NEPAD should re-design Africa’s economy

This research paper argues that sub-Saharan Africa's underdevelopment is caused by the mismanagement of economic surpluses by political elites and a structural power imbalance between these elites and private sector producers. The author contends that the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) fails to address this fundamental malaise and suggests that true development requires redistributing political power to producers through land ownership reform, direct market access, and independent financial institutions.

• The author identifies the primary cause of underdevelopment in sub-Saharan Africa as the massive mismanagement of economic surpluses by the ruling political elite. These elites used their power to raise their own standards of living to match Western middle classes, implement unsuccessful industrialization projects lacking educational support, and facilitate capital flight from agriculture and extractive industries—including oil, diamonds, metals, and timber—to developed countries.
• A comparison between Ghana and South Korea illustrates the divergence in economic trajectories since the 1960s. While Ghana had higher incomes and export per capita than Korea in 1965, Korea's exports per capita overtook Ghana's by 1972, and its income level surpassed Ghana's by 1976. Between 1965 and 1995, Korea's exports grew 400 times in current dollars, whereas Ghana's grew only four times, with real earnings per capita in Ghana falling to a fraction of their previous value.
• The author argues that the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) is insufficient because it does not address the 'enormous power imbalance' between political elites and private sector producers. To reverse this, the author proposes three specific reforms: introducing freehold land ownership to replace state-controlled communal tenure, allowing peasant producers to auction cash crops (such as coffee, tea, cotton, sugar, cocoa, and rubber) directly to world markets without state-controlled marketing boards, and establishing independent financial institutions like co-operatives and credit unions.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2008). NEPAD should re-design Africa’s economy. https://saiia.org.za/research/nepad-should-redesign-africas-economy/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. NEPAD should re-design Africa’s economy. 2008. https://saiia.org.za/research/nepad-should-redesign-africas-economy/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=NEPAD should re-design Africa’s economy |date=29 April 2008 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/nepad-should-redesign-africas-economy/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2008nepad, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{NEPAD should re-design Africa’s economy}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2008}, month = apr, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/nepad-should-redesign-africas-economy/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }