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A New Thinking in Africa

For the past four decades, Africa has been known as the land of famine, dictatorship and civil conflicts. However, more and more African countries are beginning to realize how popularly chosen and stable governments and carefully balanced market economies can raise the level of private investment which in turn gradually reduces unemployment, while increasing the level of exports earnings.
Since the 1980s, more than 30 countries have liberalized their trade policies significantly and diligently surrendered the running of unprofitable state enterprises to the private sector.
All these are necessary ingredients to enable Africa to attract much of the foreign investment that has eluded it over the past two decades. Foreign investment is so critical if Africa is to get most of its people out of the endemic poverty in which they now live.
But in order to succeed, Africa needs to deepen its process of political and economic thinking. Regular elections need to be entrenched in the African political system. At the economic front, Africa has to move away from its traditional role of exporter of raw materials and embark on a process that will allow it to add value to its products and create more jobs.

From Fernando Goncalves, "New Thinking in Africa" in Southern, Vol. 10 N°9, June 15-July 15, 1977, p. 14