The decades when the continent couldn’t raise major funds on ordinary commercial markets are over, but there are still worries about over-indebtedness. by Sanou Mbaye The nations of sub-Saharan Africa, in the post-independence euphoria of the 1960s, wanted to end the international division of labour under which they exported raw materials and imported manufactured goods. … [Read more...] about Africa borrows on the open market
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Liberating Africans from the CFA “franc” trap
Nowadays, African countries are wooed because they are perceived as the spearheads of the world economy. The Economist, the English weekly newspaper, predicts that in the next five years, seven out of ten fastest growing economies in the world will be in Africa: Ethiopia (8.1 per cent), Mozambique (7.7 per cent), Tanzania (7.2 per cent), Congo (7.0 per cent), Ghana (7.0 per … [Read more...] about Liberating Africans from the CFA “franc” trap
Africa’s French Roadblock
In recent years, China and Africa have formed one of the modern era’s most successful economic and trade partnerships. China benefits from Africa’s oil, minerals, and markets, while Africa benefits from increased trade and investment in infrastructure, health, education, small-scale businesses, and low and medium technologies. Some Western observers – and some Africans – … [Read more...] about Africa’s French Roadblock
Africa : Economic growth and sustainability
Humboldt University Economic Forum Berlin, 11 May 2011 I. INTRODUCTION After four decades of sluggish economic activities, improved macroeconomic conditions, better business climate, political and currency stability, and a burgeoning middle class have triggered economic growth in many African countries. Telecom, banking, and retail are flourishing. Construction is … [Read more...] about Africa : Economic growth and sustainability
Africa’s Winds of Change Return
DAKAR – How did Ivory Coast come to this? After gaining independence from France in 1960 with Felix Houphouet-Boigny as President, the country became the world’s largest exporter of cocoa beans and a significant exporter of coffee and palm oil. Throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s, sizeable export earnings, combined with easy access to credit, fueled an economic surge dubbed the … [Read more...] about Africa’s Winds of Change Return
QUESTIONS ON THE FUTURE OF CHINA-AFRICA COOPERATION
China’s burgeoning relationship with Africa is being decried in some quarters, including western observers – and some Africans, too – as a new form of colonialism. Such criticism is largely misplaced. First, after having preached the globalisation tenet of economic liberalisation and free competition, the West cannot really grumble about being outbid by China in the race for … [Read more...] about QUESTIONS ON THE FUTURE OF CHINA-AFRICA COOPERATION
Regulating China-Africa cooperation imbalances
Oxford University China-Africa Network The Oxford University China-Africa Network (OUCAN) with the support of the Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) present The Conference on "Chinese Investment and African Agency" hosted by the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford 11-12 March 2011 Regulating China-Africa cooperation … [Read more...] about Regulating China-Africa cooperation imbalances
CHINA – AFRICA : Matching China’s activities with Africa’s needs
The Heinrich Böll Foundation (HBF) Regional Office for East & Horn of Africa, Nairobi, and Fahamu Kenya brought together Chinese experts on Africa and representatives of African civil society organizations, providing a platform to exchange views and perceptions, and discuss areas of concerns to both sides, based on various country and thematic case studies. I. CHINA’S … [Read more...] about CHINA – AFRICA : Matching China’s activities with Africa’s needs
Africa’s Integration Imperative
Karl Marx predicted that states would wither away in anticipation of an idyllic communist society capable of auto-regulating economic imbalances and empowering the masses. So he would have been flabbergasted to see his prophecy realized, not by communism, but by the globalization of Anglo-American economic liberalism. Opening up markets to the free flow of capital, not the … [Read more...] about Africa’s Integration Imperative
Toward an African energy doctrine
For Karl Marx, there was an historic necessity for States to wither away in anticipation of an idyllic communist society capable of auto-regulating economic imbalances and empowering the masses. The towering revolutionary author of Das Kapital would have been flabbergasted to see his prophecy realised, not under the flagship of communism, but that of the globalisation of the … [Read more...] about Toward an African energy doctrine
