These are the pressing problems Africa needs to tackle in 2018

pulse-ghana admin

February 3, 2018 12:09 PM

The development of the continent is tied to its ability to effectively solve these problems

Africa is regarded as the poorest continent in the world even though the continent is rich in mineral reserves such as cocoa, diamond and oil.

Reports have shown that the woes of the continent are tied to these problems which when solved, can push the continent towards development.

Corruption

Financial mismanagement and fraudulent deals by government officials is another canker that is eating deep into the economic fibre of Africa. Corruption is endemic and horrendous cannot be denied. Many governments gave made effort to squash the menace out of the system but to no avail. Recently, Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, an attempt to nib corruption in the bud, appointed a Special Prosecutor to handle corruption cases.

Poor Governance

Many people believe that the problems of African stem out of single shortfall of poor leadership. Loopholes in government agencies and lack of expertise resulting from poor appointment have been the bane of many African countries.

Unemployment

Youth unemployment, especially graduate unemployment has been identified as one the major national security threats to many African countries. The public sector wage bill seems unbearable to handle. International donor organizations have even placed quotas and limitations on new employment. Expectations are that the private sector should come in and augment the government’s efforts. This, however, has not been able to absorb the huge unemployment numbers and has left many African youth unemployed.

Insecurity

The threat posed by terrorist groups such as Al-Shaabab and Boko-Haram is becoming quite worrying with the abduction of girls and blasting of churches and other religious buildings, it is becoming increasingly unsafe to be on the continent, which is obviously not a good sign for our investment prospects. Other issues such as electoral violence and political instability are also matters of concern.

Droughts and Famine

Cape Town is set to become the first major city in the world to run out of water after a drought in the Western Cape province of South Africa which began in 2015 is said to have reached a critical level. Countries such as Somali, Central African Republic and South Sudan have been battling severe famines and have been on the receiving end of many international food donations and programmes.

pulse-ghana admin