Can Africa surpass Japan?
If a single African country were to incorporate the best practices that are already in place across the sub-Sahara region, it would rank eighth worldwide. This was one of the observations that business leaders made last Friday at an award ceremony for the top two African reformers – Ghana and Kenya.
World Bank, DFID, Business Action for Africa and Unilever sponsored the presentation. Click here for the full list of the Doing Business 2008 top reformers.
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From the desk of Dr. Sidney Okolo…
Just as individuals are misled by statistics, so are they misled when apples and oranges are compared to one another. This discussion will be very informative and serve its intended purpose if either apples to apples or oranges to oranges are compared to each other. The title, "Can Africa surpass Japan" could better be phrased this way: Can Africa surpass Asia, or Can Kenya or Ghana surpass Japan?
Again, why Kenya or Ghana, which has low-income economies? Can Japan be compared to South Africa, Gabon, Libya, or Western Sahara? These are African countries with upper-middle-income economies. Why not compare Indonesia to Kenya or Ghana?
That said, technology and work ethics are driving Japanese economy. Work ethics come from Japanese culture and religion, which encourage organization loyalty, dedication, and more time at work than with family members. Unlike Japan, Ghana or Kenya culture and religion encourage more time with families than work. Individuals will rather spend time with family members than at work. Although, hardworking, it is to earn income and take care of families. There is no loyalty to organizations and vague relationship, what is in there for individuals, precedes what can be done to maximize efficiency and improve productivity. Spending more time with families may lead to human production, which in turn leads to increase in population, and that adds strain to the struggling economy of a developing country.
It is obvious that with the Japanese culture and religion, which have been handed down from generation to generation, it seems unlikely that Ghana or Kenya will surpass it anytime in our life time.
Dr. Sidney Okolo.
www.iba-pec.com
Posted by: Dr. Sidney Okolo | Oct 25, 2007 7:38:35 AM