When it comes to Africa, prosperity appears to be a guest not wanting to pay a visit.
Africa is probably the only continent to have either reversed or stagnated the living standards of her people in the last 25-30 years.
If you have ever wondered why this is the case, then a country by the name of Equatorial Guinea has an answer.
This tiny country, composed of a mainland portion plus five inhabited islands, is one of the smallest on the African continent, with a population of about 700,000 people. The economy of Equatorial Guinea (EG)is a perfect microcosm of the larger African Economy.
EG is the continent's third largest oil exporter and one of the world's top 30 oil producers. The country earned $4.3B from Oil revenue in 2007, giving the country one of the 60 top per capita incomes in the world of about $20,000. Yet, about 60% of her citizens live on less than $1 a day.
This type of economics, where wealth is created but fails to produce a decent standard of living and to eliminate chronic poverty, has become the defining condition of Africa. The problem is complex but, yet, simple. The economics that Africa practices is unsound.
In Africa, the common feature of her economies, is a government, immersed in corruption and crippled by bureaucracy, pretending to play the role of a business that creates jobs and produces goods and services adequately and efficiently on a sustained basis. Foreign governments and agencies have become accomplices in maintaining this poverty producing economics. Every year, foreign governments and agencies give billions of Dollars, in the form of loans and aid, directly to African governments for the alleged purpose of reducing poverty and spurring economic development. Yet, if we examine the economics practiced by these foreign governments and agencies in their countries, we find that the transfer of resources is from governments to their private sectors and not the other way around.
The economic principle is simple.
Any economy, which is structured in such a way, that the bulk of resources are transfered from a more effective and efficient user to a less effective and efficient user is bound to destroy wealth.
In Africa, governments have been shown to be horrible users of resources. That explains why an Equatorial Guinea exists throughout Africa.
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4 comments:
This superexploitation of the masses of Africans is not by happenstance, this system of economic relations is endemic to the colonial imperialist system and we are now in the neocolonial era--the last stage of imperialism. "Aid" from our former colonial masters is of course not for our benefit, but helps them to maintain control of micro states who were balkanized and maintain the exploitative relations.
Koolredd......although I agree that the colonial and post-colonial economic paradigms have been inimical to Africa's growth, I will hasten to add that most of the economic mess that Africa finds itself in has more to do with bad leadership than economic exploitation from outside.
koolredd, Drawing attention to the existence of imperialism and its ulterior motives is in some regards a moot point. Any two nations who enter into a transaction are driven by self-interests. It should not be the fault of the other nation if one nation fails to spread the benefits of the transaction to her people. Insight is more accurate when he recognizes the major role poor leadership and even non-functioning systems play.
It's great to recognizes causes and roots, but it's about what we are going to do or are doing NOW! We love the continent, but we have to be truthful.
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