Joseph S Fomunung

Africa's Path to Economic Development Joseph S Fomunung

Africa's Path to Economic Development is an uncommon book that sheds light on the perennial woes of nearly all countries that make up the African continent. Uncommon because unlike many other books that have been published on the challenges faced by Africa for the last sixty years, this book focuses on the political systems and governance processes that have characterized African countries. It deliberately calls out current African leaders to introspectively look themselves and answer the question whether their policies have fostered economic development, human wellbeing and the pursuit of happiness of their fellow citizens or the contrary. This book is approached from the political economic perspective because unless one understands the interplay between political decision-making and economic processes and how such interplay determines government institutions and ideology, it would be difficult recommending possible solutions to the economic doldrums that have continued to beset African countries to this day. While the book largely lays the blame on the leadership styles and ideologies, it nevertheless brings out the role of the international system of supranational institutions that came into existence after World War II, and how these international institutions have contributed in no small measure to some of the economic distress and frustrations that have been the hallmarks of many an African country. Economic stagnation with its attendant misery have been responsible for many intranational and sometimes fratricidal conflicts and wars in quite a handful of countries on that continent. The draconian prescriptions by some Bretton Woods institutions have not helped when conditionality hasn't been met. The unfortunate case of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the richest piece of real estate on planet earth with its strategic natural resources coveted by almost the entire world and the ancillary scramble by small and big powers is examined. The book ends with a set of recommendations to African leaders and the global community to be more willing to share with fairness.