1. Book Chapter Review of the Title
“Re-Inventing Africa’s Development”
Author:-J.-D. Park
Prepared by: Wogiye W.
2. Contents
• The Root Causes of Africa’s Under-
Development
• Application of the Korean Model for Africa
• Lessons to be taken
3. The Root Causes of Africa’s Under-
Development
• According to group of experts of the United Nations states,
under-development refers those countries in which per
capita real income is low when compared with the per capita
real income of the United States of America, Canada,
Australia and Western Europe. In this sense, an adequate
synonym would be poor countries.
• According to the World Bank, low-income countries are
nations that have a per capita gross national income (GNI) of
less than $1,026.
4.
5. The Root Causes of Africa’s Under-Development … cont.
• Identifying or agreeing on the root cause(s) has been very
elusive as there have been so many different views and
interpretations on this subject.
• Causes for Africa’s continuing poverty and other troubles:
• Colonial legacies;
• Ethnicism
• Institutions, governance and democracy
• The role of government
• Natural conditions like climate and geography, and
• Other factors (geography, corruption, and globalization)
6. • Colonial legacies
• Berlin Conference of 1884–1885
• a process commonly known as the scramble for Africa.
• African modes of thought, patterns of cultural
development, and ways of life were forever impacted by
the change in political structure brought about by
colonialism.
• The slave trade and the inflow of weapons in exchange of
slaves on a grand scale for many centuries must have had
a devastating effect on Africa, both economically and
socially.
• Colonizers had inhibited national identity.
The Root Causes of Africa’s Under-Development … cont.
7. • Politicized ethnicity is the source of much of the political-social problem in
Africa today.
• Keep indigenous people separate and under political control.
• The greatest crime of colonialism.
• The author argued that while Western colonialism had a profound impact
on Sub-Saharan Africa, it is too far-fetched to hold it principally
accountable for the region’s current state of development.
• Neo-colonialism
• Systematic exploitation and manipulation of the Western powers in
Africa and other developing countries through international trade
and economic systems.
The Root Causes of Africa’s Under-Development … cont.
8. • Ethnicity
• Ethnicism can play out to undermine social cohesiveness.
• Ethnicity is markedly high in Sub- Saharan African
compared to the rest of the world.
• Sub-Saharan African region, the probability that two
randomly picked individuals belong to different ethnic
groups is 66%, compared to 36% for the whole world.
• Experts of Africa’s ethnicity point out that sub-national
citizenship and national citizenship coexist in Africa.
• A high degree of ethnicity can even have a mitigating effect
on the potential division at the national level.
• Ethnic clashes
The Root Causes of Africa’s Under-Development … cont.
9. • Correlation between ethnical diversity and development the more
prudent and objective studies seem to suggest that it is inconclusive or
conditional at best.
• Ethnicity is just one factor among many that have
an impact.
• Korea is acknowledged as probably the most homogeneous nation
on earth. But ethnical homogeneity does not make democracy or
development any easier to come by.
• Somalia exhibits unusual national homogeneity, with the same
languages, religion and race, but it suffers from extreme internal
conflict, destabilization and divisions.
• On the other hand, Uganda, which is considered one of the most
ethnically diverse countries in the world, has enjoyed relatively
positive political stability, security, economic growth and business
prospects for a Sub-Saharan country.
The Root Causes of Africa’s Under-Development … cont.
10. • The author argued that conflicts and other problems in Sub-Saharan
Africa are not caused by ethnic diversity or ‘fractionalization’, but
fundamentally by the concentration of power that inordinately favours
one particular group over others.
The Root Causes of Africa’s Under-Development … cont.
11. • Institutions, Governance and Democracy
• Having good institutions is one thing and making them serve their purpose is
another. What makes institutions work are the actions of people who uphold
them.
• What makes institutions work are the actions of people who uphold them.
• In Sub-Saharan Africa, democracy is viewed too much in
terms of ‘freedom’, while the sense of ‘responsibility’ and citizenship,
which is just as important as freedom, is woefully neglected.
• The success of institutions depends not on the existence of good institutions, but
rather on the commitment and ability to make those institutions work, including
continuous efforts to improve or reform public service mechanisms.
The Root Causes of Africa’s Under-Development … cont.
12. • But nation-building is not about just‘ adopting’ or ‘adapting’—it should be about
carrying out the difficult tasks of making and undergoing change.
• The ‘irregularity’ of political developments is common in Africa.
• Democracy cannot be realized by free expressions’ alone, but requires concrete deeds
and toil.
• There is no denying that Africa’s fate and development rests squarely with Africans, not
the Western world or the international development community.
The Root Causes of Africa’s Under-Development … cont.
13. • The Role of the State
• Many African governments apparently lack the drive and persistence to achieve
short and mid to long-term national goals.
• Development without an effective state is impossible.
• Many Sub-Saharan African regimes have authoritarian power, but in reality
they lack the focus and determination to get things done.
• For developing countries, the weaker the government, the more it is likely to
be dependent on outside forces.
• Sub-Saharan African countries are poor since they heavily
dependent on foreign aid and capital
• It attributes to lack of determination and willingness.
The Root Causes of Africa’s Under-Development … cont.
14. • Natural Conditions
• The geographical and natural conditions of Sub-Saharan Africa,
characterized by
• The existence of many landlocked countries and vast internal
territories that are very difficult to access due to very poor and sparse
roads, the harsh tropical climate and widespread diseases like
malaria, are often cited as obstacles to development for the region.
The Root Causes of Africa’s Under-Development … cont.
15. • Other Factors (Population, Corruption, and Globalization)
• These can affect the region’s development.
• Limiting corruption can drastically enhance the economic productivity of a country, and
• Some economists propose that African governments need to fight corruption instead of relying on
foreign aid.
• An African Union study conducted in 2002 estimated that corruption cost the continent
roughly $150 billion a year. The foreign aid that Sub-Saharan Africa received from
developed countries amounted to $22.5 billion in 2008.
• Regarding globalization, African countries had to show commitment to market-
oriented economic reforms and good governance.
The Root Causes of Africa’s Under-Development … cont.
16. Application of the Korean Model for Africa
• There is no economically developed country that remains a
primarily agricultural economy without a manufacturing
industrial capability.
• Even an agriculture-based economy will need a certain
level of manufacturing capability in order to reap
meaningful benefits from its agricultural sector.
17. • Reflecting on the Korean Experience and Africa’s Reality
• The Korean model of development does provide good
lessons and reference points for emulation for Sub-
Saharan African countries.
• The Korean government laid the ground work for industrial
transformation with rural reform, in the early 1960s.
Application of the Korean Model for Africa …cont..
18. Application of the Korean Model for Africa …cont..
• Africa should invest boldly in its agri-food systems so as to leapfrog the structural
transformation of the overall African economies.
• From the early 1960s, Korea set out its first National Economic Development Plan
to pursue self-sufficiency in food production, making it a priority on the national
agenda.
• Korea realized its Green Revolution and White Revolution during the period of
the modernization drive in 1970s and 1980s.
• by the latter half of 1970s, Korea was able to achieve 100% self-
sufficiency in rice production (Green Revolution ).
• The White Revolution refers to produce a stable supply of vegetables from the
1970s to the 1990s. Greenhouses were used in Korea to grow vegetables in
winter seasons.
19.
20. • Unlike many African countries, Korea is resource-poor and has
unfavorable natural conditions.
• Africa, with its vast arable land, fertile soil and abundance of natural
resources, has all the more reason to be enthusiastic and focused on rural-
agricultural development.
• Elite and leader favor for urban development not for rural development.
• Sub-Saharan African countries should begin building economic growth in the
agricultural sector, its realization cannot be expected to happen overnight either.
• According to World Bank, evidence shows that in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA),
investing in agriculture is 11 times more rewarding in reducing poverty than
investment in other sectors.
Application of the Korean Model for Africa …cont..
21. • In the 1980s, flower growing became possible, and now even fruits (including some tropical
fruits) are being produced in greenhouses in Korea.
• Opened agro-food industries.
• Incentives and disincentives (or ‘punishments’) were of great importance to create change.
• Nowadays, ‘smart greenhouses’ with remote control technology are being developed.
Application of the Korean Model for Africa …cont..
22. Lessons to be taken
• Give attention for Agriculture sector
– Try to mechanize the traditional farming
– Cover all arable land via either crop, vegetable and
fruit.
– Develop R & D team
• To identify new technology transfer
• Means of improving productivity and the rapid dissemination
of new technologies to farmers
• Give emphasis for agro-processing industry
• Government should be committed to promote
economic growth by playing an active role of
facilitator and taking vigorous measures
23. • Look other options (To reduce pressure of
West)
– Create trade integration in the African corridor.
– Form economic cooperation with East (China as an
alternative to Western partners)
• Reduce importing commodities ( focus on our own
products)
• Breaking the psychological yoke—that “they do not
have the capability and are destined for
underdevelopment”.
Lessons to be taken …cont
