by Renarda A. Williams (aka Abari Sankofa)
More than 60 people were in attendance n Sturgis Hall of the Clinton School for Public Service to hear author and speaker Dambisa Moyo Feb. 4 in Little Rock, Arkansas.
A global economist from Lusaka, Zambia, Moyo examines the interplay of macroeconomics and international business with the global economy. She also highlights key opportunities for investment, capitalizing on her ability to translate trends in markets, politics, and economics into their likely impact on global business. She's the author of three New York Times best-selling books: Dead Aid: Why Aid is Not Working and How There is a Better Way for Africa; How the West Was Lost: Fifty Years of Economic Folly – And the Stark Choices that Lie Ahead; and Winner Take All: China’s Race for Resources and What it Means for the World. Time Magazine named Moyo as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World.”
Moyo holds a doctorate in economics from Oxford University, a master of public administration degree from Harvard University, and a master of business administration degree in finance from American University in Washington, D.C.
Moyo opened her lecture by talking about public policies — economics, politics, foreign policy, and health — that are challenges confronting the world today. She also focused on the important role the United States will play with its public policies; mainly because the world is watching to see what trends this country will set to get the world on the right path to survive for the years to come.
"The world is really depending on the United States in getting it right," Moyo said. "I was just in Dallas last week at the World Economic Forum. People are very worried because there is not much transparency on where the U.S. is going ... and they want to know what public policies might be instituted from the perspective of foreign policy, [war], radicalized terrorists around the world, health care, and technologies.
"It is essential that the United States get it right, or otherwise, the rest of the world [is going to be in a] precarious place," she added.
Moyo also discussed the need for countries such as China, United Kingdom, Germany and other major world powers to step up to the plate, along with the United States, and initiate their public policies to prevent the world from upheaval.
"I have to warn you ... the world is [is in] a depressing picture today. Unfortunately, the world's economy is in a precarious place. The International Monetary Fund in 2014 released their world outlook economic document ... They stated in the document that they do not believe that the world will ever began to see the rates of economic growth that we saw before 2007," Moyo stated.
After Moyo's lecture, The Empowerment Initiative Online Newsletter interviewed her about how community grassroots involvement can play a vital role in solving public policy problems, and the role Black America, with its buying power of $1.3 trillion, can play in Africa.
Moyo said grassroots involvement is essential. Nobody knows the unique circumstances, context, and challenges that they're, or the person, are experiencing themselves.
"Government in Washington; my home country [Zambia]; whatever, may have some perspective" — but someone living in a county in Arkansas may have very different issues and concerns, than somebody living in New York's Manhattan borough, Moyo said. "It is very hard to design a 'blanket policy' that works well for everybody. Therefore, the grassroots input is absolutely crucial to providing that context, and a unique element, that creates solutions that are very specific and designed to [help solve particular problems]."
There is clearly a role for government, Moyo said, citing the public projects from which people benefit, but for which they can't and don't pay for individually. She cited road construction as an example: People benefit from roads, but must pool their resources, through taxes, to pay for them.
But "coming back to the needs of community grassroots involvement, I think it is very important because there are a lot of ... unique solutions that emerge from unique problems," Moyo said. "I think we, in general, need to learn how to listen more and become less ideological. We [approach the problem] and think we know the answers. And yet we don't ask what is actually [happening] in the community ... I think we don't listen enough and we talk too much!"
Moyo said there has been a long history of engagement between Black America and Africa — certainly on the political front, with the Civil Rights movement and the colonial period. Moyo believes there is a wide scope for inter-collectivity, where there is a lot of connection with the diaspora.
"I think one of the reasons why it has not done better is because Africa has tended to be characterized and depicted in a negativity way," she said. "And if we [Black America and Africa] responded to the story [from a constructive standpoint], there will be business opportunity engagement, political and economic development ... along with social and cultural inter-collectiveness."
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