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Despite billions of dollars of aid and the best efforts of the international community to improve economies and bolster democracy across Africa, violent dictatorships persist. As a result, millions have died, economies are in shambles, and whole states are on the brink of collapse. Political observers and policymakers are starting to believe that economic aid is not the key to saving Africa. So what does the continent need to do to throw off the shackles of militant rule? African policy expert George Ayittey argues that before Africa can prosper, she must be free. Taking a hard look at the... more Despite billions of dollars of aid and the best efforts of the international community to improve economies and bolster democracy across Africa, violent dictatorships persist. As a result, millions have died, economies are in shambles, and whole states are on the brink of collapse. Political observers and policymakers are starting to believe that economic aid is not the key to saving Africa. So what does the continent need to do to throw off the shackles of militant rule? African policy expert George Ayittey argues that before Africa can prosper, she must be free. Taking a hard look at the fight against dictatorships around the world, from Ukraine's orange revolution in 2004 to Iran's Green Revolution last year, he examines what strategies worked in the struggle to establish democracy through revolution. Ayittey also offers strategies for the West to help Africa in her quest for freedom, including smarter sanctions and establishing fellowships for African students. less 
George AyitteyMost Africans would affirm that there has been a catastrophic failure of leadership on the continent. The slate of post-colonial African leaders has been a disgusting assortment of military coconut-heads, Swiss bank socialists, crocodile liberators, quack revolutionaries and briefcase bandits. For reasons of political correctness, the West couldn’t admit or say this. Instead, it naively believed... (Source)
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2
Africa's Greatest Entrepreneurs comprises of a series of profiles on some of the most successful and dynamic businesspeople currently operating in Africa. Each chapter is dedicated to a single entrepreneur and will focus on the personality as well as the story of how they achieved their success in their particular environment or field. The narrative will focus on the personal success stories of these self-starters in the context of the economic and political climate of their respective markets.Issues discussed include: how they started in business; their defining moments; the challenges they... more Africa's Greatest Entrepreneurs comprises of a series of profiles on some of the most successful and dynamic businesspeople currently operating in Africa. Each chapter is dedicated to a single entrepreneur and will focus on the personality as well as the story of how they achieved their success in their particular environment or field. The narrative will focus on the personal success stories of these self-starters in the context of the economic and political climate of their respective markets.Issues discussed include: how they started in business; their defining moments; the challenges they faced and how they overcame them; their frustrations and achievements; what kept them going; what they learned in the process; things they would have done differently; their relationship with the political power structures; their opinions on leadership, on Africa's future; their heroes and villains, and finally, the legacy they leave behind. The book is inspiring and will provide a better understanding of who the real powerbrokers in Africa are. It will give an unprecedented insight into unique and successful African entrepreneurs as well as first-hand experiences of the realities of how to get things done on the continent. Africa's Greatest Entrepreneurs will feature an eclectic mix of the most well-known and notable entrepreneurs in Africa. Some of the names included in the book are: Kagiso Mmusi (Botswana), Victor Fotso (Cameroon), Jean Kacou Diagou (Cote d'Ivoire), Gerald Mangoua (Cote d'Ivoire), Kofi Amoabeng(Ghana), Kwabena Adjai (Ghana), Chris Kirubi (Kenya), Daniel David (Mozambique), Wale Tinubu (Nigeria), Aliko Dangote (Nigeria), Aliou Sow (Senegal), Mzi Khumalo (South Africa), Keith Kunene (SA), Ndaba Ntsele (SA), Herman Mashaba (SA), Richard Maponya (SA), Mo Ibrahim (Sudan), Reginald Mengi (Tanzania), Ali Mufuruki (Tanzania) and Wavamunno (Uganda). less George AyitteyYes, this book looks at some of the successful African entrepreneurs. They are often known as the “cheetah generation”. This is the new and angry generation of young African graduates and professionals, who look at African issues and problems from a totally different and unique perspective. They are dynamic, intellectually agile and entrepreneurial. They may be the “restless generation” but they... (Source)
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Cheikh Anta Diop, Harold Salemson | 4.56
This comparison of the political and social systems of Europe and black Africa from antiquity to the formation of modern states demonstrates the black contribution to the development of Western civilization. more This comparison of the political and social systems of Europe and black Africa from antiquity to the formation of modern states demonstrates the black contribution to the development of Western civilization. less George AyitteyHe wrote about black African civilisation before colonialism. How blacks governed themselves, ran their economies and so on. Africa’s ethnic societies, which still exist, take decisions by consensus not by dictatorship. Traditional rulers – chiefs and kings – are surrounded by councils, without which they are powerless. And these rulers can be recalled or removed for dereliction of duty. The... (Source)
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In the past fifty years, more than $1 trillion in development-related aid has been transferred from rich countries to Africa. Has this assistance improved the lives of Africans? No. In fact, across the continent, the recipients of this aid are not better off as a result of it, but worse—much worse.
In Dead Aid, Dambisa Moyo describes the state of postwar development policy in Africa today and unflinchingly confronts one of the greatest myths of our time: that billions of dollars in aid sent from wealthy countries to developing African nations has helped to reduce poverty and... more In the past fifty years, more than $1 trillion in development-related aid has been transferred from rich countries to Africa. Has this assistance improved the lives of Africans? No. In fact, across the continent, the recipients of this aid are not better off as a result of it, but worse—much worse.
In Dead Aid, Dambisa Moyo describes the state of postwar development policy in Africa today and unflinchingly confronts one of the greatest myths of our time: that billions of dollars in aid sent from wealthy countries to developing African nations has helped to reduce poverty and increase growth. In fact, poverty levels continue to escalate and growth rates have steadily declined—and millions continue to suffer. Provocatively drawing a sharp contrast between African countries that have rejected the aid route and prospered and others that have become aid-dependent and seen poverty increase, Moyo illuminates the way in which overreliance on aid has trapped developing nations in a vicious circle of aid dependency, corruption, market distortion, and further poverty, leaving them with nothing but the “need” for more aid. Debunking the current model of international aid promoted by both Hollywood celebrities and policy makers, Moyo offers a bold new road map for financing development of the world’s poorest countries that guarantees economic growth and a significant decline in poverty—without reliance on foreign aid or aid-related assistance.
Dead Aid is an unsettling yet optimistic work, a powerful challenge to the assumptions and arguments that support a profoundly misguided development policy in Africa. And it is a clarion call to a new, more hopeful vision of how to address the desperate poverty that plagues millions. less George AyitteyYes. Dambisa Moyo, who was a student of mine at American University in Washington DC, represents a growing chorus of Africans who regard the Western foreign aid-driven development model – or the Washington consensus – to be an abysmal failure. More than $800bn in Western aid has been pumped into Africa since 1960, with little to show for it except a multitude of black elephants, show-airports... (Source)
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5
Stronger agricultural growth is needed to reduce poverty in Africa, yet the region continues to fall behind. During the past three decades, many traditional African export crops have lost their competitive advantage in international markets, and many food crops consumed in Africa have faced increased competition from imports. In contrast to Africa's experience, during the same period farmers in two remote and formerly unpromising agricultural regions elsewhere in the developing world--Brazil's Cerrado and the Northeast Region of Thailand--conquered important world markets, defying the... more Stronger agricultural growth is needed to reduce poverty in Africa, yet the region continues to fall behind. During the past three decades, many traditional African export crops have lost their competitive advantage in international markets, and many food crops consumed in Africa have faced increased competition from imports. In contrast to Africa's experience, during the same period farmers in two remote and formerly unpromising agricultural regions elsewhere in the developing world--Brazil's Cerrado and the Northeast Region of Thailand--conquered important world markets, defying the predictions of many skeptics. What accounted for their success? And could the experience of these two regionscarry important lessons for African agriculture? 'Awakening Africa's Sleeping Giant: Prospects for Commercial Agriculture in the Guinea Savannah Zone and Beyond' summarizes the findings of the study on Competitive Commercial Agriculture for Africa, a collaborative effort led by the World Bank and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. The study focused on Africa's Guinea Savannah zone, a vast and still largely unexploited area that shares many similarities with the Brazilian Cerrado and the Northeast Region of Thailand. Based on detailed case studies carried out on three continents, the book concludes that opportunities abound for Africa's farmers to compete effectively in regional and global markets. Considerable challenges will have to be overcome, however, and recent progress observed in a number of African countries could easily be reversed by bad policy choices. Making African agriculture competitive will depend on getting policies right, strengthening institutions, and increasing and refocusing investments in the sector. less George AyitteyThis book, by a Zimbabwean, deals with four paradoxes about Africa: Poverty in the midst of abundant natural wealth; stagnant standard of living, despite billions of dollars of “development” finance or foreign aid pumped into Africa over the past 50 years; the gap between borrowed Western development patterns and the real aspirations and needs of Africa’s majority poor; and why neither Western... (Source)
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