ISLAMIC MOVEMENTS AND THE POLITICAL
ECONOMY IN AFRICA: AN OVERVIEW OF
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA - 5

[The Concept ]    [The Context ]   [Contemporary Islamic Movement ]   [African Political Economy ]  [ Further Evidence ]   [Description to Prescription ]   [The Human Factor ]          [Role of Movements ]   [Conclusion ]  Further Evidence To be sure, Africa's current predicament is not for want of resources. For Africa has a reach soil for agriculture and abundant water resources for irrigation, transportation and hydroelectric generation. In terms of mineral, Africa has 97% of world reserves of chromium, 85% of platinum, 64% of gold 50% of manganese, and 25% of uranium,[15] not to mention the all important oil. EEC's dependence on Africa include 95% of its uranium, 46% of Tropical woods 41% of chrome 41% of cocoa, 25% of coffee, 23.3% of manganese, 20% cotton to mention a few.[16] But these resources belong to Africa only in name, for African's do not decide the prices of these commodities, all they need do is tune the BBC and it is there on the air. And the IMF and World Bank will decide the value of their currency and the level of subsidy they can give to their citizen all in the name of Structural Adjustment Program. Consequently Africa, with all its population, has barely 3% of world income and its share of world trade is under 5%.[17] Since the last two decades the economic situation had been deteriorating at a frightening rate. By 1991 Africa's share of world trade had dropped to about 2.1%[18] and a worsening per capita income drop. Productivity was receding in the face of a crushing debt burden. "Between 1982 and 1987" observed Okigbo "the per capita income of the 17 most indebted countries fell by one seventh, that of Sub-Saharan Africa by one fourth. Investment per capita in Africa" he added, "was lower in 1987 than in 1964..."[19] By 1991 Africa's total debt was $178.1 billion representing 109.6% of its GNP of $162.5 bn or some 339.5% of its export of goods and services. Its total debt service of $10.34bns in 1991 was 19.8% of its exports of goods and services in that year.[20] Sucked dry, naturally the living conditions deteriorated. A recent UN report entitled Brave New Third World observed that "Health systems are collapsing for lack of medicines, schools have no books and universities suffer from a debilitating shortage of library and laboratory facilities ... the hungry go without food, massive resources are being hived off to servicing the continent's $138bn external debt"[21]. The report further blamed the US commercial banks and the IMF for what it called "shocking and extensive assault" on the economic sovereignty of Africa and the rest of third world. By their own admission the IMF and the World Bank reckoned in a report a few years back that 950 million people are living in absolute poverty and squalor, 350 million of these live in Asia, 280 million in the rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa and 80 million in Latin America. This number, the report further admitted, had been increasing rapidly throughout the 80's.[22]