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The millennium partnership for the African recovery programme (MAP)
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| 2. Africa's place in the global community |
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Africa's place in the global community is defined by the fact that the continent is an indispensable resource base that has served all humanity for many centuries.
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Africa's resources can be broken down into the following components:
- the rich complex of mineral, oil and gas deposits, its flora and fauna, and its wide unspoiled natural habitat, which provide the basis for mining, agriculture and tourism
(Component I);
- the ecological lung provided by the continent's rain forests,
and the minimal presence of emissions and effluents that harm the
environment - a global public good that benefits all humankind
(Component II);
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the paleontological and archeological sites containing evidence of the evolution of the earth, life and the human species, the natural habitats containing a wide variety of flora and fauna, and the open uninhabited spaces that are a feature of the continent
(Component III); and
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the richness of Africa's culture and its contribution to the variety of the culture of the universe
(Component IV).
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The first of these, Component I, is the one with which the world is most familiar. The second, Component II, has only come to the fore recently, as humanity came to understand the critical importance of the issue of the environment. The third, Component III, is also now coming into its own, emerging as a matter of concern only to a narrow field of science, and of interest only to museums and their curators. The fourth of these, Component IV, represents the creativity of African people that in important ways remains under-exploited and underdeveloped.
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Africa has a very important role to play with regard to the critical issue of the protection of the environment. African resources include the rain forests, the virtually carbon-dioxide free atmosphere above the continent and the minimal presence of toxic effluents in the rivers and soils that interact with the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and the Mediterranean and Red seas. The MAP will contain a strategy to nurture these resources and use them for development and trade by the African continent, while preserving them for all humanity.
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It is obvious that, unless the communities in the vicinity of the tropical forests are given alternative means of earning a living, they will cooperate in the destruction of the forests. As the preservation of these environmental assets is in the interest of humanity, it is imperative that Africa is placed on a development path that does not put them in danger.
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Modern science recognises Africa as the cradle of humankind. As part of the process of reconstructing the identity and self-confidence of the peoples of Africa, it is necessary that this contribution to human existence is understood and valued by Africans themselves. Africa's status as the birthplace of humanity should be cherished by the whole world as the origin of all its peoples. Accordingly, the MAP must preserve the common heritage and use it to build a universal understanding of the historic need to end the underdevelopment and marginalisation of the continent.
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Africa also has a major role to play in maintaining the strong link between human beings and the natural world. Technological developments tend to emphasise the role of human beings as factors of production, competing for their place in the production process with their contemporary or future tools. The open uninhabited spaces, the flora and fauna, and the diverse animal species that are unique to Africa offer a rare experience for humanity to maintain its link to nature. Africa is uniquely placed to offer this asset to humanity.
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Africa has already made a significant contribution to world culture through literature, music, visual arts and other cultural forms, but her real potential remains untapped because of her limited integration to the rest of the world. The MAP will enable Africa to increase her contribution to science, culture and technology.
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In this new era, when humanity is searching for a new way to build a better world, it is critical that we bring to bear the combination of these attributes and the forces of human will, to place the continent on a pedestal of equal partner in advancing human civilisation.
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| The Historical Impoverishment of a Continent |
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The impoverishment of the African continent proceeds primarily from the legacy of colonialism, the cold war, the workings of the international economic system and the inadequacies and shortcomings in the policies pursued in many countries in the post independence era.
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For centuries, Africa has been integrated into the world economy mainly as a supplier of cheap labour and raw materials. Necessarily, this has meant the draining of Africa's resources rather than their use for the continent's development. The opportunity to use the minerals and raw materials to develop manufacturing industries as well as a highly skilled human base to sustain growth and development was lost. Thus, Africa remains poor in spite of being one of the most richly endowed regions of the world.
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In other countries and continents the direct opposite happened. There was an infusion of wealth in the form of investments which created larger volumes of wealth through exports of value added products. It is time that African resources are harnessed to expand wealth creation on the continent.
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Colonialism destroyed hitherto existing social structures or made them subservient to the economic and political needs of the imperial powers. It also retarded the development of an entrepreneurial class, as well as a middle class with skills and managerial capacity.
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At independence, virtually all the new states were characterised by a shortage of skilled professionals and a weak capitalist class, resulting in a weakening of the accumulation process. Post-colonial Africa inherited weak states and dysfunctional economies that were further aggravated by poor leadership and corruption in many countries. These two factors, together with the divisions caused by the cold war, hampered the spread of accountable governments across the continent.
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Many African governments did not empower their societies to embark on development initiatives to realise their creative potential. Today the weak state remains one of the major constraints to sustainable development in a number of countries. One of Africa's major challenges is to strengthen the capacity to govern, to develop long-term policies. There is also the urgent need to implement far-reaching reforms and programmes in African states.
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Indeed, it is clear that the rate of accumulation in the post-colonial period has not been sufficient to rebuild societies in the wake of colonial underdevelopment, or to sustain improvement in the standard of living. This has had further corrosive effects on the political process and has increased patronage and corruption.
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The net effect of these processes has been the entrenchment of a vicious circle, in which economic decline, reduced capacity and poor governance reinforce each other, confirming Africa's peripheral and diminishing role in the world economy. Over the centuries, Africa has become defined as, of necessity, the marginalised continent.
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The MAP seeks to build on and celebrate the achievements of the past, as well as to reflect on the lessons learned through painful experience, so as to establish a partnership that is both credible and capable of implementation. In doing so, the injunction is for the peoples of Africa to gain the conviction that development is a process of empowerment and self-reliance. Accordingly, Africans must not be wards of benevolent guardians, but architects of their own sustained upliftment.
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