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'Industrialization is Not a Luxury...Its a Necessity"

Rose Athuman in Tanzania Daily News reporting from a recent AU meeting themed,"Industrialization for an Emerging Africa":
courtesy of Promota


“Industrialization is not a luxury for Africa, but a necessity for its long-term survival.” - Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma

So why has Africa lagged behind while the rest of the world is industrializing? The Director in the department of economic affairs of the African Union Commission, Mr Rene Kouassi says that colonialism is one among many reason behind African woes. He notes that the seeds of Africa's industrialization woes were sown during the colonial period, when the extractive nature of African colonialism left behind structures, institutions and infrastructure designed to enhance extraction.

In his paper to the committee of experts, Mr Kouassi explained that at independence the structure of African economies was not geared toward transformation and value addition but rather commodity extraction and export. The issues of policy failure at independence, starting with import substitution policies, whereby African countries genuinely decided to industrialize and then the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs), where African countries were forced to de-industrialized.
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For further context see the following posts: