From the African historical and contemporary experience, globalization is more of a jungle than a village. Rule of the jungle means the rule of might rather than right.
In order to survive in the global jungle, therefore, Africa must brave the threats while creating opportunities. Both require Africa to pool its sovereignty. If African Unity has floundered because of the misperception that Africa has can proceed slowly and gradually, that can no longer be defended.
The imperative of African unity has never been more compelling, urgent, and clear! It is not affection, gain or hegemony that necessitate unity. What faces Africa is the threat to its very survival. It is an existential threat.
If Nkrumah were writing his book today the title would read: ‘Africa Must Unite or Die’. Time is of the essence!
Globalization is intensifying and centralizing the exploitation of Africa’s resources while at the same time marginalizing Africa’s people and alienating them from their resources. Resource nationalism should not simply be aimed at control but also creating new opportunities with new partners such as ‘resources-for-technology’ deals with China and India.
Regionalization in Africa has been around for quite sometime without showing any meaningful results either in terms of promoting economic development or increasing political coherence. This is partly because the question of centralising political authority a la Nkrumah has been eschewed. So far the cart has been put before the horse.
From our experience it ought to be realised that political union or pooled sovereignty is the only effective strategy to realising economic transformation – not the other way round. It is only through this that regional planning and the creation of a new division of labour in Africa is possible. Trade integration must be replaced by production integration.
Revitalizing the economies of African countries is an urgent task. Over the years dynamic economic activity has been sacrificed on the altar of the structural adjustment policies. Excessive preoccupation with macro-economic stability has diverted policy attention from the producer and has failed to stimulate domestic consumption. That is why agriculture is criminally neglected.
It is the revitalization of agriculture which can stimulate domestic consumption through increased incomes to farmers. Revitalization not only refers to the development of the forces of production but also diversifying the composition of the agricultural product.
In brief the combination of deepening poverty, resource depletion, social fragmentation and community polarization has fuelled many of the conflicts in the continent. Legitimate government by consenting citizens is being replaced by minimalist rule of law and outright coercion. Africa needs a vision that can reinvigorate the people, restore hope and confidence gives them a sense of direction to brave the future.
Given the collapsing markets and secularly declining prices for commodities Africa needs either new markets or new commodities. It will have to do both and in both cases looking East rather than west.
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
Africa’s Resource nationalism
By Isaac Twumasi-Quantus in Accra.
Resource nationalism has become an increasingly pressing issue for mining companies in the last year with an Ernst & Young report naming it the leading global business risks for mining and metals business.
A number of African countries, including Ghana and Zambia, have recently moved to increase taxes on mining operations, and other governments, such as Guinea, have proposed new legislation to increase state ownership in mining operations.
There is a premise that mining companies risk jeopardizing their future growth if they fail to work with governments towards their mutual best interests.
If mining companies succumb to their natural instincts to rigidly resist any increased state intervention, they will be inviting enforced value transfers that will prove much more costly, than if they engage with genuinely open minds.
To an extent higher metal prices become a two-edged sword for the mining companies as they tend to highlight to politicians, keen to demonstrate their need to improve the lot of their populations, the assumed profits many companies are thought to be making as a result which they feel might be ploughed back for the benefit of the nation.
While the risk is always that if they tax too high, investment will dissipate the governments have to try and find a path that would ultimately be beneficial to all parties and sometimes they get it wrong!
The single most important thing that companies and senior executives need to do in order to manage their resource nationalism game is to act with respect. If they drop in on flying visits, and act like they have all the answers, and act like they don't think that they need to bother to show an understanding of local historical, cultural and political dynamics, they will fail, and end up as targets for endless value extraction until they eventually run away.
The current trend of resource nationalism in Africa was being driven by a "growing democratization, and an increasing sensitivity, even amongst autocratic regimes, to populist and media sentiments. While many resources companies may be tempted to resists state intervention, they would do more to preserve their long term interests by engaging with governments, to ensure that national mining companies are structured according to the principles of value for value and long-term sustainability.
Resource nationalism has become an increasingly pressing issue for mining companies in the last year with an Ernst & Young report naming it the leading global business risks for mining and metals business.
A number of African countries, including Ghana and Zambia, have recently moved to increase taxes on mining operations, and other governments, such as Guinea, have proposed new legislation to increase state ownership in mining operations.
There is a premise that mining companies risk jeopardizing their future growth if they fail to work with governments towards their mutual best interests.
If mining companies succumb to their natural instincts to rigidly resist any increased state intervention, they will be inviting enforced value transfers that will prove much more costly, than if they engage with genuinely open minds.
To an extent higher metal prices become a two-edged sword for the mining companies as they tend to highlight to politicians, keen to demonstrate their need to improve the lot of their populations, the assumed profits many companies are thought to be making as a result which they feel might be ploughed back for the benefit of the nation.
While the risk is always that if they tax too high, investment will dissipate the governments have to try and find a path that would ultimately be beneficial to all parties and sometimes they get it wrong!
The single most important thing that companies and senior executives need to do in order to manage their resource nationalism game is to act with respect. If they drop in on flying visits, and act like they have all the answers, and act like they don't think that they need to bother to show an understanding of local historical, cultural and political dynamics, they will fail, and end up as targets for endless value extraction until they eventually run away.
The current trend of resource nationalism in Africa was being driven by a "growing democratization, and an increasing sensitivity, even amongst autocratic regimes, to populist and media sentiments. While many resources companies may be tempted to resists state intervention, they would do more to preserve their long term interests by engaging with governments, to ensure that national mining companies are structured according to the principles of value for value and long-term sustainability.
The new Africa Strategy 2012
By Isaac Twumasi-Quantus In Accra.
It is about time representative African ambassadors across the world over would want to build on and strengthen their already deep bonds of friendship in a way that reflects the new realities of Africa, the continent of the future.
That Africa can move forward together, enriching and laying the groundwork for the development of a strong new economic relationship in the years to come. A relationship with far greater emphasis on trade and investment. 2012 should be a testimony to the strong bonds that already exist.
For many years, the conventional wisdom was that positive change would never happen in Africa; that it was a continent doomed to autocracy, inequality and grinding underdevelopment. But one thing we have to take note of in our lifetimes is that no country or region is immune to political, economic and social change, and that the effects of that change in one region can have major implications for others. After years of apparent stability on the surface, change can often come unexpectedly.
The communications revolution has opened up dramatic new opportunities. There is a growing middle class in many African countries. Africans are building trade with each other and with the world, and business opportunities are opening up. I recognise that huge challenges remain, that corruption and human rights abuses persist, that high growth rates do not automatically end poverty and can widen inequalities, and that poverty, drought, population growth and renewed conflict can easily set back apparently dramatic progress. But the reality is that many African countries are developing the capacity to mobilise domestic resources to drive their own development.
Our future lies in our capacity to trade: to sell goods and services, in the global economy. To do so, we must expand our horizons beyond our traditional export markets. The centre of gravity in the global economy is shifting towards the emerging economies and beyond them to Africa.
More than ever we are inextricably connected into global trading systems, global communications networks, and worldwide markets.
At its core, I am are saying in our new approach that Africa will engage more with counterparts, and, most importantly, that the counterparts will listen more to the voices the people of Africa.
Indeed 2011 was a great year, looking forward to a greater 2012!
Happy New Year!
It is about time representative African ambassadors across the world over would want to build on and strengthen their already deep bonds of friendship in a way that reflects the new realities of Africa, the continent of the future.
That Africa can move forward together, enriching and laying the groundwork for the development of a strong new economic relationship in the years to come. A relationship with far greater emphasis on trade and investment. 2012 should be a testimony to the strong bonds that already exist.
For many years, the conventional wisdom was that positive change would never happen in Africa; that it was a continent doomed to autocracy, inequality and grinding underdevelopment. But one thing we have to take note of in our lifetimes is that no country or region is immune to political, economic and social change, and that the effects of that change in one region can have major implications for others. After years of apparent stability on the surface, change can often come unexpectedly.
The communications revolution has opened up dramatic new opportunities. There is a growing middle class in many African countries. Africans are building trade with each other and with the world, and business opportunities are opening up. I recognise that huge challenges remain, that corruption and human rights abuses persist, that high growth rates do not automatically end poverty and can widen inequalities, and that poverty, drought, population growth and renewed conflict can easily set back apparently dramatic progress. But the reality is that many African countries are developing the capacity to mobilise domestic resources to drive their own development.
Our future lies in our capacity to trade: to sell goods and services, in the global economy. To do so, we must expand our horizons beyond our traditional export markets. The centre of gravity in the global economy is shifting towards the emerging economies and beyond them to Africa.
More than ever we are inextricably connected into global trading systems, global communications networks, and worldwide markets.
At its core, I am are saying in our new approach that Africa will engage more with counterparts, and, most importantly, that the counterparts will listen more to the voices the people of Africa.
Indeed 2011 was a great year, looking forward to a greater 2012!
Happy New Year!
The Diaspora community provides incredible opportunities.
By Isaac Twumasi-Quantus in Accra, Ghana.
The importance of the Diaspora in Development cannot be emphasized enough. The international community, the international development institutions and the United Nations have acknowledged the value and critical role of the Diaspora in the particular context of development. Drawing from successful development stories in emerging countries from the South is a testimony of the concrete benefits of an active solidarity extended by the Diaspora.
In Africa, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) is the blue print for Africa’s development in the 21st century, it provides unique opportunities for Africa to address the critical challenges facing the continent including the Millennium Development Goals, and also promotes the involvement of the Diaspora in the development of Africa through its various priority sectors, for example in its efforts to improve of education and health.
You may also appreciate the relentless efforts of the African Union in regularly engaging with the African Diaspora across the world, which it considers as its sixth region, to facilitate its systematic contributions to the development of the continent.
African institutions and efforts of regional and continental integration have been renewed and strengthened. After registering steady economic growth, Africa has reached a crossroad in its development strategy. Indeed, the global food, fuel and financial and economic crises have raised serious concerns about the continuing vulnerability of the continent to world shocks beyond its control. In this regard, the focus has shifted to the strengthening of African domestic economies, improving domestic resource mobilization, increasing policy space and ownership, and reducing the exposure to external shocks.
There is thus no shortage of challenges that remain to be solved. Africa still suffers from unacceptable levels of malnutrition, hunger, poverty and disease, and various parts of the continent remain affected or threatened by conflict and war.
The importance of the Diaspora in Development cannot be emphasized enough. The international community, the international development institutions and the United Nations have acknowledged the value and critical role of the Diaspora in the particular context of development. Drawing from successful development stories in emerging countries from the South is a testimony of the concrete benefits of an active solidarity extended by the Diaspora.
In Africa, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) is the blue print for Africa’s development in the 21st century, it provides unique opportunities for Africa to address the critical challenges facing the continent including the Millennium Development Goals, and also promotes the involvement of the Diaspora in the development of Africa through its various priority sectors, for example in its efforts to improve of education and health.
You may also appreciate the relentless efforts of the African Union in regularly engaging with the African Diaspora across the world, which it considers as its sixth region, to facilitate its systematic contributions to the development of the continent.
African institutions and efforts of regional and continental integration have been renewed and strengthened. After registering steady economic growth, Africa has reached a crossroad in its development strategy. Indeed, the global food, fuel and financial and economic crises have raised serious concerns about the continuing vulnerability of the continent to world shocks beyond its control. In this regard, the focus has shifted to the strengthening of African domestic economies, improving domestic resource mobilization, increasing policy space and ownership, and reducing the exposure to external shocks.
There is thus no shortage of challenges that remain to be solved. Africa still suffers from unacceptable levels of malnutrition, hunger, poverty and disease, and various parts of the continent remain affected or threatened by conflict and war.
Talking Internet Cafe's..
As the Internet spins a web of interconnectivity around the globe, as it grows literally by the hour, Africa is struggling, not to catch up but to keep from falling further and further behind. There has been a great increase in African content on the Internet.
Many net entrepreneurs have been quick to realize the huge potential of the global market. Initially, most sites targeted the global Diaspora of Overseas Africans who had more access to the Internet, not to mention the credit cards that drive Net commerce.
But there is a growing realization that the Netcan reach the large and wealthy Africa Middle class. This group is rapidly plugging into the Net (still out of range for most people here) and there is increased use of credit cards.
The Internet represents so much potential for Africa, and the demand for efficient Internet infrastructure is growing rapidly. Thisis where Africa has been failing. The demand has not yet been met efficiently and this represents an enormous barrier to business and societal development.
Governments, which has monopolized infrastructure development until recently, has recognized it must not hold back this development. They have opened the industry to private entrants and promised support. In practice, though, the vast bureaucracies that implement (theoretically) government programs have moved sluggishly and ineffectively.
Email, for instance, is a huge asset to companies. And more and more companies are entering into web related business activities, like web site creation, software development, and various service oriented businesses that utilize the Net, like medical transcription or data processing for overseas companies. As the internet demographic becomes more mainstream Africa is going to a prime battleground for internet business over the next decade.
Am calling on African governments to help influence, shape and mold telecoms policies, so that ISPs and entrepreneurs in the business of Internet can setup and grow their services in an environment that is supportive and enabling.
By Isaac Twumasi-Quantus
Managing Business Director
Africa Business Communities
www.africabusinesscommunities.com
T 00233-302-93 88 87
M 00233-244-566761
Skype: Isaac.twumasi.quantus
Email: isaac@africabusinesscommunities.com
Many net entrepreneurs have been quick to realize the huge potential of the global market. Initially, most sites targeted the global Diaspora of Overseas Africans who had more access to the Internet, not to mention the credit cards that drive Net commerce.
But there is a growing realization that the Netcan reach the large and wealthy Africa Middle class. This group is rapidly plugging into the Net (still out of range for most people here) and there is increased use of credit cards.
The Internet represents so much potential for Africa, and the demand for efficient Internet infrastructure is growing rapidly. Thisis where Africa has been failing. The demand has not yet been met efficiently and this represents an enormous barrier to business and societal development.
Governments, which has monopolized infrastructure development until recently, has recognized it must not hold back this development. They have opened the industry to private entrants and promised support. In practice, though, the vast bureaucracies that implement (theoretically) government programs have moved sluggishly and ineffectively.
Email, for instance, is a huge asset to companies. And more and more companies are entering into web related business activities, like web site creation, software development, and various service oriented businesses that utilize the Net, like medical transcription or data processing for overseas companies. As the internet demographic becomes more mainstream Africa is going to a prime battleground for internet business over the next decade.
Am calling on African governments to help influence, shape and mold telecoms policies, so that ISPs and entrepreneurs in the business of Internet can setup and grow their services in an environment that is supportive and enabling.
By Isaac Twumasi-Quantus
Managing Business Director
Africa Business Communities
www.africabusinesscommunities.com
T 00233-302-93 88 87
M 00233-244-566761
Skype: Isaac.twumasi.quantus
Email: isaac@africabusinesscommunities.com
African Entrepreneurs need the helping professions
By Isaac Twumnasi-Quantus in Accra.
Coaching and mentoring are fast becoming essential aspects of modern managerial practice. Surround yourself with experts and mentors in various fields you know nothing about. I am never too proud to say I do not know something and because of that I am privy to many amazing people who and organizations that assist me with business.
A successful entrepreneur is not afraid to say so when they do not know something and is humble enough to ask for help. It is the only way to learn.
In Africa, entrepreneurship has been lauded as the answer to unemployment and a mechanism of redistribution of wealth. But in practice this proves to be difficult to achieve due to the low levels of entrepreneurial activity and a concerning number of entrepreneurial ventures failing.
Also the low entrepreneurial behavior can be attributed to poor education level. Furthermore, the African educational system does not prepare adequately entrepreneurs to cope with the challenges of entrepreneurship.
Apart from education, a number reasons have been proposed for start up failures. This range from lack of management skills, poor access to finance, a lack of mentoring and coaching as well an inadequate knowledge of marketing and business development.
I suggest African governments should consider setting up a national mentorship fund, managed by competent and experienced people with a proven tract record in small business support and management. Provision of finance to start up businesses must be coupled with on going mentorship, training and access to support services.
Entrepreneurship is a dynamic process of vision, change and creation. It requires an application of energy and passion towards the creation and implementation of new ideas and creative solutions. Essential ingredients includes the willingness to take calculated risks in terms of time, equity or career.
The ability to formulate an effective venture team, the creative skill to marshal resources, the fundamental skill to build a solid business plan and finally the vision to recognize opportunities where others see chaos, contradiction and confusion.
Coaching and mentoring are fast becoming essential aspects of modern managerial practice. Surround yourself with experts and mentors in various fields you know nothing about. I am never too proud to say I do not know something and because of that I am privy to many amazing people who and organizations that assist me with business.
A successful entrepreneur is not afraid to say so when they do not know something and is humble enough to ask for help. It is the only way to learn.
In Africa, entrepreneurship has been lauded as the answer to unemployment and a mechanism of redistribution of wealth. But in practice this proves to be difficult to achieve due to the low levels of entrepreneurial activity and a concerning number of entrepreneurial ventures failing.
Also the low entrepreneurial behavior can be attributed to poor education level. Furthermore, the African educational system does not prepare adequately entrepreneurs to cope with the challenges of entrepreneurship.
Apart from education, a number reasons have been proposed for start up failures. This range from lack of management skills, poor access to finance, a lack of mentoring and coaching as well an inadequate knowledge of marketing and business development.
I suggest African governments should consider setting up a national mentorship fund, managed by competent and experienced people with a proven tract record in small business support and management. Provision of finance to start up businesses must be coupled with on going mentorship, training and access to support services.
Entrepreneurship is a dynamic process of vision, change and creation. It requires an application of energy and passion towards the creation and implementation of new ideas and creative solutions. Essential ingredients includes the willingness to take calculated risks in terms of time, equity or career.
The ability to formulate an effective venture team, the creative skill to marshal resources, the fundamental skill to build a solid business plan and finally the vision to recognize opportunities where others see chaos, contradiction and confusion.
Achieving food availability
It is common knowledge that food security is directly linked to climatic conditions and the environmental conditions in general. The prevailing negative effects of climate change which have disproportionately affected regions have far reaching implications for agriculture and food production in Africa.
This unfortunate situation is accompanied by the fact that Africa is not adequately resourced to deal with new and emerging challenge of climate change. The ability of the continent to deal with mitigation and adaptation of climate change will continue to depend on availability of both financial and transfer of technology to the continent.
In efforts to overcome the threat posed by climate change on agriculture and food security on the continent, we need Africa governments to bring together ministers of agriculture, environment and water to advance spectral approach in addressing the climate change agenda.
I believe that these efforts will ensure that African countries adopt measures to adequately mitigate and reverse the impact of climate change on agricultural production and food security.
Food and energy prices on the continent are still volatile and unstable. If this trend continues unabated, the goal of eradicating extreme poverty on the continent will become an illusion.
While I note and appreciate that aid to Africa has increased over the years, this trend has not been the same in the area of agriculture and food security, where support has decreased.
Today, of the total aid extended to Africa, only 2 per cent is allocated to agriculture and food security.
I call upon all negotiating parties in the WTO Doha development round to show restraint and spirit of give and take, so that the world can resolve the issue of protectionist measures, which directly hampers agricultural development efforts in developing nations.
The case in point is the issue of heavy subsidies, which are granted to farmers in developed countries. These subsidies have a stifling effect on farming in developing countries, Africa in particular.
Isaac Twumasi-Quantus, is the Managing Business Director at Africa Business Communities.
This unfortunate situation is accompanied by the fact that Africa is not adequately resourced to deal with new and emerging challenge of climate change. The ability of the continent to deal with mitigation and adaptation of climate change will continue to depend on availability of both financial and transfer of technology to the continent.
In efforts to overcome the threat posed by climate change on agriculture and food security on the continent, we need Africa governments to bring together ministers of agriculture, environment and water to advance spectral approach in addressing the climate change agenda.
I believe that these efforts will ensure that African countries adopt measures to adequately mitigate and reverse the impact of climate change on agricultural production and food security.
Food and energy prices on the continent are still volatile and unstable. If this trend continues unabated, the goal of eradicating extreme poverty on the continent will become an illusion.
While I note and appreciate that aid to Africa has increased over the years, this trend has not been the same in the area of agriculture and food security, where support has decreased.
Today, of the total aid extended to Africa, only 2 per cent is allocated to agriculture and food security.
I call upon all negotiating parties in the WTO Doha development round to show restraint and spirit of give and take, so that the world can resolve the issue of protectionist measures, which directly hampers agricultural development efforts in developing nations.
The case in point is the issue of heavy subsidies, which are granted to farmers in developed countries. These subsidies have a stifling effect on farming in developing countries, Africa in particular.
Isaac Twumasi-Quantus, is the Managing Business Director at Africa Business Communities.
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