scholarly journals Analysis of the paralysis of government leadership in sub-Saharan Africa

Author(s):  
Robert Dibie ◽  
Josephine Dibie

This article examines the nature of the paralysis of public governance, leadership, conflict and economic development in selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa. It argues that ineffective political leadership and conflict will serve as a lever to poor economic growth and social development. Servant leadership and democratic representation are the continuous process of development that could be accomplished through the participation of the citizens in their own development. The dynamics of development and participation at both national and grassroots levels must involve the exposure of government change agents to peace, participatory learning and action models. The article uses data derived from primary and secondary sources to analyse the problem of political conflict, peace, leadership and economic growth. The conceptual framework is based on the structural conflict theory, negative and positive peace theories, frustration-aggression theory, physiological theories, human needs theory and economic theories. The findings show that there is a negative correlation between authoritarian political leadership and economic growth in Africa. In addition, there is a positive relationship between authoritarian political leadership and conflict in several countries in Africa. The article recommends internal and external mediation and peace education mechanisms to prevent conflict from escalating or degenerating into avoidable crises. Thus, government, private sector and nongovernmental organisations should collaborate to restore justice and equality by liberating citizens from cultural, and ethnic elements that subjugate them. The nations in sub-Saharan Africa need to establish capacity-building initiatives that could help to nurture changes in behaviour, attitudes, peace and humanist paradigm, as well as offer not only the basis for self-reliance, participatory sustainable development, but also a means to peaceful shared governance and inclusive democracy.

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuaib Lwasa

Africa’s urbanization rate has increased steadily over the past three decades and is reported to be faster than in any other region in the world . It is estimated that by 2030, over half of the African population will be living in urban areas . But the nature of Africa’s urbanization and subsequent form of cities is yet to be critically analyzed in the context of city authorities’ readiness to address the challenges . Evidence is also suggesting that urbanization in African countries is increasingly associated with the high economic growth that has been observed in the last two decades . Both underlying and proximate drivers are responsible for the urbanization, and these include population dynamics, economic growth, legislative designation, increasing densities in rural centers, as well as the growth of mega cities such as Lagos, Cairo and Kinshasa, that are extending to form urban corridors . With the opportunities of urbanization in Sub–Saharan Africa, there are also challenges in the development and management of these cities . Those challenges include provision of social services, sustainable economic development, housing development, urban governance, spatial development guidance and environmental management, climate change adaptation, mitigation and disaster risk reduction . The challenge involves dealing with the development and infrastructure deficit, in addition to required adaption to and mitigation of climate change . This paper examines the current state of urban management in Africa .


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1780
Author(s):  
Chima M. Menyelim ◽  
Abiola A. Babajide ◽  
Alexander E. Omankhanlen ◽  
Benjamin I. Ehikioya

This study evaluates the relevance of inclusive financial access in moderating the effect of income inequality on economic growth in 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) for the period 1995 to 2017. The findings using the Generalised Method of Moments (sys-GMM) technique show that inclusive financial access contributes to reducing inequality in the short run, contrary to the Kuznets curve. The result reveals a negative effect of financial access on the relationship between income inequality and economic growth. There is a positive net effect of inclusive financial access in moderating the impact of income inequality on economic growth. Given the need to achieve the Sustainable Development Targets in the sub-region, policymakers and other stakeholders of the economy must design policies and programmes that would enhance access to financial services as an essential mechanism to reduce income disparity and enhance sustainable economic growth.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1926 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiferaw Feleke ◽  
Steven Michael Cole ◽  
Haruna Sekabira ◽  
Rousseau Djouaka ◽  
Victor Manyong

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has applied the concept of ‘circular bioeconomy’ to design solutions to address the degradation of natural resources, nutrient-depleted farming systems, hunger, and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Over the past decade, IITA has implemented ten circular bioeconomy focused research for development (R4D) interventions in several countries in the region. This article aims to assess the contributions of IITA’s circular bioeconomy focused innovations towards economic, social, and environmental outcomes using the outcome tracking approach, and identify areas for strengthening existing circular bioeconomy R4D interventions using the gap analysis method. Data used for the study came from secondary sources available in the public domain. Results indicate that IITA’s circular bioeconomy interventions led to ten technological innovations (bio-products) that translated into five economic, social, and environmental outcomes, including crop productivity, food security, resource use efficiency, job creation, and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Our gap analysis identified eight gaps leading to a portfolio of five actions needed to enhance the role of circular bioeconomy in SSA. The results showcase the utility of integrating a circular bioeconomy approach in R4D work, especially how using such an approach can lead to significant economic, social, and environmental outcomes. The evidence presented can help inform the development of a framework to guide circular bioeconomy R4D at IITA and other research institutes working in SSA. Generating a body of evidence on what works, including the institutional factors that create enabling environments for circular bioeconomy approaches to thrive, is necessary for governments and donors to support circular bioeconomy research that will help solve some of the most pressing challenges in SSA as populations grow and generate more waste, thus exacerbating a changing climate using the linear economy model.


Author(s):  
Juliet U. Elu ◽  
Gregory N. Price

AbstractRemittances have been recognized as an important determinant of economic growth for Sub-Saharan African economies as they can finance other determinants that constitute drivers of growth. To the extent that remittances finance terrorism, they can also inhibit economic growth as terrorism can constrain important drivers of growth such as investment and consumption expenditures. In this paper, we appeal to a theory of rational terrorism and consider whether remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa finance terrorism. We estimate the parameters of a static and dynamic terrorism incident supply function with maximum likelihood and Generalized Estimating Equation count data estimators for Sub-Saharan Africa between 1974 and 2006. Our parameter estimates suggest that for Sub-Saharan Africa, remittances are a source of finance for terrorism. We find that approximately one terrorism incident is financed in Sub-Saharan Africa for remittance inflows that range between approximately one quarter of a million dollars and one million dollars.


2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 361-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Fearon

When Things Fell Apart manages to be wonderfully concise but still compelling. The thing Robert Bates seeks to explain is the secular trend in sub-Saharan Africa toward civil war, although he often characterizes this in broader terms, as a trend toward “political conflict” or “political disorder.” He explains the trend as follows: Public revenues fell in the 1970s and 1980s as a result of commodity price declines, effects of the second oil shock, and bad economic policy choices that overtaxed farmers so that politicians could dispense patronage to smaller, politically more important urban constituencies. The decline in public revenues led elites to become more predatory, which caused an increase in political conflict by mobilizing opposition. Popular demands for political reform, along with increased international pressure for the same at the end of the Cold War, heightened elite insecurity and led to more predation. This had the effect of “provoking their citizens to take up arms” (p. 109). Further, state decline and national-level conflicts exacerbated simmering subnational conflicts, typically in the form of land disputes between locals and migrants from other tribes.


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