To use the concept of a universal benevolent dictator – a classic assumption in beginner economic courses to escape the complexities of real-world decision-making – such a person would no doubt have said, “The world is doing infinitely better!” A new generation of inequalities, beyond basic capabilities, is emerging and threatens to render people living in developing countries obsolete in the future. Innovative minds previously imprisoned by institutional inertia and interest groups will rise to the challenges that we collectively face. What will the brave new world post COVID-19 look like in Africa? The African Development Bank estimates that Africa will lose between $35 and $100 billion due to the fall in raw material prices caused by the pandemic. Today, African States are developing strategic and in-depth approaches to human development, regional integration, digitalization, industrialization, economic diversification, fiscal and monetary policies, and international solidarity. Kenya and Equatorial Guinea offer excellent examples of countries that have regulated and put in place social protection systems that will survive and outlast our battle against this common enemy. This last note has triggered another debate: the necessary industrialization of Africa, to transform and add value to the continent’s vast and valuable raw materials. Today, nestled in the souls of all Africans is a rational expectation, an unshakable faith that the most important resource that Africa needs in order to rise up is none other than Africans themselves. Africa is already going fishing and rowing towards the utopia enunciated in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the Africa Union’s Agenda 2063. In spite of dire predictions and apocalyptic narratives, humanity always has a way of striving for a better future.
Lire la suite : https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/africa-response-covid19-lasting-benefits/
