Three obstacles to a historic lift of Africa: Article by Associate Professor Stig Jensen

In relation to the latest policy proposal by The Social Democrats in which they propose a Marshall-plan like approach of the International and Western community towards Africa,   Associate Professor Stig Jensen gives  a compendious and illuminating explanation to why efforts thus far have yielded no satisfying results.

''Challenges of creating change in Africa and for the Africans are particularly rooted in dysfunctionalities among ourselves (the West)'' Stig writes. He offers and elaborates on three obstacles to a historic lift of Africa. These are:

Lack of updated knowledge: ''A clear plan must necessarily be based on updated knowledge about African relations''  Stig writes, however '' politicians with updated knowledge about African conditions seem to be inadequate, while the humility of their own deficiencies is hard to find''he continuous.

Political and public support is missing: ''So far, a historic boost has not become a national unifying project, thus missing the political foundation for a sustainable project. At the same time, we see limited public support for the development area'' Stig further explains.

Investment willingness needs to be increased: An important prerequisite for development and the suggested ‘historic lift’ is naturally to provide the necessary risk capital for the implementation.. ''Return on such investments are never secure, but the alternative is even more uncertain''Stig writes. In the article it is highlighted, that trends in recent years have been reduced investments in long-term development initiatives in Africa, and that the policy proposal from The Social Democrats is clinically cleansed of financial calculations and commitment to funding.

Though the challenges to a  historic lift of Africa are many, and lie in Africa and Africa's asymmetric relations with the outside world, Stig urges politicians to also look inward and assemble viable visions if they wish their discourse of change to amount to something other than ‘alms to helpless Africans’.  

You can read the entire article here.