Modern Africa (Part 3): African Success Stories

The reason I wanted to focus on Africa was so that I could explore issues and write about the continent in a different light. I have explored Africa’s relationship with India and looked at what Zimbabwe would be like without its leader Robert Mugabe, but I wanted to write about Africa’s success stories. No other continent gets such bad press as Africa and yet within this continent there are great economic and political achievements. In this article I will explore several notable African success stories.

Recovering From Conflict: How Mozambique and Rwanda Became African Successes

During the 20th century many nations in Africa experienced conflict, but few were ripped apart like Mozambique or Rwanda. Mozambique’s civil war lasted for decades and many believed the nation would struggle to rebuild itself. In Rwanda a genocide caused the nation’s infrastructure to collapse and a generation of Rwandans died, were tortured and scarred by the violent events. However, after so much conflict, both nations have now bounced back and are rising rapidly as regional economic forces, although they are using different methods to achieve prosperity.

Mozambique remains one of the world’s poorest nations (172nd according to the World Bank) however it has seen growth rates of near 8% and an economy that has emerged from the ashes. Much of the economic recovery has been achieved by a dramatic reassessment of Mozambique’s economy. The government instituted new economic policies and these revolutionised Mozambique, bringing real structure to the nation’s economic future growth and development, and ensuring that foreign investors could safely invest in the country. Although there were many problems with the neo-liberal economic reforms introduced into Mozambique, with many of the measures being accused of undermining the position of Mozambican businesses, it has ultimately brought long term benefits to the nation.

Mozambique’s agriculture and tourism sectors began to grow again and for the first time in decades Mozambique had a successful manufacturing industry (largely driven by the Mozal aluminium smelting industry) that benefited with close its close ties to other Southern African nations through the SADC (Southern African Development Community). Mozambique’s success continues to grow. It recently discovered natural gas reserves that could transform the country and with European economies faltering many Portuguese citizens (Mozambique’s former colonial power) have been drawn back to the nation seeking to take advantage of the nation’s rapid growth.

Rwanda has taken a more direct approach. The government has exercised greater direct control over the nation than in Mozambique and has sought to establish a thriving service industry in the nation. Rwanda lacks many natural resources and beyond coffee and tea it has few other manufacturing, agricultural or processing industries. Tourism, therefore, has been the biggest boost to Rwanda’s economy and its mountains and gorillas have attracted tourists from across the globe.

However, its the investment by the government in the national infrastructure that has provided long term growth and prosperity in post-genocide Rwanda. It has laid miles of fiber-optic cables, invested in the nation’s education and healthcare systems and is now looking for foreign investment. It wants to become an IT, communications and financial centre for Central and Eastern Africa and has understood that to attract foreign investors it has to prove its credentials as a middle-income economy and that requires development in all areas.

Both have political shortcomings, in particular Rwanda which has seen Western nations cut off aid to the nation in recent years, but after the extreme trauma that both Mozambique and Rwanda have experienced their modern economies are undoubtedly African success stories.

The African Middle Class

Mozambique and Rwanda are examples of Africa’s success and others such as Ghana, Cape Verde or the Seychelles could have been used to show the dramatic growth and progress within parts of Africa. However most of Africa’s success stories can be seen, not on a national level, but rather at a local level.

Tourism in Africa has been promoted as an industry in which Africa has excelled. Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Egypt and Morocco (just to name a few) have all used the tourist industry to boost their national economies. The industry can bring in vast sums to nations ready to attract visitors, but even more critically a successful tourist industry can tell the world how far Africa has been pushing itself forward.

But tourism is often a temporary fix. The industry is a service and when the service is no longer required these nations suffer. Egypt is the prime example of this. Its recent political turmoil has effectively halted the tourist industry causing an economic crisis in the country. Egypt’s fortunes show how although tourism can help to demonstrate a nation’s prosperity, it collapses when the nation is perceived to be unstable.

To see real African success stories we need to look at more stable forms of income and growth. The energy sector has boosted the economies of several African nations, notably Nigeria and Angola, who have used this industry to grow their economies and gain important political clout in world politics (although neither nation can be considered developed or even wholly stable states). Agriculture (coffee, tea & cocoa), horticulture (Kenya’s cut flower industry), finance (South Africa’s JSE Limited Stock Market is one of the largest stock exchanges in the world) and telecommunications (Africa’s mobile and internet industries are some of the fastest growing in the world) are some of the other industries that have become real symbols of Africa’s progress.

Mobile phone technology has changed the face of Africa. It has created an Africa that, for the first time, is connected and communicating with one another. In nations where transportation infrastructure is poor and many can’t afford the overheads of traditional businesses, such as rent etc, the mobile phone has provided a way for business to occur. Small and medium sized businesses can use mobile phone and internet based technology to connect to customers, carry out transactions, bank and negotiate with clients.

Together all these industries are transforming the African economy. They are helping industries to boom, providing flows of capital into the continent and allowing for real social development to take place. Although these nations have many problems, the rapid growth and development of Africa’s industries are allowing the emergence of an African middle class. These individuals are the new businessmen, professionals and intellectuals who are helping to grow Africa and integrate it within the global economy.

Africa’s Sprint to Development

Africa may well be blighted in parts by corruption, conflict, poverty and other social problems but I hope that behind these stereotypes we are beginning to see an Africa that is bouncing back, moving forward and running towards development. Their economies may remain behind the developed economies of the West, but African growth is amongst the fastest seen in the world today. I have highlighted only a few success stories, but we must keep in mind that there are many more to talk about.

Rwanda, Mozambique, Ghana, Kenya etc are nations not just moving towards development but sprinting there. So next time you doubt Africa remember the nations and industries that are rising fast; remember the African success stories.

By Peter Banham

Ethiopia’s Internet Censorship

Ethiopia understands the impact of long-lasting regime on the political process and the sacrifices made in the country to achieve this rule. The country, from 1977-1991, was ruled by Mengistu Haile Mariam, a communist leader who ruled Ethiopia  under very strict controls and who has sought refuge in Zimbabwe following his overthrow and conviction,in absentia, of genocide. However the government that replaced Mengistu; that of Meles Zenawi, first as President, then as Prime Minister, has ruled the country ever since 1991. In order to achieve this long rule the government has sacrificed total freedom of the press.

The government has had close controls over the written press, Ethiopian Television is the only television broadcast network and is owned by the state, and the state telecoms company has a monopoly on the phone network. Now Ethiopia’s government seeks to further this control by clamping down on the internet usage in the country.

It has implemented a system that blocks access to services such as Skype that allow cheaper and anonymous internet based phone calls. For many Ethiopians this has been a way to get around the censorship laws that are in place; however with the government now reportedly levying heavy sentences on those using internet phone services, this technological loop-hole could be cut off

For many these controls seem to show a worrying increase in censorship within the country and highlight the endemic problems of many of these ‘democracies’ around the world. In these regimes there is great disparity between what the political structure and world view appears to promote and what the reality of these regimes on an everyday level are.

Ethiopia is not the only nation in the region to experience strict censorship. It’s neighbour Eritrea has been labelled as the most heavily censored nation in the world and a dangerous country for reporters to work in. These are both nations in which leaders are scared of the internal, tribal divisions (divisions that have caused war between Ethiopia and Eritrea in the past) that could damage their countries, possibly fearing what has happened in neighbouring Somalia. Censorship of the press and in Ethiopia, in particular the Internet, is the best tool these governments use to ensure stability and critically continued governmental control over the population.

In this era of protest and reform, when political regimes are being tested and social issues being challenged, can Ethiopia achieve censorship without reprisals from its population? Can Ethiopia, with the increasing globalisation of world society and prevalence for internet based technology, really achieve the control they desire or will they faced a new strand of anti-censorship protest?

Ethiopia is at a crossroads, appearing to want to got down a path of greater government control over the population, whilst the world around it seeks to break away from that control. This conflicting politics will test Ethiopia and it is regime, and only time will tell what the real impact of these new controls are.

By Peter Banham

See Also:

Where the Media Has Little Say: Eritrea’s Censorship Issue