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Socio-economic Problems Facing Africa : Insights from six APRM Country

The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) tries to identify both problems facing participating countries and solutions to these problems. However, thus far it has proven easier to examine the problems that countries face than to come up with actionable solutions, says Terence Corrigan, a researcher and seminar facilitator at the South African Institute of International Affairs. This paper seeks to identify common socio-economic development problems revealed in six African countries that have received APRM Country Review Reports, and to look at the solutions they offer. The six countries are Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa, Algeria and Benin. All have gone through difficult phases in the relatively recent past. Their issues are not identical but it is possible to find common links. Two hidden factors hamper analysis. First is an apparent reluctance to explore political influences that can dictate success or failure, raising a ‘difficult question’: who gains and loses from development options? Second, an absence of precise information, leading to important phenomena not being taken into account. Even the definition of poverty is hotly debated, creating an impression that poverty is increasing despite economic growth. Among the common problems are unemployment, access to land, weak educational systems, gender discrimination, and poor health care systems. Add to that, external dependency – a situation in which ‘the world’s poorest region overall’ is reliant on donors. It is apparent, concludes the author, that extensive hurdles to development remain: encompassing a range of factors from the visible offshoots of unstable economies, to the existence of a survivalist mentality, cultural and traditional practices, absence of skills, corruption and a lack of political will. A B O U T T H E A U T H O R Terence Corrigan holds a BA (Hons) in Political Science from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (Pietermaritzburg) and has worked as a teacher in South Africa and Taiwan. He has held research positions at the South African Institute of Race Relations and the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA). He is currently employed by SAIIA as a researcher and seminar facilitator on its governance and African Peer Review Mechanism project. His research interests include local government, political thought, South African and Southern African politics, aid and development assistance, labour issues, crime, and arts and culture, and he has published in all these areas. G O V E R N A N C E A N D A P R M P R O G R A M M E 4 S A I I A O C C A S I O N A L P A P E R N U M B E R 3 4 I N T R O D U C T I O N Central to the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) process — and in common with any of the previous attempts at continental reform — is the question of how broad-based development and hence alleviation of poverty can be achieved and the socioeconomic conditions of Africa’s people improved. It makes a firm attempt, in line with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) initiative, to link governance with development and economic growth. To this end, the APRM emphasises ‘socio-economic development’ as one of the four broad thematic areas that must be interrogated in the course of the process. The hope is that this interrogation — carried out in separate, but linked, phases by the in-country stakeholders and by the pan-African Country Review Mission (CRM) — will either identify strengths and weaknesses in the reviewed countries’ efforts to deal with socio-economic challenges or at least shine some light on them and perhaps encourage some new thinking