COMMENTARY
Africa matters, of course, but not for those reasons
Summer 2009
Whether or not Africa “really matters to the world” is a fundamentally flawed question because the underlying assumption is that Africa should explain why it is important enough to justify development assistance, or aid, from donor countries.
From an African point of view, it is evident that the continent is at the receiving end of the many decisions that are reached in a global governance architecture that is dominated by OECD countries and by the emerging BRIC partners, Brazil, Russia, India and China. This was evident in early April at the G20 summit in London when world leaders discussed possible reforms of the financial architecture. Although the crisis was created by flawed accounting practices and the lack of supervision in America and Europe, it is in Africa that the economic downturn translates into chronic poverty. This is particularly the case as most African countries lack the fiscal space and foreign exchange reserves to launch a stimulus package as developing countries in the rest of the World.
Reforms in the financial sector have a direct impact on Africa’s development prospects. Some of the G20 workgroup proposals seem to suggest a new Basel III accord, which would include requirements that banks only partner with other banks that have an AAA rating. This, though, overlooks the fact that many banks on Wall Street had that rating a week before they collapsed. More importantly for Africa, this banking requirement would have serious consequences for development because private capital flows to Africa would be severely restricted.
The argument that urges much greater African participation in global governance structures can also be applied to climate change. The Western industrialised and emerging countries are the main greenhouse gas emitters, while Africa suffers the consequences of related natural disasters like droughts, hurricanes and flooding. Africa’s “right” to participation in global decisionmaking therefore stems from the impact all this will have on its development prospects, even though the continent is in terms of trade and capital flows a relatively small player on the global stage.
Africa has already shown that it can be a responsible partner at a global level and has often taken the lead in addressing international issues. The most extreme case is Somalia. Despite the reluctance of the international community and such multilateral organisations as the UN, the African Union has an admittedly under-funded peacekeeping contingent deployed in this forgotten civil war. Other areas where Africa is taking the lead in seeking “African solutions” are in Guinea-Bissau and Zimbabwe. When Kenya had difficulties after the elections, there, the intervention of former Secretary General Kofi Annan combined with the efforts of national civil society organisations to avert instability. These “African solutions for African problems” may sometimes be thought controversial by traditional development partners but often there are no realistic alternatives.
Africa matters because global decisions have a direct impact on the continent’s development prospects, especially when it comes to regulation and climate change. African countries have demonstrated that they can fulfill their responsibilities by tackling some of the most contentious and entrenched problems facing the world. These should be the reasons why Africa matters to the world, rather than it being a continent that is richly endowed in resources or because it is the final destination of so much aid.