2003 State of Africa Report

Against the backdrop of a heightened security alert in the United
States, this report punctuates an important point that should not be forgotten: America has allies in the fight against terrorism in Africa. We can strengthen our national security by strengthening our partnerships with the thirteen African Countries featured in the report (and others like them). A partnership with the U.S. should enhance their economic security, offer trade opportunities and increase cultural and intellectual exchange.

There is a connection between poverty alleviation and eradicating potential safe havens for terrorists. This report underscores the potential the United States has to mitigate opportunities for terrorists to flourish in these countries - terrorism can and has found fertile fields in Africa. Now, the U.S. has the opportunity to ensure that these thirteen Countries remain our Allies.

Secondly, there is this seemingly impending war with Iraq and the concern about the economic impact of such as recently expressed by African leaders. This report clarifies the economic stakes of this war for African countries and offers the background information necessary to have the present administration address their concerns.

Thirdly, this report makes a unique and important contribution to the fund of knowledge available to policymakers, scholars and students interested in Africa. No where else do we get the collected first hand perspectives of the Heads of State offering exceptional and inimitable insights into the challenges and opportunities in Africa. Their perspectives ought inform the deliberations of policymakers in both the public and private sectors.

Africa is more than the sum of its problems. There is no more emphatic statement of that than the benchmarks in progress noted by the leaders contributing to this report.

Here is a glimpse at the more detailed insights contained in this document:

Highlights 2003 African Leaders State of Africa Report

Key Political and Economic Indicators

South Africa:

“Gross fixed capital formation grew by almost 8 percent during the year. We now have had ten consecutive years of positive growth. … Our currency has wrested back the losses it suffered in 2001. During 2002, it recorded its first annual gain against the U.S. dollar in fifteen years.”

Botswana:

“(The Economic Freedom of the World: 2003 Annual Report) specifically singled out our country as a ‘shining example' In the same report, we were ranked alongside Norway and Japan as having the world's highest levels of economic freedom.”

Tanzania:

“Recent achievements in macroeconomic stability are reflected in increased official and private capital inflows and the build-up in gross foreign reserves, which registered an increase of 32.2 percent, from $1,156.6 million in2001 to $1,529 million in 2002. … Over the past five years, overall GDP growth has steadily risen from 3.3 percent in 1997 to 6.2 percent in 2002.”

Nigeria:

“(T)oday's National Day has come only a few months after the milestone event of a successful civilian-to-civilian transition of government.”

Kenya:

“To facilitate availability of adequate and affordable houses, the government is in the process of revamping the National Housing Corporation and reviving the National Housing Fund. Also under way are plans to establish a secondary mortgage market.

Mauritius:

“Mauritius has a well-developed telecommunications infrastructure with a digital fiber-optic cable backbone linking all its exchanges. In 2002, … there were 28.6 Internet hosts per 10,000 inhabitants and an estimated 20 percent of households owned a computer.”

Education Highlights

Education is key to economic development and democratic governance. For this reason, we have chosen to highlight country specific benchmarks in this area.

Botswana:

“(B)efore independence no more than 10 percent of our population had achieved basic literacy… today our youth literacy rate stands at about 90 percent. …We have continued to devote 25 percent of our budget to education and training, in per capita terms amongst the highest in the world.”

Kenya:

“The implementation of the free primary school education policy had improved the enrollment level tremendously. This policy has enabled the enrollment of an addition 1.7 million students who would not otherwise have received schooling.”

Mauritius:

“We have witnessed a continuous improvement in the literacy rate in Mauritius between 1990 and 2001. Primary school enrollment stood at 95 percent in 2001, whilst secondary school enrollment was 64 percent. Government expenditure on education, as a percentage of its total outlay, has risen from 18.3 percent in 1990 to 26.7 percent in 2000.”

Ghana:

“…The rehabilitation and construction of classrooms is proceeding with the urgency that is required, and by the middle of the year, every schoolchild in Ghana will have a desk to use and access to basic textbooks. … The number of people in teacher training colleges has risen to 8,500 from a low of 6,000 in the year 2000.

Malawi:

“Education is the key for development. …Primary school enrollment has reached 3.3 million, a dramatic jump from just 1.5 million in 1964. … More than 600 new classrooms have been constructed and about 800 rehabilitated over the year.”

2003 State of Africa Report Cover*