African Time

         The first time I was made aware of the concept termed ‘African Time’ was during one of the orientation workshops facilitated by site officers from the Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD) during my first week here. Although, the term was not used in a pejorative sense, the site officers mentioned that most interns express frustration on this front, as the norm is for meetings and events, more often than not are guaranteed to start late, or even not happen at all.

            Two and a half weeks in, and I have since had my fair share of encounters with ‘African time’. At times amusing, at others just plain frustrating here are some of the most memorable instances. For one, at my place of work -Eco Ethics - I was told by my supervisor that work began promptly at 8:00. By the time I arrive – usually around 8:15 in the morning – granted there will always be one or two people already in the office, but the norm is to stroll in around 8:40 – 9:00, and there have been instances when I noted that one of my fellow interns would come into the office as late as 9:20. 

             Another such instance was when my fellow intern and I were sent to attend an event hosted by the National Environment Management Agency (NEMA) for World Environment Day on June 5^th. The intern had told me that we were just going for the closing ceremonies and speeches. To my surprise, however, when we arrive at the venue the whole ordeal hadn’t even started! Music was being played in the background whilst a group of 5 men frantically tried to set up the microphone. All around me I could see children growing restless, some listened to music with their earphones, whilst others rested their heads on the benches in front of them. I asked my fellow intern how long she thought they had been sitting there, ‘Probably since 9’ she replied. Looking at my watch I was speechless, it was 12:15! As the microphone was finally made to function, the host introduced all the schools present and mentioned that they were just waiting for the guest of honor who was ‘on his way’. It was at this time that my fellow intern turned to me and whispered that ‘by that he means that the guest has just left his house, and will probably take a good half hour’ to reach the venue.

                There have been further minor instances, like the time when the deputy director from the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI), told my fellow intern and I that he really had somewhere he needed to be, before proceeding to chat with us for a good half hour or so. As we eagerly stood up to leave (we had many errands to run that day) he looked at his phone and said ‘I really should get going now’. Or the time when I was told that the road show for World Ocean’s Day which occurred on June 7^th, the day before the actual event, would start promptly at 8:00 and that ‘it would be nice if I could make it’. Imagine my surprise when I hurriedly rushed out the house at 8:25 – my alarm had not been set for that day as it was a Saturday - and took a tuk tuk to Makadara Grounds. I arrived at 8:30 and saw the band still setting up and spoke to a manager from Kenya Maritime Authorities (KMA) who said that he had not seen my supervisor, or anyone from Eco Ethics for that matter and that in fact I was the first one there. My colleagues arrived half an hour later around 9:00, and the road show started promptly at 10:00, the previously scheduled time.

          My personal experiences increased my curiosity about attitudes towards time, as tardiness or 'African time’ appears to be prevalent in almost every aspect of a Kenyan’s life. From staff meetings, to appointments, formal events, social events and even filing taxes! Another intern told me that most people file their taxes long after the June 30^th hard deadline. Although I was told that many times there are legitimate reasons for a person’s delay, such as the unreliable public transport (a topic for another day), the ferry getting stuck, a sudden downpour or a blackout. But equally, many other times there appears to be no apparent reason than lateness itself. I sought to find out more.

            Scouring the web has yielded numerous op-eds and articles on the subject matter. There is even an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to this phenomenon. The page describes African time as ‘the perceived cultural tendency, in most parts of Africa, toward a relaxed attitude to time’. What drew my attention immediately was that it was defined as a cultural tendency. If ‘African time’ is a product of societal norms, what does that then tell us about our own conceptions and perceptions of time in Western culture?

            It has been observed that African countries experience more leisurely, relaxed and less rigorously scheduled lifestyles that juxtaposes the more clock-bound fast paced daily life of Western countries. Some have attributed this not as a tendency for tardiness, but merely a reflection of a different approach and method in managing tasks, events and interactions as a result of their polychromic culture.

         On the other hand, Anthropologist Edward T.Hall (1983) has described modern Western time as ‘monochromic time’. Time as linearly directional, advancing, non-repetitive and tangible. The origins of the linearity of Western time has been disputed. Joseph Needham (1966) theorized that it originated in the Judeo-Christian worldview, whilst others believe that the linear organization of time first appeared in the monasteries of medieval Europe, with monks believing that this rationalized conduct would help them in overcoming the dependence on impulses and the natural state of being. Others still, theorize that it came much later, when Britain experienced industrialization in the 19^th century, which also marked the advent of the mechanical clock.   

            This has led to Western culture’s current understanding of time that echoes the Protestant work ethic that introduced the ‘time is money’ mindset, which one still hears quoted frequently. Just as there is ‘African Time’, there is also what has been called’ Mr. White Man’s Time’ to describe Western culture’s obsession with efficiency and progress. Time in the Western world has transformed into a form of currency or commodity, which is demonstrated by the English terms we commonly use when referring to time, which can be ‘spent’, ‘wasted’, ‘saved’ or ‘given’.

This differs greatly from a non-Western perception of time. As Dr. Jenkins believes, ‘African Time flows backwards. Flows toward you from the future, and the more or faster the activity, the faster time flows. Time is created and not given. Time is not something in itself. Life is made up of events, defined by relationships and time is merely a component of the event.’ Additionally, Allan Bluedorn believes that ‘What any group of people think about time ends up being a result of them interesting with each other and socialization processes’, echoing the notion that our perceptions and attitudes towards time are merely a social construct.

            Bluedorn further notes that ‘people become more aware of temporal differences in different cultures’, which brings this blog post to an end. Regardless of whether one advocates the fast-paced life of Westerners or the slow-paced ones of their non-Western counterparts. Although an interesting discourse to have, at the end of the day, fast isn’t always best; nor is slow.