Political independence has not brought the desired changes in many African countries. They have by and large been dependent economically on either their former colonies or on the international financial institutions. They have not been successful in standing on their own i.e. becoming self reliant or getting their products into the international market for a fair and equitable competition. As a result, they have suffered from a debilitating economy for many years now.
It is very sad that over 30,000 children die daily in Africa due to poverty, malnutrition and diseases. Conflicts and wars caused by territorial, ideological, racial and many other differences have become part of the daily lives for millions of Africans. They have brought not only hardship and insecurity to millions but also impoverished their countries.
Although some signs of civilized society have recently been observed in some African countries, African leaders frequently depend upon military might rather than seeking peaceful and democratic solutions to their internal and external problems. Instead of feeding their people, many African countries spend a great deal of their budget to build military might.
Consequently, during the late 1980s and into the 1990s, conflicts and wars have caused loses of so many lives and forced millions of Africans to flee their countries in order to find peace and democracy elsewhere. International organizations such as the African Union (AU), the United Nations (UN), International Organization for Migration (IOM) and The European Union working in collaboration with industrialized nations mainly the G-8 have been active and have done a good job in mediating and helping resolve political problems many African countries face.
They have also been assisting African countries financially from time to time mainly to alleviate poverty. However, their assistance has by and large been inconsistent and not sustainable. Further, their assistance focussed on politics rather than economics.
Therefore, it did not bring significant change in either the economy or in the life standards of millions of African people. Recently, however, the most industrialized countries of the world, the G8 have finally put their acts together and made the African issue their priority and by doing so, they seem to have developed the right economic approach to resolve the number one enemy of the continent of Africa: poverty and under development. The G-8 countries during their summit in Scotland few years ago have made a big effort to reach at debt annulment; better trade relations and more funds to poor African countries mainly those in Sub-Saharan Africa.
They made a buoyant move to allocate over $50 billion a year (on debt cancellation) in order to help poor African nations unravel their precarious economic conditions. There is also a belief that NorthSouth cooperation will build bridge with the international community and help increase global support.
This can also help create a conducive and enabling environment for the international community to create a positive setting for poverty eradication and livelihood improvement for millions of less fortunate people in many African countries mainly subSaharan countries including Ethiopia. Further, this noble decision will help narrow economic disparities and increase global integration between the rich and the poor countries. It is hoped that the G-8 leaders will continue giving due considerations to the predicament of the poor countries of Africa in order to bridge the unfair economic imbalances between the North and South.
Further, it is hoped that the initiatives taken by these G-8 nations to increase development fund, cancel the cumbersome debt obligations and provide equitable and favorable market provision for African products in the global market will have a positive impact on the economy of those poor African countries. However, African nations must get their acts together and do their home works in fighting rampant corruption and mismanagement and develop workable strategies in order to escape from the vicious circle of poverty and underdevelopment.
It is also important for African countries to implement NEPAD to further embark on the issue of proper democratic norms, good governance and put every effort to achieve sustainable development.
Here, it is important to note that Africans in the Diaspora must do their part in order to help the economy of their country of origin move forward. Many countries in Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and the MiddleEast have benefited from their Diasporas.
For example, the Koreans, Chinese, Indians, Pakistanis, Vietnamese, the Jamaicans, Trinidadians, Bahamas, the Israelis, Palestinians; Somalis among many others have done a very admirable job in a variety of aspects. Even though, the Ethiopian Diaspora have done a good job in that regard, considering the number and the potential of the Ethiopian Diaspora, more can be done to help the economy of Ethiopia. Despite political differences, I believe Ethiopians in the Diaspora can have one and same agenda on development. They can always agree on helping their country on economic issue.
They should separate political differences from economic and developmental assistance to their country of origin. Economic assistance can be done in many ways. For example, they can increase the amount of remittance they send to help their family and friends through official financial channels. Second, they can invest in their country of origin in areas of their preference and expertise and that can be done even from where they are.
They can do this by pooling together their resources and establish share companies. They can, if they wish, also come back to their country of origin and settle for good, invest in their homeland temporarily or permanently and for that they can rest assured that there is a conducive and enabling environment for them here back home.
It is when Africans help each other, cared for each other and their homeland that industrialized countries such as the G-8 come to their door step to help. Although $50 billion a year is only 1/5th of 1% of the combined entire earning of the developed nations and thus may not go nearly far enough, the intention of the G-8 to make the African issue their number one agenda in their summit is indeed commendable.
However, the implementation of this very good intention is yet to be seen. The African nations have a lot to do in order for this good intention to have good implementation because they have to act as partners and not simply as receivers from the other side.
They have to direct along with the G-8 partners the right economic approach to their respective development strategic plan and display the highest degree of unity and solidarity in global issues towards a greater articulation of their concerns and interests. Further, African countries must strive for better representation of their national interests in the international trading system and must maintain great solidarity among them (South-South cooperation) in order to achieve these goals. South-South trade should be enhanced and further market access from developing countries must continue to stimulate South-South trade, including through negotiations within the Global System of Preferences among Developing Countries.
Herald January 16/2019
BY YOHANNES GEBRESELLASIE (PHD
