CAUSES OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CAUSES OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT

INTERNAL CAUSES

1. Effects of colonial legacy; Where by colonialist left to LDC s a lot of negative effects which led to underdevelopment of the third world like poor industrial technological base, poor infrastructure networks, low agricultural production, poor administration, poor social service etc. 

2. Poverty. Many LDCs are poor economically which led people in these nations to live under poor acute poverty therefore these LDCs cannot afford to develop themselves either in economics, technological and social science due to its poverty.

3. Political instability. Many LDC s are victims of civil wars which destruct peace, harmony security and resulted to refugees in different LDCs hence people in these countries can not settle together and have enough time to involve in development. 

4. Corruption and embezzlement of public fund. Corruption is more common in most countries of the third world such as grant corruption and petty corruption which tend to cause underdevelopment of the poor nations because instead of using the resources and money for development project leaders tend to use the resources and money for their benefit. Likewise embezzlement of public funds is also common in the most country of the LCDs which cause misallocation and mismanagement of the resources available in the poor nations all leads to the underdevelopment of the LDCs.

 

5. Problem of hunger and famine; Where by many LDC s faced with this problem due to drought which faces these countries hence many people of these counties are dying due to famine and hunger hence depopulation due to the death of the skilled person who could develop the nations. 

6. High illiteracy rate.

This is a problem to many countries in LDC s which cause these countries to lack experts like scientist, engineers, bankers, annuitant and technicians etc. who could use their knowledge, skills and experience to develop these LDC s technologically, economically socially and politically.

7. Price fluctuation in the world market which faces the LDC s is another problem for underdevelopment therefore these countries lose a lot of money while selling their agricultural raw materials and cause them to fail to purchase other necessities like technology and other manufactured goods which could help these countries to development.

8. High mortality rate (Death).

Is a common problem to many LDC s due to availability of epidemic diseases such as cholera, typhoid, Ebola etc. These returned/stagnate the economic development of these countries due to the fact that young man who are energetic, skilled, knowledgeable and experienced are dying and leave to vacuum of having experts to develop these LDC s.

9. Oil crisis; whereby majority of the LDC s especially in Africa spend a lot of money to purchase oil in order to facilitate public sectors like transport and communication therefore they cause destruction of budget because the money which could be used in other sectors of the economy are to be used for buying oil.

10. Low life expectancy, drought and floods.

EXTERNAL FACTORS/CAUSES/REASONS

1. Mercantilism and its effects on Africa. 2. Colonialism and its effects e.g. legitimate trade.

NATURE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF NEO COLONIALISM POWER (IMPERIALIST)

The nature and characteristics of the imperialist can be seen through implementation of neo – colonialism in the LDC s and this is viewed in economic, political, social and military as follow below;

ECONOMIC NATURE OR NEO-COLONIZING POWERS

1.This is due to the fact that the imperialist always exploit the resources of LDC s for their benefit like minerals, human labor etc. 2.Destruction of science and technology of LDC s through technological transfer. The process of transferring technology from rich nations to the LDC s results to destruction of science and technology of the LDC s because always the technology transferred is either outdated or expired and which cannot develop the LDCs in term of science and technology. 3.Loans, grants and aids provided to the LDCs aimed at providing high interest to the developed nations due to the fact that the LDCs because of their poverty tend to look for loans, grants and aid which enable the developed nations to harvest the super profit for a given period of time. 4.Control the world market for their interest. The rich nations always control the world market by fixing the prices of both agricultural raw materials from the LDC s and manufactured goods from the rich nation. This goes hand in hand with price fluctuation especial for agricultural produce from the LDC s hence the Neo –colonizing power tend to benefit while the Neo –colonies tend not to benefit. 5.Control the world economy by forcing the LDCs to privatize their economy for the foreign investors which aimed to exploit the resources of the LDC s and benefiting the imperialist nation. 6.They provide harsh conditionality in nature like, devaluation of currencies, cost sharing in social services, redundancy etc. in order the LDC s to be assisted in getting loans, grants and aid which also have to be paid for the imperialist for the high interest rate in a given period of time. 7.The influx of Europeans through different NGO’s and multinational cooperation’s like IMF, WB, world trading centre (coca cola) etc. These also aimed to benefit the imperialist after exploiting the resources of the LDC s and under developing the LDCs.

POLITICAL NATURE OF NEO-COLONIZING POWERS

1.Democratic in nature whereby the Neo-colonizing powers tend to force the LDC s to adopt liberal democracy like multiparty for their own interest. 2.Impose/planting the puppet leaders in LDCs to implement the interest of imperialist like exploiting the resource of the LDCs for the imperialist benefit allowing foreign investors to allow linearization in the LDCs etc. all these are implemented by puppet leaders who are planted by Neo-colonizing powers. 3.Controlling elections of the LDCs.

The Neo – colonialist powers tend to control election in LDCs simply because these neo-colonizing powers are after putting puppet leaders in power that can collaborate with them to achieve their objective in the LDCs.

4.Expansionism policy in nature.

These neo-colonizing powers tend to expand their rule in order to control the third world countries in all aspect of life for their benefit.

5.Interference of internal matters of the LDCs for their benefit. The imperialist always tend to interfere the internal matters of the LDCs like supervision of election, controlling the economy of the LDCs, culture implementation etc. for their gains.

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL NATURE OF NEO –COLONIZING POWERS

1. Humanities, oppressive, segregate in nature; this is because always the imperialist tend to achieve the ambition of superiority complex over the LDC s in order to make the LDC s to feel as inferior over the imperialist hence the neo –colonizing powers always use the superiority complex over the LDC s to humiliate, oppress and segregate LDCs in international affairs and within the internal matters e.g. in the UN meetings international trade etc. 2. Imposing western culture in the LDCs.

This is due to the fact that the imperialist always force people of the LDCs to abandon their culture and adopt the western culture in the ways of life such as eating, marriage and wearing/ dressing.

3. Introducing western cultural ways of life which also have lead people of the LDCs to abandon their cultural practices e.g. introduction of video, cinema, phonograph, songs etc. have caused people in the LDCs to abandon their traditional cultural practices like dram, carvings, traditional songs.

MILITARY NATURE OF NEO –COLONIZING POWER

1. Introduction of military technology, skills and knowledge in the LDCs. E.g. the imperialist have pretended to train army officers in the LDCs and some time have come to pretend tin keeping peace in the LDCs. 2. Building their military bases in the soils of the LDC s in order to protect their vested interest I the LDCs.

THE BRANDT REPORT (1980) LDCs POVERTY QUESTION AND ITS OUTCOME

THE BRANDT REPORT

Was a recommendation of the commission to address the LDCs this report was written by independent commission in 1980 chaired by Willy Brandt the former chancellor of Western Germany, the report was international report with aimed to analyze the solution for the problems facing LCDs 1980 – 1987. The report was up dated in 2001 by James Ovilligan who was a director of the Brandt commission report in 2001. It comprised 36 members from different countries as follows.

(i) Will Brandt (chairman from W. Germany) (ii) Abdala Hatit A. Hammad (from Colombia) (iii) Rodmingo Botara Montry (from Chile) (iv) Edwardo Frei Mauntalia (Chile) (v) Catherine Gruhman (from USA) (vi) Edward health (from UK) (vii) Amir Jamal (from Tanzania) (viii) Khadija Ahmed (from Malaysia)

THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE REPORT

i. The world economic trend need to be revived whereby the solutions and strategies need to be urgently (important) implemented in order to reduce the growing gap between North (rich) and south (poor).

ii. Cooperation’s between countries should be of mutual interest and there should be a tool to create a change and facilitate worldwide growth.

iii. Emphasis on mutual interest between developed and developing nation to deal with very important issues with threatening human kind must be carried out by the international community.

iv. Reject the view on the role of developed countries to supply to the LDCs for their benefit instead the rich countries must participate themselves to being economic growth of the LDCs.

v. Emphasis should be on fair ground between the poor and the rich. This should be accompanied by granting the South political and economic independence and discourage protectionism with the rich (Northern) use to restrict the South to access the world market this will enable the South (poor) to developed and have the final say in the world market.

vi. Establish society based on international justice which would promote world peace, security and disarmament especially in developing countries so as the world should be a place to live without fear of weapons.

vii. To ensure good environment for political and economic growth in both north and south.

viii. Undertaking actions programs which would include short and long term program for dealing with poverty in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

ix. To end mass hunger, famine and maturation by improving agricultural sector through undertaking agrarizin reforms in order to ensure food security and food should be increased.

x. To control population growth by controlling birthrate especially in LDCs but also refugee’s problem in the LDCs should be also controlled.

xi. Insist on industrialization in order to boost economic development and the development of science and technology especially I the LDCs.

Therefore following those recommendations the Brandt report was received and accepted as a solutions to deal with the LDCs problems, however the gap s till growing and strategies are less adopted due to different reasons in the LDC s like low political will, scarcity of experts, lack of accountability, good governance it’s also the brain drain where LDCs experts are running to look for good pastures in rich nations and fail to development their own nation and it was during the existence of cold war politics.

THE FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES DISCUSSED IN THE BRANDT REPORT COMMISSION –1980

1. Poverty problem (Issue).

This being a crucial issue in the world was still discussed whereby the World Bank estimated that 800 millions of people in the LDCs live under acute poverty, and 40% of the South population are not able to secure basic needs while the economies of the poor nation religion agriculture which also face unfavorable environment and scarcity of market.

2. Health issues.

This also were discussed in Brandt health commission and it was observed that majority of people LDCs are faced with the problem of low life expectancy, poor medical facilities and majority of the people lack safe and clean water.

3. Housing/Settlement issues.

Was also discussed in the Brandt and observed that; there was a great movement of people from rural to urban areas, wide spread of unemployment and â…” of all families in the LDCs are not able to build new houses even cheapest and high birth rate is also common in the LDCs which accelerate to many families to have many people without good housing/settlement.

4. Education issues.

Majority of the people in the LDCs are illiterate which are approximated to be 50% of the population of the LDCs. Although some progresses have been taken by the government of the third world countries to build more schools but the number of attending to schools especial for girls is still low.

5. Women Issues.

Women in LDCs are marginalized in development due to existence of patria system in many countries of the LDCs. This has caused massive gender inequalities in developing countries like in politics, production and in economics e.g. women are not allowed to own property, land in some societies of the LDCs also the provision of health care familiar is biased and the encouragement of education in some societies is based on boys/male while female are discouraged to accesses education rather than women are encouraged in fulfilling domestic activities e.g. looking fetching H 2 0, and collecting fire wood.

THE SOUTH –SOUTH DIALOGUE

This was a dialogue between the poor nation themselves to discuss the problems related to their poverty and how to work jointly by cooperating together in various fields e.g. in economic; trade, industrial fields, agricultural sector etc.

This South – South dialogue was formed in 1978 under the UN Development program (UNDP) the aim was to promote South – South trade, economic and collaboration with UN agencies like UNDP, W.T.O, WB, IMF etc. hence officially the South – South dialogue started influencing economic development in the South – South nations after the formation of South –South commission under the chairmanship of the Late J.K. Nyerere held in Zimbabwe in 1986, the South –South dialogue aimed at organizing by doming bilateral agreements, regional sub regional, and inter regional groups.

AREAS OF CO-OPERATIONS

1. Economic, trade, finance and investment. 2. Education, provision of scholarship and research findings. 3. Humanitarian assistance. 4. Science and technological cooperation. 5. Environmental issues. 6. Public sectors and health management.

OBJECTIVES OF THE SOUTH –SOUTH DIALOGUE

1. Aimed at forming cooperation between countries and regional grouping so as to find the solution of the global plans which could help the LDC s to development like to find the solution of the financial crisis, economic recession (depression), climatic change, energy security etc. 2. Aimed to bring a new world economic order in order to balance trade and exchange between member states and between North and South (poor) and (rich) has over the South. 3. Aimed to form strong partnership among the LDCs so as to against the imperialist domination in terms of trade partnership. 4. Mobilization of the 3 rd world energy and other resources so as to solve the problem of underdevelopment and boost the economic growth of the South countries. 5. Aimed to remove the concept of co-operation as purely as assisting dependent countries which aimed at addressing this concept of cooperation between the North and South with equal benefit bases which the South countries want to benefit in their cooperation with the rich. 6. Aimed to ensure effective use of available technical experts in order to boost economic growth especially in industrial and agricultural sectors.

CHALLENGES OF THE SOUTH –SOUTH DIALOGUE

1. Lack of capital.

This forced the LDCs to look for loans, grants and aids from developed countries as the only alternative way to development thus why they always looking for grants, loans and aids from WB and IMF.

2. Undermine the poor member state by fellow rich states. This is because rich members tend to undermine the poor member state found in LDCs this has been acting as the obstacle for the South – South dialogue to reach their objectives.

3. Protectionism This was a policy carried out by the North countries (rich) to restrict the South to access the world market hence the South Counties always face the problem of price fluctuation in the world market.

4. Interference of economic and financial plans policies by unity national cooperation’s or transnational institutions. These cooperation act as the obstacle for the South countries to achieve their intended objectives e.g. the IMF, WB, W.T.D, European union, Paris club etc. always tend to interfere the international matters of the South.

5. Lack of heavy industrial base. These policy always makes the South countries to depend from the North as far as science and technologies is concerned hence South country have been made as dumping areas for the North to dump their outdated science and technology.

6. Political instability. This is a common problem in many LDCs due to civil wars which tend to affect the LDC s peace, security, harmony and hinders economic, social and political development.

7. Existence of multiple – economic integrations which are not committed to fulfill their activities and their intended activities e.g. members of SADEC are also members of EAC or ECOWAS etc.

8. Existence of Neo – colonialism in LDCs; whereby the North tend to exploit the resource of the South by back doors hence the South fail to development.

9. Poverty problem.

10. Drought.

11. Famine and hunger.

12. Illiteracy.

13. Competition of production of the same raw materials among the member states e.g. member state are producing the same Cocoa, tea, sisal, cotton etc.

14. Diseases.

15. Frequent economic crisis.

THE NORTH –SOUTH DIALOGUE

This was the dialogue between the rich (developed) and poor developing nations) with came out of the recognition of the fact that poverty being a global issue must be solved together between the rich and poor nations.

Therefore in the North south dialogue the poor countries demanded the following.

1. They demanded the existing international trade to change so that the poor countries who are the producers of raw materials only can also be able to develop their heavy products in order to get out their dependency. 2. They wanted the price of agricultural raw materials at the world market to be reasonable, good and permanent or fixed because the existing prices are low and are frequently changing which is of a great disadvantages for the development of the poor nations. 3.They demanded transfer of technology from Europe and America to Africa, Latin America and Asia free of charge; where they argue that technology is a right of every man kind therefore the developing nation has a right to get it without any conditions from the developed countries. 4. They demanded that the developing nations are poor but this poverty has been caused by the developed nations; therefore in the new international economic order the rich countries are obliged to help the LDCs by giving loans, aid and grants together with cancelling their external debts.

5. The developing nations appeal to have a voice in the international financial organizations (organs) like WB, IMF because the poor nations use the money from those financial institutions however they have no say especially when to get and when to pay back the loans.

6. The LDCs wants also to ratify the international trade maritime in which the overseas transport should not only be monopolized by the developed nation rather benefiting all nations in the world.

7. The LDCs want disarmament and investment in armament programmers so as to preserve tranquility and mention the world peace and security.

THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND AND THE WORLD BANK TOWARDS THE SAP’S

The IMF and WB are two most important institution set up by the UN monetary and financial conference popularly known as the BRETON WOOD conference held in New York in July 1944 however these two institutions come into effect/existence in 1945.

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND ITS OBJECTIVES

1. To promote international co-operation on international monetary affairs by being a machinery for consultation and collaboration about money. 2. To facilitate international trade by adjusting differences between the values of currencies of different countries of the world. 3. To facilitate exchange stability and ordering exchange arrangements including transfer of fund among nations. 4. To eliminate foreign exchange restrictions which prevent the growth of world trade. 5. To shorten duration and magnitude of payment of imbalances (debts) between nations.

FUNCTIONS OF IMF

1. To administer exchange rate policies and restrictions on payment for the current account transactions. 2. To provide members with funds in order to enable them collect or pay for their debts.

3. To provide forum or room for members to consult each other and work together on international monetary matter

PRINCIPLES OF IMF

1.The IMF provides loans to all needy members on condition that they must pay bank soon after solving their debts so that other needy members can be borrowed.

2. A recipient member should first show how she intends to solve debts and how she will pay bank the debt with interest which always takers 3 to 5 years.

WORLD BANK (WB)

This was established on July 18, 1944 and started her activities in 1945, hence WB was known as international bank for reconstruction and Dev elopement (IBRD) and its head quarter is in Washington DC U.S.A.

ITS OBJECTIVES

1. To work on reconstruction and development of its members in which most of the members were affected by the WW II. 2. To provide foreign private investment to its member state especially private capitals. 3. To promote long term balanced international trade by enabling members to balance their payments with money from the bank.

PRINCIPLES OF THE WORLD BANK

1. It provides money for productive purposes e.g. money in agricultural/sector, rural development, construction of infrastructures and energy. 2. Loans may be used to purchase goods from any country in the world without restrictions. 3. Loans can be given to either country or political sub-division or to private enterprise in a given territory. 4. Technical assistance and other services are provided to member state. 5. Bank decision to provide money must be based only on economic consideration. 6.The loans must be guaranteed by the government concern and for specific project.

CONDITIONALS OF IMF AND WB

The IMF and WB introduced the following conditionality’s aimed at changing the economies of LDCs to be a capitalist economy.

1.To allow trade liberalization and foreign exchange; whereby the government of the LDCs is forced not to control the prices and abolish the price commission so that the prices should adjust themselves in the world market basing on the law of supply and demand. 2.To devalue the currencies so as to attract more investors in countries and more buyers of goods from countries concern, but also devalue of currency aimed to make the currency of the LDC s at least to match with the capitalist economy. 3. To control government budget deficit by reducing government expenditures like provision of social services, buying of expensive cars of leaders etc. 4.The government of LDCs should increase taxes by charging public goods and services highly. 5.The government of the LDCs must reduce their expenditures on provision of social services like in education, water supply, and electricity by introducing cost sharing between the government and people with general public concern with social services. 6. To allow and introduce western democracy or liberal democracy led to existence of multiparty and its features. 7. To allow redundancy of works. This is done by the IMF and WB to force the government of LDCs to privatize government parastatals and reduce workers from civil servants in order to control the budget of the country, reducing budget deficient and controlling over expenditures. 8.To allow privatization policy; hence the government of LDCs are forced to privatize their economy in the countries for the foreign investors such as agriculture, mining sectors all these is done by welcoming foreign investors to invest tin different economies sectors.

SAP’S

This refers to the policies introduced by IMF and WB in order to control the state budget and official policies in the LDCs; therefore the IMF and WB aimed at creating changes of the government budget so as to bring development in the LDCs.

BACKGROUND OF SAP’S

Due to worsening economic conditions the LDCs especial in Africa in the mid of 1980’s; approached the IMF and WB for Loans hence the IMF and WB suggested for SAP’s to be in traduced in the LDCs as a solutions for their economic development.

REASON FOR ADOPTION OF SAP’S IN LDCs

1. To solve external debts crisis in the LDCs especially in African States. 2. To promote rural development projects in order to improve the living standard of the rural people. 3. To improve the rapid decline of per capital income in order to make sure that people in the LDCs should have high per capital income. 4. To improve the rapid decline of G.N.P (Gross National Profit) in order to make sure that nations found in the LDCs should improve their national domestic product and avoid dependency from the developed countries. 5.To improve the decline of health services in order to make sure that government of the LDCs particularly in Africa should improve better social services to their people like hospitals educational facilities, clean water supply etc. e.g. availability of drugs in hospitals, dispensary or health centers, availability of equipment in hospitals and educational facilities i.e. books laboratory equipment etc. 6.To improve transport and communication networks in the LDCs in order to make sure that transport and communication networks is well available in the LDCs for development e.g. road ports, airports, railways etc. 7. To improve science and technology in the LDCs so as to remove the problem of weak science and technological base found in LDCs particularly in Africa and which has been acting as an obstacle for the development of LDCs. 8. To help the LDCs to get out of the poverty this is common problem in LDCs.

OBJECTIVES OF SAP’S

1. Aimed to reform and elimination of restriction of trade between North –South. 2.Aimed to privatize all public sectors so as to improve the G.N.P. of the country concern, provide employment and improve the growth of per capital income of each individual found in LDCs. 3.Aimed to reform agricultural sector by mobilizing the resource of the LDCs for improvement of agricultural sector. 4.Aimed to remove and reduce poverty by improving the living standard of the people found in LDCs, improving G.N.P. of countries, improving science and technology of the third world and improvement of economic growth. 5.Aimed at improving public investments programmed by welcoming investors both from within LDCs and outside of the LDCs. 6.Aimed of improvement and clear linkage of different sectors of the economy found in the LDCs for domestic development and restoration of economic growth of the LDC.

PRINCIPLES/CONDITIONS/FEATURES OF SAP’S

1.To remove subside in agricultural sector whereby IMF and WB force the LDCs to remove subsides on agricultural sector. 2.To introduce cost sharing in social services; whereby governments of LDCs are forced to withdraw from providing free social services like free-education, health care, electricity, water supply etc. 3.Devaluation of currencies. The LDCs is forced to devalue their currencies in order to accept by the capitalist in their trade transactions in the world market. 4.Privatization of economic sectors; are reforms programs in the LDCs are forced to privatize their financial sector, industry, mining trade and reforming other sectors like public sector management, trade sector etc. 5.Unemployment/redundancy of workers; majority of the civil servant face with the problem of unemployment after public sector privatized to the foreign investors 6. Elimination of trade barriers, tariffs and custom duties. The LDCs are forced by IMF and WB to eliminate trade barriers in order to premiere private sectors and foreign investors who come to invest in LDCs. 7. Elimination of price commissions in order the prices in the market to be determined by the law of supply and demand. 8. Removing restrictions on collective reform and wage selling practices so as to attain better life in LDCs, this is achieved by introducing collective bargaining between employers and employees. 9. Introduction of western democracy based on liberal democracy which insists under multiparty and introduction of puppet leaders. 10. Introduction of trade liberalization. This is done by forcing the governments of the LDC s to remove the price commission of raw materials and manufactured goods in market to be determined by the law of supply and demand. 11. Destruction of culture in the LDCs by forcing LDCs to practice their foreign culture which always destroy the culture of the people found in the