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The Economic Cost of Violence

Before I delve into the cost of violence, I’ll digress slightly and talk about violence, society and socio-economic status  and the intricate relationship between them.

Violence is the use of physical force to cause injury, damage or death to others or self. It may cover a broad spectrum of activities, ranging from civil wars to murder of entire population, mob justice and civil lawlessness in societies.  I would focus on one of the little foxes, mob justice, in this article; we shall look at the elephants in the room, civil wars and genocide in another piece.

Mob justice: Mob justice (MJ) is the practice whereby mobs, usually tens of people, take the law into their hands in order to injure and kill a person accused of wrongdoing. Mob justice is not a recent fashion but an ancient practice dating back to the Roman Empire.

Due to the establishment of civil structures in societies, the issue of mob justice is becoming less common as law enforcement agencies are called upon to handle incidents of crime. However, mob justice prevails in many societies across the world and occurs both in developed and developing countries. It is not a rural craze as one may be inclined to believe. It is more prevalent in cities and recorded even on University campuses. A recent example is the incident that happened on the University of Ghana in March of this year when some students sexually molested a suspected female thief on camera.

Mob justice is a social and public health quandary in several communities in some African countries. A survey in Tanzania showed that 1249 people suspected of various crimes were killed by mobs in Dar es Salaam during the period of 2000–2004 (Afr. Health Sci. 2006 March; 6(1): 36–38). That is almost 250 people killed by mobs per year in one city. Incidents of MJ are recorded in almost every African country with sentences ranging from burning, beheading, stoning and maiming. The effects of MJ on fragile economies such as those in sub-Saharan Africa can be pronounced.

Sometimes the absence of an effective justice system that merits the confidence of the citizens may in part be responsible for the acts of mob justice. Other factors may include low confidence in police and lack of understanding of the legal process.

Does Violence Make a Society Poor or Poverty Makes a Society Violent?

In the past, if you asked me this question, I would provide you with an answer immediately without pre-meditation. However, today, the more I think about it, the more intricate the question becomes.

Societies make people and people make societies. Individual may be pre-disposed to live out what they grew up observing in the society they live in. And the society eventually becomes what the individuals live out.

Statistically more crimes are reported from poor neighborhoods than wealthier suburbs, but statistics don’t mean anything. There are questions such as whether the police patrol poor neighborhoods more frequently than rich suburbs because they expect to find more crime. And whether that what is reported as violence in a poor neighborhood is something else in the rich area. For instance, is the teenager from a poor neighborhood that intrudes his neighbor’s apartment and absconds with the cash under the pillow and the privileged teen from the upper class suburb who hacks the bank’s ATM network from his computer put in the same category?

What is the cost of violence?

Now back to what I’m here. An objective way to establish the consequences of civil violence is to compare two societies at a point in time. According to the World Bank, Burundi and Burkina Faso experienced similar rates of growth in the periods prior to 1990. Unfortunately, due to the civil unrest that grappled Burundi in 1993 onwards, now Burkina Faso is three times economically wealthier than Burundi. Even though not all acts of lawlessness reach the magnitude to be called a civil war, they nevertheless do impact economic and social development. In fact, there are figures that well correlate level of lawlessness in a society to the overall wellbeing of the population. According to the Economist, since 1990, stable countries as a set have reduced infant mortality by 31% but conflict-ridden states have reduced it by mere 19%. They also state that as of now, there is no single violent country that has achieved even one of the Millennium Development Goals (MGD).

The more violent and lawless a society is, the worse it performs in the global competition. As I mentioned elsewhere, violence is not a third or 4th word obsession, it prevails around the globe but some societies have establish robust economies and infrastructures that are able to withstand the backlash from violence. Studies show that the violence cost the US close to $70 billion a year, a fraction of which will wipe out the entire economy of Niger or Togo. It is easy to imagine the crazy images from civil wars from Liberia and Sierra Leone as that kind of violence we are discussing here. However, there are little foxes that have a way to destroy a vineyard. Incidents of burning individuals suspected of witchcraft, robbery and homosexual bullying in some communities and countries are the little foxes that require surveillance before they jump into the vineyard. There are instances of innocent bystanders killed for being mistaken to be suspects by mobs. These have a way of setting up a chain reaction that leads to more violence and lawlessness and may eventually tip a society into being ungovernable. The cost of violence may be distributed over lost productivity, medical care and destruction of infrastructure.

Is there a Solution?

Even though statistics do not tell the whole story, the relationship between socio-economic status and violence has been established through many studies. The easiest way to get people disavow violent behavior is to elevate their socio-economic status and provide them with the type of education that changes their mindset. The two must go together. I remember those days in secondary school when we thought the best way to express our frustrations at any school policy was to burn down the school electricity plant or school bus. Until a society purges itself of such a mindset, it will turn to destroy whatever is built. Similarly you are not going to build anything if you are waiting for a society to turn a monastery.

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Climate Change and its Implications for Africa

The gradual and deliberate change of the climate occasioned by humans’ quest for a more pleasurable and modern way of life devoid of the sedentary and drudgery that characterized the type of life their ancestors lived has begun to take its toll on all corners of the globe.

Climate change is actually a change in the general atmospheric and weather conditions of a place that may bring about a deleterious effect on the environment. Over the years, particularly beginning from the 19th century , humans’ activities in the environment have been having  a negative  consequence on the climate and environment, such that experts have argued that there is in fact a positive correlation between harmful environmental practices and climate change. Human’s quest for the good life has led to massive deforestation, dredging and silting up of rivers, emission of industrial effluents which cause air pollution, mass manufacture of automobiles with internal combustion engines which emits harmful carbon monoxide amongst several other practices have grossly distorted the natural cycle, such that in many parts of the globe several natural hazards have become a regular occurrence.

In Africa, for instance one imminent threat is the geographical advancement of the Sahara desert leading to desertification in most parts of sub Saharan Africa. The irregularity of the rains in most parts of sub Saharan Africa is also a looming threat which has been linked to climate change. For instance in Northern Nigeria, the possibility that this year is going to be one of drought looks certain as the rains have refused to start  as at march when  it is due, forcing farmers to delay their planting season which will inadvertently affect harvests. This is also likely to be the situation in most parts of Africa, as agriculture is still “rain fed” in most parts of the continent. The intense heating and high rate of evaporation in most parts of the continent also calls for concern as it has resulted in the shrinking some say disappearance of the Lake Chad, a major inland drainage basin with serious consequence for the water cycle.

Unless a concerted effort is made by all stakeholders, on this topical issue of climate change especially in Africa, it is feared that in the not too distant future, the continent may face serious environmental challenges as a result of climate change.

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The Role of the Informal Sector in African Economy

The informal sector of the economy often refers to the unregulated and mostly unregistered sector of the economy, put simply it refers to the numerous petty or small scale businesses operated by artisans, peasants and other micro entrepreneurs, within the economy.

Experts have argued that in most African economies, the informal sector is often the driving force of the economy and that as a matter of fact it is opined that the reason why most Western originated economic recovery prescriptions channeled through the World Bank, IMF and so on to Africa have often failed is because of the inability of such prescriptions to take the informal sector in most of these African economies into consideration.

The prominence of the informal sector in most African economies cannot really be underemphasized as almost all persons who cannot find placements within the formal sector of the economy finds solace in the informal sector of the economy. In as much as the informal sector, drives most African economies, it is a very much neglected sector as it seldom accounts for a pride of place in government planning for the overall economy. This may be due to a myriad of factors such as the unregistered and unregulated nature of most businesses in the informal sector, poor work ethics of most micro entrepreneurs, which often leads to mismanagement of such businesses, tax evasion and illiteracy on the part of most operators in the informal sector.

Giving the role of the informal sector, in the economies of most African nations, governments in African countries should begin to take more than a simple look at the informal sector with a view of enacting policies that will synergize the informal and formal sectors in order to unleash the vast potentials of the African economy since activities in both sectors of the economy are not mutually exclusive. A massive drive to register and have a data base of all businesses in the informal sector can also be carried out to ascertain the number and needs of the operators in the informal sector.

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University of Ghana Thief ‘Fingering’ Update

 JoyOnline

Four ‘Fingering’ University of Ghana Students on the Run

Four students of the University of Ghana suspected to have taken part in the ‘fingering’ of a young woman accused of laptop and mobile phone theft have absconded, the police have said.

Some of the handcuffed students at the court premises May 5

The four were part of 13 others who allegedly sexually assaulted Amina Haruna and were last week invited for an interrogation and identification parade but refused to turn up.

The nine who did, have been granted bail by a court in Accra with a surety of GHS 9,000 each.

The bail follows a request by the defence to allow their clients the opportunity to prepare for their exams.

Police acting Public Relations Officer Cephas Arthur confirmed the four had absconded.

“For now we can say that they have absconded, that is a fact. The information we have is that they have run away,” he said.

He said the “police will ensure that these four people are also brought to face the law because they are suspected to have committed an offence.”

“The police are going to do everything possible; we are already collaborating with the university authority; we will continue to collaborate with them until we get them.

“We also have other means by which to get them. We can take a warrant for their arrest and publish the warrant.

“Even if they decide to travel abroad we also have the Interpol and other bodies [to assist],” he said.

Meanwhile, the nine are to reappear in court on May 30, 2011.

The Daily Guide

8 Legon Boys Charged For Amina Sex Assault

Eight students of the University of Ghana, Legon, have been charged for indecent assault of Amina Haruna, a lady who went to the campus of the university to trade.

Four more students are expected to join the eight, bringing the number of suspects to 12 in the Amina sexual assault saga.

The eight students who arrived at an Accra Circuit Court yesterday to face charges of indecently assaulting Amina Haruna, the lady who is also suspected to be a thief, were accompanied by tens of their colleagues in a show of solidarity.

The assault victim Amina was also there but it was unclear whether she would also be charged or would be a prosecution witness.

The students, who arrived in three buses, were seen walking to and fro the court while waiting for their colleagues to be tried.

The suspects who were identified by the victim, after a police identification parade, were initially taken to cells at the 28th February Road Court, popularly called Cocoa Affairs Court, and thirty minutes later whisked to Mrs. Georgina Mensah-Datsa’s court where it was revealed by a court clerk that the judge had retired for the day.

They were immediately sent back into the cells, waiting to be taken back to police custody as the case was adjourned to today.

The students are to be charged with indecent assault and causing unlawful harm.

DSP Kofi Blagodzi told journalists that he was still studying the docket and declined to give details such as the names of the suspects or what offence each was expected to be charged with.

Earlier, the Legon Police said they were screening the students suspected to have been involved in molesting Amina, who had earlier been arrested twice for stealing on the Legon Campus.

The university has also indicated in a press release issued on Wednesday April 20, 2011 that a fact-finding committee set up by the school had since Tuesday April 12, completed its work and submitted a report to the Vice-Chancellor who is the Head of the Disciplinary Committee.

“The fact-finding committee appointed by the Executive Committee of the University to look into the circumstances leading to the mentioned event has completed its work and submitted a report on its findings to the Dean of Students and the Vice-Chancellor on Tuesday, 12th April 2011. The Committee identified a number of students who were present during the molestation as seen in the video clips produced and also from credible eye-witness accounts.”

Following this development, a number of students who were identified were handed over to the police to assist in their investigations.

“Without any prejudice to the provisions of the University’s statutes, the list of persons duly identified in the report of the fact-finding committee has been handed over to the Ghana Police Service for its own investigations,” it stated.

The university said that “based on the recommendations of the fact-finding committee, the Vice-Chancellor, in his capacity as the Chief Disciplinary Officer of the University, has referred the case against the persons mentioned in the report to the Disciplinary Committee for students.”

Those persons were invited to meet with the Disciplinary Committee through a Writ of Summons issued on Wednesday, 13th April 2011.

Amina Haruna, a resident of Maamobi in Accra, was on Thursday March 31, 2011 stripped naked when she was caught by students of the Mensah Sarbah Hall, Annex B, popularly called Okponglo, on the Legon campus for allegedly stealing a number of mobile phones and a laptop computer.

Though some of the students were seen trying to free her from the claws of her captors, others were seen eagerly stretching her thighs widely open for their colleagues to insert their fingers and even mobile phones into her vagina, revealing her clitoral region.

Amina’s brassiere and her underpants where shredded and even snatched away, leaving her stark naked for the boys to do their own thing, despite her pleas for leniency.

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Ghanaians in US Call Mom the most on Mother’s Day, Survey Shows

By Clair MacDougall, Correspondent, CSMonitor

Mother’s Day is a favorite moment for offspring scattered around the globe to check in with Mom. But Ghanaians living in the United States get the blue ribbon for thinking of Mom the most.

Many offspring scattered across the globe make it a top priority to say hi to Mom on Mother’s Day. But none more so than Ghanaians living in the United States, according to a survey by an international calling services company.

VIP Communications, a US-based firm, analyzed the calling patterns of more than 30,000 expatriate customers from more than 100 countries over the past year and found that last year on Mother’s Day, phone calls increased by 40 percent compared with a normal day. The day ranked third, behind Christmas and New Year’s Eve, in terms of volume of calls.

The bottom line: Africa puts the rest of the world to shame. The previous year, it was South Africans who got the award for thinking most of mom. But Ghanaians moved up to beat South Africans by 12 percent and take the No. 1 position, according to the survey, which found that the average amount of calls made by Ghanaians is 98 percent higher than it is on all other days in the year.Third place was also snapped up by Cameroon expatriates, who made 76 percent more calls than they did on an average day.

That raises a key question: do Ghanaians love their mothers more than the rest of us?

According to Mansah Prah, a feminist social scientist at the University of Cape Coast whose research focuses on gender and sexuality, Ghanaians are definitely mom’s boys and girls.

“It is because of the fact that many receive more love and care from their mothers than their fathers,” says Professor Mansah Prah. “There are many female-headed households in Ghana and many women probably do not live with their partners on a permanent basis.”

“Ghanaian culture values mothers and motherhood, but women are still defined through their reproductive roles,” she adds. “It’s better to be a mother than to be unmarried, because being childless here is a very difficult situation for many women.”

Caroline Ackah has received a call from her daughter, who is a medical worker in Texas, every Mother’s Day for the past 10 years. When asked why Ghanaians are so mindful of their mothers, she replies:

“It’s because of our tradition and the closeness that when they go away from home they miss us so much. We take our children to be our property, they become part of us, we depend on them and they depend on us.”

And on whether they are momma’s boys and girls?

“They are mother’s kids, because the men leave everything in the hands of the women and they grow to know their mother’s more,” Ms. Ackah says. “Women are not that highly regarded in society, but because we brought our children up and they are enlightened, they tend to appreciate what their mothers do for them, where the men don’t as much.”

But like mothers all over the world, Ackah has experienced Mother’s Days where her five daughters failed to produce gifts, organize outing, or simply forgot.

Ghanaian comedian Nii Commey has been performing “Mommy’s Pimples and Dimples,” a play he wrote for Mother’s Day that premiered at the International Women’s Forum, a four-day expo in Accra focused on women’s empowerment. The play tackles issues such as sexual harassment, domestic violence, and attitudes toward widows and women in politics, though the message is conveyed with laughter.

After performing his role as a sleazy landlord who preyed on his newly widowed tenant, Mr. Commey says in an interview that he is sorry he will not be spending more time with his mother because he has to perform two shows on Mother’s Day.

“We love our mothers generally more than we love our fathers, and even when you are independent and you are having trouble, you can always go back to your mother,” says Commey. “The African mother would die so their child could survive,” he adds solemnly.

When asked whether Ghanaians were mommy’s boys or girls, Commey paused and considered the question a little too seriously, perhaps interpreting it as a slight. He attributes the phenomenon to broken homes where fathers were absent.

While Commey will not be available all day for his mother on Mother’s Day, he says that he will offer her gifts.

“I will give her some money, she loves the money, and offer her some sweet words,” he says before getting ready for another performance of his play.

Out in the parking lot, Goldrick Thomas Agyemang, a teenager, offers some final meditations on the day and motherhood.

“Mother’s Day, I see it as being everlasting,” he says. “We should love, honor, and give respect to our mothers for everything they have done for us eternally.”

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Endowment of Trust in You

Down the ages of human history, what appears to be a virtue has been turned by humans to a ‘social vice’, which many will hardly want to share or talk about. Everyone one of us have been a victim at one point or another in the hands of close family members, intimate friends, respectable citizens of the society, especially those in positions of authority who have abused this social virtue as illustrated in the scenarios below.

They were happily married for 20 years with three kids. Suddenly, he started behaving strangely… returning home from work late, hardly gives attention to his wife and kids, and reduces his monthly budget to the family. As if what appears to be a dream to his wife, he deserted the family for another woman. Her world was shattered in the sheer emotional and psychological trauma that followed.

While campaigning for an elective position, He promised the electorates that if given the platform to represent them, he would provide the people with basic infrastructural amenities, qualitative and affordable education for all, and tax reduction amongst others. Conversely, in less than two years in power; taxation was increased and other promises of his were not kept. What a woeful disappointment to the masses!

He has been known in the community over two decades as a respected Man of God. Many usually consult him for spiritual guidance and counseling. He has come to be loved and adored especially by his parishioners. Surprisingly, he was accused of sexually molesting a young woman in his congregation. Upon careful and thorough investigation as alleged, the revered Man of God was found guilty.

According to a French newspaper Le Monde, the global economic plight is largely the result of ‘ a widespread crisis of confidence’. Suffice to state that the human society is marred by a lack of TRUST!! As noted in the outset of this article, many detest a conversation on this social virtue because it is widely believed that an individual who hardly can trust himself cannot trust another. A question that deserves our utmost attention is – IS TRUST HUMANLY POSSIBLE?

Before delving deeply into the possibility or not of humans to be trustworthy, let’s first examine four possible causes of why humans in general have fallen short of this virtue.

GREED– In a New York Times report, Dr. Jerome Kassirer, a former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, explains; ” when researchers are beholden to pharmaceutical companies for much of their income, there is an incredible tendency to get results that are favorable to the companies”. As an adage goes ‘He who plays the piper, dictates the tune’ As much as greedy merchants and industrialists can get returns on their investment, any consequential effect even if human lives are involved matters less.

SUCCESS AT ALL COST- Science students in Germany are believed to have paid out thousands of Euros in bribes to teachers to ”earn” the title of Doktor, a symbol of success in that country. A study described in the New York Times found that many students who cut ethical corners said that they ”intended to follow a strict code of values” after they attained success. Ethical values are at low ebb in our modern society. People are bent on getting up the ladder of success at all cost even if compromising values are involved.

ABSENCE OF ROLE MODELS– Regarding high school students, one professor is quoted in The New York Times as saying: ” we might be tempted to say they’ve lost their moral compass……. it’s probably better to say that their teachers and mentors and the rest of society never helped them construct and internalize a moral compass in the first place” The deplorable moral collapse around the globe have resulted in people especially the youths lacking an heartfelt desire for morality..

PRACTICES INCONSITENT WITH VALUES– In a study of nearly 30,000 students, 98 percent said they believed that honesty is essential in personal relationships. However, 8 of every 10 students admitted that they had lied to their parents, and 64 percent admitted to cheating on an exam during the previous year. Lying and cheating has come to be a common practice to the youths today.

Consider this- experiments conducted by Michael Kosfeld, a professor of business administration at the Frankfurt University in Germany, led him to the conclusion that Trust is ”a biologically-based part of human nature.” Kosfeld discovered that when there is interaction between two people, the human brain releases oxytocin, a hormone that stimulates Trust. ‘‘It is, in fact, one of the distinguishing features of the human species, ” Kosfeld states. ‘‘When trust is absent, we are, in a sense, dehumanized’.

Simply put: without trust, a person is not worthy of being a human.

A man by name Santiago in Argentina, did not did not have to debate what he would do. When a bag was left in his taxi, he simply returned it to its owner. Santiago’s gesture may seem ordinary, except for the fact that the bag contained more than $32,000.00. CRAZY he was, some would conclude. He would have been expected to turn such a rare and great opportunity into the biggest fortune of his life! Besides, nobody was there watching him. Santiago’s experience adds credence and substance to the claims of Kosfeld above that the ability to exhibit Trust is a ‘natural function’ of the human race regardless of age, skin color, language, social status, and so on.

Trust, though apparently a rare quality in the world today, is within the reach of EVERYONE. When this virtue becomes part of you, other virtues associated are naturally displayed, such as- honesty, integrity, fidelity, faithfulness and so on. Trust will make you stand out amongst your peers. It will make you become the sort after worker/labor by employers of labor worldwide. It will earn you friendship you’ve never imagine to have in Life. It will boost your ego and moral. It will unleash upon you confidence like you never had. It will enrich your life with joy and satisfaction. Reason why today, corporate firms, social institutions, and even individuals are named after this virtue or use it as their slogans/pay-off.

Imagine a world filled with trustworthy individuals- No need to be in fear the next time you leave your wallet or purse behind in a store or market, the next time you forget to take along your valued mobile phone in the bank, the next time you remember that you did not lock up your car’s doors at the park. Much heartache and associated ills will drastically reduce, resulting in an increased life-expectancy for us ALL. So, never underestimate your ability to develop this great virtue of TRUST. By learning to cultivate and manifest Trust in your life, you are positioning yourself for greatness and success!!! Be TRUSTWORTHY Today.

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The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Nigeria: A Threatened Scheme

The National Youth Service Corps [NYSC] was a scheme set up almost immediately after the end of the Nigerian Civil War. In 1973 to be precise, to help heal the wounds of the civil war and particularly help foster national integration amongst young Nigerian school graduates.

That the NYSC scheme was a novel one was not in doubt, as it provided an avenue for young graduates to be posted or deployed to states or regions different from their indigenous or native regions/states. This enabled such youth corps members to become acquainted with the norms, values and culture of other Nigerians who were not from the same region as them.

The NYSC scheme has sought to do this since its inception in 1973, as thousands of Nigerian graduates including the current Nigerian President and his Vice have partook in the scheme. The prestige and importance which partaking in the scheme confers on Nigerian graduates was further reinforced by the legislation enacted that for any graduate to gain employment anywhere in Nigeria either in the private or public sectors, such persons must have completed the mandatory 1 year NYSC scheme.

However, recent untoward events in Nigeria have begun to threaten the existence of this once noble scheme. One of such is that the multitude of graduates which Nigerian universities churn out cannot find placement or accommodation within the scheme. Such that participation in the scheme has become compartmentalized into batches and streams within batches. This has led to a situation whereby graduates were left to languish for years before they could secure placements in the scheme to serve their fatherland.

Another issue which threatens to eclipse the survival of the scheme and which many observers feels portends a grave danger to it, is the killing and maiming of youth corps members across the country mostly during political and ethnic upheavals. The recent being the slaying of a couple of youth corps members in the recent post election violence that engulfed some parts of Nigeria. The sexual harassment of female youth corps members by “respectable” members of the community in places where such youth corps members are posted for national service is another serious factor hampering the survival of the scheme.

The NYSC has indeed come of age, and there is no doubt that in a diverse and plural country like Nigeria, it is a scheme capable of pulling the fabrics of the disparate tendencies in Nigeria together. But unfortunately, it seems like everything “Nigerian” the scheme seem to be tottering towards a collapse.

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The Power of Partnerships in Africa, by Kofi Annan

We are witnessing a historic change to the development paradigm. Drastic spending cuts in the United States, uncertainty around Europe’s common currency and the consequences of the earthquake in Japan are reordering international priorities and put further pressure on aid budgets. At the same time, development needs in Africa are multiplying as climate change and rapid population growth add new financing demands, and populations empowered by advancements in information and communication technology are asking more of their leaders. While aid remains vitally important to build capacity, leverage other flows and achieve specific results, it is clear that African leaders and international donors need to look beyond traditional development strategies to fill funding gaps and accelerate progress.

We at the Africa Progress Panel are convinced that partnerships harnessing a broader range of actors and their energy, creativity and resources can provide at least part of the solution. In this year’s Africa Progress Report, which we launched yesterday at the World Economic Forum on Africa, we call on leaders in all sectors, including government, business, and civil society, to do more to strengthen, replicate and scale-up existing partnerships, but also to identify and consider new forms and areas of collaboration.

Partnerships have already demonstrated their transformative impact. In recent years, we have seen collaboration between the private sector and international philanthropists leading to significant reductions in malaria deaths. Partnerships between mobile-phone providers and governments have greatly increased access to finance for Africa’s poor. And collaboration between civil society and intergovernmental organizations has vastly improved access to credit for smallholder farmers and helped raise agricultural productivity.

By mobilizing resources, improving efficiencies or extending services, access and opportunities to marginalized groups, partnerships can clearly achieve tremendous results. In doing so, they are already complementing and expanding government-led development efforts. But — as the various partnerships around the introduction of mobile money in East Africa have shown — collaborations brought to scale can achieve much more. They can create vibrant markets, transform entire sectors, and lead to sustainable structural change.

As countries and companies are shifting their attention from Africa’s problems to its vast potential and abundant opportunities, new spaces for engaging actors around their comparative advantages are opening up. The private sector understands that it needs the access and knowledge of local partners and national governments to grasp the enormous commercial opportunities at the bottom of the pyramid. Governments and civil society organizations are recognizing the value of the resources, capacities and expertise the private sector can bring to their development efforts. As the interests of the various sectors continue to converge, and improvements in regulatory environments make cooperating easier and safer, opportunities for partnerships continue to grow.

However, despite the many encouraging examples we have seen, the number of successful partnerships remains miniscule compared with both the potential and the need for them. Too often, activities remain small-scale, localized and isolated, as actors lack the capacity, resources or incentives to scale up their operations, replicate them elsewhere, or deliver more than piecemeal change. As a result, many opportunities for tackling Africa’s problems and driving its progress are missed — to everyone’s detriment.

We argue that more can, and should be, done to facilitate the spread of successful partnership models across countries and sectors. National governments can do more to ensure the regulatory conditions that allow partnerships to mature beyond pilot projects. International donors and institutions can do more to initiate and provide seed funding, risk mitigation and other supportive guarantees to innovative models. Private-sector actors, particularly international corporations, can do more to move beyond traditional patterns of sourcing, production, and distribution, and expand their operations to marginalized segments of the population. And civil society organizations can do more to increase accountability and play a constructive intermediary role.

However, despite the enormous value they can add, partnerships for development are certainly no panacea for all of Africa’s problems. Even brought to scale, there are limits to what they can achieve. They do not replace good governance, strong institutions as well as political leadership and vision as the core ingredients of progress. On the contrary, partnerships depend on these to be able to fulfill their potential.

Crucially, partnerships do not shift the responsibility for progress away from the shoulders of African leaders and international donors, even though they can help to spread the burden. Donors still need to fulfill the extensive financial and political commitments they have made to Africa, and it remains up to African leaders to inspire processes and build capacities to translate the continent’s wealth and potential into tangible benefits for its citizens. It also remains up to them to protect these citizens from the vagaries of nature and the volatilities of the global economy, providing them with adequate public services and opportunities to feed and educate their children and make a decent living.

For this, Africa’s leaders need to rise to the interlinked challenges of growing their economies, delivering results for their people, conserving the environment, and achieving the Millennium Development Goals they set themselves a decade ago. My fellow panel members and I strongly believe that partnerships can help them with all of these tasks.
Kofi Annan is Chair of the Africa Progress Panel. The panel launched the 2011 Africa Progress Report — ‘The Transformative Power of Partnerships’ — at the World Economic Forum on Africa this week. The full report is available to download from www.africaprogresspanel.org