Welcome
to AFRICABIZ, 
Welcome
to Africabiz Online Synopsis
RSS Feed edition. Previous issue available at this
link
Click here
for the beginning of the article
Economic
Growth Never Originates From the Void
By
Dr. Bienvenu-Magloire Quenum
African countries are experiencing power cut and this had
been exposed in a previous issue. South Africa, the most sophisticated
economy of the continent, is experiencing the same crisis, since few months and
particularly at the beginning of year 2008. To explain the crisis, South African
government authorities declared that it is the result of "unexpected" economic
growth. That means South Africa's economy is evolving well and growth increasingly
shooting in the green, that the energy supply is failing to cope.
At the beginning
of this article, it had been dealt with the assertion, using
Statistics South Africa's
reports that proved there had been no surge in economic
growth for 10 years running. Indeed, from 1998 to 2008, growth rate averaged
3.5%, and inflation is flirting with 5%-7%.
Which leads us to put forward the following question: Could a country
experience "unexpected" economic growth?
Semantically, "unexpected" means something not expected. Something
which occurs
"from nowhere"; something that springs out of the "void".
It can be something bad. It can be something good. In this case, the declaration
(from South African government) was meant to demonstrating that people should
rejoice with the
"unexpected" growth that proves the economy is doing well - implying
the government had performed well on economic ground. Which is not true, when
one considers that an average economic growth of 3.5% against an inflation rate
flirting with 7%, over a 10-year period, is not a good performance. Even if international
institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) experts say the contrary.
That is not a good economic
performance for a developing country because there
is no margin left to fight against poverty.
In the contrary, such stunt
economic growth rates delivered by African countries's economies, year in year
out, expand the number of people struggling to have two meals per day. Further,
in South Africa case, the unemployment level stands high at 40%.
What a sober observer of the world economic stage remarks, is that there
are countries endowed with huge natural resources (oil and all kinds of minerals)
that are struggling since decades to survive, with population engulfed in sheer
misery. And there are countries that do not have any oil field or strategic
mineral resource that are making huge progress on the developing path, and the
population enjoying better and better living standard.
The reader knows that most African countries
endowed with huge natural resources (oil, manganese, aluminum, iron, timber,
and copper ores) are listed among the poorest countries in the world. And he
also knows that most Asian countries, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and
South Korea, which do not have any oil field to bank on and which import huge
amount of strategic mineral resources are doing well. Since 6 decades running.
Following the "unexpected" growth rate stance, one should expect countries
endowed with natural resources making constant and huge strides on the developing
path. This had never happened. Even African countries with huge oil deposits,
that are garnering a constant stream of billions of hard currencies, for
forty years running, are not showing any "unexpected
growth". No need to give any country name. The reader knows.
So, what makes the difference? That is what drives forward on the developing
path countries which have (or do not have natural resources), when others
remain perpetual laggard. Strategic planning is the answer.
- Strategic planning makes the difference
South Africans should not be struggling since few months and peculiarly
at the beginning of year 2008 to have energy supply coping with demand. South
African authorities had been warned in advance of looming energy crisis
- 10 years in advance, by the national energy producing company, ESKOM.
Indeed, 10 years ago, Eskom's experts warned that, unless infrastructures's
investment were carried out in advance, the country is heading for energy crisis.
At that point, a responsible government should have taken action, searching for
second advise, and planning for said investments. Nothing had been done and now
we are hearing about the unbelievable denial statement that "unexpected" economic
growth is responsible for the crisis.
What is true for the energy sector is also true for the global economy. It is
a depressing experience to watch political rallies in African countries, and
listen to would be candidates to the highest position - the presidency - exposing
economic development strategy. The strategy is, most of the time, summarizes
by a single word - "change".
Which most of the time is read as fight against corruption.
They chant, "We will bring change. We will make things change."
The strategy
to be used for the "change"
is, however, never defined, detailed, explained and documented. For the simple
reason that those political deceiving "masters" know perfectly well that fight
against corruption (alone) cannot
put countries on the progressive developing path that creates riches for all.
But
they know that - "change" - chimes well with
the profound desire of the populations.
Finally, they get elected to replace
those formerly in place - who had also promised to make "changes" and
failed to do so. And once in the nations's palaces, the new comers discover (do
they really?) that chanting "change" does
not really change anything. So they dig in and the underdevelopment circus goes
on and on.
In the contrary, rulers who take time to think and plan strategically
all aspects of the developing process, make thing happen. Like Asian tigers's
rulers and the State of Qatar's rulers for instance. They know that nothing
comes from the void.
Only the implementation of a strategic
planning to developing the global economy makes changes happen for the benefit
of all.
The energy crisis currently occurring
in South Africa is the vivid proof that there is no such thing as "unexpected"
economic growth.
Nothing had ever emanated from the void. In any line
of business. Efficient planning is the compulsory step to triggering
progressive, sustainable and economic growth at high rates to developing a country.
As long as African
rulers would be waiting and hoping for "unexpected" economic growth, nothing
would happen. They would be turning in circle for
decades with countries remaining among the poorest in the world. (For more about
the matter, please read following deliveries: (1,
2, 3, 4,
5, and 6)
Dr.
Bienvenu-Magloire Quenum is the principal/
managing director of Dr. Quenum & Associates, IBC. He is an experienced Investment & Business
Planner with 25 years consulting practice in African countries. He is the
editor in chief of Africabiz Online
"CONTRIBUTOR'S
GUIDELINES" are
available here.
We invite you to contribute to AFRICABIZ ONLINE MONTHLY ISSUE -
with articles related to "How Africa Could Bridge The Developing
Gap".
| Your
feedback / objection / contribution is welcome. Visit WorldWide
BizCenter,
and choose General
Information (as topic) to
create a thread for discussion. On the top of the WorldWide BizCenter page,
there is a HELP link to assist you making an efficient
use of the discussion board. This
link also is useful |
Many
thanks for subscribing to Africabiz. See you here on March 15, 2008.
Dr.
B.M. Quenum
Click for email address
|
| Business
Opportunities LIVESTOCK
& GAME DEVELOPMENT - PART IV: - A MEDIUM-SCALE
CATTLE FATTENING OPERATION - A - BASICS
This delivery is
a continuation of the previous ones [104, 105]
that laid down the basics for animal feed formulation.
Broad fattening trade's principle reads as follows: “Buy the cattle
low. Fatten them cheaply. Sell them high.”
Thus three main questions: (1)
Where to buy; (2) How to fatten, and (3) How to sell
For more
on the matter click here
| MORE ON
LIVESTOCK & GAME DEVELOPMENT |
1-Handbook
of Livestock Management
by Richard A. Battaglia (Paperback - Jul 21, 2006)
2- Raising
Small Livestock:
A Practical Handbook
by Jerome D. Belanger (Paperback - Feb 11, 2005)
3- The
Homesteader's Handbook
to Raising Small Livestock Goats, Chickens, Sheep. Geese, Rabbitts, Hogs,
Turkeys, Guinea Fowl, Ducks and Pigeons
by Jerome D. Belanger (Hardcover - April 1974)
4- Backyard
Livestock:
Raising Good, Natural Food for Your Family, Third Edition by Steven Thomas
and George P. Looby (Paperback - Jan 2, 2007)
5- Keeping
Livestock Healthy:
A Veterinary Guide to Horses, Cattle, Pigs, Goats & Sheep, 4th Edition
by N. Bruce Haynes (Paperback - Nov 1, 2001)
6- Alternative
Health Practices for Livestock
by Michael Keilty and Thomas Morris (Hardcover - Jan 1, 2006) |
7- A
World Dictionary of Livestock Breed
Types, and Varieties
by V. Porter and I. L. Mason (Hardcover - Jun 6, 2002)
8- Livestock
waste facilities handbook
(Paperback - 1985)
9- Raising
Small Livestock:
A Practical Handbook
by Jerome D. Belanger (Paperback - Feb 11, 2005) 10- Livestock
Feeds and Feeding (5th Edition)
(Hardcover - Jun 8, 2001)
by Richard O. Kellems and David C. Church
11- Raising
Game Birds
by Lessiter Publications (Paperback - Jun 1986)
12- Livestock
Production in Unfavourable Economic Environments:
Strategies for Attaining Sustained Competitive Advantage
by P. G. A Jennings (Hardcover - Mar 30, 2007)
|
Adobe
Acrobat Reader Is Available here
Click here
to read more about the matter
Control Your Desktop
HOW TO GET RID OF MICROSOFT HOTFIXES BACKUP FILES
Sometimes
ago I put an old computer (discarded since one year) to work and updated the
XP operating system. Windows Update procedure listed 186 hotfixes and after
completion of the update, I noticed that the hard drive available space shrunk
to almost one tenth of the size available before the update.
Therefore I made research on the net, to find out the reason why, and spotted
Doug Knox's website that explained why it is so.
For
more on the matter visit this link
|
