We recently had a session about finding new pathways to development in South Africa and Africa as a whole. One of the first things explained to us is the importance of understanding the continent’s economic history and how this has brought us to where we are today. The colonial method of gaining power through settler colonialism was based on a political economy focused on the extraction of resources from the continent. A formerly border-less continent, Africa was carved up by the different colonial powers in their bid to gain more power and resources. This led to Africans being forced to work as slaves or for little pay to extract resources on behalf of the colonisers and to the benefit of European countries. This meant that when African countries gained their independence after centuries of colonisation, the economy of these countries was set up to serve the colonisers and not equipped for development. There was very little development in Africa other than that which was necessary to ensure the most expedient extraction of resources. This left African countries with a very big challenge, they had to decide which development paths they would follow. It was necessary for the countries to focus on local development and shift the economy from being one of extraction to focus on local industries and growth of local business. This was not always a successful endeavor and many countries struggled to change their economy to one which benefited its people through creating growth and development.
One of the main focuses in post-independence African countries has been that of a politics of freedom. Given the centuries of oppression and the deprivation of rights and even humanity, it was necessary for these countries to make systemic changes to ensure that all of its citizens could enjoy freedoms. However due to issues such as inequalities, corruption, competition for mineral resources, and exploitation by private companies, a lot of African countries have not been able to sustain political stability. This continues to be a major challenge to development in Africa. In order for there to be progress in a country, there needs to be political stability. Countries need to obtain working democracies thus ensuring the stability that is needed for economic growth and countrywide development. It has been evident that countries who have elected stable leaders are able to focus on their development and progress.
Another very important aspect of development and change that countries need to focus on is social and economic change. The fight for political change continues but countries also need to be inclusive of all who live in them and to ensure that this change occurs quickly. Most countries do have rights for all but in practice many don’t enjoy these rights. There needs to be a clear change to the social and cultural norms in countries which go against the rights that exist on paper. This also affects development, a country cannot grow and develop if it excludes sections of its citizenry. Countries also need to work on improving their economic systems. There is no easy solution for this but under good leadership and if all sectors work together then progress can be made in this regard.
We need young visionary leaders to step up and take on these tasks of development and progress. We need to imagine the Africa we want to see and to envision the greatness that our country and our content can achieve and then work together towards achieving this goal.