Three days of talking shop at the World Economic Forum on Africa left an overall impression that Africa was on the move, that it was likely to reap the benefits of a changing world in which the rapid rates of growth in India and China would filter through to the continent and that by 2050 it would have caught up with other continents.
But there was also an undercurrent of reality in talk about integrating the African economy, stripping away the borders – and tariff barrier obstacles – to intra-Africa trade, but there was little action.
African leaders also sent out the overriding political message that Africa would simply not allow itself to be bought by big business, particularly if it were from outside of the continent, at the exclusion of indigenous participation.
Leader after leader spoke about the need for African participation in business and mineral exploration on the continent. One of the few participating heads of government, Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, did an about-face and voiced support for his country’s indigenisation laws publicly pursued by his political opponents and partners in government, Zanu-PF.
President Robert Mugabe was noticeably absent as were other members of his co-ruling party, but Tsvangirai preached their message calling it “citizenship empowerment” instead.
Even Zimbabwean deputy prime minister Arthur Mutambara – from the smaller MDC faction that broke away from Tsvangirai’s leading faction – repeatedly said that it was all very well for individual states to have economic visions, but it was necessary to forge regional visions and ultimately a continent-wide economic plan. It was only then that the continent could get off the economic starting blocks, he added.
Mthuli Ncube, the chief economist of the Tunisian-based African Development Bank, made no bones about the problems arising from the “bit of a mish mash” of economic communities. For example, the Southern African Development Community overlapped with Comesa and the East African economic communities. The result of this is that there is a confusing array of trade policies and regulations and barriers to trade in Africa.
A strong theme of the forum was that there was a lot of talk about integration and the free movement of goods, services and people, but less evidence of policy implementation to allow it to happen seamlessly.
Reporting considerable progress in the development of a middle class in Africa – a continent which still lags behind the developed world on this front – Ncube believed that the continent would only catch up with Europe and north America by 2050 or so.
Strong economic growth in the past two decades had helped reduce poverty in Africa and increased the middle class.
South African Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel agreed strong economic growth was necessary to mop up unemployment and reduce poverty. Patel reflected the views of many in governments across the continent that any new wealth created should be spread for the public benefit.
Ncube reported that the middle class had jumped from about 135 million 30 years ago to about 300 million now. It rose less quickly between 1980 to 2000 to 200 000, but jumped to 300 000 in the past 10 or so years.
Ncube argued that the hallmark of successful countries – and continents – was the size and growth of the middle class. Africa’s middle class still amounted to about 35 percent of the population, well below the benchmark of 80 percent in the developed world.
Ncube said ways of tapping into the talents of the African diaspora – Africans who were living either in other African countries or off the continent – needed to be explored.
For example, the teaching skills at universities on-and-off the continent could be utilised by having twinning arrangements. Students also needed to be encouraged to study the sciences and technologies rather than focusing – as the majority did – on the arts.
On making the continent friendly to business, however, the political leadership was found wanting.
Tsvangirai spoke about the need for citizenship participation in mining of the national resources without making any reference to the alleged misuse of the revenues from the Marange diamond fields by his government partner, Zanu-PF.
He did note that his Finance Minister Tendai Biti reported that only ZW$4 had been paid to the Zimbabwean fiscus from mining companies. - Donwald Pressly