"The Meltdown Of The West": A Crucial Historical Juncture Upon Which Africa Should Take A Leapfrog

History is pregnant with lessons that African leaders should, once and for all, take leaf out of these lessons and perhaps turn a blind eye to economic growth hypotheses and economic development policies that never worked to rid the continent of its socioeconomic-ills. A simple strategic insight and taking a thorough stock of the current geopolitical shift and sway them to benefit Africa may be the right medicine at the right time. Lessons of how developed countries leaped out of critical junctures and historical contingencies when they were in the state of development are in abundance. Acemoglu and Robinsons, in their seminal book "Why Nations Fail" trace critical junctures from the fourteenth century outbreak of the bubonic plaque, the Black Death in 1346 to the England political revolution of 1688, the Glorious Revolution. They demostrate without any mathematical or complex economic model of how these critical junctures correlates to sustainable economic growth and prosperity. A critical juncture is a major confluence of factors disrupting the existing economic or political balance in society. 

ROME - Historic International Agreement on Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests

At its Thirty-eighth Special Session held on 11 May 2012, the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) endorsed the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security. These guidelines They were developed by the open-ended working group in sessions in June, July and October 2011 and in March 2012. They are based on an inclusive process of consultations that occurred during 2009-2010. According to FAO these Guidelines are consistent with, and draw on, international and regional instruments, including the Millennium Development Goals, that address human rights and tenure rights. 

The aim of the guidelines is to promote food security and sustainable development by improving secure access to land, fisheries and forests and protecting the rights of millions of often very poor people. "Giving poor and vulnerable people secure and equitable rights to access land and other natural resources is a key condition in the fight against hunger and poverty. It is a historic breakthrough that countries have agreed on these first-ever global land tenure guidelines. We now have a shared vision. It's a starting point that will help improve the often dire situation of the hungry and poor," said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva. 

"These guidelines are the product of a three year, inclusive process of consultations and negotiations that brought together many stakeholders and ensured that a wide range of voices were heard," said Yaya Olaniran, current CFS Chair. "The result is that we have a meaningful series of principles and practices that everybody — countries, the private sector, farmers, civil society — can stand behind and support, and that will work out in the real world." It is now up to the countries who endorsed the guidelines to put them into practice on the ground, according to Olaniran. "These changes won't happen overnight. But we also know. as a result of the extensive consultations by FAO and the CFS-led negotiation process, that there is a lot of buy-in and support for the guidelines. The CFS endorsement lends them legitimacy and strength, and all the countries involved are ready to take them on board," he said.

Sub-Saharan Africa’s Economic Growth Is Poised For Acceleration - New World Bank Report - April 2012

According to the new World Bank report on Africa's economy - Africa's Pulse - released on Wednesday 18 April 2012, economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains strong and is poised for lift-off after growing at 4.9 percent in 2011, just shy of the pre-crisis average of 5 percent. Excluding South Africa, which accounts for over a third of the region's GDP, growth in the rest of the region was 5.9 percent, making it one of the fastest growing developing regions.

Taking advantage of being in the "wrong place" (Africa) at the right time (21st century)

In the last two decades when the North American and European newspapers described Africa as the "hopeless continent", no one at the time could have anticipated that in the next twenty years, Europe will be in economic turmoil and the US will be running into trillions of dollars in debts surpassing the debt ceiling. Today, the world newspapers are covering the opposite. The North is the victim of its own success and the South is pregnant with opportunities. Wolfgang Fengler, the World Bank's Lead Economist in the Nairobi Office of the World Bank covering East Africa, puts this into perspective in his article entitled 'big shifts and what they mean for Africa and Kenya'. There's no doubt that a sizable number of countries in the African continents are virgin territories from economic perspective as massive mineral resources are yet to be exploited. 

Jim O'Neill, the founder of BRIC nations acronym, whether by design or default, omitted  the continent as the emerging market giant, and as an economist running an arguably largest investment bank, could not forecast this phenomenon. As things stand, he lost the drive of his 'invention' as the nations he grouped are pursuing their own agenda than the one he sought to achieve and proof. The very same nations are recognizing the African continent as the key market for future growth of the global economy. Nationwide Finance, the US-based private placement lending facilitator, sees the African continent offering many opportunities for new export and import markets. For investors positioning themselves in Africa while the continent is addressing its own challenges amid remarkable GDP growth rates in the last decade relative to the developed and other emerging markets, are in for a good treat in the long-term. For them, it is the investment appetite and marketing principle of taking advantage of being in the wrong place at the right time.  

South Africa leads the pack in Africa on the Ease of Doing Business

On Wednesday the World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) released the "2012 Doing Business Report. The 200 page report highlights the remarkable progress made by the economies in the Sub-Saharan Africa region on the ease of doing business. It reports that a large number of economies in Sub-Saharan Africa reformed business regulations in 2010-11.

What's the real meaning of "African solutions for African problems?

There is no doubt that with one billion inhabitants and abundance of natural resource endowments, the 21st century is for Africa. Political transitions of the past two decades, remarkable economic growth rates and resilience to the global economic crisis are instructive. The continent has caught the attention of the old and new masters of global wealth. How should Africa respond to this attention and take advantage to place the continent on the global stage. There's an ideal founded as far back as 1967 that has become a cliche, i.e. African solutions for African problems. What does it mean exactly? Read more

Nigeria's jobless growth - What does it say about the nature of growth?

According to the Renaissance Capital's recent report, the low labour-absorptive capacity of growth implies the poverty headcount and income inequality in Nigeria are rising. Nigeria’s jobless growth suggests that the sectors that have emerged in recent years and driven the country’s strong growth are not job-creating. Just over half (54%) of Nigeria’s population lives below the poverty line, according to the United Nations Development Programme’s Multidimensional Poverty Index. Such a high incidence of poverty implies that socially inclusive or participatory economic growth is critical. Nigeria’s economy grew at a stellar average rate of 8.8% pa in the 10 years to 2011; but concurrently, unemployment increased sharply from 13.6% to 23.9% over the same period. This shows that strong growth has not been sufficient for job creation in the formal sector, or by implication poverty reduction. Moreover, it suggests that as the size of Nigeria’s economy has increased, the share of the workforce in gainful employment has declined, implying growing income inequality. 

Africa time to shine is now!

“Europe is in a mess, Africa is in a new growth phase”. Well, it is a known fact the Africa's time has arrived and perhaps, for sometime. So, the less the talk and talk and more action action so that results speak for themselves, the better and nearer is Africa close to the growth vision. Read more

Why is China's growing role in Africa a concern?

The economic penetration and increased investments of China in Africa is not an uncommon global economic development phenomenon. Industrial revolution following World War II emerged and evolved through the practice and application of classical economic development models such as Ricardian comparative advantages and other neoclassical economic growth theories.

Barriers blunt trade within Africa - World Bank

To leverage on the huge potential to build a competitive and world-class continent, Africa's political leaders have to think beyond their short-term gains of political and self-serving privileges. They should begin to shift from a political rhetoric that is paralytic to an action driven leadership that is authentically beneficial to the people of Africa. We need leaders with a strong political will, unorthodox and truly servant leaders to build a lasting continental legacy for current and future generations. Maintaining status quo potentially perpetuates a political paralysis with backward economic development leaving the continent a breeding ground for exploitative capitalists while African people are watching and remaining in dire poverty.

According to Obiageli Ezekwesili, World Bank vice president for Africa and a former Nigerian Minister, it is clear that Africa is not reaching its potential for regional trade. She adds that African leaders must now back aspiration with action and work together to align the policies, the institutions and investments needed to unblock (trade) barriers. Trade barriers and red tape are a breeding ground for corruption and stifle economic progress. Read More

The role of the middle class in the burgeoning Africa's economy

There's no doubt that, with effective institutions, improved financial markets, trade liberalization, respect for the rule of law and political stability, among others, the 21st century is for Africa. The continent is endowed with a plethora of natural resources which has and always been the envy of the world. Technological, infrastructural and human capital development are on the policy radar of many African states and policy makers.

It is a known economic fact that one of the key growth features in any economy is the presence of the market. Africa has these untapped markets in abundance. Empirical evidence and vast economic literature points to the rise of the middles class as one of the economic growth drivers in a developing market and vise versa. According to the African Development Bank's "The Middle of The Pyramid: Dynamics of The Middle Class in Africa" report released in 2011, the number of middle class Africans has tripled over the last 30 years to 313 million people, or more than 34% of the continent’s population. The reasons for the increase in size and purchasing power of the African middle class include strong economic growth, and a move towards a stable, salaried job culture and away from traditional agricultural activities. The report maintains the growth in the middle class is good news for the future prosperity of Africa, but also points out the continued high levels of income inequality on the continent.  The continent has a extremely rich elite: ‘About 100,000 Africans had a net worth of USD800 billion in 2008, or about 60% of Africa’s GDP or 80% of sub-Saharan Africa’s’.

The efficacy of a sustained democratic order is based upon its strong civil society and how it engages with the powers of the political order. My narrow research and personal observation points to a weak organised civil society in the African continent. Of course, there are active civil society groups that have and are playing a critical role in the development of the continent. However, the major weakest link is in the active involvement, or lack thereof, of the middle class in the sustainance of effective democratic order. The independent mobilisation of the middle class through organised civil groups could play a significant role in enforcing and keeping governments accountable to implementing policies and public programmes for the benefit of the general society. After all, the middle class is one of the active and major contributors to public resources through paying taxes. Africa's middle class should exercise this public right as legitimate civil servants through active civil engagements with the powers of the political order. Active civil society is the key measure and propeller of a living democracy and contributes towards a sustained democratic society.

The lack of such active involvement by this key group in the society leaves a room for the middle class to be "commoditised" - as consumer class - and exploited by their own governments and rent-seeking capitalists at the expense of society. Politics is not the sole and only platform available as a legitimate right for freedom of association. While politics shape the outlook of a nation, independent institutions are necessary and essential as blind-spots accountability measure for politicians and governments. Accountability is ensured in a democracy by strong independent insitutions and civil society groups. Africa's middle class need to mobilise and organise themselves indicative of the nature and the manner in which the continent converge to its plateau of growth, especially through highly educated and entrepreneurial middle class.  

Smartphones vendor shipments reached a record 155 million in the fourth quarter of 2011

In 2011, Samsung held the number one spot for the first time to become the market leader, in annual terms, with 20 percent of global market share. Apple took the lead by a thin margin of less than half a percent ahead of Samsung in the fourth quarter of 2011. Nokia had a tough 2011. The Finnish giant was at the top spot in 2010 by 33%. Read more on Cellular News.   

South African democracy in action - Corruption Watchdog launched

It is not by default that South African constitution, in black and white, is an admiration of the world. South Africa's transition from the malevolence of apartheid to the contemporary form of governance, in the name of democracy, led by the revered Dr. Nelson Mandela cemented the voyage.

As a young South African, i beam with pride to witness the evolution of democracy from its inception. While the country is bleeding from high unemployment rate, poverty and inequality, the development such as the launch of the Corruption Watchdog by the largest trade union federation, supported by the right and the left, attest to the maturity of the nascent democracy and leaves one with confidence of HOPE. Read more about the full story on IOL

3bn letters of an individual’s DNA can now be read

When i first read an article in the early 1990's about the Human Genome Project in the US, it never occured to me that during my lifetime i will witness the deployment of technologies that would read the human DNA. After two decades, Life Technologies, a US biotechnology company has announced the first machine that can read all 3bn letters of an individual’s DNA for as little as $1,000 – a development that will greatly accelerate medical treatment tailored to a patient’s genes. But this also raises ethical questions.

In the quest of soul searching - "Human touch" is desmantled

By Robert Capa's definition i am Generation X (GenX) with a tint of GenY. While i frequently exhange through various social media platforms, i am a proponent of traditional human interface

Analogue to digital switch over: a long-term lost opportunity for Africa

I occasionally, as i ponder upon my long-term career path, crave an idea of following a direct professional career in government, South Africa specifically and Africa generally. So, i do yearn to become a bureacrat. Yeah, right! Surely, i would'nt entertain this thought if i had no value in mind

Has Microsoft got what it takes to acquire both Nokia & RIM?

Nokia's CEO, Stephen Elop may have played down speculation that Nokia has been rumored to acquire Research In Motion, the maker of Blackberry, but reality points to open clues.

Africa's prosperity depends on its professionals

Africa's brain drain has almost become a cliche despite deplorable statistics and ominous reports about this phenomenon since the turn of the 21st century.

Adcorp's Employment Index is baseless and flawed

How employment/ recruitment/ manpower agencies conduct and analyse their surveys or reports baffles me to my wits end. The report by Adcorp on South Africa's employment index is vague and baseless (http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/universities-fail-to-produce-enough-graduates-in-business-oriented-fields-2012-01-10.) Headlined "Universities fail to produce enough graduates in business-oriented fields" by Engineering News'online edition of the 10th Jan 2012, reflects poor analytical ability and senseless judgment.

CSR and the legal principle of "limited liability". Is the latter principle still relevant for a modern corporation?

As i learn more about the sustainable value of a modern corporation as a responsible corporate citizen, i develop a deeper interest and inquisitive appetite of this global socio-economic phenomenon, i.e. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Since its theoretical development in the 1960's when the first arguements were posited on its relevance to the corporation motivated by profits, it has become a global force to be reckoned with. It is poised to become a proxy for a new sustainable capitalism as Al Gore, the former US Vice-President calls it. Arguements went further to define the meaning of S in CSR. That gave birth to what we know today as stakeholders through the stakeholder theory. Today it is no longer a debate, businesses are painstakingly attempting to fine tune themselves to align.

At the same time, there's one major factor that is not being considered amid the global activism of fine-tuning modern corporations to be responsible. This one factor - limited liability - is a legal principle developed to protect the risk takers (investors and entrepreneurs) in the form of incentive should the opportunity go down the drain or circa. It means owners of production have limited exposure in relation to business risks. According to some eocnomists, this was the best ever piece of a legal principle to be developed in the market economy. We are now in the 21st century and global force of CSR is reckoning. Is this legal principle still relevant? Well, owners of production are protected by this principle in terms of business misfortune. But what about the broader stakeholders? Suppliers and communities in particular. Imagine this scenario which has practically occured during the beginning of the global recession in 2008. Lehman Brothers and other global corporates come to mind.

If we accept that a community is a key stakeholder in a business, what is the form of incentive when a corporation goes bust. I am thinking about this in terms of corporate social responsibility. Isn't the community, as a stakeholder, supposed to be protected by the limited liability. A simple answer may be no, why should the community be compensated because it is not a risk taker in the business? The irony, however, is that when the US government funded various corporations it used tax money to rescue those corporations. So, the community, as a tax payer, rescues the business that it viewed the community as not a risk taker. The big question: Is a legal principle of a "limited liability" still relevant amid the reckoning global force of sustainable capitalism and Corporate Social Responsibility? Your thoughts will be valuable. 

Africa - from Vuk'uzenzele to Vuk'uzakhe

Vuka uzenzele and Vuka uzakhe or, spoken form, Vuk'uzenzele, Vuk'uzakhe are both Zulu expressions. Zulu or IsiZulu in formal expression, is one of the 11 official languages in South Africa. Vuk'uzenzele mean "wake up and do it yourself" and Vuk'uzakhe, "wake up and build yourself". The expressions are commonly used to promote a courageous fortitude for a self-reliant mind-set. 

For the past three months having temporarily settled here in Europe, i have been fascinated by the socio-economic and political developments but at the same time dissappointed at the depth coverage, or lack thereof, by European newspapers on Africa, with specific reference to her economic prospects and benefits of her people, inevitably a future for most Western nations. My dissapointment is not so much about the generic coverage of current affairs which are mainly in the political domain and which Africa gets attention. My fret is on the complete absence of profound or perhaps comprehensive coverage on the positive, economic prospects, growth and positioning. At best, the only time i came across a positive "on-your face" coverage about Africa is when i noticed advertisements from a few African corporates and some governments.   

Of course i am venting to the media. Let me qualify my fretting. In general Africa is still projected as the poor continent, in 2011, amid private presidential dialogues, presidential visits and trade missions between African and developed countries in the West. This narrow, shallow view and projection about my beloved continent with mountains, rivers and green valleys is mind sapping, as if i dont have such media problems at home either. Media, generally and according to my experience, is a propagandists tool in both business and politics. As a proud African child first and a professional, i am tempted to feel and perceive that i am being taken advantage of.

For every topic about emerging markets, only China, Brazil and India are mentioned. Russia and Vietnam in the waiting. When i look forward to read news segments about BRICS, it's all the same disappointment. The acronym, as universally known, was coined by Jim O'Neill as BRIC (Brazil Russia India China). The S was added after the latter's nations welcomed South Africa in December 2010, to BRICS. As of late, this acronym is spelled BRICs. I first took offence but subsequently took solace that it was a printing error. It dawned on me that it was reality powered by perception of media, of course with influence from elsewhere. To my jolt astonishment, the small S does not even represent South Africa in the acroym, or Southern Africa for that matter, it's a plural letter for the BRIC nations. I give up!

If there's one lesson that Africa should learn from the colonial eras, is to guard against a state of De ja vu, i.e. the second coming of colonialism disguised as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). We need more visionaries, leaders, our own economists, intellectuals, intelligentsia, entrepreneurs, a plathora of academic researchers and professionals alike. The spirit of African self-reliance is not in any manner suggesting a closed development amid globalisation. It simply denotes a state of saying "we are tired of being robbed and ripped off", we are well conscious of market transactions and can do it without relying largely on external advice. The better part of the 21st cenntury is for Africa!

Emerging markets' sustainable growth through social innovation

The past decade saw the emergence of a new entrepreneurial class, i.e. social entrepreneurs. This new development, relative to the conventional business practice motivated by rents, is evolving alongside the debates about the redefinition of capitalism as it were. The basis or rather a call for such a redefinition is spawned by the rising need of corporations and organisations alike to respond to societal needs and environment within which they operate. It has been a subject of economic, business and political debate for the past 40-50 years which culminated into what we know today as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Economically, it has been a growing theoretical debates among academics, from business it has been the subject of lawsuits by environmental activists and NGOs to corporates and politically it has been a subject of political debate with its prominence in the Kyoto Protocol since 1997.

CSR, as a concept, has grown both theoretically and in practice from regulations to reporting. Some global companies have been practicing this nascent yet significant concept for the past two decades. The big question is: are companies embedded in the conventional business model in the capitalist market have a place to compete in the new third economy? Hart (1997) distinguished between three types of overlapping economies. The first economy is the market economy, a familiar world of commerce comprising both developed nations and emerging economies. The second economy is the survival economy, the traditional, villaged based way of life found in the rural parts of most developing countries. The third economy is a nature's economy, which consists of the natural systems and resources that support the market and the survival economies. Going back to the big question posed earlier, a follow up question could further be asked as to whether these companies will survive in the nature's economy? While many corporations are attempting to reinvent themselves against the call for a responsible capitalism, which is inevitable, new and innovative companies from the nature's economy are emerging to directly compete with encumbents in the market economy.

The conventional business models, given the sunk costs, are difficult, but not impossible, to adjust and flexibility in their operations is viewed too cumbersome to switfly take opportunities in the survival economy. Fundamentally, business strategies in the market economy define markets as "viable" segments pagging the survival economy on the margins outright. The market players in the nature's economy are the ones that stand to gain competitive advantage through social innovativeness. These type of entrepreneurs are not defining their markets as "viable", they define their markets as the positive social and environmental impact that sustain the livelihoods of societies in which they operate. Interestingly, this social entrepreneurs are largely not driven by profit motives but by the sustainability of their businesses, the environment and the societies in which they operate. While they may not be motivated by rents, to a large extent, empirical evidence has shown that these entrepreneurs do make good profits. There are a number of examples cited in the media and literature about the success of such entrepreneurs. Their source of business growth is nothing else but social innovation,  which is embedded in their business strategies. Surprisingly, these businesses are Non-Government Organisations (NGOs). This attest to the narrowing gab between for-profit and not-for-profit entities.

As the market players in the market economy adjust and convergence between the private sector, environmental activits, NGOs and society at large looms, capitalism in its narrow sense dissipates and a broader view inevitably emerges. It is evident through this developments that the most innovative economic entities will emerge from the not-for-profit sector for a foreseable future due to focus on generating new ideas on how to consume products and services sustainably as nations. Emerging economies cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of Western developments. Achieving sustainability will require stabilising or reducing the environmental burden. Simply: Pollution = Innovation. An irony of the century, at least in my opinion, supporting Hart's view, is this: to some extent the greening of the developed world following Western industrialisation has been at the expense of the environments in the emerging markets. Because industrialisation has focused initially on commodities and heavy manufacturing, cities in many emerging economies suffer from oppresive levels of pollution. The pursuance of this simple but yet powerful sustainable function is the impetus of growth for emerging market economies. Entrepreneurship opportunities resurfaces across the entire businesses' value chains.