LUSAKA, March 9 (Xinhua) -- African nations need to inculcate a genuine sense of patriotism in their citizens and address issues of ethnicity, tribalism and regionalism if they are to register meaningful economic development, a development expert said on Saturday.
Rose Fumpa Makano, a development consultant and researcher, said many of the poverty centered challenges confronting developing nations have a lot to do with greed and coupled with a lack of genuine patriotism in leaders and the general citizenry.
According to her, African nations need to come up with initiatives that will help people change their mindsets and attitudes by inculcating values that promote patriotism and selflessness.
She said African nations should learn from countries including China and Singapore, which have inculcated patriotism in their citizens.
Makano, who is also a lecturer at Dag Hammarskjold Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies at Zambia's Coppoerbelt University, proposed that least developed countries should learn from countries like Singapore and China which have managed to record outstanding economic development in record time because people had been told not to be selfish and stay focused on developing their economies.
According to Makano, China has a lot to offer in terms of lessons on how a country can rise from being a less developed country to an economic and business powerhouse.
"What made them get to where they are today has a lot to do with unity of purpose. For its part, China has inculcated a strong sense of patriotism in its people and that has worked well for the country," Makano said.
She further noted that the Chinese work in teams because they understand that much can be achieved through cooperation.
