Infrastructure lack still shackling Africa

WINDHOEKDENVER ISAACSMuch has been said of Africa's current growth trend, with the continent widely regarded as the next engine to power the world economy.However, in spite of enormous mineral and natural resources, the continent's robust economic growth rates of over 5% per year has not lifted it from its status as the least productive of any region globally.According to the World Economic Forum, African countries in 2012/13 have remained the least competitive in the world, as infrastructural shortcomings continue to hamper progress in sectors like energy, water provision, transportation, communications technology and sanitation.To keep track of the continent's pace and developments across nations, the African Development Bank (AfDB) regularly publishes the Africa Infrastructure Development Index (AIDI), where according to the latest results, Namibia is ranked 11th best equipped.The study ranks countries based on the infrastructural strength of four major components: namely transport, electricity, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), water and sanitation.Namibia has held its current ranking since 2007, while Seychelles has held the first place spot since 2003.Lybia was ranked second until 2010, when it was pushed to fourth place by South Africa, who is in second place, and Egypt, who is ranked number three.Researchers say their methodology includes assessing factors such as the total paved roads in a country, the number of internet users, those using fixed and mobile cellular subscriptions and sanitation facilities available to citizens.&quot;Africa currently spends about US$45 billion (N$443 billion) each year on infrastructure, two-thirds of which is domestically financed from taxes and user charges. Most financing for capital investment is obtained from external sources. It is therefore vital that governments and external investors alike have a mechanism to ensure that their investments are yielding positive results on the ground, and providing the best returns,&quot; the authors of the latest report state.The bottom ranked countries on the list, they say, share one characteristic in that they are mostly &quot;fragile States&quot; recently involved in some form of conflict.The bottom ten ranked countries in Africa in terms of infrastructure are Somalia, Niger, Ethiopia, Chad, Madagascar, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Mali.

Infrastructure lack still shackling Africa

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-12

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Infrastructure lack still shackling Africa

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-12

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