8.30.2005
The Question
The Question is; "So what should be done about the problems in Africa?". So today somebody asked me The Question. I hate The Question, because it impossible to answer briefly. But I do have an answer that I give in that situation. I usually say something like, "African governments should have stronger capacity".
If you look at any of the fundamental problems in a country like Tanzania--poor distribution of food, inadequate sewer and sanitation systems, not enough hospitals, bad roads, inefficient administration--those are problems that a capable government would be able to address. Take trash collection. In slum neighborhoods, garbage is everywhere, and people throw things away into the same small streams they get water from for washing dishes and cooking. At most, they'll burn their garbage, or throw it in to one of the major trash piles right in the midst of their neighborhood. If there was a truck coming door to door once a week to collect garbage, that problem would not be there. It's not a personal failure on the part of individuals; it's a failure of capacity on the part of their government. Most issues could be charactized this way.
Now, how to fix the governments. I'll leave that one to the experts. Here's an article about how Nigeria is trying: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/06/international/africa/06lagos.html?pagewanted=3&ei=5070&en=fac619a6bf67ab0c&ex=1125547200
If you look at any of the fundamental problems in a country like Tanzania--poor distribution of food, inadequate sewer and sanitation systems, not enough hospitals, bad roads, inefficient administration--those are problems that a capable government would be able to address. Take trash collection. In slum neighborhoods, garbage is everywhere, and people throw things away into the same small streams they get water from for washing dishes and cooking. At most, they'll burn their garbage, or throw it in to one of the major trash piles right in the midst of their neighborhood. If there was a truck coming door to door once a week to collect garbage, that problem would not be there. It's not a personal failure on the part of individuals; it's a failure of capacity on the part of their government. Most issues could be charactized this way.
Now, how to fix the governments. I'll leave that one to the experts. Here's an article about how Nigeria is trying: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/06/international/africa/06lagos.html?pagewanted=3&ei=5070&en=fac619a6bf67ab0c&ex=1125547200
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