The presence of some of the world’s fastest-growing economies in Africa serves as fodder for the Africa rising narrative. A walk around the capital cities of Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Angola, even Mozambique, will put a stamp on the discourse that Africa is rising at a significant rate. The crane-filled skylines, construction of road networks and railway lines, multi-million-dollar mansions and business malls erupting across major towns and cities, and growing technologies are but a few indications of the continent’s ascent to prosperity.
But even as people across the globe engage in discussions about how fast the continent is growing, ironically, the other discourse that goes hand-in-hand with this narrative is the astounding number of people in the continent who are still grappling with deep-rooted poverty.
One can only wonder why there is still a widening gap between the rich and the poor and why Africa is still struggling with poverty despite the fact that it is home to a major percentage of raw materials that are in demand around the globe.
During the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, African leaders argued that powering Africa will answer the continent’s growth in future. According to them, powering Africa will create jobs, cause industrialization and business expansion.
Indeed, powering Africa will contribute a lot to growth on the continent, but for Africa to grow sustainably, it will need to pursue comprehensive methodologies that address all the bottlenecks to development. There is a need to understand what the areas in need of reform are and the quest to understand why Africa has been held back for so long. The observer takes you through what could be the hindrance to progress in Africa.
1) Civil Wars and Terrorism
The argument that civil wars and terrorism, contribute to poverty is a no-brainer. Wars disorient people and leave them destitute. They also disconnect businesses from their clients. Moreover, roads and communication networks are destroyed or barred which further cripples these businesses. Industries collapse, people lose jobs and investors lose confidence in the affected country thus pushing the affected region down the economic slopes. Then, of course, there is the trail of death and scores of people left injured, not to mention the loss of property which adds to the increase in poverty levels in areas marred by wars and terrorism.
According to the 2015 Global Terrorism Index, the cost of terrorism to the world was $52.9 billion in 2014. This is the highest number since 2011. In the same year, 32,000 people died due to terrorism acts. In Nigeria, the Boko Haram insurgency has led to over 100,000 deaths since it started its brutal operation more than six years ago. Reports from the oil-producing country say that business activity in regions like Kano had dropped by 80% by 2015. Apart from business disruption, the revolt has caused sporadic migration, abandonment of professions and jobs, discouraged foreign investment, food scarcity and dehumanized people. All these factors put together attract poverty in the region.
Nigeria, which became Africa’s largest economy in 2014 is experiencing economic challenges with World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects 2016 predicting that the country’s economy will continue to slow down. With such high economic impacts and deaths, poverty is inevitable.
2) Corruption
Dubbed ‘Kitu kidogo’ or ‘chai’ (loosely translated as ‘something small’ or ‘tea’) in Kenya, corruption has taken root in most African countries. This has contributed to the plight of Africa today. Senior leaders in government and private sectors alike have resorted to taking bribes. A survey by Transparency International (TI) indicated that most African governments are not able to meet their citizen’s expectations due to rampant corruption.
The respondents said that corruption in the region was increasing despite the campaigns and activism by civil society and the population. The police were identified as the most corrupt group across the region. In every news bulletin, at least one story covered is about how a high-ranking official is under investigation over corruption allegations. While this is good news to many, the laws on corruption are lenient allowing those caught in the act an easy passage.
3) Education and the knowledge gap
Up till today, some African households cannot afford basic education for their children. Although some governments in the region have taken up the matter of providing basic education as a government project, many areas lack schools and even where schools exist, they are sparsely located, posing a challenge to the young children who would rather help at home than make the long walk to school.
Inadequate skills and knowledge cripples the economy as there is no skilled labor to drive the nation. For Africa to be competitive, there is a need to invest in reinventing its education and research systems. A majority of African youth are not employed today due to inadequacy in education and technical skills. Corruption in form of nepotism has also affected the rate of employment on the continent.
4) Health and poverty
Health and poverty are interconnected. When a continent is not able to create a quality health system and infrastructure for its own people, it risks falling into a trap where the economy remains stagnated. Poverty is both a cause and a consequence of poor health. Poor living conditions increase the chances of poor health. In turn, poor health entraps communities in unending poverty. One of the consequences of diseases is that it depletes individuals, households and communities’ energy to work to build their lives and the society. With less individuals working to make their lives better, poverty creeps and entrenches its roots.
WHO reports that approximately 1.2 billion people in the world live in extreme poverty – surviving on less than one dollar per day. Diseases, especially communicable ones, spread more rapidly in communities that are poor and do not have access to basic amenities. Take for example the spread of Malaria which can easily be managed through simple and vital but scarce utilities like mosquito nets and repellents.
HIV/AIDS, cancer among other diseases have also contributed to increased poverty levels in Africa. These diseases, apart from ‘decapitating’ the victims, leave families and communities in debt which further worsens their ability to sustain themselves.
5) Geographical Disadvantage
In this case, nothing much can be done. Being placed in a geographically disadvantaged location only calls for innovative ideas to utilize the available resources to advance lives.
A significant number of African countries suffer because they are landlocked – geographically unlucky. A country like Switzerland is landlocked but it is surrounded by stable economies, creating a platform for trade. On the other hand, most landlocked countries in Africa are surrounded by unstable and conflict-filled countries. Uganda is a landlocked country bordered by South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These neighbours feature civil wars all year.
Although Africa boasts of indigenous and numerous resources, they are poorly distributed among countries and within states/regions in those countries. Despite that, governments have not adopted strategic ways to redistribute such wealth to the citizens.
Wealth distribution is an issue, but what is even more disturbing is how great and promising resources like oil and precious minerals are exploited by foreign investors and big corporations which pay little or no taxes to the countries in which they operate. Such practices have left Africa twirling in poverty.
6) International Aid
In the recent past African leaders have been heard arguing that International Aid has curtailed Africa’s growth efforts. At the fourth World Government Summit in Dubai, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda said that donor support should not be relied on forever but instead be used to build institutions and the economy.
“Our vision is to make sure we are able to stand on our own feet and develop our country, attract investment and do business. There is no reason why we can’t grow intra-African trade to the levels we see in America or Europe. What is good is not necessarily being small but good management of whatever you have, small or big,” he said. “There is no reason why we can’t grow intra-African trade to the levels we see in America or Europe.”
Even though some non-governmental organizations have helped Africa through support in health, education, governance and in other sectors, some firms have been accused of using stories of desperate Africans to advance their own selfish goals.
The Kibera slum in Kenya is one good example. Kibera, the largest slum in Nairobi and second largest urban slum in Africa is located just 5 kilometers (3.1miles) from the capital, Nairobi. The slum is filled with a sea of NGO’s which have not done so much for residents who continue to scavenge for a living in these tough economic times.
Another outlook into Africa’s failing economy is the loss that Africa is experiencing as the foreign-aid-giving countries suck Africa dry of its resources. The outflow costs to Africa surpass the inflow that gets to the continent in form of aid. Health Poverty Action highlights that Africans are losing almost six and a half times what their countries receive in aid each year.
Africa is also to blame when it comes to the misappropriation of aid funds and corruption among the officials. Africa has the potential to rise above any other continent if only it lays emphasis on shunning corruption and providing basic amenities for all. If we look keenly at what is coming to Africa in terms of aid and what is going out of Africa in terms of profits, tax evasion and debt payments, Africa can be summed up as wealthy.
In fact, Africa is financing other continents.
Read – Failure by Ugbede Ataboh, Nigeria
