Introduction
What development model should Africa emulates for her own development? Until 1980s the discussion about the best model for development was centred around two main ideologies namely, capitalism and communism. Essentially, each of these ideologies aimed to portray its own thoughts and model as the key for the world’s development, but after the end of the Cold War capitalism became the leading economic ideology of the world. Today, there are some concerns levelled against capitalism regarding the countries of the Global South that have not seen development even though they have adopted the free-market economy. Against these concerns some countries from the Global South (e.g., South Korean & Singapore) that have emerged to become the Newly Industrialising Countries NICs have been portrayed as mentioned by Stewart (2020:88), the shining examples of free-market capitalism. The rest of Global South, especially Africa has been encouraged to follow the developmental paths taken by these NICs. However, a thorough analysis of the conditions and context under which these NICs have gone through to develop can show that there are currently factors that prevent this developmental model of 20th century particularly in Africa. There are factors in the macro-environment level (i.e., factors that the government may not control or eradicate) such as the Cold War, authoritarian regime and environmental protection have become of global concern. There are also some factors in the micro-environment level (i.e., factors the government can control and eradicate for development to take place), such factors are the shift from purely economic growth development to human-centred development and economic inequality as discussed below.
The Cold War context of the NICs development.
Firstly, the cold war that occasioned the development of NICs has ended. The post-Second World War period was according to (Ndlovu, Ndlovu, Makhubeldu, Sentime, Maphosa, Mazibuka, Du Plessis & Zulu 2017:15) characterized by the Cold-War, a competition between the US (capitalist) with countries that sided with it, and the Soviet Union (communist) with its satellites. In this competition the US and the Soviet Union as leaders of capitalist and communist blocs respectively were involved each in projects of expending their global influences and control through different actions including what was called economic aids. The aids, military or economic from USSR were destined toward the Third World nations that were aligned with communism ideology, likewise the US also provided their aids to nations that were anti-communist and pro-capitalism. For example, the US provided considerable support to some East Asian nations such as South Korea, Singapore that were anti-communists, and Stewart (2020:88) argues that the East Asia was one of the main sites of conflict. Also, considering the proximity of East Asia with the USSR it was ideal for the US to intensify investment and economic aids to limit the influence and spread of communism, which indirectly resulted in the industrialization of those nations. Today the context in which Africa is evolving differs from the 1960-1970’s, hence it is difficult for Africa to emulate the developmental models of the NICs. Also, the same period 1960-1970 is argued to be a window of opportunity into which those East Asian nations settled, and this opportunity may not be available today, because capitalism is now the leading economic ideology, and the challenges being faced by the world generally and Africa in particular are different from those during the cold war (Stewart 2020:90). This context is an important factor that African governments cannot re-create so that the same window of opportunity conditions that prevailed during 1970s can be made available for African freedom.
Authoritarian leadership and state led development factor.
Secondly, the development model of the NICs was not based on free-market policy, authoritarian regimes planned and executed their development agenda. According to Stewart (2020:89) the social dynamics such as trade unions social movements and others that, in democratic system will create a counterbalance to the ruling regime were weak in countries such as Taiwan and Korea. These nations were ruled by strong and authoritarian leaders. As a result, the state had the freedom and power to regulate the market, the state also had the facility to plan, subsidise and execute its own developmental projects without hindrance from civil society movements, as it is the case today in democratic nations. For example, in South Korea the government implemented a land reform policy, by taking the land from the elite who monopolised it and distributed it to the masses for agricultural purposes (Kieh 2015:5). Whereas presently the context is different, authoritarian regimes are no longer desirable, regardless of the results achieved through they methods of leadership. For instance, Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown on the basis that he was an authoritarian and dictator, even though under his leadership Libya was united, strong and considered one of the advanced countries in Africa. Today, in the world as well as in African nations, more emphasis is placed on democratic and free market leadership style, which on one hand, limits the government’s capabilities of intervention in the market, and on the other hand, provides access to global capitalist organisations to dominate the local market (Stewart 2020:92). For example, White (in Kieh 2015:3) argues that democracy must be useful in a sense that it can be substantial. It means that, if we are longing for democracy, and the state has the responsibility to address social issues, then it should be mainly the state rather than private corporations that has the power to regulate the market for the good of all through democracy. However, this is the main challenge of African nations that claim to be democratic, their limited capacity to act, makes it difficult to centrally plan, subsidise and execute developmental plans as it was the case with the current NICs around 1960-1970. The only possibility that African governments have is to raise funds through the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which also generally comes with disastrous conditions under the Structural Adjustment Programs. In fact, among other things, the Structural Adjustment Programs aim to reduce the role of the state and to increase the role of the market in resources planning, allocation and redistribution (Maphosa & Naidoo 2017:145). We can realise from the above that the new context in which Africa is evolving has become a factor out of control of the governments, and it makes it impossible for Africa to emulate the NICs developmental model.
Environmental awareness
Thirdly, heavy industrializations have some impacts that were not much considered in the past during the period of rapid economic growth. Currently, people all over the world have come to know directly or indirectly the negative effects of climate change, global warming, deforestation, desertification, water and air pollution, resources depletion and many other consequences being faced by human beings. It is around 1980 according to Ndlovu et al (2017:21) that the concept of sustainable development gained a momentum in the political and economic fields. According to the same Ndlovu et al (2017:23) sustainable development is defined as the developmental methods and strategies that should not hamper the capacity of the environment to provide for the needs of present and future generations. In other words, an emphasis is put on the environment protection so that future generations can also inherit a cultivable land with natural resources and drinkable water, thus heavy industrial activities that destroy the ecosystem should be halted. However, before this topic about the environmental protection became popular, huge investments were carried out for industrialisation of developed and developing worlds, which has resulted in remarkable impacts that the current and future generations will have to deal with. For example, in Taiwan there are three factories per square kilometre, more than 50% of river water has been polluted, 99 percent of human waste cannot be processed. The residual water from industrial sections of the country has polluted about 20% countryside farmland, and the rice produced in the country is 30% contaminated by metal (Stewart 2020:92). Considering the above findings from the NICs, the African governments and the economic sector cannot blindly embark in heavy industrial activities for the sake of emulating what has been done in industrialized countries without paying attention to the shortcomings. Moreover, all corporations and organisations governmental and non-governmental are expected to be socially responsible by adopting an accommodation approach, which according to UN WECD emphasises a balanced and careful exploitation of resources (Ndlovu et al 2017:25). Currently, for instance in South Africa the population have familiarised themselves already with the climate change through the 2015 water crise and drought in the Western Cape province. Thus, it is not going to be easy for South African government to embarking in projects that may destroy the ecology without having to face with resistance from social groupings. This is another factor at the macro-level African governments may not have control over or change, hence making the NICs developmental model impossible for Africa.
The NICs development approach is more in economic terms
Furthermore, development should be mainly based on and about human beings rather than objects. Stewart (2020:88) highlights the fact that the evaluation of the NICs development is mainly based on economic growth, rather than on a holistic development, and this raises the concern about the lack of human capability and skills development. Maphosa and Naidoo (2017:73) highlight the importance of empowerment by stating that, people must actively play a role in the process of their own development, it implies that development is not merely an elite project, but it is a social project planned and carried out by all. Essentially, development should be the expansion of human capabilities, it should be based in enhancement of knowledge and capacities of the people (Stewart 2020:94). In other words, we cannot measure development by nice roads, bridges and toller buildings only, but development should be measured also by a holistic improvement achieved by communities in Soweto, Kananga, Akrofu, Eziama, Binkolo, and other impoverished communities in Africa. However, that development cannot take place if there is not primarily a shift from purely economic growth development to human growth development, which is necessary for the African case. For instance, Erasmus, Kloppers and Strydom (2019:47) argue that entrepreneurship is a scarce resource in Africa, meaning that African states need more competent and qualified people with entrepreneurial and leadership skills to make the African nation thrive again. Hence, it is normal to state that Africa should invest in human capital for meaningful development to take place, projects must be designed to train, develop and empower the population with skills that are relevant to the economic needs of the continent. From the above we can say that this is a factor in the micro-level that is under the control of African governments, and it should be addressed for development to take place. However, that will be a development unlike the one being advertised by the capitalist dynasty.
Economic inequality in Africa
Finally, related to the precedent point of empowerment and skills development is another important factor of economic inequality. It is easy to state that the development that took place in East Asia would have been difficult or impossible if the governments of the NICs did not take drastic measures to reduce social inequality among their populations. This is true as stated by Stewart (2020:90) that during the land reform policy undertaken by the states, the land was taken from the elite and distributed equally to the local communities to develop the agricultural sectors which was considered the central pillar of the economy. If development as mentioned above, is about people, then people must be empowered through education, participation and freedom to act, but above all people should have access to the production factor of land. People with education and proper skills cannot produce anything until they have the production factor of land which is natural resources including the agricultural land, industrial sites, residential stands, minerals and metals, forest and water (Erasmus et al 2019:14). For example, many South Africans have no access to these resources, because the South African economy is monopolised and controlled by large companies that control the resources and the market, hance undermining the holistic development of the nation (Stewart 2020:97). Moreover, in other African nations people have the lands but they are unable to use it productively, because mainly, their lands and governments are all under the hegemony of western corporations that dictate the economy. This factor is in the micro-environment level and can be addressed by African governments, African populations and the economic sector before a holistic development happens in Africa.
Conclusion
This essay discussed some of the factors that hamper the capacity of Africa to emulate the developmental model associated with the NICs. Different factors were discussed, and it is clear that the capitalist model advocated by western powers for African development to happen is today unrealistic and detrimental to the whole world and Africa in particular. Hence, the question remains as “what do we want as model for development in this twenty-first century as African people?”
List of references
Kieh, G. 2015. Constructing the social democratic developmental state in Africa: lessons from the “Global South”. Bandung: Journal of the global South. 2(1):1-14.
Maphosa, B & Naidoo, S., ed. 2017. Development problem and institutions: only study guide for DVA1502. Pretoria: UNISA.
Stewart, P. 2020. Development theories: only study guide for DVA3701. Pretoria: UNISA
Erasmus, B, Rudansky, S & Strydom, J. 2019. Introduction to business management. Cape Town: Oxford.