Question

How do national governments contribute to the problems faced by developing economies? Provide examples from Africa, and explain measures taken by governments to improve conditions.

Answer 1

The third world governments are often blamed for their own failed development. The main problem that appears is a lack of efficient planning of the expenditures by the government of these countries. The underdeveloped countries tend to spend more on the military and inefficient government enterprises and less on structural adjustment programs and priority areas of human development such as basic health care and primary education. One of the common mistakes of the underdeveloped countries is that most of them have not been able to understand the essence of politics from the economic perspective over the past several decades and thus they have not started focusing on the stable economic construction of the countries. Poverty and backwardness are often the breeding grounds for problems such as political unrest, conflict and even terrorism.

The African countries seem to facing a trend towards the dissolution of national sovereignty. This is one of the major challenges faced by these countries in governance and development. The administrative abilities of most of the countries are insufficient and their state systems and governmental functions are gradually collapsing. Another challenge is the fast appearance of large numbers of NGOs over the past two decades. The problem arises because these NGOs often are supported and controlled by foreign powers. The interference of foreign powers on such a scale question the sovereignty and government management of a country, without which, no country could gain the social stability, national security and economic growth that are necessary for social development.