Satu Dekade Industrialisasi Afrika

Feb 2, 2017 Li Yong

VIENNA – Pada perekonomian dunia yang interdependen, Afrika tetaplah sebuah titik lemah. Jika dunia ingin mencapai Tujuan Pembangunan Berkelanjutan dan oleh karena itu memenuhi Agenda Pembangunan Berkelanjutan 2030 yang ditetapkan Perstuan Bangsa Bangsa, semua negara harus membantu Afrika mempercepat pembangunannya dengan mendorong industrialisasi yang cepat dan bertanggung jawab.

Afrika sama sekali tidak ditakdirkan untuk tertinggal dibanding benua-benua lainnya dalam hal perekonomian. Sebaliknya, Afrika dapat dengan mudah menjadi motor pendorong perekonomian global – dalam dekade kedepan. Namun, untuk mencapai potensi ekonominya, Afrika harus melakukan industrialisasi.

Pentingnya hal ini telah ditekankan berulang kali dalam forum-forum internasional yang diselenggarakan akhir-akhir ini, termasuk pada Konferensi Internasional Tokyo Mengenai Pembangunan Afrika Ke Enam (TICAD VI) pada bulan Agustus yang lalu, dan Konferensi Tingkat Tinggi G20 di Hangzhou, Tiongkok, pada bulan berikutnya. Untuk pertama kalinya, G20 menempatkan industrialisasi di Afrika – dan di semua Negara Kurang Berkembang (LDCs) pada agendanya. Agenda 2063 Uni Afrika juga mendukung gerakan ini.

To continue reading, register now.

As a registered user, you can enjoy more PS content every month – for free.

Subscribe now for unlimited access to everything PS has to offer.

Already have an account? Log in

Subscribe to Project Syndicate

Enjoy unlimited access to the ideas and opinions of the world’s leading thinkers, including long reads, book reviews, topical collections, short-form analysis and predictions, and exclusive interviews; every new issue of the PS Quarterly magazine (print and digital); the complete PS archive; and more. Subscribe now to PS Premium.

new comment has been posted. new comments have been posted.

0 Comments on this paragraph, 1 Comments on this article

Steve Hurst Feb 12, 2017

Why has capital headed for Asia rather than Africa - the answer looks to be stability.

To develop the infrastructure necessary to support industrialization will by some estimates demand investment in the region of 75% of GDP so that is not going to happen anytime soon.

The African time bomb is the ongoing population explosion and it is that which will drive migration North. To name just one country -Nigeria - the population is forecast to exceed the USA's withing 3 decades;but as usual no mention of this issue is ever made by folks talking about sustainability

Furthermore some assessments suggest that AI and robot implementation will reduce not increase China's intake of goods and services from developing economies of which Africa is a big player. Of note is the fact only 20% of China has industrialised.

As globalisation slows the question becomes how relevant industrialisation of Africa will be because the issue is who will consume the goods produced in a market which is likely to be saturated

'The economic growth experienced in recent decades has not been structurally driven, sustainable, or fully inclusive'. Indeed, but unfortunately there is no real reason to think the route proposed will solve that and the backdrop to Africa is Aid dependency which has the risk of only growing as a demand with population growth. As the Aid ceiling approaches held down by static population growth in the West it will need a miracle to avoid a humanitarian crisis. Similarly a static population growth in the West suggests a limit on the demand for consumer goods

Added to this is the water shortage due to develop with climate change which will hit Northern sections of Africa further exacerbating stability

So far from being well placed I would suggest Africa has many fundamental problems, central to which is the population explosion championed as an advantage by the author.

So all I can say is good luck because the willingness of the North to absorb economic migration from Africa looks to be at its limit, which will of course not stop the hungry and desperate.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.