The majority of the continent of Africa has not been as economically progressive as the other continents in today’s world. However, over the past few years, it has been rapidly growing. Although there have been multiple countries in Africa that have reflected a strong growing economy, such as South Africa and Botswana, there are many other countries that are still corrupt and are still struggling to grow as a nation. There are many challenges that are facing Africa currently. Some of these major challenges being, corrupt governments, vicious cycles of aid, and poverty traps. However, among these challenges, there still lies to be great opportunities for Africa within their technology and business sectors. Many countries in Africa show a great …show more content…
50). The book also states that instances such as entrepreneurship leads to a struggling growth because these entrepreneurs will risk money investments where corrupt officials interfere, leaving their investments to struggle. Corrupt officials are also less likely to initiate projects that will help the greater good and public welfare of some of these African countries, but instead only interfere in ones that will benefit them as a leader. They deal with bribes and diverting funds, resulting in the countries inability to grow. If this corruption furthers on, then this will continually be a consistent struggle for Africa as it lessens their progression to a stronger …show more content…
Thakkar states that, “By 2040 we will have a larger workforce than China” (p. 53). The novel explains that these improvements are occurring through their better leaders and increased entrepreneurship. Thakkar also states that this African revolution is mainly occurring because of one thing, “It’s called a cell phone-and it’s been a game changer” (p. 54). Through this upbringing of technology creates “Silicon Savannahs” throughout Africa. This includes multiple creations of different smartphone companies throughout the continent, launchings of tech colleges, as well as huge investments from venture capital firms. In regards to the novel, The Next Africa, Jake Bright and Aubrey Hruby explains that, “Government efforts to build ICT infrastructure and stimulate invention are under way in countries as diverse as Cameroon, Rwanda, and Tanzania” (p. 169). Through these new startups and huge business endeavors, it creates a staple for future successful opportunities among many countries in
Méon, P.G. & Weill, L. (2009). Is corruption an efficient grease? World Development, 38(3), 244-259.
Africa’s key to becoming a civilized nation was because the government functioned, people could cooperate efficiently, and substantial amounts of data from travellers show how civilized Africa was. In Document 4, it states,“They are seldom unjust, and have a greater abhorrence [hatred] of injustice than any other people. Their sultan shows no mercy to anyone who is guilty of the least act of it. There is complete security in their country. Neither traveler nor inhabitant in it has anything to fear from robbers.” This is what each separate civilization at the time was able to achieve by themselves. Like any other country, there were conquests, inventions and military expenditures that further benefitted the progress that they made in becoming
Bryant H. McGill once said “Education should prepare our minds to use its own powers of reason and conception rather than filling it with the accumulated misconceptions of the past” (McGill ). There are misconceptions all around us; people look at certain things in a particular manner but what each person sees comes from their background. I have recently come to the realization that there are many misconceptions held about the African continent; my current class has helped me see these misconceptions and understand why they are incorrect and how I formed them. With the help of our Western society, I developed beliefs that Africa was a continent full of poverty, civil unrest, and in desperate need of help. Much of the media coverage in Africa showed droughts, famine, the need for clean drinking water; everything that was exposed to the American population about Africa through these channels carried a negative connotation. I was never taught or informed about the complex culture and fascinating traditions that make up such a diverse continent. The ancient kingdoms of West Africa were complex, developed civilizations that had rich culture, traditions, values, norms and skills that exceeded those of societies of the rest of the world such as European ones. In this paper, I will first further explain some of the common misconceptions that I had about African in general and about their ancient kingdoms.
Corruption consists in the illegitimate agreement between a corruptor and a corrupted, in which they abuse of their public power in order to obtain personal benefit. Bribery and corruption is something that has been going on for years. According to Allen, “officials perceive themselves as immune to any penalties for demanding and receiving bribes” which she states that it is one of the main reasons for bribery and corruption in underdeveloped countries. According to Transparency International, an organization committed exclusively to end corruption, three of the most corrupt countries in the world are Somalia, North Korea and Afghanistan. This does not mean that corruption is only seen in underdeveloped countries. In international business, corporate employees often find themselves dealing with corruptors in foreign countries and, in most cases, they will give in.
Chetwynd, Eric, Frances Chetwynd, and Bertram Spector. "Corruption and Poverty: A Review of Recent Literature." Management Systems International (2003): n. pag. Print.
The first step should come from the government. They need to take loans. It doesn’t matter if they are high interest. Money needs to be in the economy. A federal deal such as Franklin D. Roosevelt has to be implemented. Money has to be given to the people, not the elite, so that they can spend the money on goods that are being produced. In time enough money spent will lead to more jobs, which lead to more money, which will start to pay for new technology. Africa does not have to be rich to start involving itself in the world economy it just needs an economy that is working, producing and always moving ahead. Once they land in the international trade business everything becomes a bonus.
"News." Africa Continues to Grow Strongly but Poverty and Inequality Remain Persistently High. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.
It is thought-provoking, in the sense that Africa’s need for foreign created a race to the bottom, much like what Pietra Rivoli described in The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy. Due to some African states’ reliance on foreign aid in order to mine and profit on their resources, they allow business standards to be lowered and for Chinese firms to tip the contracts moresoever in the favor of Chinese firms. This lowers the potential earnings of African states by lowering royalty rates, for example. Additionally, Burgis’ research was thorough and transparent. When he did not receive a response or if his questions were dodged, he made it obvious to the readers. Sure, some could view this book as too anecdotal to be used as a credible source of Africa’s situation. However, this is due to the nature of the system Burgis is writing about; after all, they are shadow states for a reason. Some readers will be saddened by this text, others angry, most curious to learn more, but above all, everyone will be intellectually stimulated and
Living in the dawn of the 21st century, the idea of economic development permeates third world politics. Perhaps no single issue has raised so much hope, or so much scepticism, as the idea of development. Historically, attempts at economic development have resulted in varying degrees of success and failure. Nowhere has this been more apparent as in Africa. By the 20th century, Africa began to play an increasingly important role in the European economy. In the 1920's, Europe promoted Laissez-Faire policies in Africa, but gradually shifted towards protectionism and Neo-Mercantilism in the 1930's, and finally to disengagement in the 1950's. The purpose of this essay is to chronicle these changes in European perceptions of Africa's role in the global economy, and explain that although the outcome of these policy-changes eventually led to the end of colonial rule, the political, social, and economic effects of these policies made it impossible for the Africans to enjoy true independence.
If there is something interesting – and indeed surprising - about Africa, it is a continent where smart fastidious individuals can capitalize on the gullibility of others and make millions within the twinkling of an eye. It is a place where even monkey’s red ass, sweetly coated with a little lie and persuasion, can be marketed as omnipotent product and sold for millions of dollars for simple minded individuals.
In the 1800’s, there was a high interest in the continent of Africa from European powers, due to its rich amount of resources and potential for new markets to be established. Because of this, the continent of Africa came u...
...ld help improve the economy of the nation. The pocketing of profits by corrupt government officials shows characteristics of patrimonialism, which not only hinders the economy because these profits are the sole source of revenue for the nation, but also harms the democratic stability of the nation and can to some extent cause the regime changes of the nation. The civic conflicts of the nation are not handled by the government and not only do these conflicts drain revenue from the government, but shows the lack of mobilization in the government, possibly due to a lack of taxation, due to the resource curse. These claims show that the resource curse has affected the government and economy of Nigeria greatly as it leads to ineffective and corrupt government with a hindered chance of democratization, with civic conflict that cannot be controlled by the civic government.
Corruption is most prevalent where there are other forms of institutional inefficiency, such as political instability, bureaucratic red tape, and weak legislative and judicial systems. This raises the question of whether it can be established that corruption, rather than other factors correlated with it, is the cause of low economic growth. Regression analysis provides some evidence that if one controls for other forms of institutional inefficiency, such as political instability, corruption can still be shown to reduce growth. Nevertheless, it is hard to show conclusively that the cause of the problem is corruption alone, rather than the institutional weaknesses that are closely associated with it. The truth is that probably all of these weaknesses are intrinsically linked, in the sense that they feed upon each other (for example, red tape makes corruption possible, and corrupt bureaucrats may increase the extent of red tape so they can extract additional bribes) and that getting rid of corruption helps a country overcome other institutional weaknesses, just as reducing other institutional weaknesses helps it curb corruption.
There is no doubt that European colonialism has left a grave impact on Africa. Many of Africa’s current and recent issues can trace their roots back to the poor decisions made during the European colonial era. Some good has resulted however, like modern medicine, education, and infrastructure. Africa’s history and culture have also been transformed. It will take many years for the scars left by colonization to fade, but some things may never truly disappear. The fate of the continent may be unclear, but its past provides us with information on why the present is the way it is.
Conceptualizing Corruption in South Africa Conceptualizing Corruption in South Africa Amr Taha El Baba Lebanese American University SPECIFIC PURPOSE: To persuade my audience that corruption could cripple the progress in South African societies. Crime and corruption are not relevant to the degree of poverty present in a country as some of you might think. Corruption is a social phenomenon that every society deals with, regardless of the level of development in the country. What makes corruption a dangerous social phenomenon is its ability to adapt to the conditions present in any country.