Africa in Transition



Africa in Transition

Section 2: Steps Toward Development

Lesson Questions

What political challenges do African nations face?

How have African nations tried to solve their economic problems?

How has the population explosion strained Africa’s resources?

II. Steps Toward Development

A. Building Governments

1. Africans faced the challenge of building national unity

2. Africans value ties to families, villages, and ethnic groups and not national government

3. economic resources further divided Africans

4. i.e. ethnic and economic divisions led to civil war in Congo

5. 1960 – Congo won independence from Belgium

6. Regional rivalries and the secession of Katanga led to civil war

7. the Katanga rebellion was put down by Mobuto Sese, and he than ruled from 1965 -1997

8. civil war resumed after he left office due to unclear rule for succession

9. Ethiopia and Somalia had civil wars that led to famine

10. 1994- 800,000 Africans died in Rwanda (Hutu and Tutsi tribes)

11. some African leaders like Julius Nyerere thought one party rule would lead to consensus and cause less division than multiparty to two party democracy

12. some African dictators saw the military as a means of getting public goals accomplished

13. nonetheless democratization which is the acceptance of different political parties has been the recent trend

B. Economic systems

1. socialism – government control of production and resources

2. capitalism – private control of production and resources

3. mixed economy – includes influences from both schools of thought

4. MNCs – multinational corporations who branch out all over the world, i.e. McDonalds, Shell Gas company,

5. some Africans regard these companies as a newer form of colonial power

6. these companies make money by selling exports abroad

7. often they give back profits to help the countries services and infrastructure

C. Economic Choices and Challenges

1. African continents are trying to become self-sufficient

2. most African economies focus on selling cash crops

3. farming often suffers from droughts, poor irrigations, or major natural disasters

4. African nations are trying to build their own industry, repay their national debts, and are progressing towards diversifying their industries

D. The Population Explosion

1. almost have of Africans are age 15 or under which makes them a very young continent

2. increased healthcare has led to a population explosion, despite the AIDS epidemic

3. traditional African values also contribute to the population growth because they stress large families

4. governments are strained to provide enough resources due to the amount of people

5. cities are overcrowded and some Africans are believing that smaller families but be part of the answer to solving their problem

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