CIAO DATE: 03/04

Policy Recommendations for the Third Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD III)

Abstract

The world is now several years into the twenty-first century. However, Africa remains a place faced with many difficulties, from violent conflicts to poverty and disease. A cursory examination of Africa today shows that the majority of the people in this region are not able to raise their incomes, and that the number of Africans living in poverty continues to increase, despite the fact that their countries receive considerable aid from the international community.

Since the end of the Cold War many donor nations have begun placing conditionality on their aid, prodding African states to transform their systems in order to bring about political and economic reforms. These moves did have certain positive effects: economic liberalization moved ahead in the recipient states, and multiparty elections were held across the continent. They did not, however, help Africa to achieve any sort of sustainable improvement in terms of economic growth, poverty reduction, and other societal indices. In the political realm, the concentration of power in the hands of a few remains widespread despite the introduction of democratic systems, and there is little to check the unbridled use of that power. Even elected presidents govern their countries through the patron-client relationships that marked older forms of rule. Conflict has been a common occurrence in Africa, and this has destroyed the foundations needed for development there. Little progress has been made on the fundamental problems of how to structure states ruled by law and achieve economic growth since the nations of Africa gained their independence. For these countries the outbreak and spread of violence that rips apart the peace and stability they need to develop are extraordinarily serious problems.

It is plain to see that Africa falls short in many areas: transparency in administration and the formulation of policy, leaders’ accountability to the people, and the very legitimacy of those leaders’ rule. Under the present conditions it is impossible to ensure that the resources of the continent are distributed in a productive manner, or that economic and social policies are implemented in consistent ways. This has led to a vicious cycle in which African economies continuously decline.

Full Text (PDF, 39 pages, 120.3 KB)