FORUM: This is why Africa is still a poor continent

Dar es Salaam. In his balanced growth theory, a renowned economist, Ragnar Nurkse, says a society is poor because it is poor but to Africa, this is not the case, it was noted yesterday.

The continent – home to about 1.1 billion people and which is endowed with natural resources like petroleum, diamonds, iron, cobalt, gold, copper, bauxite, uranium, petroleum and agriculture land among others - remains poor largely because leaders are not willing to do things differently.

This is what leaders - who met under the auspices of the African Leadership Forum – observed in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

Convened by retired President Benjamin Mkapa and coordinated by Uongozi Institute, celebrated scholars, senior public and private sector officials from various countries - including former heads of state - observed that the continent is not short of ideas but it was lagging behind because leaders cling to the “business as usual” approach in the running of government affairs.

“The continent has never been short of ideas….the challenge is how to start implementing what is in our development documents,” said the Honorary Consul-General of the Republic of Ghana to Tanzania, Dr Ken Kwaku.

The meeting, which kicked off with a keynote address from former South African President, Thabo Mbeki, heard that the continent needs strategic leaders who are able to translate policy documents into tangible social, political and economic outcomes to their people.

“What lacks in Africa is the kind of leadership that can drive the continent to new levels….the continent lacks transformative leadership that can come up with practical responses to the continent’s woes,” said Dr Mpalive Msiska, a Malawian scholar who teaches at the Birkbeck University of London.

Others questioned the rationale behind various meetings without necessarily understanding who is responsible with the implementation of what was being discussed. Such sentiments were aired by executive director of the Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation, Mr Joseph Butiku and former secretary general of the East African Community, Dr Juma Mwapachu among others.

“Since leadership is important in meeting the continent’s development goals, we need to access our leaders who are the ones that are responsible with the implementation mechanism of what we discuss,” said Mr Butiku.

But according to former President Mkapa the solution to some of the continent’s woes lies in analysing and implementing issues differently.

“For example, during independence movements we had a special section at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that dealt with mobilising funds for liberation purposes.

Can we now have similar initiatives for economic liberation?” enquired Mr Mkapa who ruled Tanzania for ten years beginning 1995.