Monday 28 of June 2010
Africa faces major image problems
It is well known that Africa faces many challenges in its quest for a better life for its citizens as spelled out by the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). One of the biggest hurdles in Africa’s road to development, albeit not recognised by many, is the continent’s tarnished image that was a direct result of many factors; some are internal while others are external.
In spite of the various positive developments that took place in different parts of the continent, Africa’s image is still that of a hopeless place that is riddled with disease, poverty, tribalism and war.
One of the biggest challenges in the quest for image change is that image is invisible. The bull of image can not be grabbed from its horns. Image is imprinted in the unconsciousness of the person. This in turn affects one’s decision whether he/she is a politician, businessman, journalist, activist or an NGO official.
A bad image makes the viewer see only one slice of the reality. He/she sees only the empty part of the cup.
Another obstacle is the fact that bad image cannot easily be changed. Tremendous effort is needed to change one’s perception, about a specific country or a place. This is extremely difficult in the case of African countries which lack the required human, technological and financial resources needed to change that image.
Another negative side of bad image is that it can be easily generalised over a wider space. A conflict in small part of a specific country will stamp not only that country but the whole continent with insecurity. Thus a totally different and negative image is created.
In order not to be too abstract one can try to illustrate this by giving two examples: one from Kenya where the writer lives and the second from Sudan to which the writer belongs.
The conflict in Darfur overshadows the various positive developments in the Sudan. Very few people know about the fact that Sudan became the largest economy in Central and Eastern Africa with a GDP that is almost double that of Kenya.
A small number hear about the fact that the Sudanese economy grew by 11 per cent 10.2 per cent, 6.6 per cent and 4 per cent in the period 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 respectively.
The figure for 2009 is a result of the international financial crisis. A $2-billion dam was built which produces 1250 mega watts, more than the total generation capacity of Kenya. The country became the third largest oil producer in Sub -Sahara Africa after Nigeria and Angola. All these developments receive very little, if any, coverage by the international media.
An owner of a group of companies from Gulf country told the writer recently his group has not dispatched any of its staff to Kenya since 2008 because of the post election violence fearing for their safety.
They even shifted to using other airlines instead of Kenya Airways in their flights throughout Africa. This decision was taken in spite of the fact that the national carrier of Kenya extended their worldwide coverage to 49 destinations amid the effects of the global financial crisis and achieved a Kenyan shilling 2.6-billion profit in the financial year 2009-2010.
Thus it is evident that Africa is suffering a lot from the bad image imprinted on her as “the Dark Continent” or a “Scar on the conscious of the world”.
The first step in the battle of image change is for Africans to know that the image of their beloved continent has nothing to do with the reality.
They must be critical in receiving what the others say, publish, write about their continent.
African media have to rely on their own sources of information and to enhance their bilateral and multilateral cooperation and networking.
The writer is a diplomat at Sudan in Nairobi
- June 27, 2010 by Magdi A. Mofadal
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Source: www.nation.co.ke/News/africa/Africa %20faces%20major%20image%20problems/-/1066/947598/-/87wpev/-/ (accessed on 28.06.10)