I met Perry, a gentleman from Sierra Leone, at a coffee table after a church service. At first, he seemed deceptively quiet. Deceptive, because for the remainder of the hour, he did the majority of the talking. We discussed the state of affairs in his country of origin, the leadership in Sub-Saharan Africa, the conflict in the Middle East and politics in Iraq.
"There are no leaders in Africa," he declared, taking a big swig of his hot chocolate. "Only thieves." After convincing me of the lack of leadership, he talked about the richness of natural minerals in his country. "Diamonds all over the place," shake of the head, "And that's the only reason we have British troops in Sierra Leone." There has to be an incentive for foreign intervention, usually oil or diamonds. Perry was twenty seven when he left Sierra Leone's war-torn countryside and moved to England, where he lived for twenty eight years before moving to Sydney.
This conversation took place just as I finished reading Robert Guest's, The Shackled Continent. The book contributed to my perspective on the state of affairs in Sub-Saharan Africa. In his book, Robert Guest, the African correspondent for London's, The Economist, proposes:
- Countries that prosper tend to do so by their own efforts. Outsiders can help, but only on the margins.
- Countries grow wealthy in much the same way that individuals do: by making things that other people want to buy, or providing services that others will pay for.
- By and large, the route to prosperity is through thrift, hard work and finding out what other people want in order to sell it to them.
- To understand why Africa is so poor, we must first ask why Africa is so unproductive.
- Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe's current President), thinks the economy is like the land he once fought for. There is only a fixed amount and if you want a bigger share, you have to take it by force.
- Poverty and low growth are often symptoms of corrupt, incompetent government, which can give people a reason to rebel. They are also common in immature societies, where people have not yet learned to live together in peace. And it not hard, as the saying goes, to give a poor man a cause. Neither regular armies nor rebel ones have much trouble recruiting in Africa. For young men with few prospects, a soldier's pay, or the opportunity to loot a neighbouring village, can seem appealing.
- Poverty fosters a kind of fatalism. Life is hard when you are poor and death would come at any time... (Poverty mindset) - You take things one day at a time and seize passing pleasures when you can.
- Trade has far more potential to reduce poverty than aid. Countries with open trade policies grow considerably richer over time.
- In the relatively prosperous country of South Africa (under the ANC), a gentler government eased racial tension, reduced corruption and facilitated the ease of business in the country. Some of that good work achieved under Nelson Mandela's guidance has been undone by the current leaders, yet South Africa remains a symbol of hope for its neighbouring nations.
- Africa's most debilitating problem: politics is the most popular route to wealth.
- Simple ideas, rigorously applied, can yield dramatic results.
- Few people succeed unless they believe that they can, no nation ever has. (R.G. is convinced that Africa can and will prosper, if its people believe that they can break the shackles of poverty and disease).
- Better health care.In Rufiji, Tanzania, using insecticide-coated nets at night reduced infant mortality by 28% between 1999 and 2000. A reduction in disease directly correlated to increased time to work, less medical expense, a happier and prosperous community.
- Less restrictive trade policies, allowing African export to Western countries.
- Reducing corruption in government. Creating avenues for a balanced democracy.