BBC | Focus On Africa Magazine | Forum: Can Africa weather the global downturn?

Do you think Africa's finances are hardy enough to deal with the current dip in economic fortunes?

Are the markets for African goods sufficiently diverse to lessen the impact of reduced demand around the world?

To take part in the debate simply fill in the form on the right. A selection of your comments will appear below.

Africans can equally deal with the global economic downturn as other continents have done if we can make our budget based on what we have and not on foreign donors. Secondly, if our leaders will be more responsible I see no reason why Africa can't face the crisis

Most African economies have not matured to the laissez-faire style economy of the West, where stock activites have direct effect on the populace. Instead, the bane of most African economies is inept leadership facilitated by their romantic affair with corruption. With fat bank accounts, money bigotry,the economies of most African countries especially Nigeria is nothing worth discussing. If African leaders had shunned all these gross misconducts, then inspite of the so-called economic meltdown in the west, we Africans would have been setting milestones like the Chinese who are soaring in economic bliss amid the economic chaos of the west

Sure, we will survive it. Before the meltdown we in Africa have been facing crises. Our leaders should start having a rethink, if they will listen, to eradicate poverty

African countries tend to have their respective colonial masters as the markets of choice for their goods

Nicholas Karani Njebi, Meru, Kenya

No. because most of Africa's economic programmes are not self-reliant. They depend largely on the strength of donations from friendly first world countries. Thus it follows that when those countries are affected negatively by the global economic recession, Africa will be on it's economic deathbed. However, there is room to manouvre if the African countries develop economies which do not rely heavily on donor funds. But finances in Africa are vulnerable hence only economically stable countries like South Africa have a chance. African nations should expect to be relegated to the "any other business" session in the world's development agenda as the recession continues to bite. African countries tend to have their respective colonial masters as the markets of choice for their goods. Hence most of them have not diversified their markets adequately to cushion them against the negative impacts of reduced demand for goods around the world. The change in the economic climate has affected my country Kenya in the following ways: economically; my country's economy has registered a dramatic decline in growth from an impressive 7% in the beginning of this decade to a heart-breaking 1.7% currently. Social-economically; citizens have cut down on their spending, hurting businesses. Politically; blame games are now on by the political class as no party wants to take responsibility for the depressed economy and it's consequencies to Kenyans

If it is about a global financial crisis, which is a result of bad money management by trusted, sophisticated and well advanced financial gurus then I think the time has come for Africa to be trusted enough to handle its financial downturns. What is the sense in entrusting our financial projections and objectives in the hands of failed experts? Africa does not need a bail out package or a stimulus plan from failed experts but rather a responsibility to manage its own affairs

Yes, we can weather the economic downturn if we adhere strictly to our natural resources, leaving any dependency to the Western world. We could develop and tackle the economic downturn

I think the African position has been made more precarious by the meltdown. It may drive weaker African countries to greater dependency for survival on the developed nations who, unless there is sincerity, may further exploit the situation to strenghthen their own uncertain position. Africa will survive as it always has but it will require a miracle to come off ahead

To a great extent Africa is a failed state as witnessed by many countries involved in civil war. Most countries are performing poorly in their economic growth. Political instability has compounded the problem. The issue of stolen elections is a common phenomena. Most resources have remained untapped and generally the continent has suffered mass brain drain, just but to mention a few indicators

For the common man in Nigeria and the rest of Africa, recession or no recession, his suffering as a result of poor management of the people's affairs by the atrocious leadership is the same any day. For those in authority on whose desks much of the buck stops, recession is another window of opportunity to hop into the next available craft on an overseas trip to shop for invisible investors in Europe, America, Asia. Recession is simply a season of locust for our leaders

It saddens my heart when I read about Africans problems because Africa is gifted with natural resources and the problems are due to selfish leadership and corrupt leaders. Africa needs a selfless leadership with generational thinkers. The western world has nothing meaningful to offer Africa except to steal our natural and human resources. African leaders must wean their economy from the western world and must adhere to policies and programmes that would benefit Africans

Everybody is a stakeholder in the matter

Folasayo Oyeyiola, Ibadan, Nigeria

No, I don't think with the low-value currency of most African countries, coupled with their great dependence on the Western world for survival, that Africa would be able to weather the global meltdown in the short-term. However, in the long-term, a gradual transformation from a primarily 'consuming' continent to a 'productive' one may salvage the situation. Everybody is a stakeholder in the matter

I hope Africa can employ very robust and effective measuressuch as generating enough revenue internally and by taking viable investment projects. However, in Ghana, the current government led by Prof. Mills is not doing much in this respect coupled with his inability to preudently manage the Ghanaiana economy, hence the Ghana cedi depreciating rapidly, inflation rising steadily and now the cost of living in Ghana is unbearable. Prof Mills wake up, otherwise 2012 will surely come
Name: Eric Affaidu

As much as I believe that the situation in question is "global" and Africa is part of the globe, certainly Africa will be affected but to what extent it's difficult to estimate. I must take this opportunity to tell the whole world that Africa is a continent and not a single country. And so when there's a situation in one or two countries in Africa, people should not think it's the same in all countries in Africa. It's sad to note that in Europe many people consider Africa as though it's one country. Whatever the case may be, Africa will one day stand on its feet and compete favourably with the rest of the world

I believe we can weather the global downturn. The crucial thing for Africa is to strengthen its economic ties amongst itself

Chum Amour, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

I believe we can weather the global downturn. The crucial thing for Africa is to strengthen its economic ties amongst itself. Regional economic intergrations are the instrument I think to weather the downturn. Africa can also closely cooperate with other countries of G77 outside Africa. I know that global downturn did not originate in Africa but Africans themselves, together can solve the problem. United we stand, divided we fall

According to an Ashanti proverb ''When you visit a frog and you see it squatting, there is no need to ask for a seat''. Indeed Africa cannot be said to be an island, we depend on Western nations to balance our budgets. Thus if even the horse is finding it difficult to jump, then we have no option. We will indeed survive

I believe in the inevitability of hard times, but that notwithstanding I think this is also the right time to adopt all the prudent economic management and pragmatic use of our resources to the benefit all

And of course my country is on the verge of an economic boom due to the discovery of oil.

Prossy Nannyombi, Entebbe, Uganda

I think it's time Africa concentrated on devising ways for future developments and improvements on our already sore economies rather than lamenting about the present global credit crunch. I live in a country where we haven't experienced massive environment changes; farmers still produce a lot which even rots on market stalls! And of course my country is on the verge of an economic boom due to the discovery of oil. Besides, most countries in Africa have had poor economies in the past; hence its time for us to see how we can first improve what is on our plate rather than crying over what's on our global neighbors

The fact still remains that Africa had been feeling the pangs of economic failure for a long time. While the world was developing we were still crying foul of colonialism while African leaders had been the greatest colonialist and economic saboteurs. Africans should stop talking of economic meltdown because it has been here for a long time. The only way that I see we will come out of this period is when we are able to develop the economy by putting in place better working environments for SMEs to see the light of day and this is dependent on commitment from Africans of all classes

I think Africa's finances can withstand tne global dowturn if corruption can be minimized

If it is about a global financial crisis which is a result of bad money management by trusted, sophisticated and well advanced financial gurus then I think the time has come for Africa to be trusted enough to handle its financial downturns. What is the sense in entrusting our financial projections and objectives to the hands of failed experts. Africa does not need a bail out package or a stimulus plan from failed experts but rather a responsibility to manage its own affairs

If our leaders can manage our resources more efficiently, we can take advantage of this recession to effectively remodel and rebrand our goods

Eric-Kenny O. Maduagwu, Awka, Nigeria

The global recession is apparently pushing Africa's development out of the world's agenda. Owing to our overdependence, Africa's finances are not robust enough to deal with the current economic meltdown. Nevertheless, if our leaders can manage our resources more efficiently, we can take advantage of this recession to effectively remodel and rebrand our goods (especially agro-allied) to diversify their markets. This is obviously one of the few ways we can come out of this economic recession that seems comfortable taking on us

Africa does not understand the principles of economics. My country, Nigeria is an example. The nation's economy is in shambles and its poor citizens are in painful agony!

Africa needs to make its own way in the world economy. Taking on China as an "investor" would be no different than the West. It is high time that these corrupt leaders take responsibility for their actions. And to the next generation of corrupt leaders: you can gain much more by developing a strong economy than by robbing the poor

The economic downturn has led to 10, 000 miners losing their jobs. This is a big lesson to Zambia to start looking at ways of reducing costs. Once strategies are found to reduce costs, savings can be used in hard times

We in Africa have always been faced with an economic crisis so we have become used to it

Nana Tutu Yeboah, Accra, Ghana

We in Africa have always been faced with an economic crisis so we have become used to it. It is however sad that the global crisis is going to worsen our case

A continent that's down economically need not fear any economic fall. Africa, I'm asurring the entire world, will weather the global downturn in her usual way

What is the fuss about the global meltdown or downturn for Africa? In Nigeria, we have always had a meltdown economy, where nothing works. It is only the political class that lives well because they melt every Naira into their pockets. This is why politics here is a matter of life and death

Yes, it is possible with sincerity, dedication and commitment over the management of the economy

Africans are always blaming the whites for their under developments and I think if we still keep this mindset we would limit our strength and loose focus. We need to change the way we think and believe that we can make it, otherwise we will see our capabilities burning and we will just watch and blame as we always do

The global economic downturn is here and I strongly agree that it will disrupt development in Africa.

Sahr Foday, London, United Kingdom

When a lazy farmer fails to secure a successful harvest, they blame their personal gods for being unkind. This is how Africa is. The global economic downturn is here and I strongly agree that it will disrupt development in Africa. Africa has always been failing, even before this economic crisis. Take Sierra Leone for example, the present government has been nicknamed 'Global Economic Crisis' for persistently blaming thier failures on the world economic crisis. The fact is that the APC government made unrealistic promises to win the past elections. Government officials are equally corrupt as past governments. No matter how many sacks of world Bank and IMF money is donated to Africa to absorb the present economic shock, nothing will change without good governance and transparency. African governments must open their eyes to the sufferings of their citizens

The changing economic trend has had a drastic impact on Ghana's business activities, the worse I have ever witnessed in my life

Yes! Africans leader can weather the storm in the global financial downturn if the so-called political leaders stop corruption, political sentiment and self centeredness to enhance the growth of our various African countries

The global economic meltdown has, to some level impacted my country, Liberia, especially in terms of inflation but it is still difficult to tell to what extent this has happened. Reason is that there are some merchants here who have adopted the culture of profiteering. The second reason is corruption in government - that is dashing the hopes of Liberians

to a poor man, the situation now and before the economic crisis is all the same

Mukhtar Hamid, Jos North, Nigeria

In Africa, only those that are in the corridors of power will talk about economic crises, because to a poor man, the situation now and before the economic crisis is all the same

The continent's currencies are weak but are enough to deal with the global economic threat so let the West continue their aid to Africa to rescue the continent from economic nightmares

It will take more political will in these difficult times to prevent most African countries falling off the development track

Lawrence Teh, London, United Kingdom

In my opinion, the question is not about Africa's ability to weather the global economic downturn but concerns about its capacity to provide social protection for people in extreme poverty. The chances of African states meeting the global development targets like the MDGs are becoming even more unrealistic, especially within the present economic context. Western governments and financial institutions may have committed themselves to meeting their financial obligations as expressed in the Paris Declaration and the recent Accra conference, but the reality is the more the economic recession, the less likely these commitments will be met. It will take more political will in these difficult times to prevent most African countries falling off the development track

When a dog is face to face with a hyena and begins to bark, it is not to endanger the hyena, but to ensure its own safety. Africa was not prepared and cannot survive the heat being generated by the global economic downtime. With the global economic fortunes dwindling, Africans are already an endangered species. It is unfortunate that African nations are fraught with corrupt and selfish leaders, whose major preoccupation is self preservation. The effects are already being felt. In Nigeria, for example, the recent sporadic loss of the value of Naira to the US dollar is not unconnected to the heavy drop of crude oil price, which is a direct impact of the global economic downtime. The Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria seem to have lost the battle to the free fall of the Naira. The prudently accumulated external reserves by the past administration have been seriously depleted. Infrastructural decadence, especially electricity has sent many multi-national companies packing. Nigerians wallow in poverty. Very soon the debt burden will reach unbearable level. Do we have any hope?

Africa can weather the global downturn. There are capable intellectuals in the African continent. Most have acquired knowledge from so-called western institutions such as Harvard and Oxford. What we need are accountable and responsible politicians. Take Sierra Leone as an example. A country rich in mineral resources, diamonds, gold, ect. The country is hopeless, it is corrupt, incompetent and it rules its people on tribal lines. If these resources can be properly utilised the continent can survive the storm

Just as we import inflation we can through ignorance import a recession!

Paul Runesha, Fenland, United Kingdom

Speaking as an African, all African states must wake up and see things with the correct lenses! For a long time Africa as a contintent has failed to unite and develop. The global downturn will definitely hit the continent because our countries rely very much on the West not only for trade and business but for policy, economic development and leadership. This is a wrong mentality. African countries should wake up and start opening their markets before they think of markets abroad! It is we Africans who will make the global downturn hit our continent because instead of opening up to our neighbours who are not yet hit, we open up to the already hit nations in the name of earning hard currency. Just as we import inflation we can through ignorance import a recession! Open markets, just as the East African countries have done. Thanks to the leaders in these regions, especially to Presidents Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Mwai Kibaki of Kenya and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. You are stars in the region!

Nigeria will remain a corrupt nation until the end of time as corrupt leaders continue to emerge into power every day through crooked means. Since they are above the laws of the land, they will certainly face God's judgment some day soon

No way Jose , they can't survive the current crisis. Living for almost 12 years in East Africa, I have a full view of what is going on

Yes, we Africans can weather the storm in the global financial downturn if our leaders will be more responsible and stop pillaging wealth for themselves at the expense of the poor African. Let us be each others keepers and remember that financial freedom in Ghana, South Africa or Libya is meaningless unless it is to the total freedom of the African continent

Sabally Touray, Raleigh, USA

I think it is possible for African countries to pull themselves out of the current economic mess if the leaders put the interest of the citizens first and stop depositing looted money into Swiss bank accounts. The best thing is to invest those incomes in their various economies for the good of all. Africans abroad can also help by investing back home

I think the current economic climate we are witnessing across the world has been a common experience in Africa, way back since the early years. The problem in Africa is not the economy, it is the abuse of power and corruption of its leaders. I think the ICC seem now to be taking a positive step to clean up these corrupt and brutal dictators. A lot of them have already aired their fear of the step; some of them are Eritrean President Isaias Afworki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles. It is time for the ICC to flex its muscles and go accross the border of Sudan and hunt down the next evils from that area

In Cameroon, the start of a small business is drowned by high taxes and no funds to spur on the business

Ngwani Felix Bawe, Kumbo, Cameroon

Can we in Africa really weather the global downturn? It shall take a number of years for us to be at the forefront of such an expedition. Our leaders need to be more transparent in carrying out their functions and more so, must be very patriotic. Our economy on its own is so small and weightless that we cannot turn things around. We don't manufacture goods that are in demand on the world market and even if we do, the quality would let us down. In Cameroon, the start of a small business is drowned by high taxes and no funds to spur on the business. The best way forward is for our governments to change positively - only then will we be able to turn things around

Africa will remain the same as long as we have selfish leaders who want to cling on to power until their death. Even before the economic meltdown, we were unable to develop due to corruption that characterises African leadership. I think, with the economic meltdown, this is going to be a reason for our greedy African leaders to scoop up more money. Unless we change, we can never contribute anything positive to the international community

It is high time we stop our dependence on the West and invest in the soil because it is the only solution to this problem

Laura Golakeh, Monrovia, Liberia

How can Africa weather this global downturn when our continent is plagued with corrupt, inefficient and power greedy leaders? How can Africa deal with with the current dip in economic fortunes when we continue to wait for manna (donors and handouts) from heaven (the West)? My fellow Africans, it is high time we stop our dependence on the West and invest in the soil because it is the only solution to this problem. For once China should be our role model

It is likely that Africa's development will drop off the world's agenda as the recession bites hard. But the current situation is a wake-up call for African countries to do more to enhance economic trade amongst them and not over rely on Western countries which are equally struggling to bring their economies on track. I'm saddened by the reported riots in some African countries like Burkina Faso and Cameroon among others. But the time has come for African leaders to be really serious about investing in their people so that collectively they will build their own countries, instead of spending state resources on themselves and immediate relations. The truth is that the West does not have enough to spare and so we either build our economies ourselves or leave it

I think our resources and money generated from revenue collections are hardy enough to deal with the current economic crisis that Africa is faced with, but the problem is our African leaders are not sincere to their citizens in that they consume the state money and enrich their accounts over a short period of time. See our Jallah Town road project that was given by the ministry of publics work of Liberia. Over one million United States dollars was used and today the road is again being rebuilt by the Chinese company, Chico. The questions are where is this money? What is the government doing to prosecute the minister and other officials? Where is our tax payers money? It is quite unfortunate