Can Africa escape its misery?

By Raymond Mwangala OMI

In May 2000, the cover page of The Economist proclaimed Africa a “hopeless continent”.  Such negative and controversial characterisations of the continent are not unique. Africa has been called a “basket case” and “dark continent”, both in reference to its people and also because of a lack of knowledge of the continent by Westerners before.  Although knowledge of the continent and its peoples is now widely available and easily accessible, negative sentiments towards the continent remain widespread. But if Africa is a “basket case”, then Africans must shoulder some responsibility for that.

The current state of most of the continent is not a pretty one. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 2009 Human Development Report, in 2009 Africa accounted for less than 1% of annual global capital flows, a decline from 4,5% in the early 1990s. At the same time the continent accounted for less than 2% of world trade, down from 3% in the 1950s. Without South Africa, sub-Saharan Africa’s share of world trade was just 1%.  Average annual economic growth between 1980 and 1990 was 1,7%, and between 1990 and 2000 it was 2,5%. East Asia and the Pacific region, on the hand, experienced 7,9% and 8,5% annual growth during the same periods. No doubt, this has translated in poverty and worsening living conditions for many in Africa.

The World Bank estimates that an average annual growth of 5%  is required to keep the number of poor people from rising in Africa. Reducing poverty by 50% by 2015, as called for by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), will require annual growth of at least 7%, along with a more equitable distribution of income. Short of divine intervention, is there any realistic chance of Africa reducing poverty levels by 50% by 2015?

On the UNDP Gender Development Index (measuring achievement in three dimensions — a long and healthy life, knowledge and a decent standard of living, adjusted for differences between men and women), all except 13 of the 55 least developed countries are African. Further, in 2009, three million of the 14 million refugees worldwide (21%) were from sub-Saharan Africa.  Currently, there is a humanitarian crisis developing in Somalia and surrounding countries. Hundreds of thousands have been forced to migrate due to drought, famine and starvation.

A man provides water to a refugee in a remote section of eastern Kenya near the Somali border. Natural disasters such as droughts exacerbate human failures in Africa. (CNS photo/Paul Jeffrey)

The unstable political situation in the region only makes things worse. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, have died. The international community is just now waking up to the situation. As usual, there will be more talk than action. Meanwhile people will continue to die when they could have been saved. When will we get things right?

Most of sub-Saharan Africa has been independent for almost 50 years and yet the development history of Africa makes sad reading.  For two decades, beginning in the mid-’70s, most African states experienced negative economic growth due to a number of factors, both economic and political.  In the 1990s a set of liberal reforms was set in motion which sought to stabilise African economies while developing more open political systems. The aim was to foster a more dynamic private sector based on the notion that no country has developed primarily through aid.

The African crisis has many dimensions. For many countries, the news headlines seem to oscillate between horror stories of disease, war, famine and stories of excess and corruption involving those in power. Identifying the causes and apportioning blame for Africa’s development dilemma is an extremely complex and difficult exercise because Africa is a continent of great contrast and diversity. Finding appropriate solutions is even more challenging. The continent’s vast size and diversity make it difficult and misleading to make easy generalisations. This diversity, reflected in the regional distribution of human and natural resources, in the nature of urban and rural environments, and in the contrasting lifestyles of small but growing urban elites and the masses, makes it difficult to deal with development challenges.

In many ways the contemporary map of Africa remains a colonial map. This is reflected in the existing national boundaries, which bear little relation to natural divisions (such as mountains, rivers) or to indigenous concepts of space (ethnic areas, traditional kingdoms and so on). South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan, has become an exception to this. Colonialism, however, is only one part of the many reasons that explain why Africa is as it is today.

Most African countries have been independent for more the 40 years. At independence most African countries constituted a significant part of what has been called the “commonwealth of poverty”, made up of those countries of Africa and Asia that were just emerging from long years of colonial rule and economic exploitation.  Today the countries of Africa remain among the poorest and least developed in the world. The constant refrain of some African leaders refers to the colonial legacy — but why are we still looking back after four decades of independence?  India, Thailand, Vietnam, and many Latin American countries suffered similar and even worse experiences of colonialism than some African countries, and yet they have made significant progress to pull their people out of poverty. Why not Africa?

Immediately following independence African governments rushed to implement programmes and projects aimed at increasing production, expanding basic services, and building essential physical infrastructure. Import-substitution strategies and the promotion of exports were the central features of post-colonial development policies. Often encouraged by donor agencies and international financial institutions, ambitious programmes were launched.  The results have generally been poor. Many features of colonial institutions and practices persist. Independence has been meaningless for the masses.

Today much of Africa’s wealth is concentrated in a relatively small part of the continent. Some have argued that the unevenness of African development is a result of the nature of the physical environment and the distribution of natural resources. Although the physical environment is important, it cannot be viewed as the only, or even the most important reason for Africa’s underdevelopment. Political factors have played a huge role in the patterns of underdevelopment on the continent.  One simply has to read the newspapers to know who the new elites are; in most cases those who are able to build R16 million houses and have political connections. Some even have the arrogance to argue that it is nobody’s business how they finance their expensive lifestyles!

The continued uneven pattern of development in Africa cannot be attributed to the physical environment, colonialism or international trade agreements only. To fully understand contemporary patterns of development, it is necessary to examine the economic and political institutions which have determined how natural resources have been used.  It is important to ask:  Why have some areas continued to be underdeveloped while others have experienced development? Why is development found in relatively few areas while large areas continue to be neglected? Why have some people become extremely wealthy while the majority struggles to survive?

Leaders and governments must bear a fair share of the burden of responsibility. For the economical analyst and author Greg Mills, the main reason why Africa is poor is because the leaders have made this choice. Development policies of African governments — often designed, funded, and staffed by international donor agencies — frequently have exacerbated the problem through ill-advised action.  The Church too cannot escape some blame for the present state of affairs.  Charity is not enough; it is a question of justice. The masses too need to play their part. Development is about people.  Africa presents a challenge not only to Africans but to all who are concerned with economic and social development. The problems of Africa have been described in graphic detail by many scholars, planners, journalists, and so on. The challenge now is to move from theory to praxis.

Is there hope for Africa? Yes! The future of Africa is not yet written. If much of its past is sobering, some recent developments provide new bases for hope. However, we would all do well to heed the words of Pope Paul VI in his 1967 encyclical Populorum Progressio, on the development of peoples: “The development of peoples… particularly those…who are striving to escape from hunger, misery, endemic diseases and ignorance; of those who are looking for a wider share in the benefits of civilisation and a more active improvement of their human qualities; of those who are aiming purposefully at their complete fulfillment…is a matter of urgency.”

Fr Raymond M Mwangala OMI lectures at St Joseph’s Theological Institute in Cedara, KwaZulu-Natal.