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<p>CNBC Africa sat down with the President of the Chamber of Commerce Muhammed Jagana, on how private sector can fast-track growth.</p>


Private sector key to economic growth – Gambia Chamber of Commerce

<div id="attachment_305308" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-305308" class="wp-image-305308 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Robben-Island1.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="793" /><p id="caption-attachment-305308" class="wp-caption-text">Picture: Flickr</p></div>
<p>By Mzi Khumalo</p>
<p><strong><em>The conditions and circumstances that shaped leaders like Walter Sisulu and Ahmed Kathrada do not exist anymore. A new world has emerged with different dynamics and new struggles. Our modern world dictates a new path and a specific kind of leadership. Struggle veteran Mzi Khumalo looks back at his time on Robben Island and decodes lessons for Africa’s new generation of leaders.</em></strong></p>
<p>I was the 27<sup>th</sup> prisoner of the year 1979 on Robben Island. My prison number was 2779 and I was 24 years-old when I was sentenced to 26-years behind bars for treason by South Africa’s apartheid government. It was a time of daily atrocities against black people, many of whom lost their lives in the fight for freedom. When I arrived on the island, I found fellow comrades who had been incarcerated for a long time. Among them were Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Ahmed Kathrada and many others who were all part of the struggle and were jailed for standing up for freedom.</p>
<p>All of them were inspirational leaders of their time because they displayed the kind of leadership and qualities that are rarely seen or heard of today. They were not only motivated and decisive, but they understood the ins and outs of their plan and the execution of it. The conditions and dynamics that shaped people like Walter and Ahmed were different back then. Times have changed.</p>
<p>How we identify, nurture and promote leadership in Africa today is of deep concern, and for good reason. Smart leadership is crucial for economic growth, social stability and a political landscape that enables African citizens to achieve their full potential.</p>
<p>As I look back at my time on Robben Island, I can identify lessons that I believe are applicable to the new generation of leaders on the rise.</p>
<p><strong>Leadership requires a clear purpose and long-term planning</strong></p>
<p>Prison life was designed to be hard, but despite this, we had a clear sense of purpose and knew why we were there. As freedom fighters, we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what needed to be achieved. We had a long-term plan and understood the building blocks to realise our objective. We were strong-willed, determined and passionate about what we were fighting for. We didn’t just get out of bed one day and decide to protest. Our resistance was not haphazard, it was carefully planned. We all knew there was a fairly good chance we would not live to see a free South Africa and that our dreams may not be realised in our lifetime.</p>
<p>Today, we live in the digital age and despite its undeniable benefits to society, it negatively impacts the minds of our youth, who live in a snap chat culture. This new revolution lives for instant information and instant gratification. “Long-term planning” to them signifies a period of 5 years or less. The youth of today have overwhelmingly short attention spans, and in my experience, nothing great has ever been achieved overnight. Without a clear purpose and long-term approach, the contribution of Africa’s youth to the development of the continent will be minimal.</p>
<p><strong>Leadership means decisions based on convictions and assessments</strong></p>
<p>In business today, we need to make decisions based on assessments, not on Internet searches. If somebody is recommended to me for a job or business venture, I will not browse the internet for answers. My approach would be to meet that person, look them in the eye, talk to them and get the answers I need to make an assessment. Only if I am left with doubts will I conduct reference checks or commission a report. This approach has led me to do business in what some regard as Africa’s most volatile markets including Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).</p>
<p>One also cannot formulate an opinion on a person or country based on what journalists write. I see many of our young leaders today making political, business and personal decisions based on what the media reports. It is difficult for people to provide leadership and make decisions on sustainability this way. Our continent and the wellbeing of our people requires them to do more. They must scratch the surface and take decisive actions based on convictions and first-hand assessments.</p>
<p><strong>Leadership must fit the purpose</strong></p>
<p>I grew up in KwaMashu, a township north of Durban in South Africa. It was a rough place. We lived in abject poverty in a country that had denied us any hope of a better future. I was raised by my mother, a single woman, and widow. I was the sixth child of ten. My father died before my ninth birthday. I experienced beatings and bullying while growing up, and my attitude was shaped by my circumstances. My love for business was born early on in life when I realised there is much power in money.  As a young boy, I started collecting oil cans to sell to the ladies who sold sorghum beer in the township. I soon made a fair amount of money.</p>
<p>In 1994, there was an energy crisis in South Africa. Fuel was rationed so I bought fuel and sold it for a margin.  When I came out of prison, I started building the ANC structures and was elected treasurer of the KwaZulu-Natal branch. Then, I decided to go back to my business roots. My contribution in both business and politics was as a result of the circumstances surrounding black people under apartheid’s oppressive regime. The conditions and dynamics that shaped South Africa’s previous leaders were specific to the times in which they lived.</p>
<p>Today’s leaders must remember that those conditions have changed. We are not fighting the same fight, and therefore the type of leadership that is required is different. They must adjust accordingly. Today’s fight is about economic freedom, social cohesion, and continental unity. We need to understand what our circumstances are now and promote leadership that fits the purpose. I know that Africa’s current young leaders have a long, bumpy road ahead of them but I am hopeful that they will achieve their objectives with time, conviction and an unshakeable sense of purpose.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


Op-Ed: Decoding lessons from Robben Island for Africa’s emerging leaders

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<p>Technology can help Africa skip traditional development stages to fast-forward economic growth, manage resources more efficiently, and bring essential services to the most vulnerable people.</p>


How technology can help Africa fast forward economic growth

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<p>Bill Gates, Co-Chair of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation says the foundation is eager to support Nigeria towards becoming a global economic power house. He addressed this and more during a speech in Abuja, Nigeria.</p>


Bill Gates pledges support for Nigeria’s economic growth

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<p>According to Ogun state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Dayo Adeneye, the state plans to consolidate the gains they&#8217;ve made and accelerate development.</p>


Ogun State’s Dayo Adeneye outlines plans to accelerate economic growth

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<p>Nigeria&#8217;s economy has returned to growth, increasing by 0.83 per cent for the full year of 2017. Henry Boyo, an Economist joins CNBC Africa for his take on the country&#8217;s growth figures.</p>


Nigeria’s GDP grows by 0.83% in 2017

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<p>Used car dealer and exporter AA Japan Kenya has boosted its market presence in East Africa with the opening of their Nairobi office on Tuesday. Ramzan Hameed, President of AA Japan joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Japan-based used car dealer expands into Kenya

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<p>Digital innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa has in the past decade been driven by the explosion in mobile phone usage but many analysts argue that 2018 will see Block-chain emerge as the ultimate disruptor in the financial space.</p>


Will Blockchain technology be the ultimate disrupter in 2018?

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<p>According to Udom Uko Inoyo, President of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management, unemployment is a critical issue and a big threat to any nation as it affects every aspect of the society and the economy.</p>


Unemployment the biggest threat to the economy – Inoyo CIPM President

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<p>Nigeria’s 2017, Q3 GDP report shows an economic growth of 1.4 per cent. Ayodeji Balogun, Country Manager for Afex Commodities Exchange joins CNBC Africa to discuss the agriculture’s contribution to the GDP.</p>


Economic performance of Nigeria’s agricultural industry

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<p>CNBC Africa spoke to the out-going Secretary General of the African Airlines Association Dr Elijah Chingosho, about the relevance of member states ratifying the Yamoussoukro Decision.</p>


Implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision vital to Africa’s aviation

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<p>Many analysts maintain that unlocking the potential of SMEs and achieving greater economies of scale is an essential long-term driver of growth. Eric Kacou, ESPartners, Co-Founder joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


SMEs hold key to economic growth

<p>South Africa’s economy faces major challenges and government needs to win back the confidence of businesses and investors by tackling policy uncertainty and corruption, central bank governor Lesetja Kganyago said on Thursday.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-22134 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/lesetja_kganyago_sarb.jpg" alt="S.Africa cbank's Kganyago says little policy space to boost demand" width="800" height="612" /></p>
<p data-reactid="46">Kganyago said in a speech at an investor conference in New York that weak business confidence had shaved an estimated one percentage point off South Africa’s economic growth last year.</p>
<p data-reactid="48">He said that the central bank would like to see inflation expectations anchored at around 4.5 percent, compared with 5.1 percent now. The volatile rand currency is the biggest risk to inflation forecasts, Kganyago said.</p>
<p>“Inflation today in South Africa is within the target. The highest it should be in terms of our forecast is 5.2 percent,” he said in a subsequent interview with Reuters.</p>
<p data-reactid="50">“That gives us room within the inflation target band&#8230;Inflation could rise but would remain within our inflation target,” Kganyago said.</p>
<p data-reactid="51">The Governor of the South African Reserve Bank deflected questions on where he thought interest rates would move, saying there is no target.</p>
<p data-reactid="52">The central bank kept its benchmark repo rate at 6.75 percent on Sept. 21, defying expectations at the time of a cut based upon easing inflation pressures and a sluggish recovery from a recession in the first half of the year.</p>
<p data-reactid="53">“Everybody talks about are you close to neutral or off neutral? When the world over, nobody knows what neutral is because the world as we know it is different from the world we knew before the global financial crisis. Everybody is trying to find neutral,” he said.</p>
<p data-reactid="54">The central banker, in his position since 2014, said that inflation would remain in the 3 to 6 percent target zone for the next two years.</p>
<p data-reactid="55">“We are currently at 4.8 percent and the outlook is that inflation will average 5 percent this year. But we still expect to reach the bottom of 4.6 percent in the first quarter of next year. Over the policy horizon of 2018 and 2019, the highest inflation will be is 5.2 percent for the year,” he said.</p>
<p data-reactid="56">With inflation remaining subdued, Kganyago also highlighted the improvements in the narrowing current account deficit. He said indications are that for the third quarter it should remain, at worst in the 2 percent area.</p>
<p>”And at best could actual decline as low as 1 percent.</p>
<div class="Attribution_attribution_o4ojT" data-reactid="57">
<p class="Attribution_content_27_rw" data-reactid="58">Reporting by Joe Brock in Johannesburg and Dnaiel Bases in New York; Editing by Toby Chopra and Grant McCool</p>
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South Africa’s economy faces major challenges: central bank head

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<p>Nigeria’s economy beat the recession in Q2 of this year spurred by a recovery in the oil production and improvements in foreign exchange availability. However, concerns remain that the economy is still not living up to its full potential.</p>


This is how Nigeria can unlock its economic potential

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<p>CNBC Africa spoke with Nigerian former President Goodluck Jonathan on the challenges Nigeria faces in preparing students for the professional workplace and role education could play in advancing Africa’s economic growth.</p>


Education crucial for growth, development – Jonathan

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<p>CNBC Africa&#8217;s Fifi Peters discussed the currents state of education in Nigeria with President Goodluck Jonathan and what needs to be done to take it to the next level.</p>


Why Nigeria’s current education is good and bad – Jonathan

<p><em><span class="fn author-name">Lorenzo Fioramonti | </span>University of Pretoria</em></p>
<p>Until a couple of years ago, all financial institutions and investment banks were celebrating ‘Africa Rising’, in a symphony of compliments that should have cautioned any reasonable African leader as well as citizens on the continent.</p>
<div id="attachment_106420" style="width: 810px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-106420" class="wp-image-106420 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Africashutterstock_110973782.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="600" /><p id="caption-attachment-106420" class="wp-caption-text">Photo: Shutterstock</p></div>
<p>But what did they really mean when they were saying that Africa was rising? They simply meant that its gross domestic product (GDP), which is the conventional measure of economic growth, had been growing (on average) at a faster rate than in other regions of the world.</p>
<p>Of the world’s top 10 countries in real GDP growth rates for 2012, five were indeed African. Libya topped the list, with an astounding 124%, followed by Sierra Leone with 15.2%, Zimbabwe with 13.6%, Niger with 11.8% and Ivory Coast with 10.1%. A year later, in 2013, South Sudan was Africa’s best performer, with 29.3%. Ever since, other very fast growing economies included Angola, Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo.</p>
<p>But GDP tells us nothing about the health of an economy, let alone its sustainability and the overall impact on human welfare. GDP is simply a measure of market consumption, which has been improperly adopted to assess economic performance.</p>
<p>Rebuilding Libya after the civil war has been a blessing for its GDP growth. Similarly, building the South Sudanese economy from scratch has invariably meant astronomic growth. Both these countries’ economies indeed bounced back from annihilation. Libya’s GDP growth was -66% in 2011, while South Sudan’s was -52% in 2012. As expected, their growth was short-lived. Libya went negative in 2013 and so did South Sudan right after.</p>
<p>In 2013, I warned against celebrating Nigeria’s economic “miracle” at the time when the country was about to become the continent’s largest economy. I indicated that Nigeria’s economic expansion was ephemeral, unsustainable and extremely unequal, which would soon trigger social conflict and a prolonged recession. Most media, business and a number of colleagues ridiculed my predictions. But I was right: the country’s approach to growth was self-destructive. No surprise Nigeria has fallen into one of the worst recessions on the continent.</p>
<p>And the list of these growth disasters continues. In 2016, only two African countries were in the top ten global GDP growth contest – Ethiopia and Ivory Coast.</p>
<p>But rather than reflecting critically on why this is happening, the continent’s politicians are putting their heads in the sand and simply hoping for more growth. This is very dangerous in the current global economic landscape. Economic growth is slowing down almost everywhere and there is little chance it will return to Africa in the foreseeable future.</p>
<h2>Critical reflection missing</h2>
<p>There are important structural reasons why one should be suspicious of the ‘Africa rising’ discourse. Most fast growing African economies are heavily dependent on exports of commodities and foreign direct investment.</p>
<p>This makes them easily affected by the volatility of international markets. It also gives a false perception of national income. Indeed, most of the profits generated by foreign companies add to the “domestic” GDP but are highly unlikely to remain in the country.</p>
<p>Rather than obsessing over whether African economies are rising or not, the focus should be on how to make African people thrive. And these are two different things. Indeed, the problem with the continent’s current model of industrial growth is that it privileges the formal at the expense of the informal, big corporations at the expense of small businesses, large centralised infrastructure at the expense of decentralisation. In the end, this growth leads to more inequality and environmental destruction.</p>
<p>Rather than big business districts, African countries need labour intensive economies. As the only continent that will experience exponential population growth in the next decades, Africa will soon be faced with a major unemployment problem. This can only be addressed through widespread networks of small businesses, which are the real creator of good jobs, and doing away with the dominance of a few corporate giants, which are shedding jobs and are increasingly reliant upon automation.</p>
<p>The Africa Progress Panel, a think tank chaired by former UN secretary Kofi Annan, highlighted the crucial role smallholder farmers can play in making Africa food secure. It also noted that small farmers ensure sustainable livelihoods to people. And it pointed to the need to move beyond “big-grid” high carbon infrastructure and to renewable energy to turn conventional top down economic growth “on its head”.</p>
<p>In their own analysis, energy production must be “democratized” so that</p>
<blockquote><p><em>Africa’s poorest and most vulnerable people could be reached through renewable energy on terms that drive down energy costs, stimulate small and medium-sized enterprises, generate jobs and reduce pollution-related health risks.</em></p></blockquote>
<h2>Innovators point the way</h2>
<p>In my new book, <em>Wellbeing Economy: Success in a World Without Growth</em>, I show numerous examples of African innovators using new communication technologies to support networks of small businesses and micro-enterprises.</p>
<p>Mobile connections are widespread across Africa. This means that there is an unprecedented opportunity to improve coordination between producers and consumers, cutting middlemen and the dominance of big retailers. On top of this, developments in other new technologies, from 3D printing to energy production through small-grids powered by renewable resources, are making SMMEs ever more competitive. From farming to manufacturing, the future may very well be dominated by customisation rather than mass production.</p>
<p>As summed up by Joe Kraus, one of the leaders of the dot.com boom of the late 1990s, the availability of new manufacturing technologies, which diversify production and multiple markets for local producers, makes the shift to a decentralised economy easier than ever. He says:</p>
<blockquote><p><em>the 20th century was about dozens of markets of millions of consumers. The 21st century is about millions of markets of dozens of consumers.</em></p></blockquote>
<p>A new economy founded on networks of small businesses, a post-industrial form of artisanship and integrated smallholder farming is the best chance for Africa to develop sustainably as well as to generate the decent and fulfilling jobs that millions of Africans rightfully aspire to.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>This article was published on The Conversation. </em></p>


economic growth

Private sector key to economic growth – Gambia Chamber of Commerce

Op-Ed: Decoding lessons from Robben Island for Africa’s emerging leaders

How technology can help Africa fast forward economic growth

Bill Gates pledges support for Nigeria’s economic growth

Ogun State’s Dayo Adeneye outlines plans to accelerate economic growth

Nigeria’s GDP grows by 0.83% in 2017

Japan-based used car dealer expands into Kenya

Will Blockchain technology be the ultimate disrupter in 2018?

Unemployment the biggest threat to the economy – Inoyo CIPM President

Economic performance of Nigeria’s agricultural industry

Implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision vital to Africa’s aviation

SMEs hold key to economic growth

South Africa’s economy faces major challenges: central bank head

This is how Nigeria can unlock its economic potential

Education crucial for growth, development – Jonathan

Why Nigeria’s current education is good and bad – Jonathan

The ‘Africa rising story’ was based on faulty logic – here’s how to fix it

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economic growth

Private sector key to economic growth – Gambia Chamber of Commerce

Op-Ed: Decoding lessons from Robben Island for Africa’s emerging leaders

How technology can help Africa fast forward economic growth

Bill Gates pledges support for Nigeria’s economic growth

Ogun State’s Dayo Adeneye outlines plans to accelerate economic growth

Nigeria’s GDP grows by 0.83% in 2017

Japan-based used car dealer expands into Kenya

Will Blockchain technology be the ultimate disrupter in 2018?

Unemployment the biggest threat to the economy – Inoyo CIPM President

Economic performance of Nigeria’s agricultural industry

Implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision vital to Africa’s aviation

SMEs hold key to economic growth

South Africa’s economy faces major challenges: central bank head

This is how Nigeria can unlock its economic potential

Education crucial for growth, development – Jonathan

Why Nigeria’s current education is good and bad – Jonathan

The ‘Africa rising story’ was based on faulty logic – here’s how to fix it

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