For Africa's Sake, I Wish I Had Harry Potter’s Elder Wand
Maybe With It, Kenya Wouldn’t Have Lost 200 Lives to Floods. But Also, is the AfCFTA a Kind of Elder Wand?
Somewhere south of Hogwarts Castle lies the Great Lake–a landlocked freshwater lake that serves as the backdrop to Dumbledore's final resting place.
Whiter than snow, they call it the White Tomb. It not only holds the greatest headmaster who ever lived but also the Elder Wand–the most powerful wand to ever exist. It is capable of extraordinary feats of magic, and as the lore goes, it always wins duels for its wielder.
The wand has been on my mind in light of the recent floods, but even more so today as Kenya mourns and remembers over 200 souls lost.
Why The Elder Wand?
With it, at the flick of a hand, I could replicate developed economies’ systems and install them on my continent and, more specifically, my country—Kenya.
Then, Kenya wouldn't have lost over 200 lives to floods—an efficient early warning system, a shameless duplicate of the UK Emergency Alert System, would already exist to mitigate this.
Did you know the system works on all networks in the UK, and the phone or tablet does not need to be connected to WiFi or data to get an alert? It warns UK residents of flooding, terrorist attacks, extreme weather conditions, and fires.
But I wouldn't stop there! When you have such a powerful item in your hand, you push boundaries.
I’d conjure up an invisibility cloak and teleport to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Cloaked in anonymity, I’d walk the hallowed halls, eavesdrop on conversations, and absorb as much information as possible.
My assignment? To understand the famed US patent system that birthed an innovative environment so remarkable it gave rise to the Thomas Edisons of this world.
Full of knowledge, I’d teleport back to Kenya with an utter of the tongue and implement a similar system in the continent.
The last order of business before returning the wand to its owner–visiting the bowels of Guangzhou Province in China. The province is home to Shenzhen, Shantou, and Zhuhai Special Economic Zones (SEZs), special economic areas where trade and business laws differ from those of the rest of the country in favor of the business person.
These particular SEZs were among the first established in China between 1980 and 1984. Soon after its establishment, Shenzhen’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 58%, Shantou’s GDP grew by 9%, and Zhuhai’s GDP grew by 32%.
But how did they do it? How do the SEZs work, and what strategies have they implemented to ensure success?
That’s where the elder wand comes in. I’d use it to transfigure myself into one of the officials (the kind that has access) and probe, observe, and absorb every salient thing. Oh, and don’t forget: steal anything that is stealable.
Do you think that is unconscionable? We are talking about China, which installed cameras in the AU headquarters to spy on Africans. How does that Shakespeare quote go?
The villainy you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard
—Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare.
With everything I need in hand, I’d zip back to Kenya and use it to turn our measly 23 SEZs into economic juggernauts while transmitting the same to the rest of the continent.
But alas! I am only a muggle, Hogwarts is forever closed to me, and the Elder Wand is perpetually out of reach.
So, I will scream at the top of my voice about AfCFTA. Within it, if fully implemented, it holds the power to do all the things the Elder Wand would allow me to steal, erm, borrow.
How Will The AfCFTA Facilitate Efficient Systems and a Strong Patent Structure?
The AfCFTA has a Protocol on Intellectual Property Rights that will:
Create a conducive environment for innovation that inventors can leverage to build efficient systems.
Facilitate a powerful patent structure.
What are Intellectual Property Rights?
Intellectual Property Rights are protections or legal rights given to individuals or organizations for creative and intellectual creations.
These creations include artistic works, inventions, images, and designs. Intellectual property grants the inventor and creators exclusive rights to their creations.
Such rights create a conducive innovation environment because inventors:
Can profit from their work,
Are protected from theft
Have an incentive to compete. Each inventor will want to build novel and efficient systems that solve problems, change the market, and make a lot of money.
More than that, Intellectual Property Rights will facilitate robust patent systems because intellectual property includes
Patents
Trade Secrets
Trademarks
Database
Copyrights
Designs
The Role of ACFTA IN Special Economic Zones (SEZs)
As of 2023, Africa had about 203 operational Special Economic Zones. That number is too small for a continent the size of Africa.
Especially when data shows that SEZs are necessary for economic diversification, promoting industrialization, and structural transformation. China is a prime example.
The AfCFTA Secretariat, determined to improve the state of SEZs in the continent, asked the African Economic Zones Organization to investigate and share recommendations on how to treat goods originating from African SEZs.
Formalizing these recommendations will make it easier for business people in the continent to take advantage of the opportunities SEZs offer to build businesses that generate industrial growth.
Last Word
Ideally, systems such as an early warning system should be the government's initiative. Similar to how the UK Emergency Alert System was the initiative of the UK government.
But in a continent where the governments don't go out of their way to create such a system, the only resource is the private sector through innovation.
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