Africa marks Uhuru under Covid–19 shadow

Sifelani Tsiko Agric & Innovations Editor
Africa today celebrates the 57th anniversary of the founding of the continental body — the African Union — under difficult circumstances characterised by lockdowns and despair brought about by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

This pandemic has forced the continent to shift its attention to the fight against Covid-19.

Africa commemorates the day with a mixture of joy tainted with fear of this pandemic which has so far claimed the lives of nearly 3 000 people out of the more than 90 000 confirmed cases of coronavirus across the continent.

The African Union theme for 2020 is: “Silencing the guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development,” — a quest to promote peace and security as a prerequisite for economic and social development.

But this time around, the biggest threat are not arms of war but a disease which is wreaking havoc without the firing of bullets and bombs. Covid–19 threats are real and Africa can lose up to 2,5 percent of its annual gross domestic product (GDP), equivalent to about $65,7 billion, for every month of lockdown imposed to control the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) spread, according to United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) estimates.

Despite the threats, the continent must keep up its momentum for continental integration and meet the challenges that lie ahead.

Africa Day provides an opportunity to celebrate that African solidarity, African identity and a common humanity and destiny which is shared by the continent’s more than one billion people.

After more than five-and-half decades of the existence of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU, now AU), it is a time for reflection for this continent that is so strategically important to world economics.

Despite the onslaught of the coronavirus, the African spirit still lives on, unbowed by the divisive and dominant policies of powerful countries, which aim to exploit for next to nothing Africa’s economic resources.

In the terms — AFRICA DAY, The Herald shares some of the major highlights of events and processes driving change on this continent, home to more than one billion people.

A — for Africa
The origin of Africa’s name is an area of major contestation by etymologists. One school of thought suggests that “Afri” was the name of a people, maybe the Berbers of North Africa, given by the Romans while others say the addition of the Latin word aprica, meaning “sunny”, or the Greek word aphrike, meaning “without cold” would ultimately lead to the use of the term Africa.

Some historians or Egyptologists say the name Africa is of African origins from the Egyptian word “Afru-ika” or “Motherland”.

Other scholars suggest that the name Africa came into Western use through the Romans, who used the name Africa terra — “land of the Afri” referring to the northern part of the continent, as the province of Africa with its capital Carthage, in modern-day Tunisia.

The Roman suffix “-ca” denotes “country or land”. There are so many theories around the origins of the name and most historians say the actual etymology of Africa is uncertain. No one knows the exact origins but it has come to be acceptable on the continent and globally.

F — Founding fathers
Founding fathers who gathered together on May 25, 1963, in Addis Ababa to establish the OAU (now AU) had to come up with a united, independent and strong Africa. They dedicated their lives and worked tirelessly to liberate Africa from the shackles of colonialism. The OAU was established, first and foremost, with the express objective of working towards the greater unity of the African continent while at the same time ensuring that the remaining colonies on the African continent are assisted to achieve their freedom and independence.

The memory of the founding fathers should not got to waste.

The legacy of the likes of Dr Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Modibo Keita of Mali, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Sekou Touré of Guinea, Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Ben Bella of Algeria, Emperor Haile Selasse of Ethiopia, William Tubman of Liberia, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa of Nigeria, Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigeria, Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya and many others who were part of the major driving forces for a common and shared vision for Africa must live on and never be downplayed.

Their vision inspired the pan-African movement and also influenced the transformation of the continental body in the years that followed. These founding fathers must continue to be part of our collective memory as the continent continues to celebrate their work and soldier on in achieving their dreams.

R — is for Resources
It is a fact that Africa has a large quantity of natural resources including oil, diamonds, gold, platinum, iron, cobalt, uranium, copper, bauxite, silver, petroleum and a whole range of plant genetic resources. Much of its natural resources are undiscovered and have not been harnessed. Africa is the prime target of most industrial nations who want to exploit its resources. The vexing question still stands even today — Just how can African countries maximize development outcomes derived from natural resources? How can African countries achieve inclusive and sustained growth from natural resources?

There are no easy answers to this. Critics still argue that, despite the abundance of natural resources, the bulk of resources exploited from Africa is causing most of the value and money from the natural resources to go to the West rather than the African. There has been uneven progress in improving health, education, and other social outcomes in most African countries despite the new natural resource discoveries — oil, minerals, and gas.

Efficient exploitation and utilisation of these resources should give Africans new sources of revenue for advancing human development and supporting self-sufficiency and economic empowerment. Despite commitments to directing new revenues from natural resources toward improving social outcomes as well as creating more and better jobs and business opportunities, most of the promises remain unfulfilled brining untold hardships and the unequal distribution of wealth.

The scourge of illicit financial flows (IFF) from the continent is milking the continent dry. Proceeds from Africa’s resources that could easily turn the continent into one of the most developed and industrialised continents in the world are being squirrelled away in billions depriving the majority of the poor of vital infrastructure, uninterrupted power supplies, jobs and a peaceful and stable socio-economic environment. Economists say while between 1980 and 2018, sub-Saharan Africa received nearly $2 trillion in foreign direct investment (FDI) and official development assistance (ODA), it lost more than $1 trillion in illicit financial flows under opaque circumstances.

They say these flows, illicitly acquired and channelled out of the continent, continue to pose a development challenge to the region, as they remove domestic resources that are crucial for the continent’s development.

I — for Inter-Africa trade
African countries are losing out on billions of dollars in potential trade earnings every year because of high trade barriers with neighbouring countries‚ and that it was easier for Africa to trade with the rest of the world than with itself. Africa has a great potential to increase intra-continental trade and create more economic opportunities.

Sub-regional and regional economic groupings are no doubt a great step towards a realisation of the African dream for intra-continental trade and the creation of the African Economic Community. Over-reliance on Asian and Western markets still remains high and Africa is the loser in this scenario in which rich powerful nations peg the prices for their commodities. Intra-Africa trade has the potential to transform the continent and this has been shared by all African leaders and technocrats at various African trade and investment indabas.

According to the African Trade Report 2019 findings, the European Union remained Africa’s main continental trading partner in 2018 — accounting for 29,8 percent of total trade — African trade with the South grew significantly over the last decade to account for more than 35 percent of the continent’s total trade in 2018.

China and India further consolidated their positions as Africa’s first and second single largest trading partners, accounting for over 21 percent of total African trade in 2018. Intra-African trade also increased steadily in 2018, growing by 17 percent to reach $159 billion.

The report highlights that Africa has the potential to do more, noting that its contribution to global trade remains marginal at 2,6 percent, up from 2,4 percent in 2017, and that, while intra-African trade rose to 16 percent in 2018 from 5 percent in 1980, it remains low compared to intra-regional trade in Europe and Asia.

The economic researchers say that on-going digitalisation is paving the way for a new African economy, with e-commerce platforms and internet penetration expediting transactions, reducing costs and leading to a new generation of transnational digital consumers.

They say African governments should sustain this to help the continent to realise its potential. Increased trading within the continent would greatly boost growth and development. Economic experts all agree that intra-regional trade is key to boosting economies and in the fight to attain all Sustainable Development Goals. Despite the challenges, regional economic groupings in Africa, are making steady efforts to boost inter-Africa trade.

C — is for coronavirus
With very fragile healthcare systems in most Africa countries, fears are growing that nations could be overwhelmed in the face of a severe Covid-19 outbreak.

The novel coronavirus case has reached every nation on this continent of 1,2 billion people with huge logistical challenges to conduct mass testing, to quarantine patients, to access medical kits and other PPEs.

As of May 20, the confirmed coronavirus death toll on the continent stood at 2 912 out of the more than 90 000 confirmed cases.

The impact of Covid-19 has been massive on all sectors of the economy across the entire continent. Africa can lose up to 2,5 percent of its annual gross domestic product (GDP), equivalent to about $65,7 billion, for every month of lockdown imposed to control the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) spread, according to United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) estimates. Covid-19 cases continue to increase in Africa despite partial or complete lockdowns imposed in most countries. The economic impact of the lockdown has been felt across all sectors and UNECA says the key economic risks include, drop in demand for products and services, lack of operational cash flow, reduction of opportunities to meet new customers, closure of businesses, decline in worker production and productivity from working at home, logistics and shipping of products and difficulties in obtaining supplies of raw materials essential for production.

The International Labour Organisation estimates that more than 164 million informal workers in Africa are stuck under complete lockdown measures. The novel coronavirus pandemic threatens to destroy the livelihoods of more than 164 million workers in Africa’s informal economy — the largest employing sector which accounts for between 30 percent to 90 percent of all non-agricultural job and more than 40 percent of the GDP of most African countries.

The novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic has raised concerns over global food shortage with the World Food Program (WFP) in January this year saying that a record 45 million people were at the brink of food insecurity. The dire food situation has been worsened by droughts, widespread flooding and economic challenges brought by lockdowns.

“This hunger crisis is on a scale we’ve not seen before and the evidence shows it’s going to get worse”, Lola Castro, WFP’s regional director for Southern Africa was quoted saying. All this, will no doubt put a dent to the realisation of Agenda 2063 – the continent’s new long-term vision for the next 50 years. Greater regional coordination and a common vision are required for the development of a vibrant Africa in all its key production and processing sectors in the midst of Covid -19. Africa needs a strong resolve to reverse the trends of poor performance in all key sectors including accountability, transparency and governance of its projects.

A — is for Aids and health-related matters
After more than 30 years of battling the HIV and Aids, Africa has registered some success in slowing the rate of HIV/AIDS infections to appreciable levels. The progress in tackling the pandemic on the continent has been evident particularly on prevention, treatment and care. However, all the gains recorded are now under threat from the Covid pandemic. The World Health Organisation and UNAIDS warn that if efforts are not made to mitigate and overcome interruptions in health services and supplies during the Covid-19 pandemic, a six-month disruption of antiretroviral therapy could lead to more than 500 000 extra deaths from AIDS-related illnesses, including from tuberculosis, in sub-Saharan Africa in 2020–2021.

In 2018, an estimated 470 000 people died of AIDS-related deaths in the region. In sub-Saharan Africa, an estimated 25.7 million people were living with HIV and 16,4 million (64 percent) were taking antiretroviral therapy in 2018. The WHO warns that those people now risk having their treatment interrupted because HIV services are closed or are unable to supply antiretroviral therapy because of disruptions to the supply chain or because services simply become overwhelmed due to competing needs to support the Covid-19 response.

“The Covid-19 pandemic must not be an excuse to divert investment from HIV,” said Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UNAIDS. “There is a risk that the hard-earned gains of the AIDS response will be sacrificed to the fight against Covid-19, but the right to health means that no one disease should be fought at the expense of the other.” Addressing rising cases of non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes and the constant threat of Ebola remains a major challenge for Africa. Closer collaboration among states remains important. There is need of a delicate balancing act — between fighting Covid -19 and continuing with the fight against Aids pandemic to prevent going back to 2008, when more than 950 000 AIDS-related deaths were observed in the region.

D is for Delivery
A cursory glance of most electoral promises by African governments show very similar promises and plans – speedy change and the delivery of services to ensure a better life for all. They all pledge to create jobs and fight poverty, create sustainable livelihoods, improve access to basic services, facilitate comprehensive social security as well as fighting crime and corruption. African governments have blue prints focussing on areas such as the creation of decent work and sustainable livelihoods, education, health, rural development, food security and land reform as well as the fight against corruption and crime.

Attainment of these goals remains an elusive dream. Corruption, predatory political factionalism and poor governance continue to undermined trust in the abilities of African leaders to deliver on promises. Motivational speakers are well known for saying: “If you promised the moon, deliver it along with a handful of stars.” So many promises have been made in Africa in large and small blueprints and yet delivery still remains elusive.

Delivering on promises is what the majority of the poor are waiting for. If our leaders follow through on a commitment, small or large, they build trust. And if they go above and beyond they even make an even stronger impression. When everything is said and done, Agenda 2063 has to deliver in terms of improved quality of life for people on the continent.

A — is for Aid
More aid is not the answer. Development aid is no substitute for sound economic policy choices. What Africa needs is trade and support to strengthen its industrialisation drive. After a decade of aid fatigue and dwindling development assistance, African countries are realising that domestic mobilisation of resources and financing their own development programmes is vital for sustainable development. Our accumulated knowledge of what works and what does not is now key in fighting issues of poverty and human hardships in Africa.

The history of aid in Africa has been documented and shown to be inefficient and at times has proved more of a hindrance to development than a help. A case in point is development aid to Africa that has amounted to more than US$1 trillion since 1950. Today African leaders are scouring world capitals in search of funding to fight Covid 19 but they should know the limits of aid.

Economists say Africa receives more than $60 billion every year in aid and they argue that much of this is not spent on Africans themselves. They say much of this is chewed up by services from donors, such as Western management consultants while around one-fifth of total bilateral aid in 2012, went back to donor countries or took the form of debt relief. Aid has its limits and the failure of it is quite evident particularly now under the shadow of Covid -19.

The pumping of this aid has also apparently increased the dependency syndrome in the period. Corruption has also frittered the resources while conditions have made the donor-receiver relations more complex and problematic. Aid has failed to deliver higher economic growth for Africa and new innovative strategies such as industrialisation plans, private and public sector reform and domestic mobilisation of resources are more crucial than ever now. Promoting innovation, entrepreneurship and own mobilisation of resources could also spur development.

Y — is for Youth in Africa
African governments need to pay more attention to Africa’s youth which needs more empowerment programmes and more job creation initiatives to help transform the continent and defuse a ticking “time bomb”. The UN puts the population of youth in Sub-Saharan Africa at 211 million, a figure expected to increase by more than 89% by 2050. With more than 200 million people aged between 15 and 24 (the youth bracket), Africa has the youngest population in the world.

The current trend indicates that this figure will double by 2045, according to the 2012 African Economic Outlook report prepared by experts from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and other UN agencies. The story of Africa’s worrisome youth unemployment is shown by the dark side of drug abuse, crime, violence, sex and deaths by many attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe in search of jobs.

The youth account for 60 percent of all African unemployed, according to the World Bank. About 10-12 million young people join the labour market each year in Africa and to defuse the youth unemployment time bomb, African governments need to mobilise resources, including from the private sector for youth development. Countries need to implement youth empowerment action plans to both unemployment and under-employment. The African youth are crying for the creation of safe, decent and competitive employment opportunities for themselves.

“We must unite now or perish,” Kwame Nkrumah, said in 1963.