Africa Needs Both Economic Growth and Stability.

Abidjan, Ivory Coast

Africa is on the brink of takeoff. It is the second fastest growing region in the world. It is home to six of the ten fastest growing economies in the world. There are more mineral resources that are being discovered, and hopefully, if the proceeds from these minerals are used well, then the continent will get handsome rewards from the minerals discovered. However, one challenge that remains for the continent is how to make it more stable politically. True, there is some progress that is being made. For example, last year, elections in seven countries were peaceful. However, there were also a number of instabilities in the continent. There was a near coup in The Gambia. There was a coup in Burkina Faso. There were still instabilities in South Sudan, and the Central African Republic. So, even as the economies of Africa are growing, there are still some pretty delicate situations politically.

Crucially, which model of development should African countries adopt. Should they choose a model which emphasizes economic growth, or a model which emphasizes stability. Countries such as Rwanda and Ethiopia are growing at break neck speeds. There growth rates are more than 7 percent. However, the governments of the two countries are also accused of being intolerant to opposition voices and the media. For instance, in Ethiopia, the media freedoms are curtailed, and the country has jailed several journalists who went against the government line. In Rwanda, several opposition voices were silenced, and some even assassinated, as President Paul Kagame tightens his grip on power. These two countries seem to be too happy to follow the Chinese example, where one party rules.

However, economic growth alone can be a detriment to a country. Take the case of Ivory Coast for example. The country was the quintessential successful country. It was literally one of the most successful French colonies in Africa. Its capital city, Abidjan, was the Paris of Africa. The country ticked in all the right boxes. However, after the death of the strongman, Felix Houphouet-Boigny, who led the independence from France in 1960, the country disintegrated. The country only recovered after a peace deal was signed in 2004, allowing some kind of a power sharing deal between the north and the south. 

As the case of Ivory Coast so clearly demonstrates, economic growth alone cannot be the solution to a country's progress. A country has to have both economic growth and stability. Each feeds off the other, and either of them cannot be a panacea to Africa's underdevelopment.