What is needed for long term development in Africa?

A good question that I chanced to see in the United States as asked on Aljazeera, in a program

originating from my native country, the Netherlands. People make good money working on the topic,

which won't go away anytime soon: compare the question to another: what was needed for the development

of Europe over the last 500 years? or, how did the US develop over the last 400 years? With this proviso,

here are three points: more is pointless.

1: Fewer, much fewer children. With less than 2 children per woman, each child will have more

natural resources than his or her parents (assuming that the 'resources' stay the same). This helped a lot,

reportedly, in England in the 1300s during the 'Black Death'.

2: Educate women, and men too: once educated, they will see that one step everyone can take is:

getting fewer children, and taking care of each child better than they were taken care of themselves. This is

presently at work in Europe and, with a vengeance, in China. 

3: Learn from the outside world what works and what doesn't. Big Men who monopolize wealth for their

own enjoyment hinder development, sharing the wealth, in some reasonable and socially accepted way,

increase development. For most people feudal Europe wasn't very prosperous either....

Implementing these suggestions will bring its own problems. So, work through them. Something like this must

happen, naturally (by famines and such) or by policy. I hope the latter.

As European with some experience of Africa , I think that long term development in Africa should start from basics.

When we talking about aid or what ever help , we normally talking about help to rural areas in most of the African countries, because there are no jobs and so on. Therefore, I believe that start should be building roads and bring electricity to everywhere. African soil is very rich for cultivation of different kinds of things. Problem is that , there is no demand of these products if there is no way to deliver it fast to nearest port. If you looking for infrastructure in most African countries, you can see which places are doing better than others. That should be a start.

Foreign investments comes after some infrastructure is ready and foreign companies can see potential in rural areas.

Other thing is that until 5 years ago, there was concern about political situations as well. Lots of African countries were run by dictators and their families. This is now changing little by little. Many foreign investor came to Africa just to realize that they had to deal only with certain persons and that scared them off.

I don't believe that aid is long term solution and like your show in TV , sub-Saharan africa have to stay in news, maybe one day we could even get some good news from there.

As Dambisa Moyo stated in her bestseller "dead aid, we have three types of aid being directed to African countries;

1. Scholarships which equals education
2. Humanitarian due to natural calamities (this can affect any country e.g Fukushima, Japan)
3. Development aid given to states in whatever form for whatever reasons.

In my opinion the third type is not needed for sustainable development in Africa. Truth be told, for the last 50 and over years this type of aid has been directed to african countries, yet it has seen for example the Kibera slums of Kenya rise from 10 thousands in the 70s to over half a million now. Capitalism has led to high privatisation of public goods thus led to higher levels of poverty  than ever before. The rich and able have continued to enriched themselves, while the poor have been neglected, yet the donors know this, but still continue giving the so called development aid! The question remains, are they (donors) really interested in the development of the african continent or is it just a show, another exploitation and taking africans for a ride? I'm afraid the latter is the case. My conscience has always told me there is something fishy in this so called development aid and yes there is a lot of dirty games being played by the intentional donors. Name them the world bank and imf, european union etc, they have completely destroyed our economies and brought things to the worst. Who is to blame, both national and international players, but above all leaders of various african countries have failed their own people a big deal, nevertheless the african people should also blame themselves for not raising a finger on their own leaders, after all they are the taxpayers, therefore it is their money that is being squandered. Leaders of the west negotiate and run their countries on behalf of their own people, and they know they are accountable to their own citizens, so to whom are our african leaders accountable? We never question any misappropriations anyway! and that is just one of the many reasons why there is no sustainable development in our country.

Firstly, African countries need united nationalists to fight vices arising from both internal and external sources. As long as we remain as divided as we are now, we will reach at nothing but self pity. and self pity has been the way for africa for decades, yet we have able bodied men and women all over the world!

Secondly, Governments should come up with incentives and reintegration support systems in whatever form for those who have acquired knowledge abroad and would want to put this knowledge to use in their own home countries (of course not forgetting those who've also studied nationally). That is what most of the european countries are doing in order to curb brain drain. This approach in itself attracts many to either stay home or go a broad for a year or two then back home. A country like Kenya can afford that, because studies have shown that there is a lot of money floating in a country where 82 Ministers are on payroll, with the president and his prime earning more than any other european state leader. Yet Kenyans sit back and watch knowing very well that millions are suffering in their own country.

Thirdly, there is a need to improve labour laws and security as a whole (i.e labour, social, health and police security), this way sustainable development will happen automatically as a healthy society is a wealthy society. 

Fourthly, African countries should start giving first priorities to their own blood when it comes to allocating jobs and any other forms of contracts, that as well is happening in europe. You don't get things easily in europe when you are a foreign, in the same manner, african countries need to make it difficult for foreigners to get things easily, that is just fair, because a country is made and carried on by its own citizens, foreigners will leave at some point in time what will then be left of that country! We have experienced this during colonialism and apartheid in south africa, what was left of the dark skinned south africans? The country realised they cannot employ them, because they did not have the education and knowhow, this brings me to my last point
Education, education and once more education. Nothing can beat education. Those of us who are educated, we know and have experienced what education has done to us, we also observe countries where education comes first, how sustainable and easy to lead such countries is.

If I got a job in Kenya I would go back instantly, but first of all getting that job is not easy even in Kenya, leave alone getting one in europe. You have to know someone, who knows someone else, who knows another for you to get that job, it is not a matter of job on merit. The national employers are filled with nepotism, corruption name it, making it difficult for someone who is not in the circle of persons to get in, then comes the fear of being infected by the same disease of nepotism, corruption etc especially when you are up to wanting to make that change, you oftenly appear as if you are the fool in the house if you don't accept bribe and that is nothing short of frustration and lack of respect for ones personality and position. To add insult to injury, the international employers in Kenya safeguard jobs for their own citizens first and the rest come later e.g. German institutions in Kenya employ Germans first and the rest including Kenyans after, as if africans and foreigners in Germany do not already have enough difficulties of finding a job within Germany (Germany is just an example, there are many other european countries executing services in a similar way). Conclusion, 85% of the so called development aid that i mentioned above, which is supposedly being given to african countries returns to donors own economies in terms of salaries, administrative work etc no wonder no positive results of development have ever been posted since 50 years. To visualise this, the so called foreign development workers in Kenya live back to back in posh areas like Muthaiga with Mathare slums only separated by a wall, teaching and preaching to slum dwellers how to live sustainably, efficiently, not demand too much and continue managing their poverty with a positive attitude. So is that sustainable development.

Quintessence:
It is a high time africans took their own fate in their own hands, no one (not even the UN) is interested in a sustainable, developed Africa, studies have proven that already.