KENYA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, 2 nd AFRICA GOVERNANCE, LEADERSHIP - - PDF document

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KENYA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, 2nd AFRICA GOVERNANCE, LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT CONVENTION, 2nd – 5th AUGUST 2011 MEDIA AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA AFTER THE COLD WAR A Presentation by Mr. Linus Gitahi, Group CEO, Nation Media Group PRIMACY OF THE MEDIA IN THE DEVELOPMENT AGENDA:

• Fostering a stronger media in Africa is an indispensable part of

tackling poverty, improving development and enabling Africa to attain its development goals.

• Independent media avails to citizens, human rights groups, private
• rganizations and public authorities opportunities to work together,

promote development and eliminate arbitrary abuse.

• The media landscape is changing rapidly and adapting to new
• circumstances. In today globalizing world it is not contentious to

say that media plays an important role in providing information. The question though remains what kind of information is availed and what kind of information is needed.

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• Media can play an important role in development and there is

evidence of this role. For example: IN KENYA: Following the 2008 post-election violence in Kenya in which 1,400 people killed and up to 500,000 displaced, an NGO, Search for Common Ground developed a TV drama, THE TEAM. Members of THE TEAM challenge stereotypes, struggle to deal with their ethnic, social, and economic differences, and to develop a new narrative about an inclusive and fair Kenya society that is void of tribalism and negative ethnism. IN TANZANIA: Twaweza (We Can Make It Happen), which a good governance and public accountancy group in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda partnered with the Tanzania Broadcasting

• Corp. and developed a TV show “Daladala”. In the Dalala,
• rdinary people are filmed inside the public service mini-buses by

the same name, express their views on important national political, social and economic matters. The programme has had phenomenal success with 3m people listening in. IN MADAGASCAR: The rapid alert system through radio broadcasting has recently been launched to allow local populations to prepared better against disasters and to improve natural resources management and thus reinforce food security. There are also other examples of what media can do for development, without the aid donors:

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IN GHANA: The trade portal NET offers price of agricultural products on mobile phones in various languages including local

• nes, settling a relationship between buyers and sellers;

IN MALI: A partnership has been forged between local radio stations and a local NGO - "Observatorie du marché agricole". Radios broadcast product prices, inputs and agricultural equipments and publish them on mobile phones.

• Increasingly, the link between media and stability, social and

cultural cohesion and structures for democracy is deemed essential for trade, international co-operation and national development in Africa. 21st CENTURY AFRICA

• According to the McKinsey Global Institute’s report on Africa

released in June last year, Africa’s overall GDP is on the rise. Today, while Asia’s tiger economies continue to expand rapidly, the report predicts the potential rise of economic lions in Africa’s future.

• Africa’s GDP stood at $1.6 trillion in 2008 (roughly equal to

Brazil’s or Russia’s) but is expected to rise to $2.6 trillion by 2020. Consumer spending at $860 billion is expected to grow to $1.4

• trillion. 50% of all Africans will be cities, with 128 million

households with discretionary incomes.

• Africa currently has 60% of the world’s total amount of

uncultivated, arable land with more than 20 of Africa’s blue chip

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companies generating at least $3 billion each in revenues. Africa also has one of the fastest growing new mobile phone subscriptions in the world, currently inching towards 500 million.

• While Africa’s increased economic momentum is widely

recognized, less known are its sources and likely staying power.

• According to the UN Economic Commission on Africa, the world

economy showed a moderate recovery from the effects of the global financial and economic meltdown of 2008–2009. Global gross domestic product (GDP) grew at 3.6 per cent in 2010, an impressive turnaround from the 2.1 per cent contraction of 2009. Economic activity rebounded across Africa in 2010.

• Oil-exporting countries generally expanded more strongly than oil-

importing countries. West Africa and East Africa were the two best performing sub-regions in 2010.

• Looking ahead, a critical question is whether Africa’s surge

represents a one-time event or an economic takeoff.

• For starters, Africa’s growth acceleration resulted from more than a

national resources boom. Arguably and more important are the various governments’ actions to end political conflicts, improve macroeconomic conditions, and create better business climate, to enable accelerated growth to across countries and sectors.

• McKinsey projects that Africa’s future growth will be supported by

external trends such as the global race for commodities, Africa’s

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increased access to international capital and its ability to forge new types of economic partnerships with foreign investors.

• Long-term growth will be lifted by internal social and demographic

trends, particularly Africa’s growing labor force, urbanization, and the related rise of middle-class consumers.

• Today, 40 per cent of Africans – a portion close to China’s and

larger than India, live in cities with an expected growth in the

• future. As more Africans move from farmlands to urban jobs, their

incomes are rising.

• Africa is already one of the world’s most dynamic consumer

markets, growing two to three times as fast as those in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.

• In 2008, an estimated 85 million African households earned at least

$5,000 (measured in terms of Purchasing Power Parity) – this is the level above which they start spending about half their income on items other than food.

• By 2030, the continents top 18 cities could have a combined

spending power of $1.3 trillion.

• Africa’s labor force is expanding. By 2040, it is projected to reach

1.1 billion, overtaking China and India. If Africa can provide its young people with the education and skills they need, this large workforce could account for a significant share of both global

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consumption and production. AFTER THE COLD WAR AND THE EMERGENCE OF CHINA

• When People’s Republic of China’s President Jiang Zemin visited

Kenya, Ethiopia, Egypt, Mali, Namibia and Zimbabwe in May 1996, his country’s government controlled media strongly emphasised Africa’s importance to Beijing’s foreign policy

• bjectives
• In sharp contrast to the West in general and the US in particular,

China emphasized establishing stronger ties around Africa

• China had perceived itself as both a third force and an alternative

to the US and the Soviet Union during the height of the cold war, when Africa was a battleground in the superpower rivalry

• The end of the cold war, the disintegration of the Soviet Union and

the retreat of the US and Russia from most of Africa created greater opportunities for Chinese foreign policy

• This has had the potential to realign bilateral trade and tear down

pre-existing concepts and long-held friendships

• China seeks to establish and develop a new type of strategic

partnership with Africa, featuring political equality and mutual trust, economic win-win cooperation, and cultural exchange

• China has become an important driver of Africa’s resource sector
• growth. China increased its share of African oil exports from 1

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percent in 1995 to 13 percent in 2008 making it the single largest contributor of Africa’s oil export growth, measured by volume. Africa provides 31% of China’s oil imports. This is expected to grow as China diversifies sources in Africa (growing at 1-2% per year)

• If this trend continues, China could overtake Europe as Africa’s

second largest oil export market by 2020. China increased its African investment by 46 percent between 2001 and 2007. China’s investments have continued to grow since then and will account for significant foreign capital flow for many Africa countries into the future.

• China’s demand for strategic resources is growing
• China is the World’s largest user of cooper
• The country continues to demand for iron ore and cement for

construction projects

• China is purchasing strategic resources from several African

nations, mainly in central and southern Africa: Via direct investment by Chinese state companies in mines, fisheries, precious woods; In DRC: cooper and cobalt mines; In Zambia: cooper mines; and In Liberia: iron ore etc.

• Chinese–African relations have three distinct channels of

cooperation: trade, investment and aid.

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• For example, a major part of Chinese resource-seeking Foreign

Direct Investment (FDI) in infrastructure has an aid component that ties minerals and oil exports to China.

• Many African nations are running a trade deficit with China

as is the case for African trade with Western nations

• China’s textile exports for example have hurt numerous

nations: Factories have closed in Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland

• China has a unique ‘double whammy’ effect on African

nations: killing domestic industry while constricting foreign markets

• Some Chinese firms have historically used Africa as a

“back-door” to Western textile markets via AGOA

• This calls for a careful balance between the risks of resource

depletion and greater FDI. Policies targeting sustainable development and linking Chinese commercial agenda with local African economies will contribute to this.

• Rules by African states that insist on regional diversification and

localized value chain creation will safeguard against further skewed balance of trade and maximize the benefits of the Chinese– African trade relations.

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• Some positive balance of trade initiatives include:
• Tourism - China has designated 16 African nations

(including Kenya) as approved tourist destinations leading to more than 1 million Chinese tourists in 2010 an increase from 110,000 in 2005

• Cultural exchanges - establishing “Confucius Institutes” to

promote the study of Chinese language, history, and culture. These are now present in most top tier universities in East Africa

• More than 800 African students are studying in China from

scholarships offered by the Chinese Government MEDIA AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

• The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) reviews were done

in 2010. The last time a similar review was undertaken was in 2007, which was halfway to the target year of 2015.

• Over the first seven years, the then Secretary General of the United

Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan, said it was quite apparent that the promise to collectively protect the vulnerable and meet the special needs of the poor, continued to elude many leaders in Africa.

• The Millennium Campaign secretariat on its part, says progress in

Africa has generally been very slow and patchy, although some progress is evident

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• Progress has been made in Uganda to reverse the spread of

AIDS.

• In Mozambique significant success has been achieved in

curbing child mortality

• Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa including Kenya are

getting more children to go to school.

• As the MDG project moves closer to its target, it is worrying that

awareness of MDGs has not trickled down to the public and little is known about accountability mechanisms, if any.

• How can African women for example demand more action from

their leaders especially when evidence on the ground shows that many women continue to die giving birth due to pregnancy-related complications?

• Promoting awareness and understanding of MDGs is central to the

attainment of the goals.

• This is critical because awareness and knowledge bolsters

people’s ability to demand accountability from their leaders.

• The majority of African media has not actively engaged

in understanding and communicating MDGs as they should

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• Journalists, to a large extent, have shied away from

giving insightful analysis linking their countries’ development agendas to global commitments and action

• plans. This has resulted in a largely uninformed public,

who lack critical information to make decisions and take action.

• This absence of MDG information in the media is lamentable

because, they offer journalists “the opportunity to break down the stark of information about under-development into a convenient eight point “to do list”.

• Communicating MDGs remains a challenge for the media in
• Africa. Journalists lack the resources to cover such stories as well

as other competing agendas and therefore a lot more ground needs to be covered here.

• As the target fast approaches, both media and development
• rganizations could begin to look at strategies to give impetus to

the different processes to accelerate the attainment of the goals.

• The MDGs offer the media a convenient framework to breakdown

their development coverage. This will also help journalists make linkages with national, regional as well as global development ambitions and targets.

• Strategies to harness the power of the media by the development

sector have been inconsistent. But this has to change if the media is

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to play a critical role in continuously critiquing the process towards the achievement of MDGs.

• Partnering with media in awareness campaigns and building

knowledge through joint programmes, training and mentorship of journalists as well financing of media programmes should be explored. MEDIA POWER AND TECHNOLOGY

• The story of the international media and content industries in

recent years has been one of accelerating merger and acquisition activities.

• Content companies, telecommunication operators and technology

companies have sought to secure distribution channels, to achieve presence in strategic and emerging markets

• However, despite their strength, traditional media companies are

threatened in their core business and traditional model: the mass production of content. This is especially true for newspapers although broadcasting is also expected to wane in the coming years.

• The ability to actively use the Internet via the many possibilities
• ffered by Web 2.0 to express opinions, establish relationships and

pursue individual and collective projects is undoubtedly changing the fundamental experience of media use.

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• As a result a new communication paradigm is emerging

characterized by connectivity, interactivity and convergence.

• For the first time in human history authorities and citizens coexist

in the same information environment and compete for attention leading to new phenomena such as public diplomacy, blogging and “citizen journalism”

• Legitimacy is much more difficult to obtain and can be easily lost.
• Media industries worldwide are in a process of transformation

under the impact of technological, economic, regulatory and political developments of crucial importance.

• The most characteristic and far-reaching of these changes are:
• The

rapid growth

• f

media companies, the internationalization and differentiation of their activities leading to concentration of capital in many sectors of the industry.

• The multiplication of media outlets
• The ubiquity of the Internet and the creation of cyberspace
• The increased ability of individuals to produce content and

disseminate information

• Audiences now consume news in new ways. They hunt and gather

what they want when they want it, use searchable achieves to comb

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through information overload and share what they find through a growing network of social media.

• Development strategies and public policies have to take into

account that the new and dynamic information and communication system is characterized by a number of global trends.

• If the public is now the producer then they must be empowered and

educated to engage and create journalism.

• An empowered communications environment works to:
• Strengthen civil society and educating audiences' to be

media literate

• Strengthening capacity for research in universities, and

encouraging action to promote development and good governance through public debate

• This dimension of the communications environment is particularly

important in Africa, where informal face-to-face communications, unmediated, continue to determine how people react and interact in society. CONCLUDING THOUGHTS - THE AFRICA OF TOMORROW

• Swiftly growing cooperation between Africa and the BRIC

economies has helped offset trade impact by opening up new markets

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• The environmental challenges confronting Africa however appear

fundamental.

• Agriculture, tourism and fisheries, which are among the

largest sources of employment on the continent, have become vulnerable to climate change and

• ther

environmental risks.

• Africa’s lack of energy security and self-sustainability are

also a great impediment to sustainable development.

• Renewable energy generation, despite its significant potential,

remains undeveloped in Africa.

• These challenges require Africa to make a transformation to the

“green economy”, which enables economic growth and human development without exposing future generations to significant environmental risks and ecological scarcities.

• The involvement of African state in green-market promotion,

regulation and investment is crucial for this ultimate development

• bjective.
• Trade within the Common Market for East and Southern Africa

(COMESA), for example, has grown five-fold since the launch of its free trade area in October 2000.

• Although trade within these communities remains small as a

proportion of total trade, it is hoped that the recent tripartite

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agreement among COMESA, EAC and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) can accelerate its growth

• This is likely to be boosted by the decision made in November

2010 by the African ministers of trade to fast-track the process towards an Africa-wide free trade area.

• As Chinese aid flows, African states should increasingly request

for greater control of their resource exploitation.

• Instead of absolute leeway by foreign companies to mine resources

(e.g. Canadian company - Tiomin that eventually had to relinquish its license for mining titanium in Kenya) greater local partnerships involving local state and private sector agencies (e.g. KENGEN– through an IPO - that allowed Kenyans to fund and benefit from geothermal) should be encouraged.

• African states also need to place further emphasis on building local

capacity to create knowledge transfer and employment

• pportunities thereby consolidating sustainable development

processes and impact.

• Africa must build protection for local but strategic enterprises

through aggressive and adequate provisions in bilateral trade

• agreements. Countries like China and India have built sustainable

industrialization through preferential trade policies in favour of local companies

• This will allow access to new markets for African products such as

beef exports to Europe, clothing to the US and value added coffee

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and tea products. This will create a sustainable open market scenario that doesn’t compromise local enterprises. This should begin to tip the balance of trade that currently places Africa at a disadvantage

• Skilled African labour can be leveraged competitively to step into

voids created by China, India and Brazil once the countries industrialize as expected and labour costs begin to soar. Employment created in this way will be strategic to driving economic growth

• China for example could relocate industries to cheaper labour

environments in Africa. This can also be replicated in mainstream Europe and parts of the US subcontinent where declining population growth has impacted internal availability of labour.

• In doing this the skilled population will require to learn new

business cultures and languages (Chinese and Portuguese in particular) to allow greater trade between Africa and members of the BRIC countries.

• Africa’s economic space—a common market—could replicate

Chinese market conditions. When taken as a common market, win- win trade opportunities between these two markets could be identified.

• The viability of such opportunities greatly depends on the lead that

African states take in envisioning their developmental role and their engagement in promoting this role in their dialogue with BRIC, as well as negotiations with traditional partners.

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• This will require new thinking on engagement terms for the

exploitation of Africa’s natural resources. Where the tradition has been to yield readily to foreign companies targeting the rights to mine our resources, Africa will need to enter into partnerships that allow for greater local autonomy and benefits to build fair trade and sustainability models. This will create an atmosphere of mutual profitability among partners

• One major problem facing Africa today is poor governance. Bad

leadership and mismanagement of funds continue to tear Africa into pieces.

• In many states, the extensive presence of corruption weak

leadership and institutional capacity is rife. This has entrenched a culture of reneging on the reform agendas and on promises made to citizens and without any punitive consequence

• This lack of consequence even in the face of legal censure has

encouraged a sense of impunity on the part of state actors. This has the potential to seriously undermine any development processes.

• Simply put, without political goodwill and the strict

enforcement of the law, Africa will never overcome its many challenges

• It is time to decolonize our minds and aspire to take our place on

the world stage. We must rid ourselves of perpetual selfishness and take up nationalism and our pride of place

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• Where Africans were viewed as inferior even by fellow Africans,

the time has now come to appropriate our place in the sun. It is time for Africans to stand up and be counted, dispel the ‘followship’ mentality and lead from the front. Africa’s lions can be created here. We just need to believe in our destiny for greatness and prove to all our detractors that Africa is truly the continent of the 21st century

• The media can play a critical role in driving inspirational visuals of

Africa’s pride in its culture, food, dress, languages and most importantly, intellectual contribution to global development. We must play our role in shunning tribalism, nepotism and all other ’isms’ by playing true to the African values of community, heritage and destiny. This worldview is central to Africa’s self discovery and the media is at the heart of it.

• Thank You.