JOSHUA M NGOMA
The African continent is on the rise. Africa is set for a radical Demographic shift. By the year 2050, more than half the projected 2.2 billion rise in world population is expected to take place in Africa. Within the next 35 years, 1 in every 4 people will be African, this number rising to 4 in 10 people by the end of the century making the future of humanity increasingly African. Africa today is a magnet and a hive of activity for billions of dollars in foreign direct investments meant for the extraction of the vast wealth of raw materials that sustain the growth and viability of the global economy. In the past ten years, Africa has experienced a sharp rise in economic growth with a potential domestic market in excess of 900 million people. Seven out of the top ten fastest growing economies in the world are African countries. Many foreign investors have been forced to turn away from their traditional investments in developed markets and are now looking closely towards emerging pportunities on the African continent. “THE AFRICANS”, asks the hard questions about what is in it for the more than one billion Africans on the continent and demonstrates that Africa’s present condition is intimately connected with her past. Africa comes with the temptation of either over-analyzing its plight or glamorizing its potential. It is a complex endeavor without a “one size fits all” solution. Forty-seven percent of Sub-Saharan Africans still live on US$1.00 a day and lack life’s most basic needs like clean drinking water and sanitation, enough food, decent shelter, health and education facilities. “THE AFRICANS” puts forward cutting edge structural changes, dubbed “Africa’s Third Way”. These are potential corrective measures to broken economic and political systems and are meant to propel Africa ahead of the competitive curve. 'THE AFRICANS” also demonstrates that Africa’s modern leaders’ role is to safeguard the continent’s utmost interests by pursuing competitive strategies that bring relevance, dignity and upward economic mobility for the whole population in the global scheme of things.
