 |
| Contrary to the impression you might have had of African nations, here is one where democracy flourishes |
The
remarkable economic and political progress of Cape Verde is seen as a blueprint
for the rest of Africa, writes BBC Today programme presenter Evan Davis after a
visit to the tiny island state.
I have to
admit, I couldn't have told you three interesting facts about Cape Verde until
I was asked to go there for the Today programme.
I didn't
know where it was - 570km (354 miles) off the coast of West Africa. I didn't
even know how to pronounce its name.
And then I
found myself sent there on a three-day mission to investigate a startling
story: That sub-Saharan Africa is not just a region of starving children and
warring dictators.
The
assignment was at the behest of guest editor Mo Ibrahim who strongly feels that
the Western media portrays Africa in a monotonously negative light. Could that
really be true?
Well, my
ignorance of how to pronounce Cape Verde's name is forgivable. (I'm still not
sure and have heard it pronounced with and without an "ee" at the end
of Verde.)
But is it
forgivable that I didn't know it is one of only a handful of countries ever to
have been promoted out of the UN "least developed nation" category
(up to "middle income country" status)? And that it is a
well-functioning democracy with government alternating between different
political parties?
I should
have known these things, and I'm glad to say that my three-day trip more or
less confirmed them.
 |
| Young Cape Verdeans can expect far better education than their parents |
Contrary to
the impression you might have had of African nations, here is one where
democracy flourishes; where a president stepped down after two terms in office
because that is what the constitution required (take note Mr Putin) and where
the opposition freely criticises the government.
It is a
country where economic growth has been strong, where literacy is almost
universal and two-thirds of the population have a phone.
It is also
a country that beats many EU countries in the Transparency International
Corruptions Perceptions Index.
Now on a
three-day trip, you cannot verify all these assertions but you can get a clear
impression.
I went to a
square in the capital, Praia, where I saw a dozen young people poring over
their laptops, taking advantage of the free wi-fi available in that and other
squares.
I saw a
tourism training college that had been paid for by Luxembourg's aid programme.
It functioned well, there were real students there and no money had gone
missing into a Swiss bank account.
I spoke to
the founder of a small e-business called Prime Consulting, who spoke highly of
the ease with which new business could be established in the country (it takes
ten minutes he said).
Property
bubbles
These facts
- and my lack of awareness of them - suggest there may be something in Mo
Ibrahim's point. We know the bad news about Africa, but not the good.
And given
the sheer volume of bad that emanates from countries in sub-Saharan Africa, we make
generalised assumptions about the entire population of sub-Saharan Africa.
 |
| Evan makes use of a free wi-fi hotspot in Praia |
Now I don't
want to paint a ludicrously one-dimensionally optimistic view of the country.
It is no paradise.
Many people
live in slums. The country is covered in them. The national income per head is
about a tenth of that of the UK and I didn't even get out of the towns to see
the rural poor.
In
addition, some of the recent economic growth appears to have occurred on the
back of a ridiculous holiday-property bubble. Irish, British and other
investors got overexcited and the result is that many unfinished developments
litter the main tourist island of Sal.
But still
Cape Verde has come a long way over a short period of time. It is a country
that had famines killing tens of thousands of people in the first half of the
20th Century that now worries about property bubbles.
The most
telling conversation I had there was with Samira who told me that while her
mother had not been to high school (there weren't enough of them at the time)
but she, Samira, now goes to university.
It is true
that Cape Verde is an unusual off-shore example, but before dismissing it as
the exception that proves the rule that the rest of Africa is beyond help or hope,
it is worth taking a look at the statistics for per capita national income
growth of sub-Saharan African countries over the last decade: Ghana 104%
growth; Mozambique 103%; Rwanda 119%; Sierra Leone 99%; Tanzania 95%; Uganda
81%, to name just a few.
I'm not
sure these growth rates have made it through to the public at large.
We wouldn't
want reporters to act as cheer leaders for a continent and we don't want them
to always be seeing glasses as half full. That would perhaps stop us trying
fill them to the top.
But if we
only ever see half empty glasses, that can be demotivating too. It can nurture
a dull fatalism that assumes doing anything is a waste of effort.
So whenever
you feel the wearisome drag of compassion fatigue, you can at least remind
yourself that Cape Verde does suggest progress in that part of the world is not
impossible.
Related Articles:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.