamonds 1921

The question is why are you searching for oil in distant lands while there is oil were you were born. Well to qualify things, there is absolutely nothing wrong with seeking a better life elsewhere. The question you then need to ask yourself is regarding once that wealth you have been searching for is attained, what then, is it beautiful cars, mansions, golf course visits three days a week.

I guess in every society we have people who prefer to showoff rather than wealth building, but what about the rest of us. The question might be related to risk taking which is something my culture has never promoted.

So is education what we think it is? I don't think we do.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress in the United States, released the Nations Report card with findings that said on average Black 17 years old score at the same level as their 13 years old white counterparts, in reading and math and white 13 years old score higher than their 17 years old black counterparts in science. That issue is not limited to the United States as it is the case with wealth creation.

Africans generally view education as a means to get better employment and never as a means to create or innovate. Education in Africa and for Africans has failed to create new industries and many other things that has defined the West and to an extent Asia-Pacific.

In Africa the country with the highest literacy rate is Zimbabwe. So technically Zimbabweans should also have the best decision making capabilities in Africa, but that is not the case. Let us visit few facts regarding Zimbabwe:

1. One of the longest serving President in Africa; currently on 35 years and still going.

2. The highest unemployment rate in the world with some statisticians putting it at over 80 percent.

Conventional schools of thoughts have generally promoted the linkage between better education and prosperity. Surely Zimbabwe should be the most advanced of African countries on the continent and yet education hasn't translated into wealth and prosperity. The answer to prosperity and wealth lies in culture.

The failure of Africans to create wealth has made education as invalid proposition in Africa and the diaspora. Education in Africa is failing to live up to expectations in every possible field. The education system of Africa is but a factory of academics, people who recite what was done decades ago and use it as absolute truth. Wealth in Africa is just a dream that would not be realized anytime soon.

Educated

Whom, then, do I call educated

First, those who manage well circumstances which they encounter day by day; and those who can judge situations appropriately as they arise and rarely miss the suitable course of action.

Next, those who are honorable in their dealings with all men, bearing easily what is unpleasant or offensive to others, and being as reasonable with their associates as is humanly possible.

Furthermore, those who hold their pleasures always under control and are not unduly overcome by their misfortunes, bearing up under them bravely and in a manner worthy of our common nature.

Most important of all, those who are not spoiled by their successes, who do not desert their true selves, but hold their ground steadfastly as wise and sober-minded men, rejoicing no more in the good things that have come to them through chance than in those which through their own nature and intelligence are theirs since birth.

Those who have character which is in accord, not with one of these things, but with all of them these are educated people possessed of all the virtues.

\--Socrates (47 ~ 399 B.C.)

"Those who manage well circumstances which they encounter day by day."

The high graduate unemployment rate is a case in point, so is it fair to call these people educated or are they just skilled individuals.

A skilled lawyer is useless in a world without crime and non-compliance. But an educated lawyer will be useful in those conditions. Education unfortunately has been misinterpreted especially in Africa. South Africa has the biggest spent on education in Africa in dollar terms, and yet it continues to produce people who are job seekers and not job creators and innovators. Education in Africa with special reference to South Africa is a way to earn a living, thus shunning away the responsibility of risk taking and innovation.

In qualification of my statement, education throughout the world is seen as a door to which to find solid employment and join the middle class. Education for employment is necessary in first world countries, as the need to keep factories moving as people retire and declining populations. In Africa, populations are growing and yet that is not compensated by the educated population, starting business, increasing productivity levels, risk taking therefore building wealth for future generations. The so called educated people of Africa are sitting in high positions in multinational companies and failing the future generations.

The educated people of Africa are nothing but salary dependent people. The educated people of Africa are extremely different to the educated people of Europe at similar junctures of development. The educated Africans are generally delusional in their thinking and actions. The percentage of African people in institutions of higher education is generally lower than 20 percent of their population, which may go slightly upwards when artisanal training is included. With over 80 percent of Africans unable to attend universities, it would make sense for those that actually went to university to come back to their communities to build wealth, and yet that is almost non-existent in Africa.

Africa's challenges are way more complex than merely leadership; with increasing populations, Africa faces unprecedented problems. The current education system increases the propensity for short-term thinking.

Short-term thinking in a form of, I will work, earn a salary and as I move up the corporate ladder I will buy a car, buy a house, save for my children's education and invest in stocks on the market and will die a peaceful and fulfilled life. That unfortunately is the short-term thinking of our educated African people.

An African man anywhere on earth with that mantra is truly delusional. That cannot be a life of an African anywhere on the face of this planet. The people who are enjoying that lifestyle are people from ancestral lineages that have created sufficient wealth for their populations, and unfortunately the descendants of Africa have no wealth whatsoever.

The founders of the New World in North America worked hard to get it to where it is today, Europe went through numerous wars and multiple empires to get to where it is today. The first ships to arrive in Australia took many years on the seas with many casualties on their way there. The Japanese people endured many natural disasters to get to where they are today. In the creation of wealth for all these nations a lot of sacrifice was endured by their ancestors.

Africans in general are ignorant of all the factors that have resulted in the wealth of other racial groups. There are various multinational companies in Africa which employ a bulk of the middle class in Africa, and yet the many Africans working for these companies retire with limited abilities to establish companies that could absorb the growing population of their respective countries.

" _It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines consciousness"_

Karl Marx

Social existence determines consciousness.

Social existence is important in this regard. Social existence is important in a sense that it shapes the way you view the world. Social existence works with averages, so in each society there is an average or a common denominator. The averages are different for all cultures, racial groupings, environment etc.

The ups and downs in wealth are a normal occurrence in first world countries or developed economies. The ups and downs in wealth are generally predictable in a sense that most families are never trapped in poverty for 3 or 4 generations straight, the law of averages will usually come to their defense. The stories of children of poor parents, and yet have succeeded in their endeavors as adults are common in first world countries. The law of averages is usually at play.

The law of averages says no matter how good you are as an individual as long as the average for your society is low, somewhere on your family lineage your distant offspring will revert back to your society's average.

The clearest illustration of this is found in the United States, a study was conducted on African American wealth with hard hitting facts that confirm the law of averages. The study found that on average only 25 percent of African-American families who were wealthy in 1984 were still wealthy in the year 2004. The law of averages is at work here, with only one generation the wealth of those families had disappeared. The law of averages in this case worked in a sense that African-Americans have relatively low wealth levels thus a lower base as an average.

The wealthy African-American families of the 80s had thought that by building their personal wealth it would be sufficient and it proved them wrong. To this day there are numerous African-American families who have built substantial wealth for themselves and are again ignorant of their base. The wealth of African-Americans is very low with the supposedly great conditions found in the United States.

The only way to sustain wealth for numerous generations would be to increase the base, by increasing the base you ensure sustainable wealth creation. Increasing the base refers to a situation where your immediate environment has enough wealth to sustain your own wealth.

" _There is no possibility in any man that is not in every man; but if they proceed naturally, no two men will grow into the same thing, or be alike. Every man comes into the world with a predisposition to grow along certain lines, and growth is easier for him along those lines than in any other way"_

Wallace D. Wattles

What any man can do the other man can also do. "There is no possibility in any man that is not in every man." If that is true then we as Africans have failed to view that statement as true. The many degrees, diplomas and certificates being offered all over the world to Africans are but a creation of a man.

John Harvard the man that conceived the now infamous Harvard University had but an idea. The entire curriculum of that institution is but a combination of his distant ancestors' tenacity and a predisposition for discovery. The fact remains though, the possibility of us as Africans regarding the creation of our own advanced philosophies is lost. The chance for us to advance our cultures is lost.

Growth is easier to attain had we chose to follow our ways than to choose lines which have proven difficult for us. "Every man comes into the world with a predisposition to grow along certain lines, and growth is easier for him along those lines than in any other way." The wealth in Africa has generally lagged all other regions of the world. Our failure to grow along our inherent dispositions has cased that phenomenon.

" _The time will come when, as H. G. Wells envisioned in his "Men like Gods," schools and teachers will no longer be necessary except to show us how to get in touch with the infinite knowledge our subconscious minds possess from infancy."_

Robert Collier

When H. G. Wells said this statement in his "Men like Gods," about the need for teachers disappearing might have encountered some resistance, and yet that statement is true now more than ever. The greatest discoveries in the world have always been by the people with but little knowledge in the subject matter. A great tragedy in our current systems of human progress is regarding the mistake that education will reform a person. A society with the view that formal education will improve their population's chances for future prospects is doomed to stay poor.

Education as derived from ancient civilizations means something completely different to what it means in today's society. Education meant to "draw out" "bring out" "develop within." etc. Education thus was extremely useful in the development of Europe as a continent and has served the descendants of those countries well in every continent they inhabited. Education was used as a tool to bring out ideas from individuals who would not have been able to, without such structures.

The system used in the development of those economies is still being replicated to this day by the descendants of those cultures. In the United States the principle which was the catalyst for building Europe and placed a European as the dominant species in the world has emerged again, centuries after his ancestors started the system.

The system is called Venture Capital and Angel Investors. These two forms of funding are not a new phenomenon; they are a re-incarnation of education in its infancy. The old system of education might have built and sustained Europe for many years but the re-incarnated system is better than that which Europe founded centuries ago. Education as a system is losing its ground as more and more people with university degrees have less initiative than people without degrees. The old system of old Europe is a hindrance to progress than an aid.

More and more people are succeeding without any formal education; fewer and fewer people are intimidated by someone with a tertiary education. The old system of education is failing countries in astonishing fashion, in every country the most prominent members of society are people with limited education, in cases where tertiary education is present more and more people are found with degrees that usually do not match their eventual occupations. These are but a few factors that clearly illustrate the death of long standing principles on education.

Venture capital and angel investors are the new form of education into the future. These systems will evolve with time to become what we now call tertiary education. As doctors, accountants, policeman, lawyers and many other professions become redundant as a result of technological advancement the need for innovation would increase.

In Africa innovation and efficiency has been ignored for the sake of employment, which has resulted in the maintenance of numerous redundant positions. In South Africa we have numerous occupations which should have been redundant 20 years ago and yet they are still in existence for the sake of maintaining better employment figures.

Petrol attendants have been redundant positions in many first world countries for many years now, and yet in South Africa you will not find a single petrol station without five or six petrol attendants. The government of South Africa in its stance to create massive employment has maintained redundant positions. If we as Africans are willing to keep redundant positions in our economies going, we shouldn't expect the world to take us seriously. In the highly complex world of high-tech manufacturing and instantaneous results we cannot possibly embarrass ourselves with the 20th century way of doing things, and yet we are.

Technology will still be reducing jobs into the future, until the system currently pioneered by Americans is replicated by Africa as quickly as possible, or I am afraid we face bigger problems. The old system of education is failing and has failed dismally in Africa as there is no wealth to talk about. Venture capitalism is still in its infancy and can catapult our sluggish economies to greater heights. Is this opportunity going to pass Africa the same way the industrial revolution of East Asia passed us? Well only time will tell as the African machine takes decades to change.

" _Benjamin Hall Blyth, at the age of six, asked his father at what hour he was born. He was told that he was born at four o'clock. Looking at the clock to see the present time, he informed his father of the number of seconds he had lived. His father made the calculation and said to Benjamin, 'You are wrong 172, 000 seconds.' The boy answered, 'Oh, papa, you have felt out two days for leap years 1820 and 1824,' which was the case"_

Robert Collier

Was Benjamin Hall Blyth a genius, and did he need education?

The answer to both those questions is yes. But the real question is: How could he possibly know how to count with such accuracy at his age? The answer to that question should be explored further. It is however rare to find people with such extraordinary capabilities and yet the answer to that question takes us a little further.

Societies are as good as how they treat their young. Benjamin probably had a father willing to answer his inquisitive questions with absolute honesty as proven scientifically. He was probably surrounded with people with enough insight about the world around them, thus providing little Benjamin with the necessary answers about how things work. Although I am making numerous assumptions, but Benjamin had to have the basis for reason before he could make those advanced calculations in his mind.

The way that people of European ancestry raise their kids is different in so many ways to how I was personally raised as an African in Africa. The way in which children are raised is a bigger determinant to success than education will ever be. In the West parents raise their kids to be inquisitive and would answer most of their questions in a respectable manner, and with that comes kids like Benjamin. Kids like Benjamin are present in all cultures of the world and yet unlike in the West these kids are suppressed elsewhere in the world.

Growing up in rural South Africa I can personally attest to the successful oppression of the inquisitive nature of African children by their parents. An illustration would be a four year old kid asks "Where do babies come from" they would get responses such as "Are you mad", "don't ask me stupid questions", "You want me to beat you up" and many other responses which are meant to shut the kid up. That response would happen over 98 percent of the time especially if the question is uncomfortable to the elder being asked. I was ten years old when I found out about how child births occur, and I am by no means an ignorant person and never was. Growing up I was told that airplanes bring babies and to this day that story is still being perpetuated to the young.

Although our parents might mean good by telling us these false stories, they form a breeding ground for ignorance and perpetual inferiority is nourished. With those stories our parents have subsequently created a gap between formal education and informal education. In this case informal education is that which you experience as you interact with your parents, relatives, friends and the outside world. The problem with these false stories as we are told in the informal educational structures is that it doesn't reconcile with facts. The weak linkages created by formal and informal education have subsequently resulted into people viewing formal education as a form of getting a better life, and never as a way to advance civilizations.

What happens when, what you have been told by your family throughout your childhood doesn't reconcile with reality? When formal education doesn't reconcile with formal education, what happens?

The answer is perpetual stagnation.

So Benjamin Hall Blyth had more things going for him than many other cultures worldwide, that means the many systems developed by his forefathers has made it possible for him to achieve more than many other cultures. It is however a wonderful phenomenon that, in today's world comparison is easy.

" _One of the saddest sights is that of young man who, without ever having asked himself if he possessed sufficient strength of nerve to endure the strain of an intellectual career, has been graduated heavily in debt, and has sacrificed what little health and constitution he had for a college course. No one told him that, even if he should obtain his degree, he would be totally unfitted to excel in intellectual pursuits, and would be doomed to perpetual mediocrity. He thought that if he could only get through college, even if he were broken in health and in purse, he could get on somehow. He is no longer content with his former lot, his ambition is poisoned by visions of impossible goals, his vitality exhausted, his energies scattered, and so the youth who might have become a useful farmer or a skilled mechanic, staggers under his load of pecuniary obligation, ill health, and unsatisfied ambition, until death relieves him of his misery."_

Orison Swett Marden

How true is this passage by Orison Swett Marden, if this passage was lambasted in the past, it certainly cannot be lambasted in today's society. There are numerous graduates all over the world unfitted to excel in intellectual pursuits. In South Africa as an example I have been shocked by the reasoning capabilities of some of our professors. The problem with education as an idea is subject to interpretation regarding its usefulness in society, people would usually say I hold so and so degree from so and so university therefore I know more than so and so.

The problem with education in today's world is that it no longer reflects the accumulation of knowledge. People with only limited schooling are now able to compete with facts with people who have studied a subject for many years. Sources one could explore in the attainment of knowledge in any field are more readily available than ever before in our history. It is unfortunate that to this day people still assume that by going to university you will generally acquire more knowledge than someone who is not from university. Times are changing though and with various people succeeding without any strong tertiary education proves that point.

## Chapter 3: Wealth

### Is wealth what we think it is?

### The Ten Cannots

" _You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift."_

" _You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong."_

" _You cannot help little men by tearing down big men."_

" _You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer."_

" _You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich."_

" _You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money."_

" _You cannot further the brotherhood of a man by inciting class hatred."_

" _You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn."_

" _You cannot build character and courage by destroying men's initiative and independence."_

" _And you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves."_

William J. H. Boetcker

The basis for wealth creation is entirely based on the Ten Cannots. All successful societies have grown and progressed by applying these principles.

Cultures that have accepted these as their fundamental economic structure will see prosperity for generations. The saddest thing is how easy it is to violate any of these principles unintentionally so.

Unintentional causes of poverty have been the main reasons behind the high poverty rates among many cultural groupings in Africa. So how can you unintentionally violate the Ten Cannots?

Ten Cannot

" _You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves"_

In South Africa the government prides itself by having the biggest social grant system on the African continent. Every child in South Africa living in poverty is entitled to a monthly social grant until the age of eighteen years.

The government of South Africa also has the biggest social housing project on the African continent.

Albeit these projects are targeted and used by the poor in South Africa, but it gives the poor a way out. But is there anything wrong with helping people, no there is nothing wrong with that, but it creates a dependency syndrome generations later.

The principle of building people free housing as a form of social reform or social justice is a temporary solution to a permanent problem. The biggest problems facing Africa as a whole, especially the indigenous African people, has nothing to do with education levels, political system; it all boils down to cultural norms.

I am not suggesting that the government abandon all its social projects, but I am suggesting that all those social projects are but a temporary solution to a permanent problem.

" _You cannot build character and courage by destroying men's initiative and independence."_

So what is independence and can it be achieved by everyone.

Independence and freedom are one and the same thing, but since the supposedly independence of Africa are Africans really free. I believe Africans were never denied freedom and they are still free to this day. Africans were servants because they wanted something which the colonizers had. Most Africans cities in Africa were built by the colonizers and have become economic megacities, few cities were built by Africans immediately after colonial rule, and they merely extended the old cities and refurbished them.

An example; how many people have pet Lions, Tigers, King Cobras etc. The answer is very few people have those things as pets. The reason people don't have those animals as pets is because they would not be safe with those animals roaming around their homes, even if those animals were to be sterilized they would not be useful to their owners.

But a counter argument would be the situation in circus shows on how a dangerous animal can be trained to comply, but if that analogy is accepted it would mean that Africans are still not independent. Lion in captivity for a long period of time will generally lose all its hunting skills in time, therefore disabling future generations as well. But then when are we learning to be independent.

" _You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer."_

What would happen in a society that has laws that promote the wage payer than they do a wage earner? Is that society going to be exploitative?

Many African countries in Africa are decisive in protecting the rights of wage earners than they do with wage payers. The reason for that is colonialization, in colonial Africa the entire black population were merely workers, that resulted into this notion that workers are more important that employers.

No one will ever check into a hotel where they feel it would be difficult to check out.

In saying that, no complex industries will ever be built in societies that sort to promote the wage earner at the expense of the wage payer. An economy with more wage payers than wage earners is what the world should eventually find itself into, provided that the most successful examples (countries) are applied with a proper understanding of the people in that system.

" _You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich."_

All over the world wealth has a certain connotation attached to it, and I personally feel that the change will not happen in the near future.

All over the world it is said that wealth has to be redistributed, but which wealth should be redistributed, because there is a very big difference between wealth and money. Money can easily be redistributed because the governments and their Reserve Bank have the printing capacity to print all the money they want to print, and yet wealth is a different story all together, wealth takes into account future generations.

By distributing wealth today we are destroying tomorrow's civilization and their willingness to contribute to the future success and their survival.

By distribution accumulative wealth of people you are subsequently creating a society that will be dependent on social services. The rich countries should continue in their pursuit of wealth creation, wealthy individuals should also continue in their pursuit of more wealth. The biggest fear of my generation is the creation of a bad precedent that says people are equal; people are never equal and have never been equal. Just like there are multiple varieties of the same species there are multiple varieties of people, and some are good at other things and some at other things.

The mistake that has been made over multiple centuries is that you can change the behavior of certain people by guiding them into certain principles.

The wealthy individuals in societies are generally the most emotionally astute; the rich countries did not get to where they are by dwelling on their shortcomings.

The richest country in the world today the United States was but an extension of the United Kingdom, and yet some of the poorest nations on the planet were but an extension of the United Kingdom, the difference between the rich and the poor has nothing to do with government policy but has everything to do with the people assuming power.

" _You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money."_

The issue of borrowed money has been the most topical issue since the inception of money, but what is borrowed money?

All money is borrowed money, as the Reserve Bank issues money on interest. But the question is which borrowing is good and which is bad in the African perspective. Is borrowed money for infrastructure good money? Is borrowed money for human capital development good money? The easiest thing to say is that borrowing money for those things would be great for development, but development has not brought about prosperity for many African countries. So what is development? Is development and infrastructure synonymous?

Borrowed money is good provided you have enough future money to offset the borrowed money. Well Africans are failing to build enough systems to offset borrowed money against future money.

So what is this future money especially in the African perspective?

The United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Japan and many others with similar systems have enough future money to cover up their immediate borrowed money.

The United States with its world dominating industries holds massive future money on the basis of the number of investments it has in multiple countries while keeping their domestic employment low, foreign direct investment is nothing but future money. Future money has nothing to do with present market conditions; it has everything to do with three or more generations later.

Future money is dangerous, because it hides itself as an economic equalizer in the short-term. Future money integrates itself with the monetary system of that particular country and yet it larks itself in the dark shadows of the hosting countries currency.

China might hold massive amounts of the United States debt instruments, but the United States holds massive amounts of Future Money. Future money goes hand in hand with intellectual property of the growing middle class worldwide.

African Middle Class

The growth of the middle class in Africa is a fallacy that should not be celebrated by the majority of people in Africa. The growth of the middle class in Africa will create the greatest challenge to wealth creation for the majority of Africans, in proportions unseen before. The biggest problem with the black middle class is their inherent need to consume. The black middle class are the biggest consumers of depreciable and non-resalable products in history.

The middle class in Africa is growing without qualities which have defined the growth of the middle class of other first world countries.

The African middle class's growth is outpacing the industrial growth, outpacing productivity levels, outpacing employment levels. The growth of the middle class is basically outperforming all the major indicators of wealth creation.

The growth of the African middle class is fuelled by the most dangerous temporary pills of my generation, these are:

1. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

2. Government spending

3. Social development

4. Productivity

The above mentioned topics seem to be excellent determinants to poverty reduction in Africa, but they are not. The biggest problem with today's society is our inability to think long term.

Africans in general have a short term view of the world, by these I am referring to both Africans in Africa and Africans in the diaspora. The world to most Africans seems to start less than 500 years ago and it will probably end 100 years from now. That means Africans are susceptible to lies that might be promulgated by any racial grouping in relation to their problems in African. The trajectory Africa is currently on doesn't inspire any confidence whatsoever.

The resource curse is also a fallacy; resources are an advantage never a disadvantage. Resources are spread the entire world in proportions, their existence in a country is an advantage not a disadvantage. Resources are needed for industries to be build; resources are needed for most economies to function. So resources can never be a curse, the curse in Africa is again in relation to the above mentioned four points.

Foreign Direct Investment

Foreign direct investment as a principle is but a chronic virus in a weak African body. Foreign direct investment is a temporary solution to a permanent African problem. The investments from multinationals into Africa are good in the short-term as massive amounts of cash are pumped into an economy and employment increases by a few decimals. In the short-term it seems that more people are employed and the availability of high end products increases, the economy seems to be growing and governments pride themselves in the policies that have attracted those investments into their countries. How gullible.

Throughout history there have been numerous lessons in this regard, "you will not own your house if its build by borrowed bricks"

Foreign direct investments may create jobs in the destination country, but what are the types of jobs created by foreign direct investment. The importance of the types of jobs is relevant as it refers to sophistication levels of those jobs. The unfortunate part regarding investment into Africa is the correlation between our jobs and the complexity of our industrial output.

Foreign direct investment promotes a culture of laziness within the destination country. People in those countries are but non value adding people, they basically execute ideas from the developed nations. An illustration is found in the auto industry throughout Africa.

A car manufacture would set up a subsidiary on the African continent with the intention of advancing its worldwide market share, upon establishing that subsidiary it would employ local people (middle class). Generally the subsidiary would have multiple positions that would require skilled people (tertiary trained), these individuals will then be the most skilled individuals in that society, and these people are but the growing middle class in Africa. These positions are generally filled by lawyers, bankers, pharmacists, marketers etc. The people in these positions will generally earn more than the country's average wages, leading to the notion that foreign direct investment is but a key to wealth creation and yet this is all but a smoke screen for something way more sinister than we can imagine.

The jobs brought about by foreign direct investment to the destination country will not bring along their equivalent complexity from their home markets.

The issue with foreign direct investment is directly linked with complexity. There are numerous subsidiaries of pharmaceutical companies in Africa and yet the entire African continent cannot manufacture its own vaccines for viruses generally found in Africa. The African continent produces thousands of pharmaceutical graduates year in, year out, and yet Africa needs the West for the development of vaccines. The graduates coming out of universities are coming out with the view of finding jobs in these multinational companies, with the view of earning a nice salary and thus joining the growing middle class.

Numerous multinationals are found everywhere on the African continent, and yet the amount spent on research and development as well as new products developed in Africa for world markets is insignificant and mostly non-existent. Research and development are the most integral aspects of future economic growth worldwide. The black middle class in Africa has done less to progress Africa for future generations than any colonial country ever did. The lack of innovation within the African continent makes Africa an easy catch for the highest bidder and China is currently capitalizing on the poor African continent.

Foreign direct investment has made Africans lazy to create their own companies that which will drive innovation and progress for many Africans. It is clear that when it comes to innovation we are still way behind the curve.

Foreign direct investment is the a new form of economic colonization, with huge government spending as well as a highly connected global environment, foreign direct investment is a means in which to collapse societies with absolute ease. Foreign direct investment has been able to hide itself as a developmental tool purely on the basis that, it provides the middle class with goods and services.

Foreign direct investment in Africa has not brought the same innovation and effectiveness seen elsewhere worldwide.

Government spending

Government spending in Africa doesn't track economic output. Government spending by many countries in Africa is generally social spending; the government spends money on things that will not generate economic output. Spending in the context of the African continent cannot be the same as those in the developed nations.

Zambia got its independence in 1964 and with massive government spending, by its then President Kenneth Kaunda, the Zambian government became the biggest driver of employment. The Zambian government at a point employed more people than the private sector and that lead to the bankruptcy of the Zambian government. The problem made by the then President of Zambia was in relation to his views on employment creation and how to sustain employment in a country.

Government employment in general is not directly linked with productivity; the majority of government jobs are not productive in nature. Government employment is directly linked with social expenditure. Zambia created a middle class coming from non-productive jobs in society, thus reducing their net tax base and guaranteeing their own downfall.

After the financial recession of 2008 Greece found itself in a similar position as Zambia. Greek government became the largest employer in the country and like it was the case with Zambia the Greek government was bankrupt. Government employment creates a middle class that cannot create jobs for the greater proportion of the unemployed population of Africa. In Africa an employee of the government is a salary earner and a social equalizer.

Government spending on infrastructure is good for foreign direct investment and the creation of the middle class, and yet it has nothing to do with wealth creation. Spending on infrastructure development will in turn increase the unemployment rate rather than decreasing it. Infrastructure development increases efficiencies in the system, and that leads to fewer people required to execute the tasks that previously required mass employment.

The issue of infrastructure development and the weak correlation with wealth creation for the majority of the population is clearly illustrated with regard to the retail sector. South Africa as Africa's most industrialized economy has one of the highest unemployment rates in Africa with youth unemployment rate in the high 30 percent rates. The retail market in South Africa is the most formalized in Africa, the formal retail sector in South Africa is over 80 percent of the market, that compares well with many first world countries. South Africa when compared to the economies of similar size in Africa namely Nigeria and Egypt, with a formal retail market of just over 20 and 15 percent respectively as of the year 2014 and yet both these countries have better employment figures and larger populations. That said South Africa has an unemployment rate higher than both countries. Angola has the second highest formal retail market on the African continent with a little over 50 percent and yet it also has endemic unemployment rate.

Government spending is only good for the economy in the short-term; it has no basis for sustainable development. Government spending will only attract foreign direct investment and will result in employment that although may seem productive, it's what I refer to as stagnant productive jobs. Government spending in relation to Africa is merely targeted at foreign direct investment with internal private investment not driven by government spending.

Social Development

Social developmental funds have come from many quarters into the Africa continent. Social development in Africa is in the form of Aid agencies, government spend, NGOs, foundations and many others. All these agencies focus their attention on providing and ensuring that people have basic necessities such as food security. These agencies establish offices in third world countries with donor money from first world countries, with the intention of helping those third world countries. Many of these agencies provide the people with food, and yet the people in those areas were already eating.

Numerous wars have broken out throughout Africa, which as the donors would argue, has made it relevant for NGOs to exist. Civil wars are endemic in Africa, and yet there was a time where every part of our planet had wars within the people of that particular environment. It is human nature to fight, look at the many sports games with fighting as a foundation, and yet the civil wars seen in Africa are seen with a different eye.

Social development has also created jobs that do not necessarily enhance the creation of wealth for Africans. There are numerous research materials regarding poverty reduction in Africa, carried out by the many developmental agencies in Africa, yet Africa still faces massive poverty rates.

I know someone who had worked in Burundi; he worked for the United Nations in Burundi earning a comfortable salary which was in the top quartile in his country. As he tells me, his job was related to the re-integration of former soldiers that fought in the civil war. The United Nations funded the entire process regarding the integration of soldiers, although it was a noble cause, as with anything funded on the back of donor money things turned sour. The United Nations as he tells me had to redirect some of the money to other pertinent issues and thus reducing the budget used for the integration of soldiers into society.

The soldiers did not take the subsequent change of stance by the United Nations with joy and happiness, as the United Nations might have thought would happen. The soldiers organized themselves to resume power in which they knew would force the United Nations to redirect the money back to them. The person telling me all this, is here in South Africa with his asylum papers. That is but one story of social development in Africa.

Social spending in Africa by governments is not as effective as in the more developed economies. Social spending is effective when the economy is strong enough to regain most of its expenditure from the productive society. Social spending in its nature doesn't empower people it's merely a form of sustenance. Sustenance in Africa does not help, in first world countries sustenance is but a good social reward for citizens who have propelled the country economically.

In South Africa as an example the government spends more on social services than any other country on the African continent, which has crippled the black population of South Africa in their journey of wealth creation. The middle class created on the back of social investment does not help Africa a single bit.

Productivity

Productivity in the West refers to the contribution per worker to that country's GDP. That definition of productivity may be relevant in the West and other fist world countries it doesn't hold water in Africa.

Productivity in Africa should not have the GDP as a factor. Numerous books have been written regarding the correlation between GDP growth and employment growth in Africa. The growth in the Gross Domestic Product of many African countries will not reflect in employment numbers for many reasons, but the most prominent is regarding productivity.

Africa suffers from stagnant productive jobs, stagnant productive jobs refers to jobs that fail to create other jobs as they become redundant. The world of increased efficiencies is a drag to the African economy.

A hypothetical example would be; a product manufactured in Nigeria for a company controlled and incorporated in the United Kingdom, those jobs are only productive in the short-term and they will decrease productivity levels of Nigeria in the long run. The company might initial be a big employer in that country in the short-term but with increasing efficiencies, the positions it initially filled will have to revert back to corporate headquarters. The company might initially have a marketing director in Nigeria but as better infrastructure increases in Nigeria, many other companies from the United Kingdom will follow suit, and would also invest in Nigeria.

With all the companies from the initial investor's home country in this case United Kingdom investing in Nigeria, it would be beneficial for the initial investor to increase efficiencies therefore cutting costs. Increasing efficiencies would require that the initial investor interacts directly with people in the United Kingdom for decisions to be made in Nigeria. With decisions in the private sector made outside the host country, will subsequently lead to employment losses in the host country. In South Africa most sectors which are highly productive have been cutting cost as a result of decisions taken outside South Africa as many companies operating in the country are merely subsidiaries.

Productivity is not a bad phenomenon, but it does have devastating consequence when the host country has people who are not creative enough to replace the positions which are increasingly becoming redundant with new positions.

The biggest mistake made by African governments is in relation to countering this phenomenon. African governments are told and feel that by increasing the population of skilled people will create an environment where employment will magically appear. It has been proven time and time again that by increasing the number of highly productive and skilled people is useless without the required number of skilled positions in the economy and so is increasing the number of highly productive position is also useless without the required number of highly skilled people. I am however of the opinion that by increasing the number of highly skilled positions without the requisite number of highly skilled people should be a preferred goal.

Productivity in relation to farming, extraction of raw materials and oil should be explicitly excluded. Agriculture although important should not form the basis for economic growth, many Africa leaders have been lead to believe that agriculture as a basis for economic growth will suit Africans and our leaders continue to promote that garbage.

The clearest indications of how agriculture has been feed to us as the basis for economic growth with our leaders falling for it, is regarding Germany.

When the second Word War started Germany was probably the most technological advanced country on the planet. The war was fought for many years and at the end of the war Germany was almost entirely destroyed, and manufacturing capacity was as low as 30 percent their peak levels. The group of nations that subsequently controlled Germany devised a plan for Germany which related to its future economy.

The planned future for Germany was for it to stop with its huge manufacturing capabilities, thus assuming the role of an agricultural economy and it would only be allowed light manufacturing.

Germany was supposed to assume the role of an agricultural state with light manufacturing as a punishment for its deeds. Africa leaders are strong advocates of the same principles pushed to Germany as punishment for their countries.

African leaders are strong advocates of the agricultural economy, this begs the question of; are we that gullible? The punishment of other societies is envied by other societies as a basis for its citizens. That unfortunately is the story of Africa.

The Richest Man in Babylon

When the good king, Sargon, returned to Babylon after defeating his enemies, the Elamites, he was confronted with a serious situation The Royal Chancellor explained it to the king thus:

"After many years of great prosperity brought to our people because your majesty built the great irrigation canals and the mighty temples of the Gods, now that these works are completed the people seem unable to support themselves, while the laborers are without employment. The merchants have few customers. The farmers are unable to sell their produce. The people have not enough gold to buy food."

"But where has all the gold gone that we spent for these great improvements?" demanded the King. "It has found its way; I fear responded the Chancellor, "into the possession of a few very rich men of our city. It filtered through the fingers of most of our people as quickly as the goat's milk goes through the strainer. Now that the stream of gold has ceased to flow, most of our people have nothing to show for their earnings."

The king was thoughtful for some time. Then he asked, "Why should so few men be able to acquire all the gold?"

"Because they know how," replied the Chancellor. "One may not condemn a man for succeeding because he knows how. Neither may one with justice take away from a man what he has fairly earned, to give to men of less ability." "But why," demanded the king, "should not all the people learn how to accumulate gold and therefore become themselves rich and prosperous?" "Quite possible, you're Excellency. But who can teach them? Certainly not the priests, they know naught of money making."

"Who knows best in our entire city how to become wealthy?" Chancellor asked the king.

"Thy question answers itself, your majesty. Who has amassed the greatest wealth in Babylon?" "Well said, my able Chancellor. It is Arkad. He is the richest man in Babylon. Bring him before me on the morrow. "Upon the following day, as the king had decreed, Arkad appeared before him, straight and sprightly despite his three score years and ten.

"Arkad," spoke the king, "is it true thou art the richest man in Babylon? ""So it is reported, your majesty, and no man disputes it" "How did you become so wealthy?" "I took advantage of opportunities available to all citizens of our good city."

"Did you have nothing to start with?" "Only a great desire for wealth. Besides this I had nothing.""Arkad," continued the King, "our city is in a very unhappy state because a few men know how to acquire wealth and therefore monopolize it, while the mass of our citizens lack the knowledge of how to keep any part of the gold they receive. "It's my desire that Babylon be the wealthiest city in the world. Therefore, it must be a city of many wealthy men. Therefore, we must teach all the people how to acquire riches. Tell me, Arkad, is mere any secret to acquiring wealth? Can it be taught?"

"It is practical, your majesty. That which one man knows can be taught to others. "The king's eyes glowed. "Arkad, you speak the words I wish to hear. Wilt thou lend thyself to this great cause? Will you teach your knowledge to a school for teachers/each of who shall teach others until there are enough trained to teach these truths to every worthy subject in my domain?"

George S. Clason

The story found in the richest man in Babylon has great insights on wealth creation as a subject matter. Wealth is a contentious issue as it usually refers to capitalism and in an increasing socialistic world; capitalism is shunned away as a form of oppression.

Wealth is but the cumulative intellectual capabilities of a society. In general it means a country with the greatest proportion of wealth in its population, has greater intellectual capabilities than the one with lower proportions. A country may have the highest education levels in the world, the highest mineral reserves in the world, the most fertile agricultural lands on the planet, the most entrepreneur society on the planet and yet it could have lower wealth levels than other countries with less.

The wealthiest people on the planet reside in countries with limited surface area, few mineral resources, low oil reserves, limited agricultural land and yet these people are the wealthiest in the world. Clearly the attainment of wealth is a complicated task.

The wealthiest nations on the planet have been able to attain massive wealth by using resources and the means available to every country on the planet, but how did the wealthy nations achieve such massive wealth and other countries have failed to achieve similar wealth.

The story of the richest man in Babylon has clues on how wealth is attained; the population of that particular country should have a desire to attain wealth. African countries have no desire to attain wealth whatsoever. The governments of Africa are more concerned with equality, social justice, restitution, employment and many others without focusing on wealth.

Wealth should be of primary concern to the nation's citizens and its government before wealth could be attained. "That which one man knows, can be taught to others" various countries are wealthy worldwide and numerous racial groups are wealthier than Africans and the African continent. But the failure of Africa to replicate their success is endemic in Africa. Which of the wealthy nations has a strong agricultural output as a basis for their wealth?

GDP as a measure of the progress of the African continent doesn't resonate with its large population. The growth in GDP has not translated in wealth to the equivalent of many regions of the world. The calculation of GDP as a means to established wealth determinants in the economy is not as accurate as it formerly was in the 20th century. Africa is still using GDP indicators to assess their economy and yet for years and years, the figures are not as intrinsic as it is in many regions of the world. GDP per capita has failed to accurately determine the wealth of citizens within the country for decades and yet it is still referred to in government policies.

Wealth as a factor in Africa will only be a dream to the majority of Africans; the factors that are said to increase our economies have failed dismally in Africa. Various scholars have written numerous books on prospects of the African economy; they based their understanding of wealth creation on the notions seen by their countries growth trajectory.

Assumed similarities

One of the biggest misconceptions in the 20th and the 21st century is the assumed similarities placed upon racial groupings. There seems to be an increasing notion that what has worked for another if replicated would produce the same results for another racial grouping. That notion has been the foundation of the advanced economies in devising plans for the future advancement of different societies. The West especially the United States and Europe have often written books on strategies which would uplift poverty stricken countries based on principles that worked for their society, most third world countries have generally thrown these reports into their storage facilities, and never to be read.

Many of these first world countries would subsequently lambast these third world countries for not following the set path to prosperity. The problem with research is its subjective nature; statistics are only as objective as a dog's objective choice on meat. Research in its nature requires the basis on which to base your findings on, therefore research from the West and many other parts of the world are based on views which have worked for their societies, but those are assumption and can never be factual. There are numerous examples to illustrate those facts and the ignorance of which has resulted in many of the ills that have held Africa and Africans.

The growth of East Asia has in its roots in the proper utilization of common traits found among the people of that part of the world. East Asia is a powerhouse in the manufacture of high tech technologies as a result of utilizing their inherent abilities. It is no surprise that almost all the major economies in East Asia have some form of high-tech manufacturing capabilities as a main driver of economic progress. Although East Asia has relatively low invention and initial innovation ratios as compared to big Western nation, the East Asian countries have a relative excellent work ethic, which then propels them forward, as inventions and innovations occurs.

Japan has served as a catalyst for many of these East Asian nations. There is no denying the shared ancestry between the Japanese people and most of these East Asian countries, and no one can deny that their growth has been on the basis of the Japanese model, high-tech manufacturing and similarly industrial patterns. Many of these countries especially South Korea could have taken a stance of following a model used by the United States, Germany or any other wealthy country at the time, and yet it chose a Japanese model. South Korea decided to follow what its own culture has shown to work and that is "follow your closest prosperous cousin and you shall also attain what he has attained."

China has also followed in the footsteps of its closest prosperous cousin in Japan. China's economic growth is similar to that which its prosperous cousins have followed, and the results are clear for all to see. India on the other hand unlike China and many other East Asian nations lacks role models. India's closest cousins are Pakistan, Bangladesh etc. India like many other African countries has no prosperous country with similar ancestral background and that has forced them to adopt the Western way of doing things to their detriment.

Another clear example is regarding South Africa. There is no doubt that the structure of the South African economy is but a reflection of the economy South Africa had prior to 1994. Prior to the democratic rule, South Africa had modeled its economy to reflect that of its closest cousins in mineral rich Australia. South Africa became a mining powerhouse and was at the edge of innovation in the mining sphere as Australia was at the time. The similarities between white South Africans and Australians are still evident to this day. The economic model the then government of South Africa had taken worked for the majority of white South Africans, as it was based and modeled on structures that reflected their closest prosperous cousins.

In democratic South Africa in the year 1994, South Africa never had countries in which to model its economy to in Africa, although there were numerous countries in Africa that were independent 30 years prior to South Africa, all those countries were undesirable examples in which to model your economy on. South Africa like many other countries that are not as prosperous has lacked examples to emulate, prosperous countries with similar ancestral backgrounds.

## Chapter 4: Role Models

### How role models shape our perspective on wealth and abundance.

Role models play an integral part in shaping how we view the world around us. The world around us is but a reflection of what we see in our closest linkages. Those linkages are especially entrenched in our childhood.

Role models can either be positive or negative in nature. Positive role models have a role of inspiration and motivation towards you; by their nature role models display to you what you can achieve given enough determination. Negative role models also have an important role to play in the upbringing of children. Negative role models provide you with principles to avoid in your way to prosperity, thus they become your role models by default.

Role models tend to determine how far a culture can progress. People are generally inclined to emulate the best people in their society; thus a specific culture may have the best practices in one area and be extremely poor at another as a direct reflection of role models.

In the 21st century it's clear that some cultures have more positive role models than other cultures. But does it matter that some cultures have more role models than others, as they say "role models are created on a regular basis." Although that notion may be true but it is less so in the highly connected world in the 21st century.

With the availability of multiple sources of material in all forms, there has never been a time were cultures can do an introspection which is directly linked to their sense of being than today. As Africans unfortunately we fall short of genuine role models, those role models that have helped in propelling the world to greater heights. Why is it important to have role models that are supposedly renowned worldwide?

Role models often define and deduce the highest heights a specific culture can attain. The issue of role models has not been properly studied, for it has not been clearly defined why some cultures are perpetually in self-pity and subsequently seem to attract to themselves circumstances that hinder progress. Yet one thing is for sure, what has transpired is a good indicator of what may happen in the future. The change may be in relation to the execution of those past events, as that will be determined by the conditions of that time.

Africa has a past and the present that doesn't inspire confidence in the future. The type of role models created are somehow not as world renowned as they oath to be. To illustrate the effect role models have on the psyche of people, I chose two great Presidents both with extraordinary ability in their leadership of men, in their respectful countries.

The West was represented by a President that served as a President of the United States of America. In Africa I chose a President in my home country of South Africa, he was the first democratically elected President of South Africa. These two men were not chosen because of their wonderful leadership styles. These leaders were chosen because of their extremely difficult routes to achieve their ultimate crowns, becoming Presidents of their countries.

United States

In a log-cabin, in the backwoods of Ohio, a poor widow is holding a boy eighteen months old, and wondering if she will be able to keep the wolf from her little ones. The boy grows, and a few years we find him chopping wood and tilling the little clearing in the forest, to help his mother. Every spare hour is spent in studying the books he has borrowed, but cannot buy. At sixteen he gladly accepts a chance to drive mules on a canal tow-path. Soon he applies for a chance to sweep floors and ring the bell of an academy, to pay his way while studying there.

His first term a Geauga Seminary cost him but seventeen dollars. When he returned the next term he had but a sixpence in his pocket, and this be put into the contribution box at church the next day. He engaged board, washing, fuel, and light of a carpenter at one dollar and six cents a week, with the privilege of working nights and Saturday all the time he could spare. He had arrived on a Saturday and planned fifty-one boards that day, for which he received one dollar and two cents. When the term closed, he had paid all expenses and had three dollars over. The following winter he taught school at twelve dollars a month and "board around." In the spring he had forty-eight dollars, and when he returned to school he boarded himself at an expense of thirty-one cents a week.

Soon we find him in Williams College, where in two years he graduated with honors. He reaches the State Senate at twenty-six and Congress at thirty-three. Twenty-seven years from the time he applied for a chance to ring the bell at Hiram College, James A. Garfield became President of the United States. The inspiration of such examples is worth more to the young man of America than all the wealth of many individuals.

Orison Swett Marden

James A. Garfield is a former President of the United States; his story has served as a motivational factor for many people all over the world. But it has special resonance with young Americans growing up in America, the story of triumph against odds.

The story of the former US President James A. Garfield is but one of many in the list of prominent men in the West. His story is of particular importance as it relates to the journey he had to take in reaching his desired goals.

The story in question has but multiple principles in which one can learn from, and yet there is but one principle I would like to outline in relation to this book. The former President had to navigate through multiple obstacles in his road to success, and yet the obstacles in his way were universal in nature. The obstacles were universal in a sense that, they are consistent in their attributes. The obstacles he had faced are applicable to today's society in all democracies in the world. Throughout the world whether in an advanced civilizations or developing nations the principles used by the former President are applicable.

James A. Garfield overcame obstacles that were brought about by his parents' lack of wealth. In reality James A. Garfield only lacked wealth in monetary terms. James A. Garfield needed only to attain wealth for him to be liberated from his supposedly dire conditions. His determination and work ethic was specific. He knew that although his family lacked wealth, but his ancestral lineage had created wealth and had sustained wealth for thousands of generations prior to him.

It's an accepted fact that in every racial grouping a newborn has with them the wisdom of that particular culture. A newborn does not only hold with them their immediate family's wisdom, but they also hold the wisdom of several generations prior to them.

It is clear that James A. Garfield in reading those books had realized his inherent potential. The potential he saw in himself was not going to be held back by his current circumstances, he knew that with persistence and determination his forefathers had achieved great things. James A. Garfield knew about his forefather's achievements in the accumulation of wealth and the subsequent invention of multiple convenience products.

In NAZI Germany in the 1930's prior to the war, German-Jews were under substantial attack from the government. When concentration camps were intensified a lot of German-Jews had to escape to distant lands. The area a lot of German-Jews found themselves at was Shanghai, China. These German-Jews were some of the most educated civilization on earth. On their arrival in Shanghai they did not have anything but the clothes and few necessities with them, they didn't have capital to start huge factories which are common in the West. Most of these German-Jews were highly educated men and women; there were doctors, judges, engineers etc. But once they got to foreign lands they had to adapt and learn the ways of the Chinese people. These German-Jews became street vendors and took up multiple trades that were supposedly working for the people of that area. It is said that the Chinese people were extremely surprised to see poor white people living among them.

The Chinese people in Shanghai were surprised to see poor white people in the 1930's.

The world was not as connected as it is right now and yet the people in China knew enough about people of European ancestry. Since the Chinese people knew the ancestral lineage of Europeans, they were treated with respect in those lands by the indigenous people; it would have been a different story if the people in those distant lands were Africans or Indians.

A culture that has diverse role models is a culture that will progress faster than the culture which doesn't have diverse role models. James A. Garfield read books which he could easily relate to, people he could call role models.

The obstacles faced by James A. Garfield were largely against his success, they were but clearly defined. He overcame obstacles, although unfamiliar to him at the time, they were familiar to his ancestors multiple generations prior to him. The libraries all over the world are filled with stories of triumph against all odds.

What about a man with few role models? What about that culture which hasn't brought about world renowned leaders? What about that culture which its own people feel ashamed of it? What about that culture which propels average people to role models? What about that culture which has been conquered? What about that culture which promotes the past rather than the future? What about that culture with a strong emphasis on pain rather than happiness? What about that culture which is in perpetual self-pity?

Role Models play a bigger role in wealth creation than people would admit.

People may grow up with similar educational opportunities, but because of role models they will never maintain the same upward trajectory. Their trajectory will be defined by the number of role models present in their communities and society as a whole. It is simple to imply that people with the same opportunities may end up more or less on similar social standing, and yet that has been proven to be untrue for many years.

Studies have been conducted in numerous non-homogenous countries, in relation to wealth creation and wealth retention of population groupings, and the results have been somehow consistent in all parts of the world. Racial groupings with the widest variety of role models would always appear to have the greatest propensity for wealth creation and retention.

The relationship of role models and wealth creation are visible in this regard. James A. Garfield had to overcome poverty to reach his desired goals.

But what would happen if on your road to success you needed to over obstacles unrelated to wealth creation? What if your role models had to overcome obstacles that are not universal in nature? What if your role models overcame obstacles which could not be replicated by future generation in relation to the attainment of wealth?

South Africa

Nelson Mandela grew up in a traditional village in the Transkei region of South Africa; he was a member of the abaThembu tribe that forms part of the Xhosa nation. He was the first member of his family to go to school. In his early years, Mandela says, he saw the white man more as a benefactor than an oppressor, and was enamored of British culture and its political system. Mandela observed: "No matter how high a black man advanced, he was still considered inferior to the lowest white man."

Back home from college for a break, Mandela found an arranged marriage waiting for him, on which he was not keen, and fled to Johannesburg. After trying to get work in the offices of a gold mine, he eventually found an articled clerkship in a liberal Jewish law firm. He was paid a pittance and often had to walk miles into the centre of Johannesburg from his township. A black lawyer was a great novelty, and when Mandela enrolled in the University of Witwatersrand for a Bachelor of Law degree in 1943 he was the only African student in the faculty. His discomfort was lessened by a circle of supportive whites and Indians, who would later prove to be important in the struggle for black freedom.

In 1948 the white government under the Nationalist party came to power in South Africa. Though the idea of apartheid ("apartness") had been around for centuries, the Nationalists entrenched it in hundreds of oppressive laws designed to create brutal hierarchy: white at the top, blacks at the bottom, and Indians and coloreds in the middle. The 1950 Suppression of Communism Act was only partly related to curbing communism; its real purpose was to allow the government to imprison anyone on a trumped-up charge. Despite this harsher climate, in 1952 Mandela and Tambo established the first black law office in South Africa. In 1964 he was charged with sabotage and conspiracy, along with a number of other ANC members. The death sentence was expected, and in his address to the court Mandela said that he was prepared to die for the cause of justice. Perhaps because of international pressure, however, the men only received life sentences. This seemed like a great victory.

Mandela would spend the next 27 years in prison. The first decade involved manual labor, terrible food, and a climate of fear and abuse. However, the political prisoners were kept together and so could continue their discussions. Denied virtually all outside contact, the acquisition of a newspaper was prized almost above food. The men's political struggle was reduced within the prison walls, and they had to fight for any kind of improvement in their daily life.

Amid great euphoria, Mandela was released in 1990, having spent twenty-seven years in jail. Four years later, after the country's first nonracial elections, he was elected President of South Africa.

Extract: Long Walk to Freedom

The first democratically elected President of South Africa Nelson R. Mandela was probably the best President to have been elected to the leadership of any African country. Well in qualification of my statement, I might be subjective as not enough has been written about many other African leaders.

Nelson R. Mandela is definitely one of the most prominent role models in Africa, and to a large extent he is probably the most identifiable of African leaders.

Nelson R. Mandela had to overcome many obstacles in his way to the presidency of South Africa, yet his obstacles are not universal to all members of society worldwide. The greatest obstacle he had to overcome was in relation to his freedom, he was trying to get to a state whereby he would be classified and seen as an equal to the then white minority population of South Africa. His obstacles were in relation to freedom and liberty; his obstacles were against a white government in a country with a black majority population.

Freedom was his ultimate goal. It's a known fact that most of Africa was colonized by the Europeans in the years referred to as the scramble for Africa. Most African countries became colonies of European countries, but so did many parts of the world.

As a matter of fact very few countries in the world were not colonies of a specific country in their history. Nelson R. Mandela had to have persistent and raw determination for him to achieve such a stature among people of the world. So how do future generations emulate the road taken by Nelson R. Mandela?

Mandela's route to freedom is still as alive for today's society as it was when he fought for the emancipation of Africans. Black people all over the world are still fighting for equality all over the world. Mandela might have fought for freedom of a different kind, but today's blacks are fighting for freedom of a different kind all over the world. The basis for their freedom fight is "racism". Racism is without a doubt today's fight for freedom as was fought by the many struggle heroes of years gone past.

Freedom brings with it the ability to view yourself and your immediate society in relation to the world objectively. In moving forward it said that "you need to know where you come from, to know where you are going". That saying stems from the fact that once you know where you come from, you will know what you are capable of achieving as you look backwards at the things that have been achieved by the people directly prior to you. Role Models should be representative of the tenacity of people that lived multiple generations prior to you.

Looking at my immediate ancestry, a thousand years and earlier the availability of role models which are worthy off emulation are few in numbers. The importance of role models for every generation is important as it becomes a blueprint for future success.

Motivational books and personal development books have an important role in the development of mankind as some of the outlined principles are universal in nature. It is quite clear that there are certain principles that need to be applied differently to certain people for them to attain significant wealth.

As Africans the biggest question that needs to be answered is regarding the availability of credible role models. The role models I am referring to should be the few extraordinary men and women who have risen to positions admirable by people from other racial groupings.

Although we have enough role models who have fought to attain equality and freedom, in today's society their principles are no longer applicable.

The governance of many countries throughout Africa is but a reflection of those leader's lack role models in governance. Most of the dictators which have been visible in Africa and throughout the developing nations of the world are generally first generation democracies. The principles regarding liberty is generally foreign to many parts of the world, and most autocratic leaders on the African continent view democracy as a Western philosophy. The West views democracy as a system of efficient governance, although that may be true, but it's still foreign to many parts of the world.

Independent Africa has failed to generate enough role models in society to propel us forward. Independence has created academics without the requisite foresight to change Africa; independence has actually created people who are educated in an academic sense of the word.

The lack of role models has a detrimental effect on the society as whole. As a matter of fact in Africa there is a big shortage of credible role models, when referring to role models I am referring to people which in their nature have displayed abilities that would be envied by other societies worldwide. The role models I am referring to are not those that can be emulated with average intelligence levels. Role models that can be emulated with average intelligence levels are; lawyers, doctors, accountants, teachers, broadcasters, musicians, models, dancers, professors, architectures, sports stars etc. These professions are of importance to the advancement of human kind, but clearly their importance is directly linked with the natural evolution of mankind and the laws of supply and demand.

There is no culture in the world were you will not find a significant denomination of professionals. In all societies in the world professionals, are merely the people whose occupation is to be of assistance to the great men of that time. In today's society more and more professionals are but the middle class of that society. The middle class is but the consumer base of every society, their contribution to the societies civilization is limited to the direction the world is supposedly taking.

The rise of the middle class in Africa is not as beneficial to Africa as it is to the West and other advanced economies of the world. The rising middle class in Africa is merely a consumer driven middle class. The rising middle class in Africa will generally lead to more instability than the autocratic leadership of many African countries. The rising middle class in Africa is generally influenced by forces with which are outside their control. The rising middle class in Africa is the new curse on Africa, although contemporary media would disagree greatly with that statement.

What then?

" _The man of genius is drawn by an irresistible impulse to the occupation for which he was created. No matter by what difficulties surrounded, no matter how unpromising the prospect, this occupation is the only one which he will pursue with interest and pleasure. When his efforts fail to procure means of subsistence, and he finds himself poor and neglected, he may, like Burns, often look back with a sigh and think how much better of he would be had he pursued some other occupation, but he will stick to his favorite pursuit, nevertheless."_

Robert Walters

The African man has only occupied those positions which were defined to him by other racial groupings. Africans are but a sum of the forces created in other parts of the world. The failure of Africans to define occupations which would define and enhance their credibility worldwide is evident for all to see. Africans should be inventive enough to create occupations that are relatively complex in nature for them to be envied by other racial groupings.

The current structures are not designed to accommodate the majority of African people. The education system is not geared for African intelligence levels as reflected by the relatively low output levels in research and innovation in all spheres of African societies.

" _I would rather fail in a cause that will ultimately succeed than succeed in a cause that would ultimately fail."_

Woodrow Wilson

Do we have enough role models fighting for a cause that will ultimately succeed? Unfortunately not, we have people fighting for their own selfish reasons, their own selfish progress. The cause fought by many Africans is not for the progress of Africans.

Role Models are in short supply in Africa unfortunately.

## Chapter 5: Self Reliance

### Why collective effort doesn't work

The much revered, very wise, aged rabbi is on his deathbed, his rabbinical students gathered for the deathwatch, arranged with the smartest of the students at the rabbi's head, the next smartest second, and so on, down to the pitied dunce of the class, at the foot of the bed. As it becomes, increasingly apparent that the old rabbi was soon to depart, his best student leaned over and whispered, "Before you leave us, could you please, finally, give us THE secret of life itself, great master teacher, sir?"

After a few moments of thought, with considerable effort, the rabbi managed to croak out, "Life is like a river."

The honored student turned to the one next to him and said, "The master said 'life is like a river.' Pass it down." And so each student in turn passed the wisdom do to the next. But the dunce said, "Hey, wait a minute. Life is like a river? What does that mean? Ask him what he means by that."

Ashamed and tentative, each student passed the question back up the line. The best student again leaned over and said, "I'm sorry, master teacher, but the dunce, down at the end, he does not understand. He wants to know: what do you mean? Life is like a river."

With every ounce of strength remaining in his dying, frail body, the rabbi managed these last words: "Okay, so it's not like a river."

Daniel S. Kennedy: The Ultimate Success Secret

Self-reliance is probably the definitive word that will define Africa as a continent and African people all over the world. This story of a wise rabbi has multiple meanings within it that resonates with self –reliance. Multiple people will have multiple explanations as to why the rabbi said: "Life is like a river."

So what is the moral of the story? Well I wish, I knew. However I will suggest few questions one may ask himself when reading this story on self-reliance.

1"Life is like a river" Life has no definitive set course which by following you will achieve massive success. The rabbi as a wise man he is, couldn't advice his loyal disciples on the path to success, but why? It's because he also doesn't know the path to success or a righteous life. All a person can learn from generations prior to him is what not to do. All you need to know about what to do you were inherently born with.

2. The arrangement of the students: A lot of people might not see the significance of that arrangement but it is extremely important.

In what way you may ask?

Well there is a hierarchy to everything in life. There are plants more resilient than others, animals, individuals, metals etc. The method of measurement might be subjective but nonetheless, that assertion is true.

So the most intelligent person in a country is its President or the leader, the same with sports teams, the captain, a company it's Chief Executive. So some societies fail not because of the people but because of the hierarchy, which unfortunately is the case in most African societies and many other civilizations. The smartest people are generally not their leaders as their tenacity is mistaken for arrogance and individualism.

3. But the dunce said, "Hey, wait a minute, Life is like a river? What does that mean? Ask him what he means by that."

The dunce asked this wonderful question, why the dunce?

The answer lies in front of us. Microsoft, Google, Facebook etc. They were all started with established companies like IBM spending millions of dollars in Research and Development.

It's often the guy written off that will eventually come out on top, the guy with the brilliant questions, the guy that will make our lives better for generations to come.

59 percent of the US' overall humanitarian assistance in the last ten (2004-2014) years has gone to countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

79 percent of US' official humanitarian assistance was spent in countries classified as long-term recipients of humanitarian assistance in 2012.

Africa is still receiving three dollars out of every five dollars in humanitarian support, when these dynamics are in play how can we as people ever dispute the things said about us as Africans worldwide. Since 79 percent of official humanitarian support goes to long-term recipients of humanitarian support, surely the model is not working and needs to be revisited. Does it mean that humanitarian support must stop the answer to that is complex, but will I attempt to answer it?

Let us first visit the issue surrounding the recovery of Germany from the Second World War, as history is riddled with clues on how recoveries are possible. Prior to the war, Germany had technological advancement which was generally on par with the best in the world.

Post war Germany suffered from hyperinflation which was comparable with present day Zimbabwe. Germany had suffered massive casualties estimated at about 11 percent of its population, mostly man. The agricultural output was estimated at about 35 percent of pre-war production levels. At the Potsdam Conference a decision was taken regarding the future of Germany, on how it should be an agricultural state, allowed to only have light industries.

But once those limitation were lifted on Germany and with financial assistance. Germany went about rebuilding the infrastructure it once had pre-war. Post-war Germany has emerged as a leader in the European economy with a lower base than most European countries had started with, in 1945. That is an example on how humanitarian support or financial assistance has an impact, not this ineffective aid programs we as an Africa continent are currently getting from donors. Germany had people who had sufficient know how for them to propel it forward. Africa although it might be receiving a lot of donor funds lacks the know-how.

Germany did the things it knew best which were industries, which it was extremely successful in. Aid in Germany was targeted to specific sectors and aid in Africa is like pouring sugar into the sea and expecting results.

After the independence of many states in Africa, no attempt was made as to the direction of each country regarding the role it should play in the greater scheme of things on the continent. That has resulted in states pursuing goals that are counter developmental to the economic dynamism of Africa.

When looking at the continent as a whole and breaking it down into multiple pieces, there is something unprecedented which is apparent. Every single country on the continent exports a large proportion of their goods to other parts of the world and never among themselves. Well it doesn't matter what type of goods are exported, as economies of scale are necessary for certain things to be achieved and as a continent we lack behind the rest of the world on economies of scale.

Looking at the top five largest economies in Africa, all share similar traits; their biggest trading partner is not an African country.

Take Ghana in West Africa as an example. It gained its independence in the year 1960 and as one of the first African countries to do so. And yet in 2013 the country's largest mall was initiated by a South African company founded by white South Africans. So how is it possible that for over 50 years the people of Ghana had failed to seize the opportunity of building their own wealth creating vehicles and build large monuments representative of their people?

Self-reliance is pivotal to the development of Africans as a group of people worldwide.

Post-war Germany lost substantial land, but in 1957 it negotiated with the Netherlands in its attempt to recover some of that land back, Germany subsequently agreed to pay around 280 million German marks in 1960 for an area approximately 67km2.

The Germans created value around that area by paying for it.

In Zimbabwe in the early years of the 21st century land was seized without financial compensation. That action of seizing land without financial compensation changed a valuable commodity into a non-valuable commodity.

This principle is simple as it was illustrated by its own commercial banks, immediately after the land seizures the new farm owners were refused bank loans against those farms mortgages. Most of the new farm owners complained to government at the apparent discrimination by the lenders of credit, but was it really discrimination at play or was it purely economics? It was purely economics in my eyes and nothing else.

South Africa as the most industrialized country on the African continent is also on the path to commit the same atrocity, in the name of social justice. The governing party in South Africa is being criticized from all socialist quarters in South Africa regarding their failure to transfer the land lost by the indigenous people of South Africa during colonial rule.

Collective effort

A concept that seems to be familiar in all of Africa is collective effort.

"I am, because you are" and "you are, because I am" is a mantra a lot of Africans live by.

That mantra has proven to be counter progressive for many years and should be dismissed as such. Individuals especially in African societies have shunned away from responsibility in the name of collective effort.

The notion of collective effort has proven to be counter wealth creation for many years in Africa. The wealthiest countries in the world have their wealth sourced from individual initiatives. The narrative in African families is based on collective recognition. The concept of individualism is dismissed as being arrogant or anti-social behavior. The system of continual socialization is considered as one of the most important things of being an African. There are numerous problems regarding our socialistic nature.

Africans in general remain in touch with their extended family members far longer than people of European ancestry. It would be uncommon to find an African family with non-frequent links with their extended family, while it would be uncommon to find a white family with frequent links with their extended families. Although these two statements may be considered as assumptions and unfounded statements, their truth should never be minimized. On the surface it may seem that a family with better co-operation with their extended family might do better, but in the long-term it destroys individual initiatives.

An example of how collective effort destroys individual initiative is found in my upbringing. Growing up in a family with close ties with the extended family members might have shielded me against hunger, starvation and many other dire elements, but it destroyed the most important thing of all and that is individual initiative.

Growing up in a poor rural family in Africa was a struggle, and with my father employed on average six months in a year, with a constant diet of porridge, I knew from an early age that we were poor as malnutrition was also a big problem and still is. My extended family members would sometimes assist with food and clothes for us, and all would be okay. The last time my parents bought me clothes was when I was probably twelve years old, from twelve years of age my extended family would buy us clothes, money for food and so life continued. I must admit that if my extended family members were not there to support us, I wouldn't have completed schooling and who knows what else. So for a very long time my parents knew that we would never starve to death; our extended family would come to our rescue. So in essence we continued a life of poverty and we are still receiving assistance from our extended families to this day.

Their support has in essence disabled my parents forever unfortunately. Their entire furniture found in our house was bought by relatives; I personally didn't have a bed until I was in the 11th grade in school. I have never asked my parents for money since I was twelve, because I knew they didn't have any to give. To this day my family is as poor as it was 20 years ago, and yet to this day we have food on the table, again from relatives. This example clearly illustrates how by meaning good you are actually destroying individual initiative. My family is still as poor as it was 20 years ago and that status has unfortunately trapped me in that vicious cycle as well.

Another major problem with assistance is in relation to the people providing that support. The relatives that were providing that support are not wealthier now than they were 20 years ago. Although their assistance might have help in sustaining us to this day but it came at a price. The extended family is as it was 20 years ago adjusting for inflation of course.

What would have happened had they focused on creating wealth for themselves and future generations and turned a blind eye to our struggle for survival?

That stance would have created resentment, it would have created animosity, but it would have created the most important thing on earth and that is individual initiative, the will to succeed and my parents could have escaped this trap a long time ago. The problems regarding poverty are deep rooted; the only people with the solutions are those with the ability to compare success and poverty. Some of my relatives are college educated and yet they subscribe to the African way of doing things, which is collective effort.

In South Africa another form of collective effort that goes against wealth creation is stokvels (mutual societies). The idea of mutual societies is good for wealth creation if used efficiently, and yet that is not the case in Africa. Mutual societies in the case of South Africa are more a wealth erosion mechanism than a wealth creating mechanism.

These societies are used to fund such things as weddings, parties, funerals, holidays and many other unproductive things in communities. The buying power of South African stokvels is valued in the billions of dollars and yet they are only used for extravagance, what nonsense. Clearly wealth is new to black people, but surely logic will eventually prevail sooner rather than later, since the independence of African countries nothing substantial has wowed the world. Can Africa quit its nonproductive ways? Can the African way change?

An Africa way of doing things is equality at all cost: Equitable lands, equitable wealth, equitable rights, equitable food, equitable snow, equitable companies, equitable intelligence, equitable clean air, equitable resources, equitable awards, equitable swimming pools, equitable salaries, equitable positions, equitable humor, equitable life, equitable countries, equitable oceans, equitable medals, equitable role models, and equitable intellectual property are some of the things Africans are fighting for worldwide.

Wealth is more complicated than collective effort. Although collective effort has substantial effect on wealth but individual initiative is many times better.

## Chapter 6: Adaptation

### Are we moving fast enough to attain wealth?

Wealth in the context of Africa is very important; many African countries will have substantial economic growth into the future. GDP growth rates have failed to address issues that are directly linked with the development of many African citizens. GDP figures especially in the context of Africa have failed to alleviate poverty and have resulted into African populations being poorer than they were prior to economic growth.

The wealth held by individuals of a specific country will display better information regarding the country's inherent wealth status. The list of countries with the greatest representatives of millionaires provides insight into how GDP growth will translate into wealth going forward.

GDP is usual driven by factors such as the number of goods and services in circulation in the country. As people move from subsistence farming into employment GDP figures will increase in relation. When a big multinational company is selling more imported products in a specific country GDP will increase.

A company might be based somewhere in Europe and manufacture its products in China and sell them in Nigeria, and as a result of that cycle the GDP figures of Nigeria will increase. GDP growth doesn't track the value chain. Most African countries are said to be growing at an astonishing pace and yet there hasn't been any country in Africa to have reduced its unemployment rates substantially. High GDP figures in Africa have generally not been transferable to its citizens like in the advanced economies of the world.

Angola in the latter years of the first decade in the 21st century, the country's GDP was growing at a good rate for a developing country, and yet after five years of sustainable growth the country had a contraction of over 2 percent in employment figures. The growth that Angola had experienced was detrimental to the country's population after all, as reflected in employment figures.

Diagram 1 has the list of millionaires in each country and their projected growth to the year 2030 it has also been contrasted against population growth of those countries as projected by the United Nations. The reason for using the list of millionaires unlike the middle class is in relation to wealth. Middle class people are those individuals although might have substantial spending power, they are generally three months away from poverty. The middle class is being recycled every year and people drop in and out depending on their employment status.

Millionaires are drivers of wealth in a country as their spending is not limited to consumption, their spending extends to employment creation spend. The majority of these millionaires have their wealth as income generating assets, whether in securities, rent and many others, thus making them an important cog in their countries armory. The countries with the greatest number of millionaires will generally have a better GDP per capita. Millionaires in a country also display another important factor in relation to GDP figures, millionaires are a factor in showing the correlation between the country's GDP and its wealthy citizens.

By dividing a country's GDP by the number of millionaires in that particular country you get a rate of wealth inclusion. In Africa as compared to many countries in the world the rate of wealth inclusion is ridiculously low. Although Africa might be having the world's leading GDP growth rates it has the lowest wealth inclusion rates on the planet. The era of focusing on GDP growth rates is outdated to Africans; high GDP growth rates are good for multinationals as it creates new markets for their products.

Why wealth inclusion is way more important than GDP growth rates?

To answer that question let's make a hypothetical example.

A listed company in the Frankfurt Stock Exchange needs growth overseas. They look around the world and wow Ethiopia is growing at wonderful growth rates, and the multinational invests into Ethiopia, they build large factories and manufacture medicine and other related products. The factory employs hundreds of people with numerous skills sets required, the company then decides to partner with local universities, and the brightest of the bright students are sourced to come and work for this wonderful company. The investment into Ethiopia seems to work out well for everyone, the middle class of Ethiopia are proud to work for this company and salaries are good. The middle class of Ethiopia then demand more and more things, and more and more companies invest into the Ethiopian economy and life seems to improve.

But wait a minute, is life really improving for Ethiopians or just an illusion?

Well I will not answer that question, but I will work retrospectively in following the wealth. What has Ethiopia gained by this investment into their country, well let's name the benefits: GDP grew, GDP per capita grew, currency strengthened, employment creation, middle class grew, current account inflows and foreign currency. These are as a result of foreign direct investment into a country. Where is wealth in all of this?

The answer for that question is simple, not in Ethiopia, the wealth in all of this is found in the books of that company and the stock exchange. The subsidiary that operates in Ethiopia will have corporate headquarters in Germany and wealth lies there. The company will report better sales figures from their wonderful operations in Ethiopia, and the shareholders will receive better dividends as a result, and since the employees at head office are working for a larger company the salaries will have to increase. The shareholders hold shares with bigger market capitalizations and thus they receive bigger dividends. The supposedly increase in the GDP of Ethiopia has actually resulted in the increased wealth of the people in German.

So wealth creation is more important than this ridiculous notion of GDP growth. Many African countries tend to focus on GDP figures rather than wealth creation. Zig Ziglar once said "if you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time". Africa has strong focus on GDP growth rates and they are achieving that, but it's meaningless to the majority of young Africans.

In diagram one South Africa registers as a country with the largest proportion of millionaires in the African continent, which seems obvious because South Africa has by far the largest securities exchange on the African continent. Clearly the wealth of a country is largely found in its securities exchange and some wealth is found in the relatively liquid property market, and South Africa does well in both those factors.

South Africa has by far the largest numbers of people of European ancestry on the Africa continent. South Africa has over 80 percent of the white population that calls Africa home. The white population of South Africa is as wealthy as their cousins in the United States, Europe and Australia on average. That is very impressive considering that they are building wealth in a country where they are in minority.

Diagram one shows that South Africa had 48 700 millionaires in 2013 which is more than double the number of millionaires in the next highest country Egypt, and with a lower population than Egypt. If the statistics were to end there, you would think South Africans are great business people and wealth creators, but the story continues and changes drastically.

Of the 48 700 millionaires in South Africa, the white population of South Africa makes up 84 percent of all millionaires in South Africa. The population of white South Africans has more millionaires than the combined millionaires of Nigeria and Egypt, the first and the third biggest economies in Africa. The white population of South Africa has been able to create wealth that cannot be rivaled by any ethnic group on the African continent. A massive 41 000 African millionaires are of European ancestry born and bred in Africa as of 2013.

White South African monthly salaries are six times bigger than that of black South Africans. So if we were to look at GDP per capita of South Africa adjusting for purchasing power parity is $11 500 as of 2013. Since white South African's composition of the South African population is just under 10 percent that puts their GDP per capita at over $60 000 on purchasing power parity and over $35 000 on absolute GDP figures. The white population of South Africa has simply dominated in their home market of Africa, more than any other ethnic group living in Africa by far.

People might speak about white privilege, but I don't believe that to be true. South Africa had its first majority ruled government in the year 1994, and 20 years on the number of black South African millionaires has remained stagnant. The apartheid government in South Africa prior to 1994 hasn't made the white population of South Africa any wealthier than their ancestral cousins in Europe, North America and Australia. The apartheid government in South Africa also didn't make black South Africans any poorer than their cousins anywhere in the world.

The black population of South Africa has access to more products and services than any other country in the African continent. South Africa has more than 70 percent of the 20 largest companies on the African continent. South Africa has over 70 percent of the 20 leading universities on the African continent. And there are more of these wealth creating institutions which are wealth builders in nature. It is clear that things are not as simple as what you hear from politicians and other commentators.

The question that should be asked when referring to apartheid as benefiting white South Africans is "which country in the world has the black population which is wealthier than the white population of that country?" or "which black governed country is wealthier than a white governed country"

Equality is what we all strive for, but we need to be factual in our diagnostic.

White people in Africa are not poorer or wealthier than the average white person's wealth anywhere in the world and so are black South Africans.

The United Kingdom has one of the largest proportions of Africans in Europe, so are Africans in the United Kingdom wealthier than their white peers there. In answering those questions several factors need to be visited. The most important of those factors is regarding education. Has equal education resulted in people of African descendent getting better employment and subsequently equal salaries?

In the United Kingdom a survey was done, it attempted to measure the accumulation of wealth per ethnic group. The survey was conducted in 2009, and the survey came back with some damming results in relation to wealth accumulation. The disparities were extremely visible, it found that an average white household had about $350 000 in assets compared with $120 000 for Black-Caribbean and $24 000 for Black-African.

The disparities between Black-Caribbean and Black-Africa may be as a result of how long each group has been in Britain. The Black-Caribbean population of Britain has been in Britain for several generations more than the African population; the Black-Caribbean in Britain came as a result of world war two and the reconstruction of Britain immediately after the war. The Black-African population moved to Britain as a result of seeking better opportunities which are generally not found in their home countries, with most Black-Africans being first generation in Britain.

The study also found another contradiction; it found that minorities in Britain are more likely to be unemployed as compared to their migrant fathers. According to me, the reason is that their migrant fathers had taken up low-skilled jobs as they knew that they were in a foreign country, but their children are now British citizens and they feel that they don't have to compensate as they are also citizens. They subsequently shun away from the menial jobs available and attempt to compete with the white majority they grew up with and went to school with.

The problem Black people are facing in Britain is similar to that faced by Black people born in South Africa, Australia, United States and many other countries with better economic structures. The influx of Africans into these countries creates a distortion, as many of these people although most of them qualified they are willing to work for next to nothing. The employers are then caught between a rock and a hard place, as they find qualified black immigrants willing to work for five times lower than similarly qualified white immigrants. The problem experienced by Black-British people is similar throughout the developed world.

In South Africa a study was conducted in 2006 that found that anti-foreign sentiments were the highest in the world. But is it really anti-foreign sentiments or is it anti-African/Asian sentiments. People whether educated or not, they are aware of an invisible racial hierarchy. The reason why many Africans and Asian people take menial positions when they get to majority white countries is testament to that invisible hierarchy. Yet the same doesn't occur with white people anywhere in the world, and even if they do, the following generation adapts to that environment and subsequently dominates the resources of that race. It is true in Africa, Asia, North America, and South America and when the moon is habitable we all know which racial grouping will dominate that. Whether people deny or accept the concept of the invisible hierarchy it is there.

I remember having a conversation with a Congolese immigrant in Johannesburg, South Africa. The conversation was regarding the extent in which South Africans are anti-foreign, and he said most South Africans don't travel enough into Africa and therefore don't have enough understanding of the African continent. Many African migrants to South Africa are generally subject to racial slurs, and that is mostly done by Black South Africans. Then he said something that was quite peculiar to me, he said "You South Africans should visit my country, and in my country if you are from South Africa you are admired", if he could say that to a poor man like me, and with our shared ancestry what would he say to someone black man born in Britain, United States, Germany, Australia and many other first world countries.

The biggest problem with Africans is the way they view the world. A trained doctor wants to live as a doctor, a trained lawyer wants live as a lawyer in absolute comfort with first world facilities. By living in absolute comfort in Britain with first world facilities you create certain expectations in your home country and with increasing globalization Africa will experience an exodus of people like never before, the many African immigrants in most first world countries are but the creation of the black people in those first world countries. The exodus is already starting with the many boats collapsing on their way to Italy from North Africa. Many countries are seeing an increase in immigration and citizens of those countries are revolting against that influx. Europe has seen numerous protests against migration mostly in the name of anti-Islam. In most countries immigration policies are being reviewed especially with heightened visa requirements.

There are numerous factors contributing to wealth creation than merely being in a first world country.

Many Black-Caribbean people in the United Kingdom are 3rd generation citizens of Britain and yet their representation in the Sunday Times rich list is ridiculously non-existent. The Sunday Times 1000 richest people in Britain has only three black people and only two British born black people. These black people in Britain are not the only ones in Britain with African roots. It is estimated that over 90 percent of immigrants from South Africa in Britain are white South Africans. The Sunday Times rich list has four South African born white people a little more than their black counterparts and with a lower population.

So why has the black population of Britain failed to attain wealth?

Brazil as a country is probably the most integrated country in the world in terms of racial equality. The black population of Brazil should surely do better than the rest of the black population of the world.

IPEA, a Brazilian government linked think-tank found that on average incomes of white Brazilians to be slightly double that of Black and Brown Brazilians.

People growing up in the same environment, playing the same sports, studying the same books, going to same universities and yet the incomes of different racial groupings is statistically significant. In most countries in the world the difference in incomes is generally limited to the fact that their societies are not as integrated, but that cannot be the case with Brazil. Interracial relationships in Brazil are a common occurrence unlike many other countries in the world. The education system is generally accessed equally between all races, although some people might argue that it could be better, but their access is generally comparable. With all of those things in place, Brazil is still unequal, what then with other countries in the world

" _More than half the people in Rio de Janeiro slums are black. The comparable figure in the city's richer districts is just 7 percent". Economist.com_

United States as the world's largest economy has a fairly substantial population of Black people. As the world's largest economy and home to the world's largest population of wealthy individuals, the wealth of African-Americans should surely be substantially larger than the world average for Africans. With all of those things said, let us review the statistics.

In the United States there are massive disparities in wealth accumulation. It is said that the average wealth of African-Americans is only 12 percent the white average.

What could be the factors influencing the massive difference as projected by many in most American surveys. The figure of 12 percent is very low and even if that figure is conservative and let's put the figures at 15 percent, it would still be too low. The answers many could put on the table would be what about the after effects of slavery, and yet that is running away from real issues.

The issue of slavery in the case of the United States, apartheid in South Africa, slavery in Brazil and colonialisation in Europe, although they are true cannot be used as an excuse for an eternity.

The United States receives numerous African intellectuals annually from African countries, most of them professors, doctors, lawyers, teachers and many other professions and yet none of them or their descendants has created any substantial wealth in the United States. It is clear that wealth in the United States is illusive to both new African migrants and African Americans. Is growing up in Africa and migrating to the United States make you uncompetitive in the advanced economies of the world, well I don't know.

The United States receives numerous immigrants from South Africa annually with the majority of South African immigrants being white South Africans. Although South Africa contributes only a small portion of immigrants into the United States as a proportion of African immigrants, some white South Africans have already made their names in the United States. Elon Musk is the most notable white South African immigrant to create substantial wealth in the United States. Elon Musk came to North America with less wealth than most African immigrants; he wasn't a qualified teacher, doctor, writer, musician, professor and many other accolades many Africans migrate with, and yet he has been one of the most competitive individuals in the United States. Elon migrated in his late teens and he probably received education that was not the same standard as that provided in the United States and Canada, and yet he is extremely competitive, so education has nothing to do with anything. So how can a white person growing up in the same continent as many African immigrants, have such tremendous success, and yet Africans with similar backgrounds are unable to create a fraction of his wealth.

Unfortunately Africans have failed to differentiate between money and wealth for many years. Africans have generally viewed someone with a lot of money as wealthy to their detriment. Africans would generally work hard at school, getting the highest of the high grades in school and university and get employment as senior managers, some senior partners, some distinguished professors and all of them would never attain wealth.

Money and wealth are two different things, a high paying job in a major corporate district of the world is not wealth it is money. It is however an obvious phenomenon that in creating wealth you need money, and yet money is but half the required ingredient, the other half is an idea and personal attributes.

In essence this book refers to wealth creation as an equal sum of an idea and money.

The wealthiest 5 percent of African Americans-those with a net worth of $357 000 or better-pour a greater share of their holdings into relatively low-risk, low reward investment vehicles, such as certificates of deposits, saving bonds, and insurance policies, rather than stocks, bonds and mutual funds like their white counter parts. They also tend to have more of their wealth in real estates and less in businesses than similarly situated whites.

The report also noted the fact that less than one in four African Americans who were in the top quartile of black wealth holders in 1984, remained there in 2004.

Study by Credit Suisse and Institute on Assets and Social policy at Brandeis University (2014)

The top 5 percent of African-Americans are generally the Ivy League graduates, the business people, entertainers, sports people and many other high earners. The decision making of these African-Americans is not different to that displayed by my highly educated relatives here in South Africa. The top 5 percent of Africans in the United States are as naïve as their counterparts in many African countries. That clearly illustrates the decisions taken by Taiwan, China, Singapore, and South Korea in following the footsteps of Japan. People all over the world follow their most prosperous cousins and when that is missing you get this bad decision making in any condition and any environment throughout the world.

Wealth and money are two different things; you could be wealthy and sleep in a one bedroom house. An example of this would be Sam Walton at some point he was considered as someone who sleeps with his dogs and hiding most of his money in caves. Sam Walton was seen poor outwardly but he was extremely wealthy in mind, body and soul.

African billionaires are a 21st century phenomenon, prior to the start of the 21st century there were no African billionaires worldwide. As the 21st century progresses, there is no denying the fact that more African billionaires will be created going forward. The growth of billionaires in the world is accelerating as the world gets more and more connected. Foreign direct investment is a vehicle for the creation of billionaires worldwide. As of 2014 there were only seven African billionaires out of 1645 billionaires worldwide according to Forbes magazine. The contributing factors to this relatively low individual wealth is highlighted numerous times in this book, and if there was proper analysis I think more would be found.

Adaptation

The invisible hierarchy is what every African should be aware of into the 21st century. The invisible hierarchy is well known worldwide and it would not help any African person to ignore that invisible hierarchy.

The invisible hierarchy is a system of grading human beings according to their race. The invisible hierarchy applies to the entire population of the world. The invisible hierarchy will generally reveal itself more and more into the 21st century.

Prior to the 21st century the world was generally clustered and information was generally hidden. In the 21st century more and more countries are governed by their people, more and more flaws are coming to the surface. South Africa as an example got its majority rule in the last six years of the 20th century. Many other countries in the world like India, China, Nigeria and many others got their independence half way through the 20th century. The excuses that were generally relevant in the 20th century and centuries prior to that are unfortunately irrelevant in the 21st century. Countries worldwide are driving the economic policies of their people; therefore no country in the world could blame another for the poverty of its people.

The invisible hierarchy is a subconscious way of defining people according to their race.

The invisible hierarchy relates to how each racial grouping views another.

The way in which the invisible hierarchy works is how each race views another, that is usually based on that race's average when it comes to intellectual pursuits. As it currently stands, worldwide racial hierarchy has the European as the apex of all the races of the world, followed by those of Chinese descendants. The following racial groupings have yet to prove their positions in the hierarchy as conclusively as the other two racial groupings.

The European descendants are the only racial grouping that is admired in every country on the planet. In Africa the most admired cars come from Germany, in China the most admired phones come from the United States, in India the most loved sport in the country comes from Britain. All those countries have white majority populations and thus continue to perpetuate the status of the power of the European descendants; there are numerous examples of this fact.

The Chinese descendants with Japan at the forefront have taken that second position and have ran with it. Japan, China, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan are all providing a good case for their populations. These countries have placed their racial groupings as the second racial group in the invisible hierarchy.

The importance of this invisible hierarchy is especially important as it relates to wealth creation. A black Ivy League graduate in Japan will be subject to this invisible hierarchy, their knowledge will generally be secondary in their business dealings. A white man with only a 4th grade education in Africa will be subject to the invisible hierarchy, their knowledge will be secondary. A position advertised in the United Arab Emirates for a senior engineer, with five racial groupings shortlisted, the invisible hierarchy will apply. Going to a Bank in South Africa for a loan to start a business with excellent corporate credentials, the invisible hierarchy will apply, regarding the interest rates you are likely to get. Presenting a business plan to Venture Capitalists, the invisible hierarchy will apply.

But is it racism? That is what we are constantly told. But is it true? I personally believe that it cannot be true, especially since the behavior is identical throughout the world.

Conclusion

The high GDP growth rates as seen in many African countries is meaningless, the GDP growth rates are not translating to wealth creation. The Boston Consulting Group projected that the United States would increase its millionaire households by over 220 percent by the year 2020, thus constituting over 40 percent of worldwide millionaire population. China with its already large millionaire population with over a million of them will experience an increase of over 400 percent by the year 2020, where is this enormous millionaire growth rates by the United States and China in their millionaires coming from, well the answer is simple.

The GDP growth rates of Africa and the black middle class are driving wealth creation all over the world with China and the United States being big beneficiaries, how embarrassing to young Africans.

Diagram 1 show the growth of African millionaires to the year 2030 and no country in the list would produce such wealth increases as those seen by the United States and China. The story of Africa rising is the biggest joke in history.

The story of Africa rising is the biggest fabrication in history. As at the year 2015 there is no African country with any competitive advantage in any industry, where Africa is a big exporter of a commodity they are price takers.
