THE MISSING PIECE OF THE PUZZLE-WHY AFRICA REMAINS UNDERDEVELOPED

When African countries became independent, political leaders were faced with two main challenges. The first was consolidating their political power and achieve domestic stability and peace. The second was transforming their countries economies from their colonial design as suppliers of raw material produced through the exploitation of indigenous population.

Today this dream seem impossible, Africa story is far more complex. Old conflicts continue to erupt creating dashed dream to the people. Example include the genocide in Rwanda, civil wars in Algeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Liberia, Gabon, Uganda, DRC, Cote d’ivoure and Zimbabwe to name the few. These conflicts caused untold suffering and destruction to already underdeveloped infrastructure. What went wrong to this continent -shaped like a question mark? Well let me dissect my thesis.

Historically colonisation was not design to develop the human capital of indigenous people. The driving motive was to extract the continent mineral and agricultural raw materials to be shipped to the mother country for processing into manufactured goods. With this only in mind, colonisers required from the colonised a steady supply of unskilled labour.

Independency did not bring economic transformation in Africa as it did in Asia. It entrenched the economic inequalities inherited from colonialism. The new black elites merely replaced the former white colonial elites, and the exploitation of blacks still continues as before, as did the exploitation of Africa ‘s mineral resources-the copper, gold, bauxite, iron ore, cobalt, oil, timber, cotton, coffee, cocoa beans-drawn from the continent and exported to the rest of the world.

It is this drive to retain control over the continent resources that goes some way to explaining the interest of these black elites not to help the dire African population. Allow me to take you to Equatorial Guinea. This country was never well governed from the start. Mr Obiang Nguema, the president seized power by executing his uncle in 1979. The oil has made his regime paranoid. Several members of the ruling family are thought to want a bigger slurp at the oil barrel.

Mr Obiang sees plot everywhere and arrange periodic crackdown. Several opposition leaders were jailed last year after a mass trial, to which many of the defendants turned up with broken arms and legs. Mr Obiang scoffs at notions of transparency, insisting that how much money his government earns from the oil is nobody business. Oil has turned me crazy lamented Mr Bacele a brave opposition politician.

Next door in Gabon, Omar Bongo has been in power since 1967. Unlike Mr Obiang Nguema he does not torture his enemies but buy them off. Decades of oil revenues have corrupted Gabonese work ethic. Citizens aspire to non-paying jobs like taxi driving or shop keeping, others leave the country to the poorest countries such as Mali and Togo. Infrastructure development in these countries is nothing ,but the death end.

Zimbabwe represents a textbook story of how a successful country turns into trash. Today, this country pride itself with fossils of pre-industrial, pre-agrarian formation that are unable to deliver any economic sense. The stunted subsistence economic systems established by colonialist and perpetuated since their departure have left Zimbabwe unable to absorb new technologies and new management methods. Thanks to greediness between Mugabe and his close allies. Zimbabwe has become notorious-declining life expectancy, capital flight, brain drain, deforestation and growing dependency on foreign food donated by other counties.

A few kilometres away of Lusaka lies a town Kafue. Once upon a time, Kafue was a hive of economic activites. It had textile, fertiliser, chemical plants and railway line that serve these industries, but today Kafue is a ghost town. Once again thanks to poor management from the country political elites who see power as a vehicle to move to the oasis and left the dire population in poverty. Zambia is not the only country with nothing to show for its post-independency but also Nigeria. The alumium smelter and oil in Niger delta leave much to be desired. Corruption linked with kidnapping have left majority very poor while political elites emerged with lump sum from kick bags from western countries.

Kenya provides a graphic illustration of the assassination to destroy leaders who questioned the neo-colonial agenda from these black elites. Within the few years of independency several progressive Kenyans –Tom Mboya, Pio Pinto, J M Kariuki and Robert Ouko, to name but a few died in mysterious circumstances. Therefore, Africa underdevelopment crisis can then be described as a slow and frustrated emergence of an independent black middle class from the mid 1960 to the present. This class has not only fought for independency but also control of Africa mineral resource and re-colonise its own people.

I wrote this article out love for Africa therefore, I should speak the truth unopposed. Politics in Africa has failed the people dismally. It has failed to develop new institution of cooperation among its citizen and to produce the type of leaders required to take society forward in this ever changing global environment. For the continent to develop we need leaders that energies the citizen to achieve a common objective. In order for citizen to do so, however two key elements must be present- institutions that facilitate cooperation and leaders who ensure that these institutions function and deliver on expectations. Among other things are incentives of fairness, social justice, equity and significant investment on human capital. The millennium development goal will forever be dream in a pipeline unless, Africa start uprooting the evils of neo-colonial and fill the missing piece of the puzzle

God bless Africa.


By Cyprian Thwala