Page 156 - Volume 2_CHANGES_merged_with links

Obstacles to progress

Challenges

Legacies of Colonial Rule

“ For centuries, Europeans dominated the African continent. The white man arrogated to
himself the right to rule and to be obeyed by the non-white; his mission, he claimed, was to
"civilize" Africa. Under this cloak, the Europeans robbed the continent of vast riches and

inflicted unimaginable suffering on the African people."
Kwame Nkrumah 168

***** ***** *****
ɡ
̩
“ The enduring legacies of m'zuŋ u colonial rule should not be underestimated.
***
1960 is generally regarded as the 'date' for African independence.

***
Only one Sub-Saharan economy, Botswana, sustained growth over the several decades
following its independence in 1966. “

"Emerging Africa" 169
Berthélemy and Söderling (2001)
*****

“ ..output per head in Sub-Saharan Africa is the lowest of any major world region and has, on
average, expanded slowly and haltingly since 1960

"African Economic Development and Colonial Legacies." 170
Gareth Austin

*****
The best way to understand the degree to which colonial legacies impact on today's Africa

is to think of the African landmass as a multi-tiered, kaleidoscopic mosaic. Each tier made
up of several layers. Each layer a swirling, uneven distribution of colour and intensity. The

layers in each tier combining to add an opacity. An opacity which, when all the tiers are

combined, make Africa seem an impenetrable blob to the uninformed eye.
Building up an understanding of each of the layers helps to show why 'this is here and

not there', why people 'do this here but not there', why this' is possible here but not there',

why ..…
Well-respected academics have described some of the main layers.

ɡ
̩
Current day mistrust appears to coincide with the density of the m'zuŋ u slave trade.
Differences in colonial development can be traced to the different motivations of
France and Britain - with the French choosing areas for colonisation based on 'empire