Page 50 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 7

COMMUNITY
with. This despite the same
government having paid billions
in vaccine injury compensa-
tions, meaning that the parents’
have very valid concerns about
the safety of their children and
simply want these concerns
addressed but the lawmakers
want to achieve the goal of
vaccination… for whatever end
and no matter the cost to the
people. A society with a culture
of care takes all concerns into
account and creates a plan that
is safest and best for all, not
most convenient for the govern-
ment or businesses.
Mindfulness in choices, law
and policy making
We spoke about mindfulness in
a previous issue of the mag-
azine which I strongly recom-
mend that you read alongside
this, if you haven’t already.
Recently I said to someone
that in my view, if a person
wants to start a business, it
makes sense for the govern-
ment to make it as affordable
for them to do so as possible.
This means that licensing fees,
equipment, commercial space,
power, water and taxes need to
be as favorable as possible, in
order for one to be able to build
their business, earn money to
be able to pay for various costs,
hire people and grow. This is
particularly needful for people
who don’t have deep pockets
and are just starting out. That
way unemployment is reduced,
poverty is reduced, more peo-
ple are independent of state
support or support from their
families, giving everyone the
room they need to expand in
some positive way. People can
then pay for services like med-
ical cover (if they so desire),
purchase vehicles, homes,
equipment etc, which creates
50 | heal . restore . rebirth . Afrika
stable and predictable growth
for the country as a whole. As a
result, the population is not as
stressed out as they might be
in over-taxed, over-licensed re-
gimes and they can get on with
the business of doing what they
need to do, free from depen-
dence on external support like
aid, because the environment
is conducive for them to thrive
in. I know it sounds utopic, but
this really should be the norm
and for us to consider this a
pipedream means that we are
in actuality living out a night-
mare. I believe it is possible
and that some governments
actually make this possible
for their citizens. Unlike a sad
story I read some years back
where a young group of Afrikan
entrepreneurs in Kenya had
an innovative idea that they
wanted to run with, but by the
time they were done paying the
government its fees and costs,
they just closed up shop and
the idea was shelved. Just like
that, policy and political prom-
ises clashed and government
policy won.
When a government decides
to increase taxes on citizens
who are already struggling to
make ends meet, in an envi-
ronment where large and small
businesses alike are struggling
to stay afloat, it is a puzzling
thing. And when this same
government decides to take
on more debt, which puts even
more pressure on its citizens
to pay back loans that they are
barely seeing the benefit of, it
is highly disconcerting. The role
of the government is to enable,
support, protect and facilitate –
not themselves, but the people
they were hired to represent.
They are meant to ensure that
public funds are spent wisely,
that trade negotiations with
other countries are favorable
instead of detrimental, that their
local people are fully supported
in their endeavors to the point
of even having an advantage
over a business that seeks to
enter the market from outside of
the country… as opposed to the
favors rich investors are given
when they knock on countries’
doors these days. A govern-
ment is meant to be keen to
ensure that their people are the
priority in terms of the quality
of food they consume, the air
they breathe and the water they
drink. That their people feel se-
cure, rather than threatened by
security forces, such as police,
and that friendly dialogue is
possible between citizens and
their employees in the govern-
ment.
Oil producing countries, for ex-
ample, tend to pass on the ben-
efit of this naturally occurring
resource to their citizens in the
form of affordable fuel and even
free education and government
services. Countries focused on
the growth of the ICT sector
usually find ways to reduce the
cost of access to equipment like
computers and mobile phones,
reduce the cost of and improve
the quality of internet, countries
focused on manufacturing find
ways in which to ensure that the
process is as cost-effective as
possible, even providing finan-
cial cushioning to businesses
during times when things are
not so bright, because they
want to ensure that these
companies remain afloat and
are able to continue on after the
crisis is averted, because they
understand the value these
businesses contribute overall –
not that they turn it into occa-
sion for yet more favoritism.
A mindful government builds
without ego, not caring that the
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