From: Juma Mzuri

Author: Dr. Antipas T. Massawe/0754653924/massaweantipas@hotmail.com

People and natural resources such as the renewable like fertile lands, lakes, rivers and oceans and the nonrenewable mineral resources like iron, copper, nickel, coal, oil and gas, diamonds, gemstones and rare earths have always been source of the seed capital, raw materials and the technologies involved in the manufacturing practice behind the sustainable processes of wealth creation most of the wealthiest economies worldwide are characterized with and should be source of the same for the African continent.

Despite of been one of the most gifted in terms of natural resources and manufacturing potentials, Africa is still the world’s poorest and most backward continent in its application of modern technologies and its share of global manufacturing is only 1 % and shrinking as its labour intensive made goods fail to compete with the imported goods which are more competitive in the local market because they are manufactured using modern technologies which are continuously modernizing.

Africa failed to enable realization of its huge manufacturing potentials because the individual going African countries are on in the foreign lead exploitation of there natural resources is not earning their Governments much of the revenue they deserved due to bad mineral policies, legislations and rampant corruption and/or professional incompetence among the Government officials responsible.

And, most of the little revenue African Governments earn here is not wisely invested in the development of the foundation infrastructures required to enable the countries to attract their deserved share of Global investing in manufacturing due faulty investment priorities, corruption and/or professional incompetence among the Government officials responsible. As a consequence, Africa remains a net exporter of raw materials cheaply and importer of manufactured goods costly when technological illiteracy, joblessness and poverty among its majority population escalate.

Even the exponential increases of Foreign Direct Investments experienced on the Continent in the past decade and reported by Elsabé Loots and Alain Kabundi didn’t earn the Continent deserved benefit because most were associated with the exploitation of nonrenewable mineral resources as raw materials like crude oil for export instead of local manufacturing.

Collaboration among African Countries is required to enable collective responsibility in ensuring they earn their deserved share of the wealth generated from exploitation of their natural resources for investing in the development of the foundation infrastructures required to enable the Continent attract its deserved share of Global investing in manufacturing and the modern technologies it is associated with by accomplishing as follows:

development of the All Africa Master Plan of integrated foundation of infrastructures which is required to make Africa attractive for the Global investing in manufacturing;

formulation of All Africa common mineral policies and legislations which are required to enable African countries to earn their deserved share of the wealth generated from exploitation of their natural resources;

development of the All Africa Master Plan of priority manufacturing potentials;

formulation of All Africa common policies and legislations which are required to encourage and enable individual African countries to invest the revenues they earn from exploitation of their natural resources in the development of the All Africa Master Plans of integrated foundation of infrastructures and/or priority manufacturing potentials;

formulation of All Africa common legislations which discourage exportation of raw materials which are essential in the development of the All Africa Master Plans of integrated foundation of infrastructures and/or priority manufacturing potentials or unprocessed.

The manufacturing growth potentials Africa is gifted with are one of the best among the countries sharing the Indian, Atlantic and Mediterranean Oceans and their coastlines in North and South America, Middle East and Asia. If their exploitation is well organized and managed, the Continent could become one of the leading manufacturers worldwide.

Africa is strategically located on the interface of world’s leading marine trade exchange between markets within
and around the Atlantic, Indian and Mediterranean Oceans and surrounded all around with very extensive coastlines and numerous sites which are suitable potentials for the development of marine ports to facilitate marine trade exchange between the main Global markets in Africa and within and around the three Oceans.

Africa is also one of the most gifted in terms of its favourable climate throughout the year, mineral resources, fertile lands, forests, freshwater bodies and potentials for fresh water dams construction, fresh and salt water fishing, hydro, coal, solar, wind, geothermal and nuclear power generation and a lot of other natural gifts of great importance in the development of a highly competitive African manufacturing economy.

The natural advantages Africa is gifted with over most of the rest worldwide plus its huge population of 1 billion in 2009 and which has a high growth rate of 3 % make it the ideal place for the ongoing raw materials of Africa based global manufacturing for markets within and around the Atlantic, Indian and Mediterranean Oceans.

Despite of being gifted with all what is required to turn the Continent into one of the leading players in the fisheries, agriculture, forestry and mineral resources based Global manufacturing, Africa is still one of the least manufacturing continent in the world and a net exporter of raw materials cheaply and importer of manufactured goods costly from foreign markets which are naturally less competitive for manufacturing investments compared to Africa.

Africa’s present share of global manufacturing is 1 % and shrinking as its labour intensive manufacturing going on in conditions of limited financing and unreliable and costly power supply and transportation of raw materials becomes uncompetitive in-front of the highly productive and cost effective modern technologies based global manufacturing going on in the foreign markets where financing is readily available and power supply and transportation of materials most reliable and cost effective worldwide.

Africa failed to secure its deserved share of global manufacturing because the individual going African countries are on in the exploitation of their natural resources has failed to enable them and their Continent into one of the most attractive for the modern technology based Global investing in manufacturing.

Africa failed because markets of individual African countries are too small and the individual going African countries are on in their uncoordinated foreign dominated exploitation of their natural resources like the nonrenewable mineral resources is not earning them their deserved share of the wealth generated due to bad mineral policies, legislations and rampant corruption and/or professional incompetence among the Government officials involved in the scrutiny and approval of mineral contracts which favour foreign explorers and miners at the expense of their own Governments and fellow citizens.

Again, rampant corruption and/or professional incompetence among the officials responsible in the management of Government revenue and its investing and the faulty and/or conflicting investment priorities most of the African countries are on in their individual going resulted into most of the little revenue individual African countries are earning from the foreign dominated exploitation of their nonrenewable minerals ending up in the pockets of corrupt individuals and most of the rest invested on faulty priorities other than in the development of a well harmonized and/or integrated foundation of infrastructures like transportation and power generation and transmission throughout the manufacturing and market potentials in all African countries.

Having all African manufacturing and marketing potentials well covered with reliable and cost effective networks of materials transport and power generation and transmission is essential in the minimization of cost in African manufacturing and movement of materials throughout its fast growing population of more than 1 billion and enable it to realize its natural competitiveness for Global investing in manufacturing.

Lack of the foundation infrastructures required to enable Africa to realize its natural competitiveness for Global investing in manufacturing is what forced countries on the Continent to remain net exporters of unprocessed raw materials cheaply and importers of the manufactured goods they consume costly. This is bad because Africa earns just a mere fraction of the natural wealth inherent in its exports of unprocessed raw materials and as it imports the manufactured goods costly, the Continent continues sinking deep into poverty as earnings from unprocessed raw materials exported cheaply remain insufficient to finance the importation of all essential goods costly.

As a net exporter of raw materials and importer of manufactured goods, the Continent also continues sinking deep into technological backwardness and become more and more unproductive and poorer, as it fails to secure application of modern technologies in local manufacturing; as its natural resources like the nonrenewable mineral resources continue been drained away cheaply by foreigners; and as its hydropower generation potentials like the Grand Inga and the Stigler’s hydropower generation potentials in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania continue draining as waste into the Atlantic and Indian Oceans when acute shortage of power supply is such a huge hindrance of development on the Continent.

Even though, Africa is still rescue-able because the huge natural wealth still in its possession in the form of natural resources like nonrenewable mineral resources and power generation potentials is a lot more than required to finance development of the integrated foundation of infrastructures which is required to enable the Continent realize its natural competitiveness for Global investing in manufacturing.

Rescue of Africa requires African Governments to decide and pass resolution that their individual policies and legislations which are involved should be reviewed and harmonized to effect common strategies and African collaboration in the exploitation of the wealth inherent in natural resources like nonrenewable mineral resources and power generation potentials within individual African countries in order to ensure African countries earn their deserved share of the wealth generated and investing it wisely in the development of the All African Integrated foundation of infrastructures like transport and power generation and transmission which are required to enable Africa realize its natural competitiveness for global investing in manufacturing and reverse trend in which Africa is a net exporter of unprocessed raw materials cheaply and importer of manufactured goods costly.

Idea is to enable individual African countries to overcome their chronic dependence on developed nations (especially the former colonial masters) for aid, which is often tied up with condition that individual African countries should adopt policies and legislations which discourage collaboration among themselves in favour of the collaboration of individual African countries with the developed donor nations in the management and exploitation of their natural resources in which African countries will remain net exporters of raw materials to the former colonial masters cheaply and importers of manufactured goods from the same costly.

Objectives of African collaboration are:

to enable African countries to formulate and dictate All Africa common terms in their collaboration with non African countries in the management and exploitation of natural resources on the Continent and establish a win-win situation in which African countries will earn their deserved share of the wealth inherent in their natural resources;

to formulate the common All Africa Master plan of integrated foundation of infrastructures like in transportation, power generation and transmission and water supply which are required to enable the continent realize its natural competitiveness for Global investing in manufacturing;

to identify priority manufacturing potentials like in fisheries, agriculture, forestry and mineral resources in all African countries and formulate the All Africa Master Plan of priority manufacturing potentials and promote it for Global investing;

to formulate African common policies and legislations required to ensure individual African countries earn their deserved share of the wealth inherent in their natural resources like nonrenewable mineral resources and discourage exportation of raw materials in favour of importation of Global investing in manufacturing;

to formulate guidelines for encouraging and enabling individual African countries to invest the revenues they earn from exploitation of their natural resources in the development of the All Africa Master plans of integrated foundation of infrastructures and priority manufacturing potentials anywhere on the Continent, provided that new developments and their capacities won’t compromise the market shares of developments already on ground and cause underutilization of costly African infrastructures and manufacturing facilities already on ground due to;

to establish and adopt common measures against corrupt practices in the doing of business on the Continent;

to enable African countries to invest in the development of economic growth potentials anywhere on the continent and secure their deserved shares of Global investing for manufacturing and benefit from the modernizing technologies and job opportunities inherent in Global investing for manufacturing.

Aim is to achieve the collective responsibility of all African Governments in ensuring that exploitation of natural resources like nonrenewable mineral resources within individual countries on the Continent earns them their deserved shares of the revenues generated for investing in the development of the All Africa Master plans of integrated foundation of infrastructures and priority manufacturing potentials anywhere on the Continent to reverse trend in which the Continent is a net exporter of raw materials cheaply and importer of manufactured goods costly.