Which tribe washes toilets and bathrooms in institutions? Got yah! The world knew little of a Ghanaian woman named Harriet Annan based in Düsseldorf, until when a German TV featured a documentary on her enterprise. In Germany, she is a “cleaning woman;” in Ghana she is a philanthropist, supporting a home of 26 orphans!

Remembering the type of stigma that was in Kenya in the 80s and 90s about toilet cleaning jobs, I asked her, “Don’t you think Africans and the children that benefit from your support will be ashamed of the work you do?” Not Harriet, part of the reason she allowed the TV interview was to expose to Africans the fact that life is not easy in developed countries’ cities. As a trained computer expert, she had expected to make thousands of Euros in Germany, but this was not to be, because of huge barriers towards getting professional jobs in Western capitals. She also wanted to demonstrate to Westerners that despite their barriers towards African expertise and entrepreneurship, they cannot kill the determination of African visionaries.  

The story of Harriet brings to the fore the debate about brain drain from Africa. It is estimated that over 300,000 professionals reside outside Africa. Over 20,000 leave annually. It is said that Africa subsidizes poor medical policies in countries such as Britain by “shipping” cheap labour as nurses. It is estimated that Africans in Diaspora remit $14 billion annually with Ghanaians remitting $400 million to their economy. Should we stop Africans from migrating? No one should blame Africans who try to migrate to wealthy nations. Wealthy countries have successfully marketed Africa wrongly as a desolate and poor continent – this, they have done to both their own citizens and Africans. Africans therefore seek to run to other seemingly prosperous societies. Faced with a situation where our only heroes are politicians, who are heavily subsidized by aid money…naturally our young run to the Western capitals to utilize their talents.

While addressing the question on aid to Africa and possible strategies that we ought to take to make our continent relevant for the future to our own benefit; I was asked by an audience whether financing people such as Harriet would make the best aid for Africa. Having a professional African under-employed in a Western city does not call for “aid,” it calls for maximizing the productivity of such an African. If she has managed to do a lot on a cleaner’s wage, what else can she do for Africa if she was to be employed as per her profession? 

If Western employers would treat professional Africans who have proper migration documentation as they treat any other professional, it would go a long way in developing Africa. It makes no sense for Westerners to push for philanthropy towards Africa while at the same time block African professionals from working in their capitals, block African products to their markets and promote anti- migrant campaigns.

According to Harriet, she is as good as an economic refugee, and Africa has many out there. As was aptly said by the Deputy Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa; Dr. Lalla Barka, “African governments have a great responsibility to ensure that brains remain in the continent; otherwise, in 25 year's time, Africa will be empty of brains.”  Kenya and by extension African governments must take the responsibility for suffocating talents by allowing the interests of a few connected individuals to stop entry of new businesses into the market. How many jobs do we loose when bureaucrats delay licensing of another mobile phone operator, FM stations, supplier of medicines and even a road contractor? 

This article was first published by Business Daily, a publication of Nation Media Group