Africa's Economic Resurgence:A Probe

Published on 4th March 2014

If figures speak volumes, there is no doubt about resurgence in Africa’s economic growth and development. However, it is only fair to put this narrative in its rightful context lest we create blind ‘afro-optimism.’ In probing the rise of Africa’s economy, it is important that we give meaning to development and use measurable standards and internationally-set yardstick, although these are also subjected to many queries.

Development per se, according to Todaro, is not purely an economic phenomenon but rather a multi-dimensional process involving reorganization and reorientation of the entire economic and social system. Development is a process of improving the quality of all human lives with three equally important aspects. These are: raising peoples’ living levels, i.e. income and consumption, level of food, medical services, education through relevant growth processes; creating conditions conducive to the growth of peoples’ self-esteem through the establishment of social, political and economic systems and institutions that promote human dignity and respect; increasing peoples’ freedom to choose by enlarging the range of their choice variables, e.g. varieties of goods and services.

Development refers to all efforts to offer welfare programs, aids and resources toward alleviating poverty, transforming rural areas, and provision of basic needs to the poor to ensure continuous survival of their race through prosperity, Robert Chambers observes.“The questions to ask about a country’s development are three," observes Dudley Seers: "What has been happening to poverty? What has been happening to unemployment? What has been happening to inequality? If all three of these have declined from high levels, then beyond doubt this has been a period of development for the country concerned.”

Is Africa making any meaningful progress to end poverty, misery and social injustices that have held her hostage for long? The answer is yes and no. The United Nations Development programme (UNDP) Report published by Africa Review on March 18, 2013 gives Africa a glimpse of hope. It states that Sierra Leone, Liberia and DR Congo are among countries which have made the greatest strides in Human Development Index since 2000. Africa recorded the second highest growth in the index behind South Asia over the past ten years, it notes. The HDI takes into account life expectancy, education, and indices to rank countries in terms of human development. Out of the 14 countries worldwide which recorded HDI gains of more than 2 per cent annually since 2000, eleven are in sub-Saharan Africa. They include Sierra Leone, which recorded the second highest HDI improvement in the world since 2000. Others are Angola, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Rwanda and Uganda.

The average HDI value of 0.475 in sub-Saharan Africa is said to be the lowest of any region, but the pace of improvement is rising. Between 2000 and 2012, it registered average annual growth of 1.34 per cent in HDI value, placing it second only to South Asia, with Sierra Leone (3.4 per cent) and Ethiopia (3.1 per cent) achieving the fastest HDI growth. The island nation of Seychelles stands out as the only African nation among the "Very High Human Development" countries. It scores 0.806, above Croatia which is at 47. The top 10 African countries are Seychelles (Very High Human Development); Libya, Mauritius, Algeria, Tunisia (High Human Development); Gabon, Egypt, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa (Medium Development); Morocco, Equatorial Guinea, Cape Verde, Swaziland, Republic of the Congo, Sao Tome & Principe, Kenya and Ghana lie below in the Medium Human Development category. The lowest 10 in the region are DR Congo, Niger, Mozambique, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, Eritrea, Central African Republic, Guinea and Burundi at the bottom.

Africa's gains are attributed to an upsurge in trade, investment and development cooperation with emerging economies such as Brazil, China and India, all considered part of the ‘south,’ as opposed to the developed ‘north.’ However, despite these gains, the continent generally remains at the bottom of the table compared to other regions in terms of average national HDI. It is important to note that despite the observed progress, Africa is still crawling like a baby. Corruption, tribalism and income inequality are still rife.

To liberate Africa from these shackles of doom, structural changes need to be effected and at most, policies that are rotting in files need to be implemented. Otherwise, we might get a fever with no known cure.

By Joseph Obado.

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