Page 182 - Afrika Must Unite

ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL INTEGRATION 167

Europe have been erected out of the experience there. They
were not evolved as guides in advance of economic development,
but were the result of analysis of that development after the
event. Even Lenin’s theory of imperialism issued from his study
of the growth of capitalism and its monopolistic expansion, And
when he came to lead the emergent Soviet state into rehabilita­
tion on socialist foundations, he had no blue-print which he could
use as a guide.
We are more fortunate, and we are not isolated. We may have
enemies, but we have friends, too. We have the examples of the
United States, of the Soviet Union, of China, of India. They are
all operating their economies on a continental scale and offer us
a choice of means and methods which we can adapt to the African
scene. But one thing is certain, unless we plan to lift Africa up
out of her poverty, she will rem ain poor. For there is a vicious
circle which keeps the poor in their rut of impoverishment,
unless an energetic effort is made to interrupt the circular
causations of poverty. Once this has been done, and the essential
industrial machine has been set in motion, there is a ‘snow­
balling5 effect which increases the momentum of change. But the
essential industrial machine, which alone can break the vicious
circle of Africa's poverty, can only be built on a wide enough
basis to make the take-off realistic if it is planned on a continental
scale.
At the moment, we call our conferences and meetings,
which, while obviously useful, must rem ain ineffective unless
supported by joint action. The African economy has shown little
improvement since the establishment of the Economic Com­
mission for Africa (E.C.A.) in 1958. During the spring 1962
session of the Commission, it was pointed out that the population
of Africa had probably increased by some 8 per cent since 1958,
with the result that there were nearly 20 million more people to
feed. Yet advances in agriculture and industry had not kept pace
with the rising population. In fact, figures showed that the
African balance of trade had actually deteriorated.
It is clear that radical changes in economic planning in Africa
are urgently needed, and this can only be achieved quickly and
effectively if we are united politically. At the 1962 meeting of the
E.C.A. to which reference has just been made, speakers found it