Globalisation Gap in Africa.
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Professor
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Negative effects of Globalisation In Africa
Introduction
Globalisation efforts have always been categorised as a beneficial activity to all countries that are involved in the trade of goods and services. However, through this essay, we try and show the negative effects of globalisation on the countries involved in importing goods. Especially focussing on African countries as a whole since its independence in terms of production of goods is growing at a slow pace.
Globalisation brings resources and enables trade between the people and the rest of the world. So, essentially, globalisation gives power to the people by creating demand for trade and goods from the rest of the world. While globalisation leads to the strengthening of relationships between vendor countries, it also presents a huge capital loss for countries in need of these services. Globalisation has been referred to as modern-day colonialization as external economies are looking to establish and develop markets for their goods in Africa. This is the current situation with the increase in China’s reach an overabundance of their goods and their influence on the continent (Baszak). It is assumed that China’s reach into mainland Africa is from the reduction of influence from America.
John Mbaku argues between regionalism and globalisation. Africa faces a huge stumbling block when it comes to its ability to produce quality and cheap products to provide to the rest of the world. Most of the goods available in Africa are foreign made. This leads to an unfair trade policy as most of the capital generated in Africa finds itself overseas in forms of trade for goods unavailable in Africa. As a result, Africa struggles to provide goods that other regions are interested in. for Africa to alleviate its poverty, it needs to make a statement in its ability to also provide services and trade goods made and imported from Africa. The only other way for economic growth in Africa is to develop economic alleviation policies and strategies that are imposed on imported goods that can be manufactured within the region (Mbaku & Saxena). These policies implemented mostly through taxes can be placed to help boost the production of local goods or to reduce the costs of such goods.
Globalisation gap’s author identifies how the transfer of wealth and capital from needy economies to richer economies ends up creating further poverty in these nations. As countries look to import more goods through trade into their economy, they present a transfer of capital that could have otherwise been used to develop the same industries locally (Isaack). Both this author and John Mbaku share the ideology. John Mbaku also identifies through his book how Africa is unable to contribute any goods or value to the rest of the world that will help in bringing foreign investment and capital into the continent. This is the main idea through Africa at Crossroads of Globalisation. Africa should be investing in industries that mostly increase exports into existing economies such as Europe, mainland Asia and the Americas. Focussing on these industries can help in improving the capital flow in and out of Africa through globalisation the main culprit to transfer of capital.
Second-hand clothes from America provide a form of revenue for waste in the US as Rwanda citizens can get cheap products compared to expensive textiles manufactured locally. In a sense, these second-hand clothes can support the economy while at the same time undermining the local textile industry. As a result of globalisation in this sense, citizens in Rwanda continue to suffer under poverty as their local textile industry does not grow based on the availability of cheap textile and clothes in the market compared to the expensive costs of making new fabric clothes from raw materials. The increase in poverty is a result of lack of growth and performance of local industries that the economy can sustainably depend on.
Conclusion
Through the different research articles identified in the essay, we can identify how countries in the African region have managed to remain poor after the age of colonisation. Through modern age colonial rule, the biggest economies in the world still have a major hold of markets in Africa by supplying second-hand clothes, technology as well as education while the African continent has little to export to these economies.
Works Cited
Baszak, Gregor. “A New Cultural Cold War? – American Affairs Journal”. American Affairs Journal, 2020, https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2020/11/a-new-cultural-cold-war/. Accessed 18 Feb 2021.
Isaack, Robert A. Globalization Gap, The: How The Rich Get Richer And The Poor Get Left Further Behind. 1st ed., FT Press;, 2004.
Mbaku, John Mukum, and Suresh Chandra Saxena. Africa At The Crossroads. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004.
