Lessons that are never Learnt

Dear Freddo!

Thank you for reminding us of the lessons that are never learnt. I liked the entry.  Allow me to comment on the governments idea to send young men to South Korea for work as one piece of evidence that we never learn. After the Theba hassles, and we hear some people still have not received their money, the government is at it again exporting labor-now to the far east. It appears the only product that this country is able to export is cheap labor!

Is idea of sending our youths to do ganyu in South Korea not another Theba. Why is the government not  taking  time to consult widely on the idea. What is there to justify the speed being taken on the initiative. The government, if we are to take the words of Moses Kunkuyu, thinks it has hit a jackpot as the initiative provides answers to the problem of joblessness.

True!, Theba, is a creative way of creating employment, but , who benefits? Is it not the host country. If we may go back into history, how did Malawi benefit by exporting labor to South Africa? I know our youth will rush to grab the opportunity without even considering the terms of the employment. After all it is work in a foreign country. Fred, I have in mind few examples of our young men who went outside the country to play professional football. They ended up signing contracts that were drafted in a language they did not understand. Of course they later on terminated the contracts but they already had lost a lot. I was of the view, that government needed to invest in training the youth on such aspects before letting our youth in the land of the unknown. That is if they still think exporting labor is a good idea. I know with the arrogance that this government seems to have, nothing, or no one would convince them to abandon the idea.

Why is the government taking exporting labor as a success. Is this not pulling the country down. Does the country not need the same youth to help boost our export base. Why can the government not concentrate on initiaves such as OVOP and set up as many rural factories as possible to help these young men find a meaningful way of earning a living within the country. By exporting our work force, are we not sacrificing our country’s development at the altar of cheap political milage?

Is it not a fact accepted everywhere that the youth are the heart of any meaningful and sustainable development. Is it also not true that this country needs the youth if we are to realize the dream of transforming this country from a predominantly importing country to an exporter. Does this government share this vision? Does it have a vision anyway? How on earth do you grow an economy when you are exporting your labor?

Is the PP government simply trying to counter Atupele’s claim that he will create 500,000 jobs once voted in. The way the government is acting on this, has every hall mark of panic. And such rushed affairs, often end up in tears. We all know that this government, and the governments before it have always failed to create jobs for Malawians, but exporting labour is not one of the ways for creating employment. Kwa eni Kulibe Mkuwe, Kumadyetsa nthanga dzungu nulifuna. The government must take heed of this adage, and try to develop the country’s youth within the country.

Even if the exported youth were to be sending dollars to Malawi, how much difference would those few dollars make to our forex situation.

May the government, take its time and consult widely before going ahead implementing this iniative.