In the darkness that is this economy, there’s a beacon shining forth, and it could not be better news that it’s coming from the motherland, Africa.
Africa Rules ROI
http://allafrica.com/stories/200902200088.... “Africa, usually the poorest performing region in the world economy, is now likely to be among the best-performing. Moreover, the region has been largely immune from the current banking crisis, although growth has slowed to an estimated 3.5 percent in the global recession. The continent's financial institutions did not venture into derivatives or sub-prime mortgages.”
Now, focus on the last sentence: African banks, markets and brokerages DID NOT fall victim to the greed that ensnared the rest of the world. That doesn’t surprise me, nor does it surprise the President of Brazil, Lula da Silva, who recently noted:
“… Mr Lula da Silva said that action was urgent since it would be intolerable for the poor — who were blameless for the collapse of financial markets — to suffer the most from its effects.”
President da Silva went on to say:
“’This was a crisis that was fostered and boosted by the irrational behaviour of people who were white and blue-eyed, who before the crisis they looked like they knew everything about economics, but now have demonstrated they know nothing about economics,’ he said, mocking the ‘gods of wisdom’ who had had to be bailed out. ‘The part of humanity that is responsible should be the part that pays for the crisis,’ he added.”
How refreshing is it to hear such naked, unvarnished truth from a world leader, in advance of the G20 summit no less? I especially love the “gods of wisdom” crack. My brother!
The article on Africa ROI goes on to say, in part:
“As a result, returns on American foreign direct investment, returns on equity, and estimates from survey data on the return on capital employed all show Africa to be generating the highest rate of return of any region in the world.”
Let me repeat: HIGHEST RATE OF RETURN OF ANY REGION IN THE WORLD!
“Improving the competitiveness of Africa's private sector is also a priority. As Tanzania's president, Jakaya Kikwete, contends, there needs to be a heightened focus on reducing the costs of doing business by combating corruption, gearing post-secondary education to private sector demand and providing access to credit and investment capital.”
“China's influence on Africa's prosperity is substantial. Its willingness to build infrastructure in the continent in return for access to natural resources has contributed to economic growth, but without a willingness to train workers and introduce transparency in its commercial dealings, China could become an impediment to the continent's long-term progress.”
They are going to need help in training and technical support. China can’t do it all, but this is less of a problem and more of an opportunity, for us.
The Chinese have been investing in the continent, and as a partner have reaped returns. Interestingly enough, not long ago I was listening to a radio show on NPR about Chinese explorers and Africa. They reached the continent long before whites did, and did a lot of business with Africans. The professor leading the discussion noted that, the difference between the Chinese explorers who, by the way, were proven to be far better sailors and seafarers than their European counterparts, were never interested in colonization, as opposed to whites; just business. And now they are reprising that ancient, historical relationship, to great effect.
Read the entire article at the link. There are some challenges the continent is facing still, but the upside is tremendous. Show this to the kids because this is yet another example of what blacks are capable of.
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Tuesday, April 7th 2009 at 3:09PM
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