AFRICA & THE ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY CHALLENGES?

Africa's ninenty (90) million citizens should be seen as a potential hub for global trade rather than as a region placed on the periphery of world trade. The creation of a viable market in the sub-Saharan Africa would automatically solve the problem of distance from the mainstream global players located in the First World countries, South Africa's Finance Minister said in Johannesburg this week.

Speaking during the World Bank's 2009 Development Report presentation titled 'ReShaping Economic Geography' , Pravin Gordhan identified the fragmentation of the state borders that was imposed by the imperialist powers in the 1814 Berlin Concert as the primary cause of Africa's underdevelopment.

"This fragmentation by colonial powers remains an obstacle to regional and international trade and global economic integration and it was proving a constraint on the continent's economic growth.
Africans, and particulary South Africans, should not always cite the apartheid regime past as an excuse for our lack of decisiveness, our lack of leadership, and our lack of ability to come to terms with global economic challenges that face us" observed Gordhan.

He advised that the attention of the African leadership should be focused on how to turn the continent's population not into a 'masterless multitude' but into an "effective demand' for goods and services throughout the globe.

Heading the World Bank team was its Chief Economist Justin Yifu Lin, who implore delegates that Africa must use and turn the global economic recession into an opportunity for huge investment in much needed infrastructure development.

"The global economic crisis stresses the need for Africa to move from economic fragmentation towards integration and benefit from the global markets.
For the continent to leverage itself out of recession, there must be a sound regional economic integration as the benefits from the global markets might simply be unattainable for some countries because they cannot compete on a global scale themselves" said Lin.

The 2009 World Bank's Development Report focuses on regional integration and cited East Asia's urban population that was expected to grow over 450 million people over the next two decades and the impact it was making through its concentration on production.

What is the impact of economic geography on people's lives and the role of mobility and integration to promote economic growth, was the thematic line posed by the World Bank's Development Report.

Delegates participating in the seminar were reminded that to maximise its competitive advantage and give it a greater scale on global markets, South Africa needs to formulate policies that aim at increasing connectivity by importing transport infrastructure, information technology and skills transfer and development.

Meanwhile in a separate development, KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Finance Inna Cronje has cajoled the Ugu District Municipality businesspeople to work in partnership with her government to tackle the economic challenges imposed by the global recession.

"We are not immune to the global economic downturn which eroded employment, investments and corporate profits across the world. The devastating effects of the present downturn has meant considerable belt-tightening as we face the economic realities and both businesses and households must now do things differently.
The provincial government is committed to support economic growth and job creation through its infrastructure development programme, labour-intensive employment, educational programmes and skills development intervention" said Cronje.

She added that the KZN government will emphasize on clean audit reports, elimination of fraud and corruption and sustain a transparent supply-chain management practises.