Africa’s Growth and Development Strategies: A Critical Review

At independence in the late 1950s and early 1960s, there were highhopes about the growth prospects of the new politically independentAfrican states. Economic conditions, such as per capita real income,were comparable to other developing countries like South Korea andTaiwan. By the mid-1970s, the growth profile of most African countrieshad started to decline and by the mid-1980s, it became obvious that theAfrican continent needed rescue packages which came in the form ofStructural Adjustment Programmes. However, countries like Taiwan andSouth Korea had made tremendous progress such that their per capitareal incomes had grown more than tenfold while those of most Africancountries had declined considerably compared to the immediate postindependence era. What role did the growth strategies adopted byAfrican countries play in this tragedy? How do we rethink Africa’sgrowth strategy? What were the lessons learned and which wayforward? These and other related issues are what this article sets out toaddress. The article identifies three distinct growth phases for theeconomies of Africa and analyzes critically the various modelsembedded in those phases. Among other things, the article stronglycanvasses for the deepening of regional integration, enhancingproductivity and competitiveness through investment in technologyand education, and the reinventing of African labour markets to promoteproductivity and good labour relations