Africa Geographies of

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Chapter 1: Introduction

• Setting the African stage:• Africa is the cradle of humanity with evidence of the origins of the

earliest human beings. • Despite this we know comparatively very little about Africa before

the onset of colonialism from 1500 onwards. “Africa’s forgotten history”.

• Much of Western understanding and contemporary framing of Africa has its roots in the European colonial experience.

• The colonial era is when misconceptions about Africa became entrenched.

• Colonialism put forward a myth that Africans were people without history- when in fact Africa has a rich past. E.g., Ancient civilizations of Nubia and 11th c. Great Zimbabwe.

• When universities were started in Oxford and Cambridge (UK) in the 12th c. Timbuktu (Mali) already had three universities.

• The history of Africa was lost. European laws and plans were emphasised at the expense of African oral traditions.

• There are so many misconceptions about Africa. Some think it is a single country – but geographically Africa is enormous.

• Africa is diverse. It has a plethora of biomes, climatic regions and people.

• It is also ethnically diverse – colonial borders paid little regard to the ethnic complexity of Africa when it was carved into colonies.

• Contemporary Africa is made up of many regions and sub regions.

• These include; North Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa.

• The African Union (AU) has ambitious plans to complete an African economic union by 2027 – which will mean a common currency, mobility of labour, capital and technology and free trade across borders.

• North Africa is largely influenced by Islam. North Africa is socially and politically complex and often sites of conflict between Africans and Arabs and numerous terrorist activities. E.g., Boko Haram, Al Shabaab, etc.

• The majority of our focus however is going to be on sub-Saharan Africa / i.e. Africa south of the Sahara desert.

The urban revolution and emerging rural revolution in Africa:

• 21st c. is an urban century for Africa, with an urban revolution unfolding.

• For most of Africa’s history it was not urbanized and predominantly rural.

• 2011 40% of Africans live in cities and by 2050 estimated to be 60%.

• Currently Africa’s population is 1 billion – 2 billion by 2050.

• The term “urban revolution” used to portray profound urbanization and its wider societal implications.

• This is due to massive population increase and high urban migration within a short period.

• Urbanization is usually accompanied by provision of sustenance (food and water supplies), shelter, security, transportation and communications. These are all of the basic requisites for urban settlements.

• The national capitals of Africa has emerged as areas containing the majority of the elites and institutions and is also the site of the emerging middle class.

• Rural areas are also in some cases stable – need to understand Africa’s rural-urban relationship. The payment of remittances, and flow of money and investment back to rural areas.

• Africa has long been imagined as being largely rural (although Africa does have a history of urban settlements) – the future of Africa is increasingly urban.

• There is evidence of rural transformation and improvements of livelihoods:• Remittances to family homes and importance of home towns

(second homes). • Spread of communication technologies in rural areas.• Spread of agricultural technology.

The concept of “Africa”

• The origin of the word Africa is unknown, but experts trace it to Latin. (Africa = sunny) and Greek (Aphrike = not cold).

• Early world maps from the 11th c. onwards use Africa to describe the continent.

• Africa is not a single place. Africans are not one people. Africa is not one country – The region comprises a rich mosaic of people, places, cultures, economies, languages and political systems.

• Historically the Western view of Africa has always been the “other”, “a dark continent”, “a mysterious place”, with endless tropes of tribalism, savagery and chaos.

• Unfortunately many contemporary narratives recycle these old assumptions and clichés about Africa – some contemporary views include; “failed states”, development failures”, “lost decades”, “enduring poverty”, “hopelessness” and “horrific disease”

• Western media is largely to blame for perpetuating negative perceptions about Africa – focusing on stories that cover hunger, famine, starvation, endemic violence, conflict and war and HIV/Aids.

• Not all media coverage is bad – there has been some stories covered that challenge the negative perceptions of the continent. E.g., “Africa Rising”.

• Then there is the wave of NGOs (mostly from the West) who claim they are “saving” Africa by their humanitarian interventions. It can be argued that these interventions have made positive changes, but can also cause widespread societal damage.

• Educated and the emerging middle class Africans are now acutely aware of the power of international media in creating a global imagination about Africa and how the media are prone to stereotyping.

• The influence of social media, blogs etc. are transforming this dramatically.

The “new Africa” growth story:• The economist magazine reports that 6 African economies

registered amongst the top ten fastest growing economies in the world (2001 -2011). These include; Angola, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Chad, Mozambique and Rwanda.

• The World Bank believes that Africa could be on the brink of economic take-off.

• Africa is seen as the ‘final frontier’ for investment and marketing opportunities.

• Africa is hyped as the consumer market frontier (e.g., Coca Cola).

• Consumer product invasion of the worlds poor is heavily criticised. But nevertheless it can be argued:• Relocation of regional offices/ distribution channels and

employment opportunities created.• CSR e.g., the work of Coca Cola in Africa.

• Internally, improved macro-economic management in African states and ending of conflict has led to an improved business environment.

• The African debt crises in winding down – many states have moved beyond ‘crises management’ to new forward thinking development.

• Of colossal importance is China’s widespread investment in Africa. China has exploded into the African scene and is influencing trade, investment and diplomatic relationships.

• China is now Africa’s largest trading partner, but its engagement is uneven. The bulk of Chinese investment concentrates in resource rich centres like SA, Zambia, Angola and Sudan. (Largely resource extraction, business and infrastructural investment).

• Africa’s economy is traditionally focused on extractive industries. • Investors are now diversifying into a range of sectors, including,

wholesale, retail, tourism, financial services, telecommunications, transportation, construction and manufacturing.

• Of critical importance here are projections that forecast continued urbanization and the rise of middle class African consumers.

• Africa’s emerging middle class is attracting the attention of multinational retailers and service providers.

• Shiny new malls and international brands are becoming more of a common sight in African cities.

• Middle class Africans want urban jobs, not farm employment and strive to hold their leaders accountable to standards of responsible governance and transparency.

• Africa’s population growth is increasingly significant. There is a youth bulge which can be positive as the number of working age adults has increased (but… providing enough employment opportunities are available).

• Issues of high population growth includes pressures on feeding, housing, educating and providing sufficient health services to all.

• There is still considerable cultural and political resistance to family planning in Africa.

• All this talk of economic growth in Africa can lead to some very important questions…• Is a narrow elite benefitting and the poor and unemployed left behind?

or• Will society eventually reach a sizable middle class?

• Widespread protests have voiced peoples social, economic and political grievances. Some of these protests are linked to minimum wage, service delivery, health care and education (#FeesMustFall movement most current example of this).

• Social protests are symptomatic of both new democratic environments and an undercurrent of widespread social grievances.

• Other issue such as conflict, war and climate change could also derail economic growth in Africa.

Africa as a millennium development frontier

• The legacy of colonialism, persistent poverty, poor health, economic and infrastructure deficits, unemployment and inequality couple with population growth make a compelling case that Africa is in need of development.

• In the 20th c. “big push” projects were linked to Western ideas and dominated African development policy.

• 1950s and 1960s modernization paradigm promoted urbanization, industrialisation, Western values to transform society and economic growth to ‘take off’ and eventually achieve high levels of mass consumption.

• Dependency theory criticised the modernization paradigm and highlighted Africa’s dependence and questioned Western development models.

• 1980s and 1990s external ‘big push’ returned through structural adjustments and widespread liberalisation policies mandated by WB and IMF following economic crises.

• Early 21st c. development policies focus on alleviating extreme poverty. • UN Millennium Development Goals (2000) - set of goals to alleviate

poverty. • These MDGs expired in 2015 – where are we now?

• The Sustainable Development goals have now been launched.

• Many targets of the MDGs have been met, whilst others not.

• The original goals of the MDGs will continue but the Sustainable Development goals adds “greener” and sustainable targets to the goals. Identifying issues of carbon emissions and climate change.

Urbanization in Africa• We often look at cities of the global North to understand the

processes of urbanization. Cities in the global South are however completely different. The populations are much larger and the timeframe of rapid urbanization is much shorter – and the modes of integration into the global economy differs.

• African cities sit with:• Huge infrastructure deficit • Power supply is problematic and• Poor infrastructures restrains Africa’s GDP growth by 2% per year.

• Manufacturing and industrialisation has not met full potential despite mass urbanization.

• Phenomenal growth of slums in Africa – 62% of urban population lives in slums.

• Continued concentration on resource exploitation is driving urbanization and expansion is not based on diversified economies. Thus there is greater need to add value to resources before export.

• Climate change and environmental degradation contributes to rural urban migration.

• Conflict and war also accelerates urbanization.

Conclusion

• Overall, Africa is still perceived far too negatively in most of the world.

• Africa is rising in many economic aspects, but there is no denying the risks that impede growth.

• We need to understand African problems from a more local perspective. Quite often global examples are not easily transferable to an African context.

• We (as scholars) need to expand our thinking about Africa and its problems and come up with possible solutions from a ‘Southern’ perspective.