Renewing Development In Sub Saharan Africa

Renewing Development in Sub-Saharan Africa reviews the debates and brings together specialist contributions, to provide a clear guide to the major complexities of African development. They lay the foundation for designing a range of individual country-specific policy-sets, in which the strategic components are prioritized according to each country's constraints and opportunities. The emphasis of the book is on the identification of effective strategies that will enable individual countries to most effectively exploit their growth opportunities and to meet poverty-reducing and other key equity objectives.

This volume deals with crisis and renewal in African development policy and management. It digs deep into, takes stock of, and thoroughly analyzes the nature, impact, and future of development policy and management on the continent. It demonstrates the failure of post-independence policy and management in most of Africa, traces the emergence and results of reform measures, and advocates the lessons of success for the rest of Africa derived from Botswana’s approach to sustainable development and its achievement of economic prosperity and the maintenance of political stability and good governance. It concludes, rather optimistically, that the prospects for sustainable development are much better now than they have ever been before with the 21st century likely to be hailed as ‘The African Century’ – bringing with it a durable peace and sustainable growth.

Africa still finds itself in the clutches of poverty and underdevelopment. The expected benefits from economic restructuring have not been realized and the debt burden continues to weigh heavily on African economies, constraining the possibilities of growth. Problems that have existed since the 1960s remain and links with the global economy continue to increase but fall short of requirements. Against this background it is not surprising that the vast majority of African states will not meet the Millennium Development Goals. The search for political systems that can deliver development have been categorized by cynics as old wine in old bottles with new stickers. As the dividends from globalization elude Africa in the 21st century, it becomes clear that it is a series of failed states, rogue states and even stateless states. This volume brings together leading researchers and analysts to examine issues and identify policy options which can lead to renewal in Africa. It provides an opportunity to reflect and offers a critical multidisciplinary appraisal of the future challenges facing Africa.

With contributions by eminent specialists, this book analyzes critical political, social and economic problems in Sub-Saharan Africa and proposes strategies and policies for progress. The essays take an integrated view of the major issues over the past two decades and provide proposals for policy reforms based on a sober assessment of past trends and a realistic view of recent changes in the global environment.

In Agenda for Africa's Economic Renewal, ten experts from Africa, Europe, and the United States look beyond structural adjustment and identify the strategic elements that are needed to engineer Africa's economic recovery in the coming years. Starting from the considerable degree of consensus among policymakers and scholars about what ails African economies, the authors analyze the key choices that need to be made in the critical areas of agriculture, trade and industry, state capacity, and the social sectors. The authors consider these strategic priorities in the extremely fragile environment of democratic rule in many countries of the region, and they stress the long overdue need to focus directly on the political implications of economic policy choices.

The first of three books in IFPRI's climate change in Africa series, West African Agriculture and Climate Change: A Comprehensive Analysis examines the food security threats facing 11 of the countries that make up West Africa -- Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo -- and explores how climate change will increase the efforts needed to achieve sustainable food security throughout the region. West Africa's population is expected to grow at least through mid-century. The region will also see income growth. Both will put increased pressure on the natural resources needed to produce food, and climate change makes the challenges greater. West Africa is already experiencing rising temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns, and increasing extreme events. Without attention to adaptation, the poor will suffer. Through the use of hundreds of scenario maps, models, figures, and detailed analysis, the editors and contributors of West African Agriculture and Climate Change present plausible future scenarios that combine economic and biophysical characteristics to explore the possible consequences for agriculture, food security, and resources management to 2050. They also offer recommendations to national governments and regional economic agencies already dealing with the vulnerabilities of climate change and deviations in environment. Decisionmakers and researchers will find West African Agriculture and Climate Change a vital tool for shaping policy and studying the various and likely consequences of climate change.

The first analysis of the 1994 genocide written by a Rwandan national. Kimanuka examines Rwanda's survival from being a "failed state", looking at how leaders' bold decisions and the commitment of the Rwandan people led to reform programs and economic recovery. Wider conversation of Africa's general development challenges are also explored.