Opinion | Seeing Africa through the eyes of a ‘possibilist’, writes Abu Addae
Few topics better divide people into two warring camps of optimists and pessimists than the state of Africa’s development. The optimists argue for the “Africa Rising” narrative, citing some well-publicised feat of technological entrepreneurship or some bold new initiative, while the pessimists point to the poverty, rampant corruption and poor infrastructure the continent is so well known for.
Africa’s population is expected to be 2.5-billion by 2050, reaching 4-billion by the end of the century, according to the UN. Worryingly, the number of people living in extreme poverty actually increased in Africa between 2000 and 2010, according to the World Bank. This state of affairs seems to make the case for pessimism and it is tempting to either extrapolate this dismal trend into the future or to deny it as a blip and stick with optimism.
These categories and research at LifeCheq puts a level 4 middle-income lifestyle at about $1,000 a month, something only about 16-million Africans will enjoy in 2020, about 1.25% of the population. The size of this segment globally is around 14% of the population. If current trends continue we will, even optimistically, have a level 4 segment of just 3% of the population by 2050. Hence the line of expectation that is built into mindsets about the continent and its future.
New, high-growth markets create the possibility of high-income growth as the new jobs require higher productivity from workers, and rewards them with higher wages. Possibly the most well-known example of this phenomenon is Ford’s $5 a day wage for assembly line workers in 1914, turning them from low-level labourers earning $2.34 a day to core target customers for the very Model T cars they were manufacturing.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
These jobs are seeing the biggest salary increases in South Africa right nowThese jobs are seeing the biggest salary increases in South Africa right now | BISouthAfrica
Read more »
Newsdeck: No End in Sight for South Africa Power Cuts Amid Break DownsEskom Holdings SOC Ltd. staff are working to assess the system breakdowns, Public Enterprises Minister
Read more »
Patients want to use tech to avoid seeing a doctor for repeat prescriptions'At times I feel like I only consult with my doctor for the sake of getting a script, especially after the blood pressure stabilised.'
Read more »
South Africa pin World Cup hopes on bowlersFaf du Plessis said after the fifth match that he was '98 to 99 percent' sure who would go to England.
Read more »
Cyclone Idai: Africa now has an 'inland ocean' where villages once stood
Read more »
Toll from cyclone-hit southern Africa surges as UN launches health aidMozambican Land and Environmental Minister Celso Correia said 242 lives had been lost and 15,000 out of 18,000 stranded people still needed to be saved, many of them on rooftops or even in trees.
Read more »
NBA, YouTube unite for Africa channelNBA Africa YouTube’s first live game broadcasts will take place Sunday with Boston at Charlotte followed by the Los Angeles Clippers at New York.
Read more »
Miss South Africa pageant loses major sponsorMarch has come and nearly gone – so why has there been no Miss South Africa pageant yet?
Read more »
South Africa ranks low on survey for world's happiest placesFinland is the world's happiest country of the 156 countries and territories studied in the 2019 World Happiness Report.
Read more »
Help southern Africa cyclone victims, says popePope Francis expressed his pain Wednesday at the devastation wrought by Cyclone Idai in southern Africa and called for 'comfort and support' for victims of the disaster. 'Great floods have sown grief and devastation in various regions of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi,' he said, addressing thousands of the faithful in Saint Peter's Square.
Read more »