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“Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America... with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.”
Change America to Africa... That’s easy enough – no shortage of ideals and dreams on this continent, and facts don’t come any harder than here. But what can be substituted for Disneyland?
Well, once upon a time there was a busy little imperialist by the name of Cecil John Rhodes whose ruthless ambition could be summed up in three visionary words: Cape to Cairo.
A mission statement of truly imperial import that kept the empire builders thoroughly occupied with infrastructure and particularly transport projects for decades, building the backbone of the continent’s logistics framework before they became preoccupied with matters such as world wars, independence movements and other annoying preludes to the empire’s collapse.
Fast forward to today: what remains of the dream of an integrated Africa? It never went away, you say.
Organisations such as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) have carried the flame while discreetly converting the athlete’s regalia into something more suitable with regard to the aspirations of the people rather than the fever dreams of imperial bureaucrats.
Very well. And the facts?
The fact is that the dream has been rekindled. From Dar es Salaam to Durban, projects are afoot to create a transport corridor that will play a key role in integrating the regional economies of sub-Saharan Africa. The North-South Corridor, it’s called.
There’s a story about it in this issue of Road Ahead. It’s our substitute for Disneyland.
The gospel takes its time, however. The article writer told me that a surprisingly large number of people had simply never heard of the North-South Corridor.
Ladies and gentlemen, I’m sure you will agree that this is frankly unacceptable. Fortunately, there is a wonderful opportunity for all and sundry to inform themselves in the form of the inaugural Nepad Transport Summit 2009 and Africa Expo at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand from 25 to 26 November.
It’s time to convert the dream into Walt Disney’s hard facts. See you there!
