Topic: Does a place called Africa really Exist in the world Economy (Read 520 times)

You are right. Only the irresponsible leaders are taking the advantage of its own country, while leaving the citizens in suffering from extreme poverty and illness. This should not be what it’s supposed to be. Africa is a great continent where the origin of mankind is predicted. Hence, this place deserves more to be preserved and should gain intensive care from its leaders.

While it’s economy is vividly bad, but that’s because of those incompetent leaders that people chose to put them in their positions. But if only Africa will be manage by great men, I believe this will become even more competitive to the rest of the progressive continents or countries.

there is some certain things that is not what for argument and also for public discussion, obvious that we have nine continent and the Africa is Among one of the nine continent, and in Africa we have different countries which is in Africa and the each of the country have their own way of governance so you cannot generalize the Africa economy to be one even in other continent in the midst of their countries they also have different country economy and it does not mean that when one particular country economy is bad in one continent that means all country that fall into that continent are all bad... I don't want a situation whereby we use such phrase to generalize all the countries that fall into one continent.

In Africa each of the country have the way of their own economy both monitoring their economy and also uplifting their economy so it is individual race based on the country management and the political class of that country that we determine the good affair of the country so let us not dragging or bringing all that the fall into one continent to be Bad based on two or three countries in that continent economy is bad. So if We do that it is called a self-centered description.

Whatever it be, be it largest continent or second most populated continent it won't have it's me in economy until and unless corruption is reduced from the continent as it's like a curse which is eating up Africans by making their life hell and miserable. When someone outside of Africa hears about Africa they think of poverty and illness and corruption this is due to the corrupt incompetent leaders.

People of Africa deserves better.

To be honest I think it's a complete mix of situations.
I see people who afford to pay those guys to smuggle them, people who afford a quite expensive trip, and the same time they are absolutely unable to get the basic of all basics jobs done after 6 months of staying in, and even adapting to basic community rules! I mean, common, no joke, at the recruitment office a guy wrote down "your name" when told to complete a document.
Probably there are well off guys that migrate too, but from what I'm seeing with my own eyes, trust me, if that's true I don't want to see the opposite.


Yup, but the blame game is in full swing, and when some are starting to get in their heads that they can cash on playing the victims rather than working, good luck changing that!
It took Eastern Europe 30 years of trying to catch up with the West after 50 years of stupid brainwashing and corruption and we're still not there, how long do you think it will take Africa?


So, the problem was not the US, it wasn't the war, it wasn't the western army bases, it wasn't foreign companies, but something else..
Not going to say who cause I know the hate I'm going to trigger 


Estonia has a GDP per capita of  30,998, still 50% that of the 1st place in Africa, Seychelles which we all know is the exception but also 5 times the one of South Africa and 20 times that of Nigeria and 2.5 that of China. As for Belarus, you're talking about Europe's last dictatorships, common! 

Unfortunately, I belong to a country where there is everything and we can do everything but we are still dependent on others because our government thinks other countries are better than us, and this mentality has made us have less value. It's not the fault of the citizens but the government, if the government starts giving their people better facilities, believes in them and gives them confidence that they can take their country ahead because if other countries can do something, why can't we do it? Then I think the people would contribute or stand with the government.

To have a country prosper or have everything within the country instead of being dependent on other countries for every single thing, the government has to play a vital role and the people will put in their efforts as well.

You are right about what you said but when you look in-depth into it, you will realize that the root of the problem will still be traced back to bad leaders and also corruption. Africa is not the only continent in the world that passed through colonialism, many other countries from other continents also were at some time under the jurisdiction of another nation. And when it was time for them to liberate, they did so and it worked for them and all are now developed countries without any trace of corruption. If Africa want to revive, they need to put in true and just leaders and not selfish ones that are already brainwashed and have the total mindset of corruption instilled in them.


Africa will continue to depend on the European countries if a lasting solution is not found to this their way of life and thinking capability. The skin color of Africa shouldn’t be use to describe Africans as a whole because they’re are other black skinned people that are not from Asia and are well recognized and known from their origin where they reside. Africans might still be suffering from mental colonization because it is very idealistic that that is what is killing the Africans in the Africa nation.

It does exist but it's still being controlled to this day by parties outside through economic and political influences. The West are likely to keep you all divided and disgruntled so they could keep you poor and keep relying on them. They will take advantage of your valuable resources at a cheap price in return.

I don't know how widespread it is but I bet there are citizens that hates China or Russia for building infrastructure there because their previous masters from the West tells them that they are the bad guys.

I guess the answer is very easy, I mean throughout the continent's history, European conquered them, exploited their natural resources and then force each other to fight each other instead of uniting it. And after that, Africa wasn't able to recover, leaders became corrupt themselves, and then the political instability from decades still persists today. So it will take a lot of time to fully recovery from that even though there are a lot of humanitarian efforts being done by the West. All we can do is hope that the leaders one day will wake up cooperate and unite so that they can alleviate the conditions in the continent. Not sure what you mean by the names given to them, again it boils down to colonialization and it's really hard to erase them not just in Africa, but in all other parts of the world that was once under a European or American.

Africa's problems cannot simply be blamed on politicians. While corruption is the main issue, there are many other factors that influence the continent's development.

The enormity of colonialism and internal struggles hindered peace and disrupted stability and economic growth. In Africa, some countries do not have necessary amenities such as roads, electricity and clean drinking water. Therefore, if you want to reform an entire country from scratch, the first step is education. Creating a new capable workforce contributes to changing the face of the entire economy in the same way that China or Japan did in the past.

Africa is a big continent with great countries, yes they may too dependent to other countries but if they will focus more on improving their system, I believe they can also be on a good position. The problem here is the corrupt government official as well, because they can be a great global power too if they wanted too as they also have the resources unfortunately they are being controlled by big countries already and forces them to do trading within that country only with a lower rate, and that makes them a puppet of other nation.

It's fascinating how questioning the existence of a continent can lead to contemplation of its multifaceted impact and interconnectedness with the global economy.  I mean the presence of human populations within a continent, along with their needs and demands, undoubtedly shapes economic dynamics. The circulation of goods, services, and currency within these regions reflects the existence of a functioning economy.

What makes you question the existence of the continent? Think about it this way, without Africa, colonizers wouldn't be as rich as they are right now if Africa wasn't part of their economy which means that yes Africa exist in a world economy. Another reason why it exists is because of common sense, there's a landmass and there's people that lives in that land/continent, if there's people in it then that means that there's a demand for things that they need in order to survive, if there's a need that can be fulfilled by the market then that means there's a circulation of money and products and services and with that circulation, you've got the economy, sometimes you really think that a question is profound in your head but then when you say it out loud, it was actually a shallow question.

This is so true, Africa is a whole continent, it's like saying "Europe is doing fine" when Europe has places like UK and Germany while also having Estonia and Belarus as well, those are not all the same, and so does Africa. There are nations which are growing and there are nations which are getting smaller as well, that's the most important part of this, and I think it would be quite important.

I believe that we could probably see some of the African nations to grow to a size where it's going to be actually a world force. One of the leading candidates so far has been Nigeria, it's a nation that does have a lot of poverty, but it also has a lot of growth as well, rich people are getting richer, just like all other European nations.

The situation in Africa is really bad, they are suffering from extreme poverty.  And the extent of their poverty is so great that they are not even able to provide for their food.  Their country's corruption and corrupt leaders are responsible for this situation.  Leaders in their countries only think about themselves and how to drive around in bulletproof cars.  They only provide security for themselves and their families.  But African leaders should step down from their bulletproof cars and look at the plight of the people.  And trying to reduce the amount of corruption in the country.  Looking at Africans is really confusing.

But it is just me, but I feel like it is not really about 100 years ago, but more regards to geography as well. Look at South Korea, they had one of the most deadliest war in the recent years, divided into literally two countries, and we need to remember that nothing changes and all looks like we are talking about something marginal, the reality is that they recovered and did better.

Africa can definitely recover, given enough investments, South Korea got huge investments from USA, but so did other nations and not all went as high as South Korea did, I think what Africa needs is more chances bottom out, because rich could be rich, but their poor is poorer than most nations, and if they can fix that, they should be doing fine. No nation where they need foreigners to come in and open a well, will ever get rich, no matter how much you try.

You can blame the continent. You’re already speaking on colonization that happened. It left scars that has been passed from generations to generations. But believe it gets better as time goes on (you can’t compare how Africa was back then to where it is today). Adding to that, many African countries are filled with corruption. With so much corruption, what good is all the resource? If other continents have what Africa does, they’ll maximize it. But like I said, based on the historical data, you can’t blame them.

Okay...

Many people I know who left for England were doing well financially in my country. To migrate legally to the UK you should be a middle or rich class in my country. Many of them might not make more money in Europe but they are moving because of better life. European cities are organised and have good health, security, educational and political systems that are far superior to what we experience in developing nations. So they prefer to work their ass out and get a better life than to be wealthy in a disorganized society.

Those who still blame colonialism for the perils of Africa should have a rethink. No doubt Europe still contribute to the underdevelopment of Africa through loans, political interference and systematic corruption but it is Africa that holds the keys to its libration. Religious fanatism, tribalism and corruption are the main bane to Africa's development. The religious and tribal conflicts in Ethiopia, Sudan, Nigeria, etc are clear indications that we need to first love ourselves before clamouring for love from outsiders.

Oh yeah every time there is an example that proves things work, no it's not like that...you need to look at...


And the

So the difference is....

Every time Africa needs somebody to shift the blame on it's something that happened 100 years ago, there was no f Poland 100 years ago, there was no Finland and Japan and South Korea have been nearly leveled by wars, but no, it's because of evil westerners, not because the thing that look back at you in the mirror!
Who butchered 2 million in the Rwanda massacre, who was pulling the trigger, and who was beheading people? Who killed 1 million in the Angola civil war? Yeah, crickets!
The same Africans that have their own co-nationals blood on their hands scream about the west!

2200 will come and there will be the same blame, all the other colonies would have gone from 3rd world to normal civilized countries but the ones in Africa will still scream colonialism!

 

Not a fair comparison... quite disingenuous I would say.

Danish krone is being issued by the Central Bank of Denmark. It's a sovereign currency, despite being semi-pegged (with a slight fluctuation) to the euro.

What does Africa have to do with ERM II?

CFA on the other hand was imposed to several African countries by France:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/10etjok/countries_that_use_cfa_franc_a_currency/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/zvlzb4/togolese_human_rights_activist_explains_french/

France lives beyond its means for this reason too... imagine being Macron and trying to communicate this to angry Frenchmen.

Simple question, let's see:
How many people drown in the Mediterranean and in the straight and suffocate in trucks to get to England?
How many people move from England to Africa? Even by plane?

This again, the same narrative, Europe is bad, Europe has no chance, and the rest is way better, yet in reality, nobody sees that this way!
Why are no migrant problems caused by Europeans, why I don't see anyone saying we don't want you anymore while millions flock to Europe?

The reality is that everyone sees as only hope not a life between his own citizens but far away, a life on the principles he criticizes when talking to others but in real life he wishes for!


Again wrong!
The CFA is pegged to the euro since the birth of the euro in January 1999.

Denmark is also in the same situation, do you see Danish people complaining? Weird, isn't it?

Sometimes its not by being the most populated or how endowed one is with abundance of some of these natural resources, some countries doesn't know yet how they can maximize the whole potential in what they were being blessed with, all these are happening because of the absence of the visionary leaders who could see beyond the ordinary things eyes can see and engage in the means to make an effective utility of these minerals in abundance in making life better for the people.

You have made some very good points. I remember hearing a story a long time ago from someone who had contact with an individual from an african nation who said that in his country, when one tribe developed more than another, had a good harvest, or was doing something more efficiently than its neighboor tribes, the ones around came to their tribe and burned things down. That is, they envied the thriving tribe and didn't allow its success to remain, and as consequence everyone was "forced" to live in misery and ignorance.

From this man's perspective, it was like working and improving yourself were reasons for punishment in Africa, accordingly to common sense. And I can perfectly understand this could be very true, because it's also a phenomenon I face in the third world country where I live, even though it happens in a much inferior scale when compared to african continent. When people envy their neighboors and don't want them to thrive, the whole society suffers and gets stagnant on time and space.

Africa is a continent and there are some small and large exceptions but backwards is still the first term associated with word Africa.
Africa still has many problems, most of them man made. They do keep blaming the colonizers and that surely is one reason for where they are but not the major one. Conflict religious or ethnic, corruption, and politics is what hurting them most. The militant culture have not let them try democracy for long. The money doesn't improve the situation either. African needs to learn to co-exist in order to prosper within and among different nations. The enemy of people is lack of education and poverty. 

People who underestimate Africa are people who have never checked world economy ever. You have absolutely no idea how economy works neither, because growth is the only thing that matters. Imagine being a person who is given a chance to live wherever he wants, any nation he wants, would you prefer a place like London where you have absolutely no way of finding a job that will pay enough to even cover rent let alone anything else, just to look like you earn a lot, when in reality the amount is bubbled up and yet everything costs more than your salary?

Or would you rather live in a place where things are built in a much faster pace where you have a lot more chance to be in the ground level earning a lot more because your amount may look smaller, but you spend less and you have a lot more chances to earn from almost anything?

It's not that Africans can't progress, it's that politicians sell Africa to outsiders and divisions easily occur among Africans themselves. You can see how much influence France, England and other colonial countries had in Africa and it even got to the point where these countries could pit African people against each other for their own interests. In fact, it is very possible for Africa to progress and be equal to other continents, but what is happening now is that the people are not very united and only think about themselves, so that makes Africa's progress very slow and its economy is not that big.

Is it also possible that this was the result of a constant
increase of capitalism. Nowadays, people just put money over
everything. It does not matter whether it is ethical or unethical,
the important thing is to always gain money.

Because money is king. Money gives you power and a place
in the world. People used to have a spine and stand up for what
is right but now the government is littered by people who are selfish

Correct, financial colonization is the way to go, war is no longer needed in most cases:

https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/china-s-debt-diplomacy-threatens-african-countries-natural-assets-123041000009_1.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt-trap_diplomacy

Africa is a less developed economy/continent, so it makes sense to have cheaper currencies to attract investors...

US farmers have tractors, while African farmers use cattle to plough their fields. That's why an African farmer has to work more hours and earn less. The productivity is just not the same (capital-intensive vs labor-intensive economy). AI and robots will further widen the productivity gap...

If every country had 1:1 peg with the USD, then what's the point of investing in less developed economies? Everyone would invest in the US due to safety and advanced infrastructure.

So far there is no conspiracy... just simple economics.

What's not OK is to have an externally imposed, non-sovereign currency (CFA). That's another form of financial colonization:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/zvlzb4/togolese_human_rights_activist_explains_french/

It also happens in Eurozone... strong countries control smaller ones via financial means.

Btw, France never used CFA. They had a different currency (FRF) before the euro.

Indeed most African African countries are blessed with numerous natural minerals resources. It wasn't only blessed with the naturally resources but also at the course services to manpowers and also creativities to entrepreneurship resources.
The honest about the African countries being answerable to the foreign countries are being so low self-esteemed to themselves that they can't do the development to its way forward by themselves if not leaning on the foreigns and they're being awkward believing the foreigners are the stakeholders to their political geographical systems.

The most questionable issues about why African countries are being so undeveloped despites their revenue is why are the Africans being so in fond of neglecting their own potentials but chooses to embrace the foreigners?
Why have the Africans chosen to insight the whiteners to be goddess of praises while I he blacks remains being pointed with the evil hands?
Why don't the African leaders bring in developments Invented on their own instead of cherishing that of the foreigners?
Behold, Africans are the problems of their selves because they devotes and dedicates their righteousnesses to the foreign beings instead of finding potentials of evaluations within themselves.

African leaders have left their people in the hand of white men like USA, up til now united state of America is still feeling superior over most of countries in the world especially African countries,
Any country that refuse to dance to their tune will face different kind threat from united state of America.
whereby we claim to have been freed from colonial masters, we claim to have gotten independence but it has not shown significant difference in our life and economy of our countries which are some of the things that are contributing to the economy of our continent Africa, because they will never allow any African country's economy to be more than theirs'.
Am still surprising what the work of AU, ECOWAS is. But since they are corrupt and they don't have the interest of their people in mind, they seem to have ignored any kind of positive thought that would bring about good development to their people and continent at large.

If African leaders can all be like Gaddafi of Libya, Mugabe, Idris Ali of Uganda and sani abacha of Nigeria, I think things will be more better than they are now.
for example sani abacha of Nigeria in his time, he was preparing to have country that is independent of united state of America and other Britain, but you know sometime in life, you don't always get all what you want, death over took him before he could have his mission complete. Nigeria up til today, is still suffering in the hand of USA.  Their currency is depreciating every day.
Nigeria claim to have crude oil, but the citizens of this country are complaining of high price of fuel because even this crude oil seem as if it's useless. there is not functioning refinery in a country like Nigeria that claim to have crude oil.

ever if they have good leaders their economy will never grow until they break away from their colonial masters. it's only then this 2024 that 3 nations in Saheel namely Malim, Niger and Burkina Faso kicked French and start to use their own African dollar.

but since the 1940s, they have been using CFA French money til 2023. using the money of the French while the French themselves abandoned this currency. forcing them to use the French money is economic slavery and this is why these countries will remain poor. you can imagine how much manipulation can be done to their economy while using other governments' money.

Until the times when African electoral system will be free and fair then it won't start having leaders who are devoid of European mentality and colouration. The worse is that the foreign bodies hang on to support corrupt election that has brought in corrupt leadership because of what they stand to gain which is nepotism, favouritism and mediocre government and the people suffer because the economy will further be plunder into quagmire and dependency.

Electionery is the bane to Africa leadership problem. Their election never produce good leaders and leadership is a priority for an economy to grow because of the policy that will be introduced into the system.

Shipping costs in distance are quite irrelevant when it comes to bulk carriers, the infrastructure to bring that to the port is what matters and that is...


Nope, it doesn't:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/lithium-reserves-country-top-15-184450553.html

Out of top 15 countries the one from Africa:
15. Republic of Mali 840,000 metric tons
8. Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): 3,000,000 metric tons

have just as much lithium as Germany!


Again, no, Africa has 1/50 of the lithium Australia can export, and China is importing, as per your own article:

You've had coups for 60 years already on the whole continent, if that was supposed to fix something you would have interstellar travel by now, not being stuck in the same crisis.

Unfortunately Africa seems to suffer from a bit of a climate problem compared to many other countries, it has a huge population but rivers and land that can be effectively farmed are limited in comparison. It also has a large part of desert areas which have gotten worse over time as people have constantly removed the ever dwindling habits for things like wood. It was exploited many decades ago by foreign powers, but never really stood a chance after more technologically advanced countries encountered the locals of the era. Even now foreign powers are constantly meddling, but even when they are not - local leaders are often corrupt and only seeking to enrich themselves and their families once in power, it's extremely hard to break out of this cycle.

This argument is more crucial than what the op wrote, talking about the colonialism of Africa and the economy, I will blame the European cause the colonialism really affect the nation greatly, I never read history but definitely during the time of the slave trade our forefathers do exchange their children, wife for non valuable materials but although during the time of the slave trade materials like such were highly valued. If I could trace more Africans still engage in such, exporting all kinds of organs and definitely this is not right. From my view it looks like foolishness cause why make same mistakes our forefathers did, Africans still betray their fellow blood in such act, a nation needs unity, peace, team work to progress. Even if we blame our leaders today and forever some certain mistakes should be pointed out or let's talk about the human trafficking still going on presently?. A borrowed language was never the problem but rather the mindset, the mindset literally controls our thought and if Africans never had a chance to build and grow during the past I don't think we will see a change soon. What op never indicated was the aspect of being productive, being productive is another form that can help Africa to grow, reduction of the population also, from my opinion an underdeveloped country should be given a child birth limit.

One important thing to note is that Africa is a continent of multiple countries are different stages in their development, you don't get to lump them up into the same economic bracket, cause that ignores the countries that are actually doing very good and are catching up fast to the rest if the world.

For the other parts of the continent which unfortunately makes up the majority, corruption has made them retrogressive. For all the minerals and resources which are available in the continent, they have been grossly mismanaged and does not reflect in the standard of living available for the populace.

Neo colonialism exists cause corruption does.

There has been a series of coup in Africa which shows that there is still hope for the continent in the near future. The new generation know that a major cause of their problems are their old politicians who are too corrupt, and then their parents who were too selfish to challenge the corrupt politicians, so that there can be a better tomorrow. With that awareness, there is hope for a better continent, there is hope for Africa.

I believe it's very unfortunate that Africa was not allowed to naturally grow and develop as a continent. It got divided by the European empires and became a source of people (slaves) and natural resources, and then when they left, they abruptly drew borders of new states that just didn't match the loyalties, cultural and ethnic rough borders that existed there. So now it's a place of a lot of failed states, a lot of violence and poverty. I believe that high-income countries which are directly responsible for colonization have an obligation to help Africa become prosperous. It's not a charity, it's more like reparations to me. I hope we'll get to see Africa really being put on the map, really getting noticed in all of its diversity.

Slave trade must have ended many years ago but we are still enslaved by the west. Africa has a very rich soil and bright minds but we also have corrupt and power hungry leaders that will do all it takes to get into power. Sometimes, it might involve getting in bed with the "devil" to get into power. Some of the chaos in some african countries were sponsored and financed by the west to loot the resources of the land. There are many facets to this discussion but I just want to say that we are the architects of our own misfortune. When we start thinking right and doing right, then we'll begin to see changes.

Africa remains the best location to mine lithium for Europe. This is why China, the US and some European companies are scrambling to invest in the mining of lithium in Africa. Maybe it might be because of the following reasons.

1. Africa is closer to Europe than other major producers which will make these European mining firms save money from shipping costs.
2. You will always get better deals in Africa since the government can easily be influenced by corrupt businessmen.
3. Africa has high-grade deposits and most economic in the world, as well as presenting the least impact to the climate and lowest greenhouse gas emissions.
4. Africa is important to reduce the reliance on China for lithium.
5. Cheap labour and less concern about the effect of mining on the environment.

Cleopatra was a member of the  Ptolemaic dynasty, the dynasty established by Alexander the Great and already 300 years old by the time the was crowned queen.
Also, she was called actually Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator, and she was the 4 queen to rule Ptolemaic Egypt.

So, let's not start re-writing history!


Nope, not even close!
The whole thing about wealth and how the world runs on African resources is just a myth thrown around to help some victimising themselves.

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-the-worlds-largest-lithium-producers/


Australia produces 54 times more lithium than the whole of Africa and the US alone has more 4 times the reserves of all discoveries in Africa.
Just for comparison, Africa's total mineral exports including oil and gas are barely half of those of Australia alone!
Also, silicon...common, silicon makes up over 25% of the Earth's crust and is the second most abundant element on the planet after oxygen.

Aren't they one of the most reliable sources of lithium in the planet, the very same metal we use to power the phones and devices you use to post this on bitcointalk? Also would like to add that besides precious gemstones like Diamonds and Emeralds, they are also one of the most abundant sources of silicon on the planet, which is so integral in the current setup of our technological advancement that if Africa decided they wouldn't settle with the bullshit anymore we'd literally have to start begging them?

If not for the massive corruption that most African politicians commit against the countries within the African continent, the whole area would've been one of the richest territories in the planet by large. And while a lot of people might downplay the current state of Africa due to how poor the living conditions in there are, a lot of countries in the African continent have been slowly making a name for themselves and are pushing for massive reforms and globalization, it could be possible that within our lifetimes we see Africa actively partaking in the world economy, not as someone's slave, but as its own free entity.

The problem of Africa, is bad leadership, somehow corrupt politicians keep recycling in African politics, and I feel like it's some external forces that have made it to  remain so, we in Africa, have people that will change the fortunes of their countries from poverty to prosperity, but they won't be given the chance to rule. We have cabals that control African politics, and they determine who rules their country, unless these mafias who don't have the interest of their countries are rooted out, even elections can't produce good leadership, because they'll rig it. It's very sad that despite the intelligent people that has what it takes to make African economies to be like China, and other developed countries, it's still mediocres and criminals that continues to rule us.

I am an African, but I bet you if we begin to talk the African thing today there are a lot of things that are going to evolve which we might not be able to handle here. The African problem is actually more than the corrupt leaders that we are accusing. This set of politicians were not like this from the beginning, our forefathers we are upright and truthful and not very close to corruption but after the emergence of the westerners many things changed about our culture and believe. The corrupt leaders learnt the wrong way and they are unable to do without what they learn while the teachers have actually changed from the way of corruption. The African problem is more than Colonization, it is a long orchestrated conspiracy and it will not change any time soon. It is African that can save themselves and they can't do this when they are heavily dependent on their oppressors.

Lots of countries still experience the effects of colonialism. Especially those who never gotten out of poverty even after their independence and became third world countries. It is not unusual in third world countries to have colonization mindset where they think everything is better outside of the country. I feel sad especially when you know just how rich and diverse your culture is and how there are so many ways to make a living out of them but instead we are pleading at the same countries who had colonized us. I wish better for countries like these.

It is becoming difficult for honest people to survive in Africa. This is because the minimum wage in most African countries cannot sustain most people this has led many people to start engaging in corrupt practices. Honest people are even blackmailed it intimidated by corrupt officials because they refuse to engage in sharp practices. The insincerity and corrupt nature of the political class is having a great effect on the populace making it difficult to see honest people. To survive many honest people are fleeing the country to other lands where their hard work would be recognized and beneficial.

You are totally correct Franky and this reminds me of a report by a reputable newspaper that the US embassy in Nigeria raised an alarm that some US citizens are engaging in illegal and fraudulent intercountry adoption of Nigerian children, child-buying and the imprisonment of pregnant women. So Africa will always be a source of mineral and human resources.

AFAIK, Africa exports mostly natural resources and maybe some agricultural products like cocoa.
Most African countries haven't even started the process of industrialization, while the western and some Asian countries moved from an industrial society to highly technological consumerist society. Africa is failing to industrialize because of the "poverty trap" and the lack of capital. The "poverty trap" happens when there's too many children and not enough government funds to include all children in the educational system. The foreign investors aren't interested in Africa because of the high levels of corruption and the lack of educated workforce and infrastructure.

want to know the most basic and simple cause?
here goes

simply manipulating FOREX currency exchange
if african currency stayed at 1:1 of one loaf of bread in africa was same price (different currency) as 1 US loaf of bread. the economics would be fairer for africa
if african currency stayed at 1hours labourUS:1hours labour africa (same price (different currency)). the economics would be fairer for africa

but by manipulating the rate where by EU/US can get food/labour and other things in multiples from africa for far less than EU/US prices. africa will always be victimised, invaded, resource/land taken and used.. because its cheaper

and on the flip side. due to the multiples of cost to get equipment and tools from US/EU  it slows down africa's domestic development speed to not match that of EU/US
EG if a US farmer(min wage $15) can get a new harvester for $150k (10,000 min wage labour hours) (every 5 years)
EG if a african farmer(min wage $0.50) has to pay for a new harvester for $150k (300,000 min wage labour hours) deprived by 30x(~600 labour years)
you soon see how forex rate does not help africans prosper but does show how the US/EU can then use the cheap equipment on their side to then become big EU owned industrial farmers of african land with 30x land plot size in africa, at just the cost of family farming plot in EU

..
yes africa exists in the world economy of resources and labour. but when ranked based on currency rate of USD, then it appears low

Africa will never disappear from search, especially if the country becomes rich. Because what all countries in Africa need are honest people and human resources that their own governments can rely on. However, if the government is generally very corrupt, I think this needs to be followed up thoroughly by citizens so that in the future they will no longer elect the wrong leaders. Because it's hard to find really good people in hungry conditions or in unstable economic conditions, but that doesn't mean there aren't good people.

Take a look with picture below, as you can see African is filled with red color which mean the corruption rate in Africa is really high.

My comment is, if you don't have any power or rich in your country, it's better for you to study abroad, work abroad or work remotely. Since your country is full of corruption, so you wouldn't get paid as much as your effort. If you relying to your country, don't be surprised if your life will be same like now.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index#/media/File:Countries_by_Corruption_Perceptions_Index_(2023).svg

I regularly work on contract in many African countries and I speak to a lot of people living there. There are people from all races, not just black people... so let's stop that narrative that Africa are just for black people. (We build and educate local people... so that they can fish for themselves)

In any way, most of them blame their own corrupt governments and politicians that took over from the Europeans that colonized them.

Africa are one of the richest countries in the world, when it comes to natural resources, but the greedy politicians and their family and friends are stealing that to fill their own pockets... and the other people suffer as a result of that.

Stop blaming the past and playing a victim, focus on the real problem... your own people selling your future to enrich themselves.

Well that's not totally fair: brilliant African guys don't end working in big African companies but they emigrate to other countries looking for a better life, and that's also what the OP was complaining for. Answering the OP's question, Africa exists, but opportunities for the people are way less in the continent than outside, which doesn't help either.

maybe if people like you have a good mentality, part of African problem would have possibly be sorted out at ease. Just like every other continent of the world, we can't exist independent of ourselves. The world must exchange core moral values and culture for it to exist effectively. It's through that most European nation become civilized before us and that the level of technological advancement that's evident in their region is superb compared to what is predominant here but it's just a stage that we are currently working on.

Have you seen brilliant African guys that are doing great things with their skills and not complaining and speaking ills of her continent like you're currently doing? The African man has been so blessed with natural and mental resources that's not fully hearneese yet and we've got big businesses men that are doing well for themselves in the global stage. The world is designed in different context and maybe if you stand up from your complaints and sit your ass down to do the right things, it will go a long way in making Africa better than mere talking here and their.

Africa exists, and it is hidden from the rest of the world by the governments. Particularly, the agreements that have been made with Western nations have given rights to the mineral mafias to excavate and empty natural wealth. Even now, the Western Nations continue to exploit the wealth of the country, and some countries have broken the treaty after a great struggle to safeguard the natural wealth. Even in such a situation, corrupt politicians standing against the common man is another reason why countries weren't able to progress.

The prevalence of the phenomenon of corruption among leaders in the African countries is as a result of the high rate of the culture of political apathy within the masses, their lack of interest in political events makes them have a weak stands to wield and demand strict accountability from the leader and die to this the leaders take the opportunity to steal at will because he knows that the commonwealth is ignorant of their rights and demands.

 The secret why the West and Europe are developed to the large extend that they are today is because the people at all levels demands for accountability from leaders for every penny spent, this makes the leaders to know and understand before time that they can't act otherwise else the people will revolt without looking back because everyone is very much interested in the political-economy of the state and how every was expended. But this is not the case with these side of the periphery.

A lack of political education leading to a lack of demands on the political system to deliver on the mandate given and to account for every resource is the main problem to the development of these nation's outside those cause by external forces of the West and Europe which for me are minor if the former is tackled.

their government is very bad if that is the case, even though their country is rich, it is really sad whether it will continue, until the next government, if so over time Africa will really be lost from search

First of all, I would like to convey and emphasize that Africa has a rich and very diverse history. and if we talk about natural resources, Africa has a lot of great potential. However, because its human development index is still relatively low compared to other continents, this continent faces very serious challenges in terms of managing and utilizing its natural resources and wealth effectively.

and if we look back, from the past until now this continent has never been free from the shackles of colonial colonialism, or what is now better known as neo-colonialism and resource exploitation by foreign countries. and not to mention the internal problems that occur, such as inter-tribal conflicts, corruption, inadequate and uneven infrastructure development, and uncertain political conditions, this makes the economic situation even more difficult and worsens conditions in Africa.

And to be able to make countries in Africa into developed countries, and be able to let go of their dependence on aid from foreign countries, of course this is not an easy thing to achieve. At least to achieve this, it will take decades, and even if, for example, the government and society on the African continent are really serious about fighting corruption, able to increase infrastructure and superstructure development, and able to promote peace and good political stability. . Otherwise, this progress will never be realized.

I think there are many facets to this discussion, but what you did is an underlying statement to everything that is going on with the African economy and African culture at large. Unfortunately, we Africans have allowed much infiltration by Europeans into the continent, and what they were able to take from us since then up to today is our natural resources. What we were able to take from them in return is mainly their language, and not much more than that.

Unlike in Asia, where they were able to impact them positively, Asia received civilization from them while preserving its culture. The only thing they took from Asia was remnants of the civilization they brought, as well as some natural resources. But the responsibility lies with our leaders, even from way back.

We had leaders who were ready to sell off our treasury in exchange for benefits from our colonial masters. That's why slave trade was common in Africa, and most Africans after the slave trade era were dumped in what was known as the free town, which is why it's called Freetown today.

Our leaders have continued to remain the same. Few of them have changed, but the ambitious nature of our leaders, ready to negotiate anything for power at the expense of the masses, is still prevalent today in Africa. That's why they were able to colonize us in the colonial period, in the medieval era, and still able to neocolonize us in the modern era. Not many African leaders are challenging the status quo or preserving our cultural heritage.

We've also had situations where most of our idols were taken by those people at very low prices, only to be sold back to Africans at very expensive prices. We need to create a turning point for ourselves, and the change begins with our leaders. They need to take leadership seriously, seeing it beyond a business enterprise and putting the nation's interest above their personal interest.

By having leaders who lead by example and prioritize national interests, we can have a continent free from the shackles of colonization, which would reflect immediately on our economy. Our leaders need to come together, brainstorm, and put their ideas together to succeed as a continent. Movements like the African Union need to be revitalized to hold our economies together before we can thrive as a nation or continent at large.

As Maitama Sule said, "Any people that leave their culture or abandon their culture will lose their respect and identity. Any people that try to emulate an alien culture will end up being a poor caricature of what they are trying to copy. They will be out of source everywhere, at home nowhere."

If you use a mobile phone you have benefitted from Africa produce  almost certainly, not only does Africa the continent exist you rely on their existence and hard labor to continue.    The only negative argument for Africa is the shear amount of wasted potential in a variety of ways.  IF you were asking for investment with possible returns and growth then there is nowhere else as capable and under utilized at present.

The question really is can you improve the situation existing in many African countries to better enable and enrich that countries population.   Can you make order from chaos in some situations, its not straight forward and you could face armed resistance to your idealistic capitalist aspirations, priorities may exist elsewhere like protecting the heritage and natural wealth of the country.

Many firms are accused of exploitation and not building up a country while residing in and benefitting there as guests.  I think its China which has tried to demonstrate investment but they are controversial in demanding too much ownership and power over people and assets long term in exchange for their investment.

Oui, colonized mentally is quite hard to overcome when the people are already used to it for hundreds of years. it needs a total overhaul but this is just a continent that was already compromised even in ancient times. Egypt for example, Cleopatra was said to be installed by their rulers as she is not an Egyptian. the real Egyptians are black but Cleo was put there as pharaoh despite being a woman.

colonizers may be kicked out but someone else is going to replace them. Niger for example kicked out French and US but whos going there after them? well, the newest that will stay there in the guise of having tons of investments and building their economy is China. it may not look like they win the country by war and establish the government but they are there through the businesses they put up like the BRI and most probably China will also make them use their digital Yuan in the end.

it's just a series of colonization. African countries today are starting to speak Chinese already. Oui?

OP, first I want to believe your an African. I would like to take you back to history and as well make you understand that Africans where colonized by majorly Europeans, so if you see african children bearing European names is basically because of the traces of colonization that we've had from our colonial Masters. The colonial master came with religion and their way of life, which to a large extent some of us have copied some of their lifestyle. But in times of underdevelopment and poverty that has been ravaging Africa over the years, it is basically because of miss governance and leadership failure that we've had over the years in most African countries.

OP, ask yourself one question, that all the money some African countries have been generating internally and the one's that have been coming from overseas, what have the leaders been doing with the money? I believe your guest is as good as mine.

Blame the politicians who are being elected at their posts, and the people electing these same guys to 'lead' them.

It's true that Africa is a very rich continent with a lot of untapped potential due to its natural resources. However, this is not being used wisely by the leaders of each country in that continent. These resources are used as leverage, yes, not for the good of the countries these people represent, but rather for their own personal gain.

Only the foreigners are taking advantage of what the land has to offer because African leaders are letting the greed of cash flow through them. If only these leaders could grow a spine and take the risk of trying to harness what they have in their backyard, Africa could be put into the world map with its progressing economy.

In the continent of Africa the worse know form of corruption that has ever been discovered is prevalent in that continent. Leaders steal the resources of their own country to enrich themselves and their actions says, " to hell with the masses". Corruption is so engraved in the continent of Africa that just like Esua in the holy book they have sold their birth rights - their gold, silver, uranium, diamonds, iron ore, coal, timber, and others for Mammon money. Their economy is so destroyed by their leaders that often times you feel that the old leaders have to be phased-out for new leadership. Some countries in Africa have leaders ruling them since the 70's without any progress or change. Paul Biya, the Cameroon president rules his country from France and he has been in power for over a decade. And they are ready to relinquish power to no one unless their children and that is when they are dead. We can say a whole lot about Africa but let it be known that Africa underdeveloped Africa, their economies, their people, their resources and everything.

The world second largest and second most populated continent after Asia, is a blessed continent filled with natural and minerals  resources with divers Culture and tribe with sub Saharan Africa being black

But as blessed as this continent is it is the most poorest and underdeveloped continent in the world, from slave trade to colonisation and now to neo colonisation Africa has been at the center of it

What is really wrong with Africa that virtually everything an African is doing there is always an element of foreign culture in it, in fact from the God we call, to the names given to African children at birthday everything about Africa is foreign

Infact our economies are so bad that we depends on European for help, this lead me to the question, does Africa really exist, infact the only thing still keeping Africa is the black skin that her population is known for
I have come to the realization that the highest level of colonisation is mental colonisation because Africa is like a computer program that is running
 
Guys what is your comment on this