Task 1:

“The painful paradox of African development in the world economy is that, even though

the continent is rich, it is chronically poor in development” Discuss

Answer:

The land known today as Africa has been home to civilization since the beginning of human

settlements as we know it. During the age of Greek and Roman civilization, Africa as known to

the world at the time, pertained to the area covering Egypt, Tunisia (Carathage), Sudan, Morocco

and a host of Moorish civilizations (Evans, 1933). The advent of growth in the sea trade and the

age of conquests lead to the discovery of inner lands and older civilisations from around the

West Coast of Africa to the southernmost part of the continent. Since then, a land which was

largely unknown became the center for trade and commerce for all varieties of goods.

Eventually, the cities of Africa became colonies of powerful European states and empires

(Britain, Germany, France, Spain, Denmark, Portugal, Netherlands, among others). In all of these

transitions, the land has been noted to have vast wealth in terms of resources as recorded by

native, travelers and visitors alike.

Africa’s wealth of resources span food, land, livestock, water and minerals. Africa is home to

huge natural resources and rich ecosystems. The continent is richly endowed with fertile land

and with important natural resources, which include renewable resources (such as water, forests,

and fisheries) and non-renewable resources (minerals, coal, gas, and oil) (minerals, coal, gas, and

oil). Many economies in Africa are dominated by natural resources and are vital to the lives of

people's living on the continent (Rodney, 2010). These resources form the basis of revenue and
livelihood for vast parts of the people of Africa and are the main source of governmental revenue

and national wealth.

Despite this wealth of resources, many African countries have been limited in terms of growth

and development. According to the Patel (2018), one in three Africans live below the global

poverty line, making up 70% of the global poor. Writing for the World Bank, Schoch and Lakner

(2020) note that, Africa is the poorest country in the world with majority of its inhabitants living

below poverty lines. Africa’s underdevelopment is translated in its low levels of education, poor

health options, and high deaths resulting from lack of access to medical care; as well as

widespread poverty and hunger. In Africa there are so many problems and challenges that

confronts nearly every country, with just a few countries achieving a level of success in some

dimensions.

The paradox herein is that, how can a continent with so much, have so little to show for it.

People living in areas rich with resources must at the very least, benefit from the gains obtained

from these resources. However, Africa suffers whiles the rest of the world is made better with

resources from Africa. A number of reasons have been used to explain is lacunae. For many

development experts, the problem of Africa is profound and can be traced to a number of

reasons, all of which are inextricably linked (Robinson & Acemoglu, 2012). However, if context

is to be used, a blanket response to “why Africa is rich, yet poor”, is easily a case of

mismanagement of Africa’s resources.

A more proper breakdown of this claim is to suggest that, numerous reasons accrue to Africa’s

poverty. First, Africa’s leadership has consistently failed to implement the right growth

promotion policies and to ensure that strong institutions are in place. As a result, in many parts of

the continent, it is very difficult to make the big push towards diversification and development of
manufacturing in the resource-rich parts of Africa. Much of Africa is not industrialized to the

point where can there be effective use of its resources. In the end, Africa’s rich wealth has been a

variable in a long chain of extraction and exploitation, of which the continent gains little at the

end. The continent is thus stuck in a staple trap, dependent on exports of a few mineral resources.

This failure of natural resource wealth to lead to the expected economic growth and development

has also been linked to interference by other countries, who seek to profit off Africa’s wealth, at

the expense of Africa. This can be alluded to the cases of colonization, neo-colonization and

modern international trade systems, which are often unfair to Africa. In Chang’s (2002), Kicking

Away the Ladder, he mentions the role of superpowers and international organisations, in putting

developing nations on the continent of Africa at a disadvantage from the policies they push and

implement.

There is no other continent that possesses as many valued resources as possible, and so many

diverse European settlers have conquered and divided no land for as long as in the case of Africa.

Africa's challenges are unique. Nonetheless, Africa has to undergo changes in order to

turnaround the dire economic situation of its citizens. It would be beneficial for the continent to

undergo important changes in the aspects of governance and leadership, with important

economic reforms. This rise must however be accelerated, since the experts warn of the potential

to increase poverty in the next few years.

References

Chang, H. J. (2002). Kicking away the ladder: development strategy in historical perspective.

Anthem Press.

Evans, S. (1933). The wealth of Africa. Journal of the Royal African Society, 32(126), 12-20.

Patel, N. (2018). "Figure of the Week: Understanding Poverty in Africa." Brookings, Brookings,
Accessed on 18th June 2021 from www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2018/11/21/figure-of-
the-week-understanding-poverty-in-africa/.

Robinson, J. A., & Acemoglu, D. (2012). Why nations fail: The origins of power, prosperity and
poverty. London: Profile.

Rodney, W. (2010). How Europe underdeveloped Africa. Perspectives on Africa. Blackwell,

Malden, MA, 439-449.

Schoch, M. & Lakner, C., (2020). The number of poor people continues to rise in Sub-Saharan
Africa, despite a slow decline in the poverty rate. World Bank Blogs. Accessed on 18th June 2021
from <https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/number-poor-people-continues-rise-sub-saharan-
africa-despite-slow-decline-poverty-rate>
 AFRICA AT 60: RETROSPECT, ACHIEVEMENTS, FAILURES AND FUTURE
PROSPECTS

Introduction

In the summer of 1980, Zimbabwe the last standing African colony of a European power

(Britain), gained its independence. For the first time in a long time, the rule of the county

belonged to citizens of the country. This was the last in a series of events that was officially set

in motion in Ghana, 1957 by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, who led Ghana to independence as the first

African country to do so. For a long time, a land which was proliferated with over a thousand

diverse ethnic groups, was now to be governed in statehoods and countries. Africa’s

independence sixty (60) years ago makes the continent young as compared to its peers, and yet

old as compared to the life of a man.

At the dawn of independence in the 1960s, Africa's founding fathers and contemporaries set as

their goal the eradication of poverty, ignorance, and disease from the continent. However, this

challenge has proven to be quite elusive despite positive indications for the continent. The

challenge is even more worrying considering the fact that countries with similar resources and

experiences like Africa have significantly changed their fortunes. As Africa continues to age, it is

in order to make an assessment of the continent, in terms of its achievements, failures and

prospects.

Achievements

Generically speaking, Africa today is experiencing its period of unprecedented sustainable

growth which, for the past five years, has exceeded population increase (Amankwah‐Amoah,

2019). This can be attributed to several internal and external explanatory factors: peace and
stability; improved governance; economic reforms; and stronger donor support, in particular debt

relief. All these are factors, which have inspired greater confidence, stimulated investment flows,

reversed capital flight and increased remittances.

Furthermore, since independence, Africa has experienced significant societal transformation,

most of which has continued. Significant demographic changes have occurred across the

continent, including significantly greater levels of urbanization. Literacy levels are currently

significantly higher than they were at the time of independence. Following the indigenization of

the African civil service and the beginnings of industrialization, new social classes have risen

(Jordans, Ng’weno, & Spencer-Oatey, 2020). Today’s booming world economy is, in part,

supported by Africa’s commodities. Africa supplies 30% of China’s oil. Africa’s exports drive

many parts of the world.

Metropolitan areas have become breeding grounds for immense cultural innovation, new

competition, and new partnerships. Significant investment was made in the social sector,

particularly education, to counteract Africa's colonial legacy of being the world's most

educationally backward area. As a result of these social initiatives, there has been a significant

improvement in educational and literacy levels.

Failures

Despite these successes of Africa’s growth, Africa has failed in some key dimensions. First, the

persistence of bad governance has impacted seriously on Africa’s fortunes. This is rife to the

point that, ills like corruption have gained foothold in Africa. Most African countries have come

to acknowledge corruption as a normal occurrence and often see it as a means to an end.

Sixty years on, Africa is still faced with conditions affecting economic growth including low

levels of per capita income; weak development of human capital; exploitation of natural-resource

base; low levels of production; and challenging institutional variables such as governance, peace

and security. Africa has extremely low levels of human-capital formation, as measured by levels

of literacy and school enrolment. Even worse, Africa remains the region with the highest

illiteracy rates and least access to basic health and social services.

Most African countries have preserved a major legacy of colonialism, that is, concentration of

export earnings on one or few primary commodities that are highly vulnerable to exogenous

terms of trade and demand conditions

Prospects

The misfortune in Africa is not that its countries are poor, but rather is a condition that is a

product of history. The misfortune is that it does not have ruling classes dedicated to prevailing

over the state of underdevelopment. Bad governance is not a principal predicament of lack of

knowledge or infrastructural competence or even of individual dictators.

Policies aimed at controlling or reducing corruption in African countries must begin with laying

the foundation for a strong institution- economic, political and social- in all sectors of the

economy. Africa also has a huge human resource potential, being the most youthful and

populous continent. This young population, if skilled, can be turned into a major opportunity.

According to UN Habitat, most Africans at that time will be living in urban areas; already in

some countries more than 50% of Africans live in cities with 230 million in slums.
References

Amankwah‐Amoah, J. (2019). Technological revolution, sustainability, and development in

Africa: Overview, emerging issues, and challenges. Sustainable Development, 27(5), 910-922.
Jordans, E., Ng’weno, B., & Spencer-Oatey, H. (2020). Understanding Leadership and Its
Development in Africa. In Developing Global Leaders (pp. 319-333). Palgrave Macmillan,
Cham.