An open letter to Mr Joe Klein – Journalist at Large

Dear Mr Klein,

I refer to your essay entitled “Head Start doesn’t work” which appeared in the July 18 issue of that weekly rag, TIME and wish to respond as follows:

Firstly, I do not know why I receive the magazine each Monday afternoon (depending on strikes within the postal service – it may be a week or six late),but assume that the previous incumbent of my office subscribed out of a need to appear well read, as it were.

Secondly, I am not sure that one could claim to be well read after studying the magazine in question.

Thirdly, I am not convinced that you are to be trusted. There is something truly odd about a white man being an ardent supporter of a black fella in Office.  Where I come from, it is called crossing the colour line.

Be that as it may, I wish to clarify the issue which you hint at in your essay entitled “Head Start doesn’t work”, but never get round to actually verbalising.

Its called “Cronyism”. Not crayonism as in wax (Nothing to be embarrassed about, I get it wrong too), but cronyism as in jobs for pals.

A wonderful turn of phrase used in an economic sense to describe the spread of wealth amongst those that really matter in government and the top upper echelons of the economic industry, namely government. Ie – me and mine.

This form of economic practice, I have always believed was unique to African Continental Big Men ( and that silver-tongued Italian, Silvio Berlusconi).

Thus your essay leaves me with great hope and satisfaction; that Africa does indeed have a place at the teacher’s podium, that we can teach the rest of the world about finance and how to run a succesful economy.

Dear "Whoever", Please, oh please don't let our African Brethren close to the IMF. I will never look lustfully at another woman again. I think.

Now, if the West would just let us run the IMF, that would be great!