Deloittes Strategic Review for Africans in NZ - Unifying or Divisive??

We are all Africans, one people BUT hugely divergent also, at least currently within NZ (and Africa), so have a need to be best represented by a number of different entities and organisations that best currently reflect where each of us is in the transformative process of understanding (and trusting) a new country to us, new religions around us including from within Africa, effectively forced by circumstance into a much closer proximity than we would ever be in Africa, with very divergent cultural, religious, belief, music, political, civil war, war, tribal, language, customs, laws, etc etc backgrounds, enmities, mistrusts and bonds.  Africans have not been able to resolve these within Africa, perhaps even harder in practice when all these differences are placed together within one city and one country.  It will take time, years to decades to slowly build genuine trust, support and symbiotic relationships by us African and for us Africans in New Zealand.

Africans living in NZ  represent the African continent from which we all came and which contains the continent with the most diverse range of cultures, languages and backgrounds in the world - from which those immigrants to Aotearoa/NZ all now residing in one country, not spread across 54. 

We Africans in NZ are a proud and resourceful people coming from 54 countries, and over 2,000 different languages - the most diverse peoples and so the most resourceful continent in the world. 

We do NOT need a non African NZ company (Delloittes) from a non African country (NZ) telling us how we should strategically organise ourselves - that belongs to a past age which we have hopefully mainly left behind, surely?!

Why should Deloittes make handsome money by telling us Africans how to organise ourselves?!

A noble sentiment, thank you, give us the handsome money instead and we will sort our differences better ourselves without outside interference for a strategically better outcome for all Africans in NZ.  Fully inclusive ? - our own organisation, and others that we are aware of also,  have not even been invited to be a part of this ‘unifying process’ to make decisions for us!

Stand tall fellow Africans - show some spirit and sensibility on this matter.

Deloittes Ltd Mission Statement:  #4 Deloitte's core values comprise: “commitment to each other, integrity, outstanding value to clients and strength from cultural diversity.” 

It is noted that Noah and Boubacar, (emails) are main contacts and have had close affiliations with ACOFI who in turn could be arguably said to have had a relatively divisive track record ongoing with many African Organisations in New Zealand

Emails were forwarded to us (PABC) (and available on request)  by several different African entities and individuals who were concerned by their contents, they themselves had not been included in the email - and yet their futures were being attempted to be organised by a NZ company (Deloittes) funded by a Govt funded organisation (Police) being informed by one segment only of African organisations who had clearly been deliberately left off their well known email lists to exclude them and us - not a good even first step towards UNITY!!

Thank you Deloittes, we Africans in NZ understand and are proud of our own cultural diversity - give us the Govt money you will be paid and we will sort our own strategic direction in Aotearoa. We want the best intentions with the best strategic outcomes,

NOT the best of intentions by Others (ACOFI), for Us (Africans in NZ), with a flawed strategic outcome - we have all been there before! Are you with us (Africans), or against us (Africans)?

Please acknowledge your support for the African leaders and African people in NZ to come together to establish their OWN best strategic pathway forward, rather than a smaller subset of Africans in NZ doing this through Deloittes. Please Sign the petition NOW! Further background information below if required.

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The email below was sent by PABC to MP Ibrahim Omar (African from Eritrea) and we are still awaiting a reply and a meeting with ALL African Leaders in New Zealand (Without Deloittes please!) as initially discussed. Africans are not ACOFI please!

Email sent to our African MP Ibrahim Omer dated 17th April 2022 Urgent for MP Ibrahim Omer Please!

Read Email Below:

Thank for meeting at the Ghanaian Independence day on 16th April 2022

Topics discussed  included:

There is no one representative parent organization for Africans in NZ Not ACOFI not PABC not Canterbury Zimbabwe Association, not ZANZA.. ……..

We are all Africans, one people BUT hugely divergent also, at least currently within NZ (and Africa), so have a need to be best represented by a number of different entities and organisations that best currently reflect where each of us is in the transformative process of understanding (and trusting) a new country to us, new religions around us including from within Africa, effectively forced by circumstance into a much closer proximity than we would ever be in Africa, with very divergent cultural, religious, belief, music, political, civil war, war, tribal, language, customs, laws, etc etc backgrounds, enmities, mistrusts and bonds.  Africans have not been able to resolve these within Africa, perhaps even harder in practice when all these differences are placed together within one city and one country.  It will take time, years to decades to slowly build genuine trust, support and symbiotic relationships across all these conflicting strengths and weaknesses – it is far too soon, and dare I say, too arrogant for any one  group to say they are the umbrella group – it only leads to more divisions, as we have seen (if we are looking and listening!)

Background Context:

History - most of the NZ African entities are led by primarily self appointed people who have been shown to be somewhat dictatorial in their approach... to gain significant control (and finance) over as many groups as possible.  Even within these groups alliances have been shown to be like shifting sand. We have all seen enough of that in African Govts and would like to leave that in the past, please!!

Funding and communications with  NZ Govt authorities and ministries are at an individual basis.  I strongly suggest  that you as the First List African MP sits with all/many of us in one room to discuss how each of our groups can best together promote what is best for Africans within NZ.  The reality would be that there would be many different vested interests within any such mix of groups – it would require strong Chairmanship and an insistence on Respect for All, regardless of any past and present conflicts there may (will) be.  

Wait until you speak with ‘all’ (many will not hear of any communal meeting gathering and so remain unrepresented) divergent  African community groups in one room, listen carefully, and make it very clear there is no one single lead umbrella group, all will have equal say and hearing. 

We do not accept the endorsements that you are making and presenting on ‘our behalf’ without realising the damage it has caused and creating even more competition and factions amongst different groups.  In reality unfortunately it may take some years to a decade or two, for the often dysfunctional communities within Africa to also lose competitive dysfunction within NZ – it is almost like a dysfunctional family  - it takes not only good intentions, added to good processes, and the slow healing of time to  slowly help bring back family and community trust again.  If this process is forced at all, it is back to square one, or worse, again.

I believe the Ministry for Ethnic Communities  knows this, and it is important that you get to know as many relevant African leaders, and small unrepresented groups, as possible and ongoing,  not just those that Acofi or  Canterbury Zimbabwe Association, AAF or SEDT etc  introduces to you – which has the effect of shutting out others. Many left Africa to get away from ‘autocratic leaders’.

Ask yourself why we needed to have a Zimbabwe Independence Day celebration in NZ?  Why was Acofi not represented at the Ghanaian Association Independence? Why is Acofi not speaking or even replying to the invitation sent to them for the first ever Auckland Independence day celebration organised and funded by NZPABC although they were invited?   The a answer is simple. They block anyone who questions or disagrees with their leadership style.  NZPABC began a hopeful association, at their repeated request due to what they said was our known excellent successful track record – we were happy to begin progressing this but it soon transpired our ethics and values were far apart so we terminated the association within 3 weeks.  They told us we had to send our funding applications to them first for vetting, ‘forgetting’ to add that they were also putting in competing application(s). They said we were not allowed to talk to the Ministry direct after we gave constructive feedback to the Ministry post a zoom meeting they held.  They tried to ban us from giving a free 2hr in depth education session on COVID-19 to African leaders and other interested parties, as was minuted and agreed that we would do when we still had the association with them.  It was very hard to understand how these events could all be for the collective good of Africans. We tried to reach out to you and got no response at all however clearly you found time to meet with Acofi several timers-the implication has been noted in feedback to us several times.

ACOFI seems to want to control all the NZ Govt African funding & communications, as an overarching single entity group, and control those funds, while they pretend to be doing all the work. As we speak right now NZIPC and NZPABC are blocked by them, presumably for highliting these issues which we have proof of, which are embarrassing and from feedback we have had several other organisations are not on good terms with Acofi either. I am sure they have their followers, which is good, but others find that style utterly reminiscent of an autocratic African state approach.

A report will follow on why many Africans in NZ will not be engaging with the Ambassador to Aust and NZ, whom you recently met with, and I also spent a whole week driving him around and setting his schedule as requested by Canterbury.  He, understandably, is only picking those who support the current Zimbabwean Govt of 42years (ZanuPF) – its social and financial track record is abysmal.  Effectively bankrupt, high corruption index, human rights abuses, major internationally recognised lack of faith in the legal and democratic processes there, sanctions as a result placed on them by the international community, inflation of several hundred per cent per year – what true democracy stays in power for over forty years??  It needs constant refreshing and new ideas to work well, with measurably good results, and not over forty years' timeframe.  Zimbabwe is one of a handful of countries to effectively support Russia by refusing to condone Russia’s current war and invasion of Ukraine – no wonder the international community has walked away from Zimbabwe until they come to their senses – and it will not be with the current Govt, unfortunately, no matter how we try to frame it in a good light.  

This autocratic Zimbabwe, effectively abusive and corrupt Govt is seen through by the majority of Zimbabweans in NZ who will not support or tolerate it, and if anyone in Zimbabwe says they support the regime please kindly let all Zimbabweans know so we can find somebody who can represent us properly.  Either the ill-informed, or those paid to be ill informed, could support such a regime.

Thanking you for meeting the Ambassador, but moving forward please involve all African leaders, not just those claiming to be the main ones. 

I have copied all known leaders, there will be others, to this as this is a way to initiate an open honest conversation with you to try and develop a healing process and slowly emerging framework structure to try and slowly build up trust.

Until then please do not endorse any one African organisation within New Zealand – although theoretically it would be good to have and aim for, but the time is definitely not right at the moment – trust has to be earned, and that takes time, and likely a lot of it.

Expect a report on behalf of feedbacks we received from mainly Zimbabweans, after and during a 3hr online open to all radio interview I had with the Ambassador when he was here, there are some uncomfortable issues raised, and fudged evasive responses.

Reminding us all we have 54 nations and we hope each will be represented on Africa day. Please if you invite African delegates kindly check who the African leaders are, and not just the selective Acofi /SEDT/AAF appointed ones. There are many people working on the ground but greatly under recognized because you spend most of your time with those who claim to be the parent organisation with arguably perhaps their own personal ambitions.

We look forward to seeing you at the Zimbabwe Independence day celebration tomorrow

Kind Regards

Ketina Chivasa

0276436004

Africans are Our Community Too!

Chairperson

Ketina Chivasa RN MN (Hons), Auckland Uni

NZ Pan African Broadcasting Corporation Charitable Trust

NZ Infection Prevention & Control Consultancy Director Ketina  

M: 0276436004   Email: ketina@pabc.org.nz

Our new Website: https://www.pabc.org.nz/

NZIPCconsultancy@gmail.com

Please Sign and forward this to as many Africans and Others as possible

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