Developing an African Growth Plan

This research paper argues that the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are insufficient for developing Africa because they focus on the symptoms of poverty rather than the underlying causes of economic stagnation. The author contends that the MDGs act as a 'political camouflage' that diverts resources away from growth-oriented investments. To address this, the paper proposes a comprehensive set of 'African Millennium Growth Goals' focused on commercial infrastructure, rural economy investment, technical skills, financial reform, and the removal of bureaucratic and corrupt obstacles to business.

• The author argues that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) focus on the symptoms of poverty—such as hunger, disease, and low incomes—rather than the root causes of underdevelopment, which leads to a misdirection of limited resources.
• The MDGs are described as providing 'political camouflage' and a 'smokescreen' that allows aid agencies and politicians to avoid addressing why aid fails to deliver long-term results or why projects are poorly conceived.
• The paper asserts that the MDGs will fail to develop Africa because they neglect growth and productivity; without these, the continent will remain dependent on aid handouts rather than achieving self-reliance.
• The author critiques the MDG focus on universal primary education, noting that it neglects the critical shortage of technical skills (such as carpenters and electricians) and ignores the poor quality of instruction, citing Zambia as an example where three-quarters of primary graduates were functionally illiterate due to being taught in a colonial language.
• The document proposes 'African Millennium Growth Goals' to replace or supplement the MDGs, specifically recommending the doubling of pothole-free roads, the removal of electricity blackouts within five years, and the doubling of port capacity and customs clearance speed by 2010.
• To boost the rural economy, the author suggests doubling investment in agricultural research, increasing national grain storage, subsidising small-scale irrigation, and encouraging 'contract farming' models, citing successful examples like South African Breweries in Uganda and Clark Cotton in Zambia.
• The paper identifies severe financial and bureaucratic barriers to growth, noting that African interest rates are prohibitively high and that, according to a 2005 World Bank survey, it takes an average of 433 days and 35.4 procedures to enforce a contract in sub-Saharan Africa.
• The author recommends several anti-corruption measures to level the commercial playing field, including the public disclosure of wealth for high-ranking officials, the de-criminalisation of libel, and the adoption of transparent tendering laws.

APA

Herbert, R. (2005). Developing an African Growth Plan. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Herbert_Yearbook_2005.pdf

Chicago

Herbert, Ross. Developing an African Growth Plan. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2005. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Herbert_Yearbook_2005.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Herbert |first1=Ross |title=Developing an African Growth Plan |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=2005 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Herbert_Yearbook_2005.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{herbert2005developing, author = {Herbert, Ross}, title = {{Developing an African Growth Plan}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2005}, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Herbert_Yearbook_2005.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }