OF J.SACHS AND DEVELOPMENT IN RURAL AFRICA: WE HAVE A PROVEN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH...THE SAGAM MODEL

An open letter to Professor Jeffrey SACHS from Dr. Khama ROGO, one of those educated sons of Sagam who never abandoned the village:

"Prof Jeffrey Sachs has attracted a lot of press recently from his outspoken position on Africa's plight and the key to its development. Prof Sachs believes that developed countries have a responsibility to Africa that should be fulfilled through increased aid to the continent. Most interesting have been the examples he has sited from a village in Western Kenya called Bar Sauri. We are informed that this village has now been designated as the millennium village, and is set to receive substantial external investment. The village will be used as a 'guinea-pig' to provide the evidence to back Prof Sach's contentions on development and the need for substantial increase aid from rich countries.

But what are we really out to prove and will it happen? And, if the changes take place, will they be sustainable and to whom will it be attributed? Will it be replicable in the rest of the continent and at what rate? Are there alternative more appropriate models for achieving similar results, rapidly and at less cost?

My interest in this village is that it is next door to our own Sagam. At Sagam Village we believe that development starts from within and that the missing link to development in rural Africa are the educated sons and daughters who abandon their villages to old men/women and the handicapped as soon as they realize personal success. Soon, they inevitably become strangers to their own birthplace and kindred, cynical and dismissive of every happening in the village. They are a liability, a wasted investment by the village in their education and subsequent success.

We put this hypothesis to test in Sagam nearly a decade ago and have learnt the hard way, by doing it ourselves. We, however, leave it to independent observers to judge the results. But, in short, we believe that we have succeeded to put in place all that Prof Sachs wishes for Bar Sauri --- WITHOUT DONOR SUPPORT. Prof Sachs would be proud of Sagam.

Sagam and Bar Sauri are neighboring villages, inhabited by the same people. I therefore make these statements with the confidence of one who knows the geographical, political and cultural context of the area in a manner deeper than most observers. In addition, I state this to bring to the attention of development theorists and Prof Sachs that there are success stories in Africa that are employing alternative routes to development but they are rarely quoted because they are not sponsored from without and are therefore lack the patronage that attracts headlines in New York Times and The Economist.

In his next visit to Western Kenya, Prof Sachs he should make a point of visiting our village to observe this developmental phenomenon, probably the best kept secret in Africa. He should take time to tour all our development programs (extensive rural electrification, safe & piped water, improved schools and performance, village micro finance bank, a rural hospital with extensive community outreach, care of HIV orphans, home based care of HIV patients, VCT facilities, ARVs for HIV patients, village polytechnic under construction, village road maintenance levy, a village newspaper... to mention just a few) all done without political patronage or massive donor input, but with determined local participation and leadership. Most important, Prof Sach's should go to listen! The villagers have an important story to tell, which he should relay to international press and to Gleneagles. The village needs to generate income through more trade and less aid. They can produce goods to seel but lack the market.

This is not to say that Prof Sachs is wrong. Indeed external investment and aid is still needed and could probably have accelerated the pace of our efforts (there are many examples of the opposite, especially when the aid is linked to a posse of advisors who mean well but do not understand the dynamics of village life). It is however important to acknowledge that there is an indigenous spirit and entrepreneurship in Africa that offers an alternative path the development. We believe that this spirit needs recognition from donors as the foundation stone to sustainable development in rural Africa. it is a spirit of self help seeking to pay for whatever they get with their own sweat.
Would it not be a worthwhile multivariate experiment to test the spirit of Sagam Village and Bar Sauri by, for example, providing Sagam Village with just 30-40% of what Bar Sauri has been promised, opening a few markets for their goods in Europe or America then closely monitor what the final effects would be on the two villages.

THIS IS AN OPEN INVITATION TO PROF SACHS AS A FRIEND OF RURAL AFRICA: DO VISIT SAGAM VILLAGE ON YOUR NEXT TRIP TO BAR SAURI. AND PREPARE TO STAY OVERNIGHT, TO SIT AND DISCUSS WITH AN ENLIGHTENED VILLAGE LEADERSHIP. WE SHALL PROVIDE APPROPRIATE ACCOMMODATION."