My Beauty Best Teacher

K.Y. Amoako commented on the need for sustainable job growth in Africa "...The creation of decent jobs that can be performed by poor people is the single most effective way to reduce poverty in Africa,' said...According to ECA, some 8 million jobs must be created each year to satisfy the growing number of job seekers..."

Dumisani Nyoni takes issue with the focus on leaders and institutions he states "...You can’t reduce the leadership challenges of Africa to just ‘leaders’ and institutions. Institutions can be manipulated, no matter how strong they are...Good leaders and institutions are important yes. But also understanding the underlying, fundamental issues is important as is having the guts to be fair and objective in dealing with the governance challenges in Africa across the board, not in isolated cases country by country while we pretend that other villains are the “hope for our continent’s future!”..."
Via Global Voices

The position of the Freedom and International Justice Foundation (FINJF) is that "...While the economies of developing states are declining, corruption, nepotism, and tyranny continue to thrive unabated. Meanwhile, billions of stolen taxpayers’ dollars are siphoned to the foreign Bank accounts of despotic leaders on a monthly basis. FINJF cultivates working relationships with international financial institutions to discourage the illegal transfers of stolen funds from developing states, and exposes the individuals involved with such crimes (be it a sitting African President or one of his cohorts). FINJF advocates the return to Africa (and the developing world at large) the stolen assets of past and present dictators..."

Charles Kwalonue Sunwabe writes "...Two observations need to be made about Africa’s leadership preoccupation with making excuses for their actions and the blaming of others for Africa’s dilemmas: first, by blaming outsiders, mainly westerners much needed energy, time and creative resources are wasted unproductively while attention is diverted away from the leadership’s own moral failures. In simple terms, a man who does not address his own shortcomings is incapable of solving his own problems. The vast majority of Africa’s woes are easily attributed to internal causes - the problems lie in Africa and the solutions are internal, not external. Second, it needs to be made clear to African leaders that when the West or the East comes to Africa, it is not because they inherently love Africa; but instead, foreign countries and entities come to Africa to pursue their own interests...."
Via The Perspective

Marian Tupy writes "...It is true that rich countries' protectionism harms some producers in the developing world but trade liberalization in rich countries as a cure for African poverty is often over-emphasized. The main causes of African impoverishment are internal. Africa lacks political stability and economic freedom. Its tariffs are high and private property rights weak. It is hypocritical for African leaders to call for greater access to global markets while avoiding policy reforms, including trade openness, at home...Clearly, free trade is a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for economic growth in Africa. But trade can play a role in promoting prosperity by increasing domestic competition and changing the dynamic of the political economy that keeps privileged groups protected. Many reforms are needed but a good place to start is with freeing trade at home. African countries should do so regardless of what the rich countries do. India, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Chile, Estonia and many other developing countries undertook unilateral trade liberalization in the past and reaped the benefits..."

Thomas Sowell wrote "...Promoting dependency and irresponsible borrowing is not the way to help the poor internationally any more than these are ways of helping the poor at home. Such policies benefit the bureaucracies that administer foreign aid and enable vain people to see themselves as saviors, even when they are doing more harm than good..."
Via Enviropundit

Wafula Okumu charts a path for democratisation in Africa,"...the building of democratic societies depends on the existence of a leadership that understands and embraces democratic ideals, political institutions that will be repository and guarantor of democratic values, and civil society and international actors playing specific and clearly defined roles. Furthermore, a certain enabling environment must prevail...civil society can act as channels through which citizens articulate their interests, particularly in situations where political parties are weak, disorganized and "represent factional politics rather than competing ideologies". Besides being advocates for alternative policy agenda, civil society can also advocate for social change by exerting pressure on the State to make structural changes and to produce policy outputs that enhance societal interests..."

Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe writes about the dire state of African Journalism "...Overall, there is a general agreement that the quality of journalistic praxis on the African continent, especially in the so-called Sub-Saharan Africa, widely regarded as also the least technologically developed in the region, leaves much to be desired..."In a series Ory Okolloh at Kenyan Pundit asks the question "What is ailing Kenyan journalism?" while Chippla questions the fact checking or lack thereof regarding 'prominent personalities'.

Founded by Kum'a Ndumbe III AfricAvenir articulates the following, "...We believe that a sustainable development of the African continent is unthinkable outside the culture, the language, the history of the African masses – outside the institutions which the people build according to their own needs and which they control internally. AfricAvenir therefore actively participates in the ‘insurrection of subjugated knowledges’ (Foucault), meaning the emancipation and reactivation of local, popular and traditional knowledges. This is not in the least a call for a mere and uncritical return to a mythical past or for the restoration of a historically continuous and allegedly pure pre-colonial heritage, but rather a quest for realism, adequacy and relevance..."

Award winning writer Binyavanga Wainaina gives aspiring journalists 'tips' on 'How to write about Africa' "...In your text, treat Africa as if it were one country. It is hot and dusty with rolling grasslands and huge herds of animals and tall, thin people who are starving. Or it is hot and steamy with very short people who eat primates. Don't get bogged down with precise descriptions. Africa is big: fifty-four countries, 900 million people who are too busy starving and dying and warring and emigrating to read your book. The continent is full of deserts, jungles, highlands, savannahs and many other things, but your reader doesn't care about all that, so keep your descriptions romantic and evocative and unparticular..."

Writing about the African University Donald Ekong stated that"...Emphasis will have to be on the formation of graduates who have the flexibility to respond to changing demands in the economy and who are capable of self-employment. With the rapid advances in knowledge, structures will be required to provide a space in the university as well as encouragement for life-long learning. The implication is that the university should be able to cater for a variety of learners and a variety of learning needs through diversification of its programmes, curriculum contents, and mode of delivery. Currently in much of Africa the university has a virtual monopoly as the source of learning. But this will change and should change as other forms of higher education are developed and have already begun to be developed in some countries. Only through creativity, innovation, and flexibility in catering for diverse learning needs will the university be able to retain a leading position in terms of relevance to the needs of society.
A further challenge for Africa is the danger of new forms of dependence which could be just as devastating as the current forms if not even more so, that is, dependence on knowledge and knowledge application processes from elsewhere. The challenge for the African university is to contribute new useful knowledge and application processes that derive from the African environment and draw from African experience and ingenuity. There is also an urgent need to increase participation in higher education from all sections of the population-currently participation in higher education in Africa is the lowest in the world-with a view to raising the collective capacity and productivity of African society. Both aspects are essential for enhancing African competitiveness in the global market place..."

In response to Paul Theroux's op-ed Hari Chandra writes "...Except in limited and specific circumstances, Africa does not need charity. Africa needs 'more money' in the form of huge amounts of global risk capital, equity and debt, that can build the industrial and manufacturing base that can employ millions and provide even more with the basic tools of prosperity, support the entrepreneurs building a service industry, provide access to global trade markets for many more people, etc. Certainly capital is not the only thing that Africa needs but it can create a virtuous cycle, funding the educational institutions needed for a professional middle class, supporting the civil society that a sizeable middle class engenders, ultimately allowing Africans to take ownership of their resources..."
Via Zoo Station

Paul Theroux in the NYTimes writes "...It seems to have been Africa's fate to become a theater of empty talk and public gestures. But the impression that Africa is fatally troubled and can be saved only by outside help - not to mention celebrities and charity concerts - is a destructive and misleading conceit. Those of us who committed ourselves to being Peace Corps teachers in rural Malawi more than 40 years ago are dismayed by what we see on our return visits and by all the news that has been reported recently from that unlucky, drought-stricken country. But we are more appalled by most of the proposed solutions...Africa is a lovely place - much lovelier, more peaceful and more resilient and, if not prosperous, innately more self-sufficient than it is usually portrayed. But because Africa seems unfinished and so different from the rest of the world, a landscape on which a person can sketch a new personality, it attracts mythomaniacs, people who wish to convince the world of their worth. Such people come in all forms and they loom large...Africa has no real shortage of capable people - or even of money. The patronizing attention of donors has done violence to Africa's belief in itself, but even in the absence of responsible leadership, Africans themselves have proven how resilient they can be - something they never get credit for..."
Analysed at Worldchanging

Franklin Cudjoe writes "...Famine in the fertile climes of southern and eastern Africa, however, seems more shocking. But there's a common thread: centralized state rule -- incompetent at best -- marked by corruption and sustained by aid...more temperate southern and eastern African countries are on the edge of famine, too, with 10 million affected in southern Africa alone. Again, we find the same economic profile: Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho all lack economic freedom and property rights; all have economies mismanaged by the state; all depend on aid...Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi believes that allowing Ethiopians to own their land would make them sell out to multinationals. He seems to have overlooked a basic market principle: It demands a willing seller and a willing buyer at an agreed price. If that price is worth selling for, the farmer might have some money to reinvest elsewhere; if that price is worth buying for, the purchaser must have plans to make the land profitable. If there is no sale, owners might have an incentive to invest in their own land and future, having, at last, the collateral of the land on which to get a loan.After decades of socialism, Ethiopia's agricultural sector -- the mainstay of the economy -- is less productive per capita than 20 years ago when Band Aid tried to defeat famine. Although 60% of the country is arable, only 10% has been cultivated. Ethiopia is entirely dependent on donations; but instead of grasping reality, Mr. Zenawi, a member of Tony Blair's "Commission for Africa," is forcing resettlement on 2.2 million people..."
Also covered at PSD Blog

In continuation of our theme regarding Africa's women we take a look at how success in one country influences women in another"...We have been motivated by the success stories of women from other countries," says Somali politician Asha Ahmed Abdalla, who cites in particular the example of Kenya, where women such as Millie Odhiambo play an active role in civil society and are at the helms of nongovernmental organizations. "What we have seen in Kenya is a great motivation to us, for we have seen women participating in almost every section of development..."
Also Blogged at AfroMusing

In a recent report(PDF) the Cato institute analysed how the loss of property rights contributed to Zimbabwe's downward spiral "...While in the short term governments may see the expropriation of private property as a viable policy option, in the long term this will only harm the economy. Rational investors will demand a risk premium for investing in developing countries (if rates of return are the same then why invest where your money is not secure?).This risk premium will cause the interest rate to be higher than it would otherwise be, thereby reducing inflows of capital. This causes the opportunity cost of a short term gain to the government to be the loss of investment that would provide jobs, income, improved life expectancy and a plethora of other indicators. Even worse capital could flee the country totally, leaving the economy in ruins..."
Via Globalisation Institute

Ike Anya points the finger of blame at all Nigerians for the recent airplane crash in Nigeria, "...And if perhaps you are thinking- I am abroad, I am not involved- I say to you “It is a lie, you too are culpable” For each time we condoned the kleptomania and corruption of our leaders and our society, for each time we turned our backs on Nigeria, justifying our decisions to ourselves- my children are still young, I need to finish my degree, my family needs the money I’m sending back- we too are responsible. For each time you saved up all year, maxing your credit cards to the limit to go back home and live lavishly for a little while, boosting the asinine materialistic culture that thrives there, ignoring the poverty around, you are culpable..."

"...After decades of centralized “command and control,” government leaders espouse market-led economic growth and community empowerment without a clear understanding of the changes this likely requires in their roles and behavior. After years of operating as what many in their own lands considered “pariahs” and “profiteers,” business leaders are unfamiliar with emerging norms of public-private cooperation and corporate social responsibility. And, eternal advocates for change, civil society leaders often lack a clear understanding of the need for business and government alike to satisfy multiple stakeholders in order to create truly sustainable prosperity and peace. For there to be progress, the next generation of leaders in all three sectors must come together:
• to identify and address their personal strengths and weaknesses as leaders,
• to understand the challenges they face as participants in a rapidly globalizing society,
• to share and refine their respective visions of the society they would like to live in, and
• to lead by example in building this society.
It is for these reasons that The Africa Leadership Initiative has been conceived..."

In a recent speech pulitzer prize winner Dele Olojede stated "...Many Nigerians today continue to deny the obvious—that a potentially wide-ranging transformation is under way, needing only their buy-in for the process to gain momentum. It is undeniable that the Obasanjo government is toying with the idea of a radical transformation. Without a doubt this is the best macro-economic environment we’ve ever had, in which the process has begun to disentangle the government from the economy and, perhaps in time, return it to its best role as a regulatory agency. We can all plainly see the value of deregulation in the telecom sector. And now for the first time in a long time banks will return to being banks. An attempt is being made, unevenly and often unpredictably, to fight corruption. The deal to wipe off Nigeria’s debilitating debt, and spare our children from the pain of our profligacy, is perhaps this government’s most important achievement. But even that, in our poisonous environment, is dismissed by some as insignificant. On account of our long disappointment with politics and government, could it be that we no longer have the capacity to recognize the possibility of progress?..."

Emmanuel Oluwatosin comments on the award winning achievements of Nigeria's Central Bank governor, Charles Soludo. "...Soludo has the strongest success story on banking any where in the world in 2005...",The Banker.The Soludo-inspired and driven consolidation programme is also reputed to be the least-cost industry-wide restructuring of the banking system anywhere in the world...The Soludo-inspired and driven consolidation programme is also reputed to be the least-cost industry-wide restructuring of the banking system anywhere in the world...This has had the double effect of bringing into the formal sector, large funds hitherto were trapped in the infamous informal sector, and further boosting financial and investment awareness among Nigeria’s informal sector operators..."

Chamberlain S. Peterside contends that a pervasive evolving ownership culture is critical to unlocking Africa's potential "...As African countries continue to transform, a key element of their reform agenda should be to legitimize property rights and entrench ownership across the broad spectrum of society. So far the reverse is the case. Unbalanced income distribution has bred severe inequality and abject poverty in Africa...With a potential reserve of wealth hidden in real estate holdings in Africa, unless the laws are updated and home-ownership expanded through broad-based long-term loan programs, it is unlikely that you could nurture a robust middle class or make a serious dent in the living standard of the masses. Effective measures should include standardizing loan underwriting, packaging secondary market instruments and enhancing credit quality through government guarantees..."

Kofi Akosah-Sarpong writes that"...African culture should be hugely factored in in the continent's development process in order to make the continent's development holistic and closer to Africans because of the long-running damages and distortions done by colonialism...Africa's development process should move around the continent's innate cultural values and its mixture both with her colonial legacies and the enabling asparts of the global culture..."

Bhuwan Thapaliya writes "...What is little noticed by the rest of the world is that much of Africa is in the midst of an economic revolution. Though poor by global standards, there is a big chance for Africa to forge its own future...The best thing that America and Europe can do for Africa is not to give it handouts but to reduce trade barriers and buy the products that Africa is capable of producing competitively -- not just agricultural products but also labor-intensive manufactured goods such as textiles...Africa has the trade routes and the potential to industrialize through export-oriented manufactures, but it still faces many formidable difficulties.To join the global economy, for instance, African nations must cut tariffs. These taxes, however, are often a vital source of revenue. In such a situation temporary balance-of-payments support, together with generous debt relief, makes sense..."

The UN's OSAA office reports that "...Remittances from Africans working abroad in the period 2000-2003 averaged about US$17 billion per annum virtually overtaking Foreign Direct Investment flows which averaged about $15 billion per annum during the same period...workers remittances boost disposable incomes, produce multiplier effects, and make education more affordable Private transfers are large and stable sources of foreign exchange for poor countries and are more likely to reach poor households than other capital flows. The average per capita remittance by migrants in developed countries is around US$ 200 per month. In the light of this it is becoming imperative that the cost of transmitting remittances needs to be reduced to allow African countries receive larger private capital flows..."
Via NextBillion

Karen Craggs writes that "...the size and resiliency of the informal or parallel economy in a given country may be related to a critical lack of both accountability and credibility of the state,there are also socio-political, economic and cultural processes at play in African societies that pre-date colonialism, global capitalism and international development. These processes may very well mean that informal economies in some societies are both natural and indispensable. As such, attempts to destroy or co-opt the informal economy and its associated political and socio-cultural phenomena would be counter-productive..."
Via AfricaFiles

John N. Oriji writes "...The Aba Women's Revolt was one of the most significant events that occurred in Nigerian history during colonialism.It was for example, the first major revolt of its type that was organized and led by rural women of Owerri and Calabar Provinces which contained a population of two million people...The revolt helped women to mobilize themselves, and change the existing political order during colonialism. It also enabled some of their leaders who emerged as heroines, to attain a privileged status in Igbo society comparable to those of titled men and warriors. The revolt contributed to the emergence of modern Igbo women who are currently engaged in diverse occupations. It ranks as one of the most outstanding primary resistance movements in Nigerian history..."

Founded by David Lukani Odwar"...TAKS – Through Art Keep Smiling... is an opportunity to enable the people of Northern Uganda to engage in the creative Arts so that they can reaffirm the richness of their culture, reassert their humanity, re-establish the value of their education, take pride in themselves and develop the skills which will help them find new options for their lives and eventually employment..."

Altitude Book Club (ABC)"...is a community of professionals from all walks of life committed, as book lover and book collectors, to the reading and intellectual conversation of great books in order to foster mutual affection/interaction among its members and other stakeholders, and in the process impact the society by putting at its “doorpost” the innovative ideas obtained from the books we have read...Altitude Book Club operates on these three levels: Intellectual, Social & Communal..."
Via NaijaBlog

All African Bazaar reports on the work of awardwinning Virginia Mupanduki, she "...is building up a broad national organization consisting exclusively of previously illiterate women and using the power of that organization to eradicate illiteracy, teach skills development, and create a political voice for them.Virginia Mupanduki has used her previous union experience to read the political climate of Zimbabwe, where, through her powerful organizing elements, she is giving a political voice to women without money or literacy. By combining literacy training and women's empowerment, she encourages their emergence as a new political and economic base, and she is persuading the government that the women represent a constituency that has been ignored and needs to be recognized. Virginia's "bottom-up" approach empowers women to do for themselves, thereby destroying poverty via literacy, even when government has tried and failed. Her project is thus likely to have a higher rate of success than that of adult literacy programs sponsored by the government. Her work is sustainable not only because once obtained, literacy is permanent, but also because it is rooted in the targeted communities..."

Janvier D. Nkurunziza writes "...Africa has the highest level of poverty in the world and is one of the two regions where poverty has not declined in the past twenty years...One reason is that Africa's recent growth rates, while high by international standards, remain too low to have a substantial impact on poverty. Initial conditions are so low that only high and sustained growth levels may have a noticeable impact on poverty reduction. In no year has Africa, as a continent, achieved the 7 percent average growth rate required by the MDGs...most of the observed growth was generated by capital rather than labor-intensive sectors. If the fruit of economic growth reaches the poor through employment creation, growth in capital-intensive sectors has a limited effect on poverty reduction. Indeed, recent growth in Africa appears to have been fueled by increases in oil exports and high oil prices...Africa must strive to increase even further its growth rates and sustain them over a long period. Moreover, there must be greater balance between capital-intensive and labor-intensive activities. But encouraging labor-intensive industries, which create jobs for the poor, must not be at the expense of capital-intensive industries..."
Via SocialPolicy