Africa the Good News
Edited by Marisa Berndsen and Steuart Pennington
Published by Conceptualee, Inc/Africa the Good News. at Smashwords
Copyright 2008 South Africa – The Good News (PTY) LTD
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Table of Contents
Foreword: Behold the New Africa
Africa: An Overview (Chapter 1 Opening)
Africa Today (Chapter 2 Opening)
Conflict in Africa: Entering the Age of Hope
Fair Trade: The Path to Prosperity
Africa and the World (Chapter 3 Opening)
South-South Cooperation: The BRICS in Africa
Africa and the West: A Changing Dynamic
South Africa: Stuck in the Middle
African Leadership (Chapter 4 Opening)
African Leadership Academy – Accelerating Africa’s Revival
African Leadership and Good Governance
Women in Africa (Chapter 5 Opening)
Warriors and Warriors in Waiting
The African Renaissance (Chapter 6 Opening)
A Vision for New Africa: NEPAD
Engaging the Private Sector: NEPAD Business Foundation
Africa: Open for Business (Chapter 7 Opening)
Africa: Open for Business Like Never Before
Case Study: Investing in Africa
Case Study: Research Insights into Africa
Africa: Continent of Growth and Opportunity (Chapter 8 Opening)
Banking and Finance: Reaching the Unbanked
Turning the Digital Divide into the Digital Multiply
From Poverty to Prosperity (Chapter 9 Opening)
Poverty Alleviation and Development: 5P’s for Africa’s Prosperity
Corporate Citizenship in Africa: Doing Well by Doing Good
Case Study II: Coca-Cola Company
Africa’s Natural Wealth (Chapter 10 Opening)
Africa’s Mineral Wealth: A Blessing not a Curse
Addressing Africa’s Environmental Challenges
A Knowledge Economy (Chapter 11 Opening)
The Knowledge Generation: A Growing Focus on Science and Technology
Solving Everyday Problems with African Ingenuity
Harnessing Human Capital: The African Diaspora
Building the Africa of Tomorrow (Chapter 12 Opening)
Education in Africa: ICT’s Midas Touch
Health in Africa: A Mammoth Challenge
Religion and Its Role in Transforming Africa
Case Study 1: The Role of the Christian Church in Rebuilding Sub-Saharan
Case Study II: The Growth of Pentecostalism in South Africa
Through the Lens-Reporting Africa (Chapter 13 Opening)
Africa and the Media: Who is Failing Whom?
The Media: Integrator or Separator?
A Call for Balanced, Unbiased Media Coverage
Brand Africa (Chapter 14 Opening)
Brand, Africa, Brand – The Other Face of Africa
What Bono Doesn’t Say about Africa
2010 FIFA World Cup: Africa in the Spotlight of the World
STAR Performers (Chapter 15 Opening)
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Sponsors
International Marketing Council of South Africa (IMC) (Lead Sponsor)
As the custodian of Brand South Africa, the International Marketing Council aims to increase familiarity and knowledge of South Africa as a viable, world class and profitable business destination in targeted international trade, investment and tourism markets, and to promote South Africa - Alive with Possibility!
Dimension Data (Corporate Sponsor)
Dimension Data is proud to have been born African. The rest of the world has not had the good fortune that we have had in witnessing the growth and development of the continent. The vibrancy, dynamism and opportunities of the African continent reflect its beauty, intelligence and soul. Africa – The Good News will open your eyes to an unknown Africa. Africa’s future is bright and this publication will help you realise how bright.
Edcon (Corporate Sponsor)
Edcon's group vision is to be the consumers’ store of choice for the products we sell, in the southern African markets we trade in, to create wealth for the benefit of all our stakeholders. We are proud to be associated with the sharing of good news in Africa. Our African heritage of over eighty years inspires us to continue searching for growth opportunities on the African continent. We share in the excitement of a changing Africa and celebrate the 2010. African opportunity - indeed, ke nako! Africa's time has come!
First National Bank (Corporate Sponsor)
First National Bank has supported South Africa – The Good News since it’s inception. At FNB we are proud of what our country has achieved and through this initiative we are able to share and celebrate Africa’s successes. The eyes of the world are on South Africa as we prepare to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. As a proud National Supporter, we share in Africa’s excitement. Now is the time to celebrate Africa’s successes and Africa – The Good News is a great place to start.
Microsoft (Corporate Sponsor)
As a company whose mission it is to help the people and businesses of Africa realise their full potential, Microsoft takes a great deal of interest in the “good news” on the continent. At a time when many quarters are focusing on the negative, we prefer to see the incredible opportunities that Africa offers. We trust that in reading this edition of Africa – The Good News, you will feel the same.
MTN (Corporate Sponsor)
For far too long the negative perceptions of Africa have informed the limited in-flow of foreign direct investment to the continent. In the last decade, changing political and economic fundamentals have resulted in improved GDP growth and increased disposable income. It is against this backdrop, that MTN has targeted sustained growth opportunities in Africa’s emerging markets. As a leading provider in telecommunications services in Africa and the Middle East, the MTN Group is honoured to be a sponsor of Africa - The Good News.
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Acknowledgements
Many people have assisted with the compilation of this book and their contribution is gratefully acknowledged.
To the authors (whose names appear in the contents) who so willingly agreed to contribute, a very special thanks. Without your time, insight and experience this book would not have been possible.
To the team who assisted us in putting the book together: Nikki Dinner for her excellent art direction, design and layout (and her boundless energy which kept us all going!), and Jane Rodrigues who spent many laborious hours proofreading the book, a big thank you.
To our colleagues, Leanne Nimmo, Lindy Mtongana and Ian Macdonald who, on many an occasion, assisted with research, writing, picture sourcing and production, thank you. Thanks also to Julia Pennington for assisting with research and to Nicky Prins for your constant interest and guidance along the way.
Thank you to Gallo Images for their support of this project. For pictures we would also especially like to thank Jules Morgan, the South African Department of Foreign Affairs, and photographers who shared their photographs on flickr.com, as well as all the many others who provided us with images – as acknowledged in the picture credits. A big thanks too goes to Dov Fedler for his cartoons.
The IMC (lead sponsor), Dimension Data, Edcon, FNB, Microsoft and MTN are gratefully acknowledged for their sponsorship, without which this book would not have been possible.
Note from the Editors
This book comprises contributions from 43 different authors and the views expressed in the various chapters do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors or the sponsors. Where the editors have made additions this is clearly noted and may not reflect the views of the author.
In addition, authors have used different sources of information in putting together their chapters and this has sometimes resulted in contradictory views and perspectives. In order to respect the editorial integrity of each author and encourage debate, we have allowed this. Many facts were also difficult to verify as information and research on the continent is limited, sometimes incomplete, and often dated. Please inform the publishers of any inaccuracies.
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Introduction
by Marisa Berndsen and Steuart Pennington
“The lack of quality information about the continent” is cited by David Fick, author of Africa – Continent of Economic Opportunity, as the biggest challenge to doing business in Africa. Africa, often seen by observers as a single country, has a complicated history, is difficult to understand, and therefore, often completely misunderstood.
Comprising 53 independent countries; five major languages groupings – English, French, Arabic, Portuguese and thousands of African dialects; a diverse population of 900 million: Africa is complex. With a geographical size that could house China, the US, India, Argentina and Western Europe, Africa is a continent of endemic conflict and growing democracy; of death, disease, despair but also of considerable hope and untapped potential; of desperate corruption and tremendous business opportunity. Importantly, it is not one country, and for every failed state that grabs the news headlines, there are countless success stories waiting to be told.
As South Africa gears up to stage the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, the world’s focus – that of 208 football-playing nations and an estimated 26 billion cumulative television viewers – will be on South Africa and Africa. Part of South Africa’s bid was to host an African World Cup.
“The theatre is Africa, the stage is South Africa” was an early rallying point, replaced officially at the November
2007 preliminary draw by the slogan: “Ke Nako. Celebrate Africa’s Humanity”. This event gives the continent an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to show the world what it is really about and this book was envisaged as a starting point in this regard.
While much has been written about Africa – most of it fairly depressing, tainted with an abiding sense of Afro- pessimism and more often than not historical in nature – there is a growing body of literature which is beginning to recognise the progress in Africa, the positive developments and the glimmers of hope.
This book will attempt to do the following:
Present Africa positively, without ignoring her challenges
Examine a number of major themes/issues in Africa that signal positive change and sustainable opportunity
Highlight African success stories
Solicit the views of a range of African commentators (to avoid the trap of being an African book written by South Africans)
What this book will not do is:
Examine the historical, political, social and economic profile of every country
Dwell on the “old” Africa, its colonial history and its liberation trauma
As Robert Guest, author of The Shackled Continent, says, “History, like geography, cannot be changed. Grieving for past wrongs is natural and human, but it can also provide an excuse for despair.”
Africa – The Good News is not about despair. It is about hope. In that context we have attempted to make this book readable to anyone who is interested in Africa’s perception of itself; the new winds of change that are gusting over her nations and the growing opportunity in arguably the most ethnically diverse, biologically rich, scenically beautiful continent in the world!
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Foreword: Behold the New Africa
by Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia
Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson and Nelson Mandela; Sourced from Gallo Images/AFP
Ten years ago, in his landmark speech in 1998 at the African Renaissance Conference in Johannesburg, then executive deputy president Thabo Mbeki called for a revival of the African Renaissance; a renewal of the African spirit; the ushering in of a threshold of a new era. In doing so, he stood on the shoulders of many others, women and men, who dreamed and worked for this in years gone by.
He said, and I quote, “the beginning of our rebirth as a continent must be our own rediscovering of our soul, captured and made permanently available in the great works of creativity represented by the pyramids and the sphinxes of Egypt, the stone buildings of Axum, the ruins of Carthage and Zimbabwe, the rock paintings of the San, the Benin bronzes and the African masks, the rock paintings, the coverings of the Makondes and the stone sculptures of the Shona. A people capable of such creativity must be its own liberator from the conditions which seek to describe our continent and its people as poverty-stricken and disease-ridden primitives in a world riding the crest of a wave of progress and human upliftment.”
It has been a long and torturous road toward that revival - from the destroyed kingdoms of Mali, Hausa, Yoruba and Benin in the West; Bantu in the Centre; Zimbabwe and Monopolapa in the South; from the slave trade and the balkanisation of colonialism, from the liberation struggles of Kwame Nkrumah, Sekou Toure, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, Jomo Kenyatta and Nelson Mandela; from the boom of the 60s and the bust of the 80s to the sobering and challenging time of today.
“A new Africa unfolding before our eyes”
But I do believe that a new Africa is unfolding before our eyes. The African Renaissance is now at hand. It is within reach. It is embedded within the honest and seeking minds of the young, the professionals, the activists, the believers in our continent. Difficulties remain, no doubt, trouble spots abound for sure, and many seek to discredit this process, but we have reached the threshold and there is no turning back from the irreversible transformation.
Let me recall the essential elements of this transformation, the meaningful African effort to move from dream to reality, to relegate to history the legacies of patronage, corruption, lawlessness and underdevelopment.
Collectively, as a continent, there are three major systemic changes in our body polity that will give rise to this transformation.
First, we require much stronger economic management. Second, the resolution of the debt crisis and the changing relationship with our international partners. And third, the shift to democratic and accountable governance.
Stronger economic management
In the 1980s, almost every sub-Saharan African country faced a macroeconomic crisis of one form or another with high rates of inflation, large budget deficits, and growing trade gaps. These macroeconomic problems are now distant memories for most of our countries. With a few unfortunate exceptions, countries have shifted to much stronger economic policies, inflation has been kept to single digits, foreign exchange reserves have increased significantly. Budget and trade deficits are much smaller than they were in the past, and African countries have created a more conducive environment to encourage private sector participation and stimulate investment, including foreign direct investment. Many countries have embarked on policies that aim at economic diversification.
As a result, Africa’s economic growth has averaged more than 5% annually over the past five years, and for more than half of African countries, this renaissance has continued for more than a decade. This faster growth is not yet fast enough – it is insufficient to effectively combat poverty in many of our countries – but we’ve got to agree that it is a start. It is enough to begin to raise per capita income and purchasing power, and it far exceeds the zero growth of the past.
The end of the debt crisis
The second big change is the end of the three-decade-old debt crisis. Debt began to grow in the late 1970s and the early 1980s following, as we have today, the rapid rise in the price of oil and other commodities. This was made all the worse by government mismanagement. The creditors themselves were a big part of the problem, lending too early large amounts of money to unaccountable dictators who misused and misappropriated those funds, leaving the mess for the next generation to clean up. Accumulated interest from unserviced debt compounded the problem.
The resolution of the 1980s debt crisis has proceeded slowly in distinct stages over the past twenty years. Today, 33 countries have qualified for the first stages of debt write-down and 23 of these have completed the process, leading to a reduction of nearly $100 billion in debt. The end of the debt crisis means that improved financial conditions will enable governments to increase spending on health, education, infrastructure and civil service wages. But perhaps more importantly, it also means more independence, ownership and economic management capacity by government authorities who can spend less time negotiating old loans with demanding creditors such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. It has opened the door to defining a new relationship between Africa and its partners based less on old conditionalities and more on strong African leadership, trust, and mutual accountability. The ability of African governments to go beyond and to start to issue country-backed bonds also provides access to more diversified sources of developmental capital.
The shift to democratic and accountable governance
The third transformation element is political change – the establishment of accountable, transparent and democratic systems of governance. Sometimes we forget that in 1989, there were very few democracies in all of sub-Saharan Africa. In 1990 Namibia’s liberation set the pace for southern Africa, followed by South Africa, then Lesotho, and Mozambique. It has spread slowly across the continent – uneasily to be sure and with some reversals, but undeniably reaching many other countries, including my own.
There are today over 20 democracies in sub-Saharan Africa. Consider the transformation – in the space of a generation, democracy in Africa has spread from a very few countries to more than one third of the continent. Some of these are nascent democracies that are still fragile. But for others, the change more clearly prevails. It is hard to predict the future and the change will not be easy or smooth in every country, but never before in world history have so many low income countries become democracies in so short a period of time. Never before has the resolve of African leaders, backed by needed and judiciously used military intervention, ended a rebellion against an elected government in power, as was recently done in the Comoros.
This enormous change engendered by an empowered citizenry has huge implications for Africa and for those few countries that continue to frustrate the will of the people. This New Africa is being built, every day, by the African people – people who reach out across boundaries – real and imagined. They are not waiting for the Renaissance to be determined by states and by governments alone for they know that they are a part of an interconnected world.
The need to remain cognisant of the region in which we find ourselves
We must never forget that the Renaissance calls for a better distribution of the benefits of economic growth; that opportunities must be made equal to enable more Africans to rise above absolute poverty; that more of the poor should have access to health and education, to clean water and electricity and housing.
We must never forget the hundreds of thousands of people, primarily women and children, who continue to die from physical assault and starvation in Darfur. We must never forget the forgotten people of Somalia who are made victims of violence among competing warring factions and political interests.
I would be remiss if I did not express my solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe, as they search for solutions to the crisis in their country.
We cannot lose sight of the fact that we in Africa do not have the luxury to enclose ourselves in our respective political enclaves. Our national policy process must be cognisant of the region in which we find ourselves. That is why it is important that our national public policy processes take into account what is happening in other places, by reflecting our regional and continental conditions.
Creating institutions that stand the test of time
I would like to be remembered for raising the bar for accountable governance in Liberia and across the continent; for designing institutions that serve the public interest; for turning a failed state into a thriving democracy with a vibrant, diversified private-sector- driven economy; for bringing safety and voice to women, for sending children back to school; for returning basic services to the cities and extending them to rural areas.
My primary challenge then is to create the institutions that will stand the test of time; that will be there for my grandchildren’s grandchildren. For too long, those watching Africa have focused on personalities, relying on one person, too often one man, to lead the way. But this mentality has failed Africa, undermining accountability and constitutionally-defined government.
If we were to expand this to Africa as a continent, there is much to be done to ensure that we have pan-African institutions for dialogue, problem-solving, vision setting and programmatic delivery. We need to build regional programmes that provide a platform for intellectual engagement and civic participation that can unlock the potential of all sectors of society.
Let us together reignite a pan-African consciousness and awareness that draws on roots and traditions but is updated and made relevant to today’s Africa.
Realising our dreams
At a practical level, if we can approach our negotiations with development partners from a consolidated position, we stand a better chance of improving our investment and trade regimes. The proud history of South Africa’s trade union activism – using collective strength and voice – can be used on a larger scale elsewhere.
We can strengthen a development programme for Africa, based on values such as citizen participation and democracy, gender equality, social justice, integrity, ethics and human rights if we work together.
When Nelson Mandela won the South African elections, dreams were born. Africans dreamed of the end of the exploitation of the past. They dreamed of having dignified economic opportunities to provide for their families. They dreamed of sending their children to decent schools. They dreamed of an end to gender disparities. They dreamed of competent governments that were accountable to the people. They dreamed of national reconciliation and national unity. And they dreamed of living in peace and security with their neighbours.
I can think of no better way to be remembered than as one of those dreamers who, following President Mandela, said with confidence that the African Renaissance, the New Africa, is at hand.
Note: These are excerpts from an address delivered by Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf on the occasion of the Sixth Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture delivered at Kliptown, Johannesburg, South Africa, on 12 July 2008.
About Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is the president of Liberia. She was inaugurated as Africa’s first democratically elected female president on January 16, 2006. After years of fighting for freedom, justice and equality in Liberia, she is now entrusted with the most challenging task any Liberian leader has ever faced – rebuilding a post-conflict nation. She has moved quickly to revive national hope and restore Liberia’s international reputation and credibility.
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Africa: An Overview
Africa is all too often described as if it is one country as opposed to a continent of 53 very different countries, with very different peoples, languages, terrains, economic and political situations and cultures. A major factor contributing to this problem of generalisation is that research and information about many of the continent’s countries is limited. This leads to a view of Africa dominated by those countries that make the headlines, usually for all the wrong reasons. When we look deeper we learn that Africa is a continent of many contrasts and surprises and therefore think it is important to start this book by trying to put Africa, and its 53 different countries, into context.
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Understanding Africa
by Steuart Pennington
Lagos, Nigeria’s Largest City, Reflects Changing Face of Africa; Sourced from flickr.com/photos/ebsylvester
Understanding Africa is difficult. There is a dearth of information on the one hand and the continent is changing so rapidly on the other. It looks like Africa will be the only continent in 2008 to grow faster than it did in 2007, it has less debt than other continents and its Diaspora contributes more in foreign capital than the sum of the world’s aid.
In this chapter I will try to describe Africa, highlighting some of the extraordinary differences that exist between its countries; between the north and south; east and west; between the large and the small; and between the wealthy and the poor.
Observers of Africa very often fall into the trap of aggregating the countries of Africa to the extent that the conclusions drawn are very often so general as to be meaningless. “The Hopeless Continent” does not describe every country in Africa. “The Shackled Continent” does not capture the consequences of Africa’s history. The 16-year-old holding an AK47, or the mother holding a starving child does not represent Africa’s “state”. The bullet-ridden buildings in the dilapidated high street do not represent the average African city. The madness of Mugabe is not reflective of some deep-seated attribute of African leadership. The Landrover battling through inhospitable terrain does not capture the essence of African infrastructure. These images so often represented in Western media are not the truth of Africa today.
The 53 countries of Africa are very different.
Population
Only 11 countries in Africa have a population in excess of 30 million people (Algeria – 33 million; DRC – 65 million; Egypt – 80 million; Ethiopia – 76 million; Kenya – 36 million; Morocco – 33 million; Nigeria – 135 million; South Africa – 43 million; Sudan – 40 million; Tanzania – 40 million; and Uganda – 30 million), yet 27 countries have a population of less than 10 million. Population growth averages around 2.3% which means that Africa will, for the foreseeable future, have a population which is young, with more people under 20 than over 40 (the case in the developed world). However, the incidence of HIV prevalence, particularly in sub- Saharan Africa (South Africa 21% of adults; Zimbabwe 24%; Zambia 16%; Swaziland 38%; Namibia 21%; Mozambique 12%; Malawi 14%; Lesotho 28%; Botswana 37%), is likely to create a large number of Aids orphans and continue to reduce life expectancy. Most of the rest of Africa has an HIV prevalence of less than 3%.
Life expectancy
Only eight countries have a life expectancy of more than 70 years (Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Libya, Mauritius, Morocco, Seychelles, and Tunisia) with some 27 countries having a life expectancy of less than 50 years.
Literacy rates
Some 17 countries have literacy rates that exceed 70% while 12 have literacy rates below 50%. In Zimbabwe, Zambia, Swaziland, South Africa, Seychelles, Mauritius, Lesotho, Kenya and Equatorial Guinea, literacy rates exceed 85%.
Arable land
Only 13 countries have arable land that exceeds 15% of their land mass, with 23 countries having arable land that is less than 5% of their land mass.
Gross domestic product
Only four countries have a GDP in excess of $100 billion with South Africa by far the largest at $274 billion, followed by Egypt, $127 billion; Nigeria, $126 billion and Algeria, $125 billion. Some 31 countries have a GDP of less than $10 billion, of those, 7 of less than $1 billion.
GDP growth
Some 33 countries, however, have a GDP growth rate that exceeds 4.5% with 10 countries exceeding 7% GDP growth. Africa, as a whole, is expected to grow at 6.2% in 2008, significantly higher than the United States and Canada (2.2%), Japan (2.5%), the European Union (2.3%), and Latin America (4.9%). Only China, India and Russia have higher growth rates.Only 12 countries have a GDP growth of less than 3%, with 3 of those showing negative growth (Zimbabwe, Comoros and Chad). GDP per capita (purchasing power parity) varies from $44 400 in Equatorial Guinea to $300 in the DRC. Only 9 countries exceed $7 500 per capita (Algeria, Botswana, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa and Tunisia) while 18 have a GDP per capita at less than $1 000 per annum.
Revenue vs. expenditure
Some 17 countries carry a budget surplus forward annually, with very few carrying an enormous debt burden. Although public debt as a percentage of GDP was only available for 25 countries, in only half of those did it exceed 30% of GDP. Twelve countries have a positive current account balance while only six countries have a current account deficit that exceeds $1 billion (South Africa at $20 billion followed by Sudan at just over $4 billion). Africa does not have a great debt burden currently, with the whole continent carrying +/-$300 billion in debt. Only five countries have in excess of $3 billion in debt, with Egypt $30 billion, Morocco $16 billion, South Africa $64 billion, Sudan $29 billion, DRC $10 billion, Côte d’ Ivoire $10 billion and Angola $8 billion, carrying in excess of 50% of the debt of the whole continent.
Public stock exchanges
Over 20 African countries now have a public stock exchange compared to just 5 in 1989. As many as seven African stock exchanges regularly perform among the top twenty in the world.
Poverty and unemployment
While statistics are available for both poverty and unemployment, these are most unreliable. In the case of poverty it is inappropriate to use income as the basis for defining poverty, as many households have a standard of living without earning an income, either through barter, subsistence or Diaspora transfers. In South Africa, for instance, the social grant system now extends to 12.3 million people, approximately 28% of the population. Official poverty statistics do not reflect the reality on the ground. Likewise with unemployment, the official figures relate to formal employment as per workman’s compensation or unemployment insurance returns. No one truly understands the extent of the informal sector.
Telephones, cell phones and internet users
While figures are only available up until 2006 for Africa as a whole, and the growth of cell phone usage is exploding, a general rule of thumb would seem to indicate that most countries have ten times the number of cell phone users as fixed-line users and five times the number of internet users as fixed-line users.
Railway lines, paved roads and airports (with paved runways)
In total, Africa has approximately 80 000 kilometres of railway lines, 20 000 kilometres of which are in South Africa with 35 other African countries having 1 000 kilometres or less. Likewise, Africa has 560 000 kilometres of paved roadways, 73 000 of which are in South Africa, with only 12 other African countries having more than 10 000 kilometres of paved roads and 13 having less than 1 000 kilometres. The same story can be told of airports with paved runways: 31 countries have less than 10 such airports, in South Africa there are 146. Most countries have to import electricity, and access is difficult.
Africa: on a path to prosperity
On the positive side, Africa is a continent of 53 countries, many of which are positioning themselves for GDP growth exceeding 5% per annum. It has a young population, is rich in resources, has relatively little debt, and is embracing communication technology. Political transformation is sweeping through the continent and foreign investment is growing.
Clearly there are many challenges: tuberculosis, HIV/Aids and malaria pose serious health challenges, with many thousands of people dying every day; doing business in Africa is complicated; infrastructure is woefully inadequate; crime, poverty and unemployment loom large in most countries and the skill levels required to drive a modernising economy are desperately short.
The markets in Africa are fragmented. Eighty percent of Africa’s GDP is attributable to South Africa, Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Egypt and Nigeria. But Angola, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Sudan and Tunisia have a reasonably strong GDP base and market place.
The formation of free trade blocs and customs unions, such as SADC (Southern African Development Community), ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), EAC (East African Community), COMESA (The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) and ECCAS (Economic Community of Central African States), is essential if the smaller African countries are to prosper. Alongside that must come economic freedom, media freedom, improved infrastructure, political stability, the protection of property rights and, of course, the rule of law. There are signs of transformation everywhere. The challenge is to present this information coherently to the rest of the world and demonstrate that it will be sustainable.
By way of comparison I have included country profiles of Spain, Argentina and Burma. These are three countries on three separate continents that have a population similar in size to the likes of South Africa, Kenya, and Tanzania.
Spain
Population: 40 448 191
Life Expectancy: 79.78 years
Literacy: 97.9%
Arable Land: 27.18%
GDP: US$1.415 trillion
GDP Growth: 3.8%
Public Stock Exchange: US$960 billion (2005)
Poverty: 19.8% (2005)
Unemployment: 7.6%
Telephones: 18.385 million (2006)
Cell Phones: 46.152 million (2006)
Internet Users: 18.578 million (2006)
Railway Lines: 14 974 kilometres
Paved Roads: 659 629 kilometres (includes 12 009 kilometres of expressways)
Airports (with paved runway): 96
Source: CIA, World Factbook
Argentina
Population: 40 301 927
Life Expectancy: 76.32 years
Literacy: 97.2%
Arable Land: 10.03%
GDP: US$245.6 billion
GDP Growth: 8.5%
Public Stock Exchange: US$79.73 billion (2006)
Poverty: 23.4%
Unemployment: 8.9%
Telephones: 9.46 million (2006)
Cell Phones: 31.51 million (2006)
Internet Users: 8.184 million (2006)
Railway Lines: 31 902 kilometres
Paved Roads: 68 809 kilometres (includes 734 kilometres of expressways)
Airports (with paved runway): 154
Source: CIA, World Factbook
Burma
Population: 47 373 958
Life Expectancy: 62.49 years
Literacy: 89.9%
Arable Land: 14.92%
GDP: US$13.7 billion
GDP Growth: 5.5%
Public Stock Exchange: NA
Poverty: 32.7%
Unemployment: 5.2%
Telephones: 503 900 (2005)
Cell Phones: 214 200 (2006)
Internet Users: 31 500 (200)
Railway Lines: 3 955 kilometres
Paved Roads: 3 200 kilometres
Airports (with paved runway): 25
Source: CIA, World Factbook
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Africa Today
Children Jumping into the Air; Sourced from Gallo Images/Getty Images
It takes a long time for perceptions to change and for the world to wake up to the reality that the Africa of today is very different to the Africa of 10, 20 and 30 years ago. In our world of constant media updates we often hear where democracy is going wrong in Africa but far less regularly where it is going right. The reality is that the 1990s was a time of sweeping change in Africa and the continent has emerged in the 21st century more stable and more democratic than it has ever been. It is not an exaggeration to say that the majority of African countries are now at peace and that democracy is no longer a foreign concept to Africa – with more countries considered to be partially free than not free. And while the years since independence tell a dismal story of failure and decline into debt, a new Africa, one that calls for trade not aid, and one that is taking charge of its own destiny, is emerging.
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The March of Democracy
by Jane Priser, Independent Economist
A Woman Casting Vote in 2008 Parliamentarian Elections in Angola; Sourced from Gallo Images/AFP
*News headlines are full of the countries in Africa where the political environment is a shambles – the madness that is Zimbabwe, the tragedy of Darfur, the coups and attempted coups, and the leaders who refuse to accept that their time is up. But what is the real state of democracy in Africa? Is it marching forward or is it heading for failure?
Definition of democracy
While there is little consensus on a precise definition of democracy, a narrow definition of democracy generally focuses on the holding of free and fair elections. A wider definition includes factors such as the safeguarding of political rights and civil liberties; the existence of good governance and the rule of law; a free press; as well as a culture of political participation, including a robust civil society that keeps government engaged with its citizens.
Progress since the 1970s – elections become commonplace
From the absolute dictatorships of the past, almost all African countries today hold elections, but are those elections really free and fair, and has the quality of democracy in a wider sense improved?
That there is stronger support for democracy in the 21st century is evidenced, on one level, by the greater number of polls being held across the African continent.
*Certainly, there are significantly more elections held in the 21st century compared with the 1960’s or 1970’s – from a low of just three countries holding parliamentary elections in 1973 to 40 holding parliamentary elections in 2005 (according to a report by Morgan Stanley).
While this indicates that the demand for elections is becoming increasingly entrenched in political culture, the quality of these elections remains a big challenge. A large number of these elections have been single-party and are not regarded as either free or fair. In many countries, however, there is greater sensitivity by governments that elections must be seen to be free and fair; therefore, international observers are invited to monitor polls.
However, there are still cases, such as that of Zimbabwe (2002, 2005, and 2008) where only carefully selected groups of observers are invited in the hope of receiving a favourable assessment, but this tactic is becoming less viable, with the African Union criticising the 2008 elections in Zimbabwe.
Limiting presidential terms
African electorates are becoming more critical of elections being used as a vehicle for the same political elite, or very often the same leaders, to remain in power for long periods. In Liberia's landmark post-war election in 2005, long-standing members of the local elite did not fare well as the electorate rejected them as being ineffectual at bringing about much-needed change. Instead, they voted for Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf who, although a previous presidential contender, had served a long period outside the country as a high- level international civil servant.
Many countries' constitutions now subscribe to a two-term limit for their presidents, to prevent their leaders becoming effectively “presidents-for-life” and rigorously guard this stipulation. In Malawi, for example, former president Bakili Muluzi's attempts to amend the constitution to allow him to run for a third term in 2004 were roundly rejected. South Africa is a well-known example, where former president Nelson Mandela insisted on only one term in power; Nigeria's former president, Olusegun Obasanjo also respected his two-term limit. However, there still remain a number of long-serving presidents, such as Lansana Conté in Guinea, Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia, Colonel Muammar Qadhafi in Libya, and Omar Bongo in Gabon.
Independent electoral commissions established
Significantly, the establishment of truly independent electoral commissions in a number of African countries has become an essential element of free and fair elections. Electoral commissions have been subject to a high degree of political interference in the past, and while this practice still continues in many countries, African countries are increasingly benefiting from the impartial observation of their elections. Foreign donors, such as the European Union (EU) and US, have much to do with this, with their emphasis on political reforms, such as independent electoral commissions, as a key condition for their support. In Sierra Leone, for example, this resulted in one of the country's most free and fair elections to date in 2007, and was a significant factor in unseating a highly corrupt regime that was otherwise firmly entrenched in power.
In addition to more free and fair elections, democracy in the wider sense is improving in Africa. According to Freedom House, the US-based NGO that measures democracy, there are far more countries in Africa considered completely free today (11) and partially free (34) than there were when its measurements began in 1972 (3 and 10 respectively) or even in 1990 (4 and 18 respectively).
Freedom House scores for political rights have improved during this time, from an average of 5.8 in 1972 to 5.6 in 1990 and 4.5 in 2007. At the same time civil liberties have improved from an average score of 5.2 in 1972 to 4.5 in 1990 and 4.2 in 2007. The growth of civil liberties has helped in creating conditions under which political rights are also improving in sub-Saharan Africa.
Military coups decrease dramatically
That a political culture more conducive to democracy is emerging, is evident in the reduced number of coups taking place – indicating that there is far less tolerance today of military regimes than there was a decade or more ago. From a high of 24 coups in the 1960s, there were 14 in the 1990s and just five between 2000 and 2008.
Those coups that have taken place in the 21st century have tended to be short-lived, with the new regimes responding to pressure to follow this with democratic elections, such as in Mauritania (2005) and Togo (2005). However, countries with a recent history of military coups still struggle with weak levels of governance, and the entrenching of a new culture of democracy can be difficult, as is evidenced by a further coup in Mauritania in August 2008.
Sierra Leone and Liberia, which suffered coups in the 1990s, now have civilian governments in the 21st century, but are still plagued from time to time by revelations of plots to overthrow their governments, although fortunately these are generally too poorly organised to present a threat to the state.
In addition, while the transfer of power to a civilian administration in Nigeria in 1999 went smoothly with elections held that were considered to be free and fair, there have been problems further down the line with elections in 2003 and 2007 not being considered entirely free or fair. This indicates once again that a long period of time is required for democracy to become more deeply established and accepted.
The state of democracy today
According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s democracy index there is only one full democracy in Africa – that of Mauritius (rated 25th in the world), with seven being flawed democracies, 13 being hybrid regimes and 23 being authoritarian regimes. The measures are stringent, of the flawed democracies 3 rank in the top 40 democracies of the world; South Africa (29), Botswana (36) and Cape Verde (39).Although half the world’s countries are considered to be democracies, the number of full democracies is relatively low, at 28.
In 2007, Freedom House rated the following countries to be free: Benin, Botswana, Cape Verde, Ghana, Lesotho, Mali, Mauritius, Namibia, São Tomé & Príncipe, Senegal and South Africa. These are countries where free and fair multi-party elections are being held, and where political rights and civil liberties are respected. The longest standing democracy in Africa is Botswana – a bastion of political stability and good governance in Africa. The other countries listed were almost all free by 2000, with the 1990s being a pivotal time for establishing their democratic credentials.
**On the other end of the scale, the number of countries considered not to be free is diminishing. Notable examples of countries that are still not free include Guinea, Zimbabwe, Chad, Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia and Swaziland. The difficulty in Africa has long been that the state is seen as the key to gaining a greater share in the country's resources, as the private sector has been very weakly developed. But this is slowly changing: successful economic policy reforms across many countries in the 1990s have resulted in more robust economies, with private sectors that offer more opportunities for earning a livelihood, including the potential to accumulate power and wealth. The days of autocracies that do not even attempt to hold democratic elections are clearly over: the last remaining absolute monarchy Swaziland, grudgingly held elections in 2008, albeit not of the multi-party variety. Candidates contesting seats in parliament can only stand as independents under the traditional Tinkhundla system with political parties having been banned in the country since 1973.More countries in Africa are considered by Freedom House to be partially free than not free. Their journey is one where democratic rights are hard won and difficult to maintain. Many have endured civil wars and their institutions of governance are still weak, such as Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Liberia, Sierra Leone and Algeria. Countries such as Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Nigeria are inching towards multi-party democracy, but have experienced setbacks. Just as it seemed as though democracy was consolidating in Kenya, elections held at the end-of 2007 appeared flawed and resulted in widespread violence that threatened to destabilise the country.
Political reform in Ethiopia brought much hope for the 2005 elections, but the results were widely disputed and led to violence and a heavy-handed crackdown on anti-government protestors. Malawi has made considerable progress towards democracy in the last decade, but has also slipped at the last hurdle, with some doubt over the 2004 election results, and political interference in governance institutions and the functioning of parliament.
Catalysts for change
There are a number of factors that are driving progress towards democracy in Africa. Most importantly is the change at grassroots level: fed up with corrupt authoritarian regimes, the electorate is applying increased pressure for reform. This is being backed up by international pressure for democracy from foreign donors and regional organisations, including the African Union.
Financial, technical and logistical support from international organisations has also become a salient feature: it is difficult to imagine how the DRC would have held elections across its vast territory in 2006 without this. Increased access to the media and rising literacy rates have also helped, although these factors should not be overstated. It is still a small percentage of the population that uses new technologies such as the internet. There has also been a general improvement in governance of African countries since 1990: economic policy reforms under more effective national leadership is putting greater emphasis on building the capacity of institutions (including those that help to fight corruption), safeguarding civil liberties, and allowing robust civil societies to develop.
Further challenges
However, there are many challenges ahead in the journey towards the consolidation of democracy across Africa. The state of the opposition across Africa is still weak and fractured, with effective one-party states in many countries, including high-ranked democracies such as Botswana and South Africa. While this may sometimes reflect the genuine popularity of the ruling party, it can also point to the pervasiveness of the system of patronage, whereby the incumbents are offered political support in return for wielding their power and influence in favour of their “clients”.
Incumbents also have greater access to state resources in conducting their campaigns; opposition parties with limited resources often have to concentrate on easily accessible urban areas – with rural areas proving too remote, with their populations spread out over large distances. The Kenya elections in late 2007 also proved that ethnic and regional identities still have relevance in many countries, and that it will take time for political loyalties to be based more on policy issues.
Perhaps the biggest challenge in garnering support for democracy across Africa is for it to result in a government that can deliver a tangible improvement in living standards for the majority of the population. Thus, better economic policy-making and implementation remains crucial. This requires effective leadership, stronger institutions capable of providing economic governance, and delivering social services to the masses. This goes hand in hand with strengthening those institutions that safeguard civil liberties, political rights and freedom of the press. It also goes hand in hand with the decentralisation of power to local and regional governing bodies, including the development of opposition parties that are ideologically based rather than ethnically organised.
However, on many of these counts, progress is certainly being made, as can be seen by the improved ratings each decade by Freedom House, and the increased number of elections held, particularly those which are declared free and fair by international monitors. Current trends suggest that 2010 marks a decade in which more countries will join the ranks of the democratically free, with many more inching closer towards this status, encouraged by strong role models such as Botswana, South Africa, Ghana and Mauritius.
*Editor’s additions
About Jane Priser
Jane Priser is an independent economist. She spent six years working in country risk analysis in the UK, focusing specifically on sub-Saharan Africa, where she analysed in depth the political and economic trends that characterise the continent. She has an Honours degree in International Relations from the University of the Witwatersrand, and a BA in Politics from the University of Cape Town.
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Conflict in Africa: Entering the Age of Hope
by Tanana Mpanyane, Senior Researcher at Institute for Security Studies
*It is important to clarify the usage of terms in this article. A distinction is made between conflict and political instability. The former refers to an outbreak of hostilities between contending parties – such as government forces and armed rebels (e.g. civil war, armed conflict, war of independence, etc.) and the latter refers to turmoil generated or characterised by political uncertainty and/or issues of legitimacy (e.g. political and/economic crisis, political violence, state repression, fragile peace).
The portrayal of Africa in most of the international media is often unflattering. This is clearly demonstrated in the leading story of The Economist of 2000, which declared Africa “The Hopeless Continent.” The vexing issue is whether such a storyline reflects a true picture of Africa, or whether there is need to present the continent and its people as diverse, dynamic and developing.
Indeed, most reports on Africa generally create an impression of a continent that is torn apart by conflict and disasters. They evoke persistent conflicts, weak states and displaced populations that require international aid and assistance. This view is further reinforced by media and scholarly reports reflecting on a variety of issues including the state of democracy, governance, poverty, development, aid and humanitarian issues, human rights and so on.
Observers regularly refer to numerous statistics, surveys and indices compiled by the UN Development Programme’s (UNDP) Human Development Index, the World Bank, Afrobarometer, Freedom House and others. The analyses and conclusions of these reports often portray a continent that is fragile and underdeveloped, with bleak future prospects. More disconcerting is a tendency to regard or portray Africa as one country rather than a continent.
While acknowledging the varied and complex challenges facing many African countries, especially in relation to conflict, it is important to set the record straight. The African continent has had to contend with issues pertaining to peace and security, human rights, democracy and governance, as well as the need for socio- economic development. In turn, these issues have been negatively impacted by ongoing conflict situations and political instability in some African countries. However, an undeniable point is that Africa and its peoples remain committed to the objective of addressing and finding lasting solutions to issues of peace, security and development.
Africa: a continent of independent countries
What is Africa? There are currently 53 countries in Africa, each with their own political systems, governance institutions, leadership structures, varied communities and cultures. Africa is the second largest continent in the world. It is also second in terms of population after Asia, with an estimated population of 900 million. Significantly, the whole continent is independent, with the exception of Western Sahara. The African Union (AU), as the principal continental governance body, considers the region as an occupied territory and calls for its right to self-determination, whereas Morocco considers the region as part of the Kingdom of Morocco. In fact, Western Sahara is currently recognised as a member of the AU, (as the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR)), while Morocco is not.
Africa at a crossroads
Indeed, the period between 1990 and 1999 has been characterised as a period of political change in Africa. The sweeping changes were marked by transitions from one-party and military regimes to new democratic regimes in many African countries. This included liberalisation reforms, increased political liberties and the holding of elections. The countries that experienced these changes early on included Benin, Namibia, South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique and many others followed.
By definition, crossroads highlight enormous challenges. Thus, the democratic gains and trend toward political changes in Africa were not the only developments of this period. Instead of the consolidation of democracy and entrenchment of new rules of the game, there emerged fragile democracies. Most significantly, Africa witnessed the outbreak of major human rights abuses and political catastrophes of intra-state wars, highlighted by the genocide in Rwanda, violent civil wars in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Angola, Sudan, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Regrettably, some countries recently experienced outbreaks of political instability, including Kenya and Zimbabwe.
Obviously, Africa has faced multiple economic, social and political challenges on national, regional and global fronts. Among them are widespread poverty and devastating social and economic impacts of such pandemic diseases as HIV/Aids, malaria and tuberculosis. Equally important is the challenge posed by the lack of peace and security in various parts of the continent. Thus, the collective response to these challenges has repeatedly affirmed the logic of unity and integration that was first championed by the Organisation for African Unity, later succeeded by the African Union (AU).
At the core of the continental collective vision of unity and integration, are the calls for peaceful resolution of conflicts, and the necessity of the AU to intervene in cases where there are war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. Other important principles directed by the AU include the promotion of peace and security, gender equality, respect for democratic principles, human rights, the rule of law, good governance and the promotion of social justice to ensure balanced economic development. This vision is further informed by perceptions of the continent’s marginalisation and exclusion as a result of changing global order.
Causes of conflict
The causes of conflict in Africa are many and varied. Erroneously, many conflicts have been portrayed as caused by a single factor, such as ethnicity, religion (Muslim/Christianity) or race (African/Black/Arab). Rather, it is more appropriate to explain causes of conflict in Africa as varied/multiple.
Conflicts may arise as a result of pervasive structural or systemic factors that may create pre-conditions for violent outbreak. These include state repression, lack of political legitimacy, poor governance, unequal distribution of wealth, poverty, etc.
Other causes may be instantaneous or act as a trigger (but in themselves they do not explain the causes of conflict). These events may include political assassination, new enforced discriminatory policies, electoral fraud, or the longstanding political and socio- economic structure of society.
Political causes may include failed peace processes, politicisation of ethnicity (or religion), greed and pervasive corruption, amongst others.
For example, the resource wars (fight over control of mineral resources: “blood diamonds”, oil, etc.) or the genocide in Rwanda were triggered by one event but fuelled by an underlying multitude of factors.
Costs of conflict
The real figures and costs of many conflicts in Africa are difficult to put together. What is certain is the enormous cost to the lives of ordinary Africans, with estimates placing the figures from these conflicts between 8.5 million and 12 million (DFID Regional Factsheet, 2008; The Millennium Development Goals Report, 2005). Millions more have been directly and indirectly affected by conflicts on the continent, with approximately 15 to 23 million people estimated to have become refugees or internally displaced.
In monetary terms, African conflicts are estimated to have cost approximately $300 billion since the end of the Cold War in 1990 (Oxfam, 2007). The majority of this money has been spent on buying arms and ammunition, generally from arms traders outside the continent. Indirectly, many of these conflicts are also fuelled by or even generate war economies, such as the capturing of valuable natural resources. Equally significant is the issue of African leaders or elites stealing millions of dollars in revenue and stashing this stolen loot in offshore accounts – principally in Western countries.
Other indirect costs of conflicts include the destruction of infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, harbours and industries.
Additionally, it is estimated that Africa loses approximately $148 billion annually as a result of corruption, roughly 25% of GDP (source: African Development Bank, 2002).
Conflict resolution
It is no exaggeration to point out that the majority of African countries are in fact stable. Many of the intractable civil wars have been ended in Africa, whereas others may be described as latent or there is fragile peace. To this end, we have witnessed processes towards reconciliation and post-conflict reconstruction in Liberia, Sierra Leone and southern Sudan.
In Sudan, peace was a result of the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the establishment of the government of South Sudan as an autonomous region. Mozambique, Angola and Rwanda have all witnessed peace and embarked on post-conflict reconstruction. As a result, these countries have experienced economic growth and development since the end of hostilities that saw millions killed, maimed and/or displaced. In Angola we have not only witnessed the return to peace, but most significantly in 2008 the country held its first parliamentary elections in 19 years.
One only needs to look and contrast countries that had been afflicted by conflict and political instability in the 1990s and those in 2007 to see that Africa is moving towards peace and stability.
Indeed, significant progress has been made in addressing and resolving some of the most violent and intractable conflicts on the African continent. But much more work remains to be done in conflict prevention, management, resolution and peace-building in a number of countries. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) we have witnessed the holding of presidential, parliamentary and provincial elections in 2006. However, instability persists in some parts of the DRC, especially around the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu (where rebels led by General Laurent Nkunda threaten the 2002 peace deal that ended decades of conflict).
Equally noteworthy is that while some countries did not experience conflict or instability prior to 1999, they experienced conflict and/or political turmoil between 2000 and 2008 (Togo, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Comoros).