Our success educationally, industrially and politically is based upon the protection of a nation founded by ourselves. And the nation can be nowhere else but in Africa by Marcus Garvey
Introduction
Over the years the African continent has and in many instances continues to endure political instability and economic uncertainty. During 2014 the continent experienced one of its most turbulent years in its recent history, characterized by the deadly Ebola outbreak, widespread protests, unrest, civil wars and insurgencies. With such devastating events it becomes increasingly difficult not to lose sight of the true value which the continent holds and it is easy to overlook the continent’s contribution to the world. Every year on the 25th of May Africa Day is commemorated, marking the 1963 founding of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), which is now known as the African Union (AU). This day serves as a reminder of the commitment the 53 member states made to address certain challenges of the continent such as armed conflict, climate change and poverty.[1] Although the continent continues to experience numerous challenges and much room exists for improvement, a lot can be said about the successes it has achieved. By highlighting some of the achievements of the continent, this article will serve as a reminder of the great potential it holds.
Tourism
Tourism is one of the most important tools for economic growth and job creation all over the world. In 2011, the World Travel and Tourism Council estimated that by 2021 3.8 million jobs could be created by the tourism industry in Sub-Saharan Africa.[2] This is good news given the fact that Sub-Saharan Africa is home to the fastest growing youth population in the world and many are facing the burden of unemployment.[3] It is expected that much growth in the tourism industry will occur in Sub-Saharan Africa as global hotel chains are expected to spend millions over the next few years to meet a rising demand from foreign tourists as well as the continent’s fast-growing middle class. Since the 1950s there has been a 4-5 percent increase in the number of international tourist arrivals in Africa. Even during the global economic crisis of 2009-2010 there was an 8 percent increase in international tourist arrivals in Sub-Saharan Africa, which made the region the fastest growing tourist destination in the world, after the Asia Pacific.[4]
Many countries have demonstrated the potential benefits tourism holds by promoting different kinds of tourism. South Africa has demonstrated this through the promotion of wilderness tourism and by doing so there has been various benefits for the country including the growth of employment, capital investment and biodiversity conservation. South Africa received a total of 9 million international arrivals in 2009. Its total international tourist receipts amounted to 8.68 billion dollars and tourism accounted for 9.6 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), while 1.3 million jobs were created.[5] Although this example demonstrates that tourism in Africa has been successful in a number of ways the full potential which tourism holds for Africa remains largely untapped. However, Africa’s future looks bright given the growth in adventure tourism coupled with the continent’s rich cultural heritage and natural beauty.[6]
Literary Greats
Africa has produced some of the world’s most acclaimed contemporary writers. The ethnic and cultural diversity that characterizes Africa is reflected in the equally diverse and multifaceted literature of these internationally renowned authors. One such author was Nigerian Chinua Achebe, who wrote some of the most extraordinary works of the 20th century. His most influential work is Things Fall Apart (1958), which depicts the devastating effects of the fight between traditional tribal beliefs and the effects of colonial rule, as well as the tension between masculinity and femininity in patriarchal societies.[7] Among the array of stellar female writers to come out of Africa, Miriama Bâ is considered to be one of the most seminal female authors. Her contribution to the literary world is characterized by her powerful feminist texts, which addressed gender inequality in her native country of Senegal and in the rest of Africa. Her frustration with the patriarchal structures which have influenced her own life is addressed in her novel So Long a Letter (1981).
A new generation of African writers is taking the world by storm, one of whom is Nigerian born Chimamanda Adichie. The social and political issues faced by the people in Nigeria is reflected in her literary narrative. This is demonstrated in her debut novel Purple Hibiscus (2003), which details the experiences of a family during a military coup. It was received with critical acclaim, was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2004 and won the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize for Best First Book in 2005.[8] Through the years the continent has and continues to produce talented and influential authors who make valuable contributions to literature by challenging the dominant ideologies and status quo, not only in their countries of origin, but the world. Other prominent authors include the late South African born Nadine Gordimer, who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1991[9] as well as her compatriot and extraordinary writer, John Maxwell Coetzee, who also won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2003.[10]
Mineral resources
The world is heavily dependent on the natural resources found in African countries. There are a number of widely used everyday products made from minerals which are produced in Africa. These products include cellphones, cars and airplanes among others. These mineral resources are important exports for many African countries and even though the ordinary person does not always benefit from the wealth these resources generate, the global commodities boom is helping to power the economies of Africa’s resource-rich nations.[11] The continent’s two most profitable mineral resources are gold and diamonds. In 2008 the continent produced about 483 tons of gold, which made up 22 percent of the world’s total production. While South Africa accounts for almost half of the world’s gold production, Ghana, Guinea, Mali and Tanzania are among the other major producers of gold. Africa also dominates the global diamond market. The continent produced 55 percent of the world’s diamonds in 2008, with Botswana, Angola, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Namibia among the top producers of diamonds.[12] In 2011 the continent produced more than half of the world’s diamonds, with Botswana at the forefront with more than 22.9 million carats.[13] The Cullinan diamond, the largest diamond in history, was also discovered in South Africa, in January 1905 at the Premier Mine.[14]
Sporting achievements
Even though there is still much that needs to be done in sport in terms of its development in African countries, over the years there have also been many sportsmen and women from Africa who have achieved domestic and subsequently international success. One of the most popular sports on the African continent is soccer and many talented soccer players have emerged from Africa. They include soccer greats such as the Ivorian Didier Drogba, who has played for prominent European Clubs including Marseille in France and the English Premier League club Chelsea. Some of his best achievements include winning the Barclays Premier League title four times as well as the UEFA Champions League, with Chelsea.[15]
The South African golfer Gary Player has also achieved great heights in the sport. He is regarded as one of the best players to ever participate in the sport. At the age of 29 he became the third man in history to win the coveted Grand Slam, which includes the Masters Tournament, the U.S. Open, the Open Championship as well as the PGA Championship.[16] Among the successful female athletes the continent has produced, Penny Heyns is certainly among them. She established herself as one of the world’s best female breaststrokers of the 20th century when she became the only woman in history to win both the 100 and 200-meter breaststroke events at the 1996 Olympic Games in 1996. She came third at the Olympics in Australia in 2000 and broke a total of 14 records during her career.[17] Many other successful athletes could be named, including the now retired Ethiopian competitive long distance runner, Haile Gebrselassie, who has been hailed by many as the best in history[18] and the South African Zola Pieterse - née Zola Budd - a two-time world cross country champion and Olympiad.[19] The success of the aforementioned athletes bears testimony to the heights the continent can reach as a whole, should more attention be given to sports development.
Religious and Linguistic Diversity
As the second most populous continent on the planet Africa is also characterized by great religious and linguistic diversity. There are over 2000 different African languages, which represent nearly one-third of the world’s languages.[20] In South Africa alone there are 11 official languages. Religion has always been central to people’s lives in Africa. Islam and Christianity are two of the most widely practiced religions on the continent. Since the year 1900 there was a dramatic increase in the Muslim and Christian population. There were approximately 234 million Muslims and 470 million Christians on the continent by 2010.[21] Although the majority of the Africans are now Muslim or Christian, there are also traditional religions, which have endured and still play a big role in certain African countries.[22] Countries which still practice traditional religion include Senegal, where the Serer religion is practiced, and South Africa where there is still a belief in traditional healers.[23]
Africa is home to an ever-expanding agricultural sector. It accounts for a third of the continent’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and it is maintained that growth in the agriculture sector is 11 times more likely to reduce poverty than growth in any other sector. This explains why members of the African Union (AU) have vowed to invest 10% of national budgets in agriculture. These investments have already paid off by facilitating significant agricultural growth and reducing poverty in countries such as Ethiopia – where poverty is down by 33% - and Rwanda – where poverty was reduced by 45%.[24] However, the African agricultural sector faces many setbacks such as access to capital, electricity, better technology and irrigated land to grow high-value nutritious foods and climate change. Africa has more than half of the world’s fertile yet unused land and uses only two percent of its renewable water resources compared to the global average of five percent.[25] Although the agricultural sector has contributed to the development of African countries, it holds great untapped potential which could further enhance development and improve the lives of Africans.
Conclusion
It is clear that the African continent is invaluable and unique in many ways. Its tourism sector draws people from far and wide, contributes heavily to the economies of many African countries and provides millions of jobs. The continent also boasts some of the most influential writers who have made valuable contributions to the literary world. It supplies the world with a host of mineral resources and is home to some of the world’s most successful sportsmen and women. It is one of the most culturally, religious and linguistically diverse settings on the planet and is also home to an agricultural sector responsible for the alleviation of poverty in many countries.
End Notes
[1] S. Hanson: The African Union, http://www.cfr.org/africa-sub-saharan/african-union/p11616 (3 May 2016). ↵
[2] I. Christie, E. Fernandes, H. Messerli & L. Twinning-Ward, Tourism in Africa: harnessing tourism for growth and livelihoods, p. 1. ↵
[3] T. Amare: Africa’s high youth unemployment: is population to blame? http://www.cfr.org/africa-sub-saharan/african-union/p11616 (3 May 2016). ↵
[4] I. Christie, E. Fernandes, H. Messerli & L. Twinning-Ward, Tourism in Africa: harnessing tourism for growth and livelihoods, p. 1. ↵
[5] Ibid, p. 252. ↵
[6] Tourism in Africa is an untapped goldmine, http://www.cfr.org/africa-sub-saharan/african-union/p11616 (3 May 2016). ↵
[7] A. Behrooz: The Top 10 African Authors you should know, http://theculturetrip.com/africa/articles/the-top-10-contemporary-african-writers-you-should-know/ (3 May 2016). ↵
[8] A. Behrooz: The Top 10 African Authors you should know, http://theculturetrip.com/africa/articles/the-top-10-contemporary-african-writers-you-should-know/ (3 May 2016). ↵
[9] Nadine Gordimer: Biographical, http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1991/gordimer-bio.html (10 May 2016). ↵
[10] D. Musiitwa: Celebrating Africa’s Nobel Prize Winners, http://www.africabookclub.com/?p=515 (10 May 2016). ↵
[11] Out of Africa: The minerals that make the world go round, http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/25/world/africa/africa-resources-fuel-world/ (4 May 2016). ↵
[12] Africa: Resources – Environment and Economy, http://education.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/africa-resources/ (4 May 2016). ↵
[13] Out of Africa: The minerals that make the world go round, http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/25/world/africa/africa-resources-fuel-world/ (4 May 2016). ↵
[14] The Cullinan Diamond, https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/exhibitions/the-cullinan-diamond (10 May 2016). ↵
[15] V. Mathure: “Didier Drogba: Ivory Coast,” Conflict Trends, June 2010, p. 22. ↵
[16] Gary Player, http://garyplayer.com (4 May 2016). ↵
[17] Penny Heyns, http://www.pennyheyns.com (4 May 2016). ↵
[18] S. Douglas: Haile Gebrselassie Retires from Racing, http://www.runnersworld.com/newswire/haile-gebrselassie-retires-from-racing (5 May 2016). ↵
[19] A. Schemp: Budd won her age group at South African Ultra, but didn’t wear the proper tag on her bib, http://www.runnersworld.com/briefs/zola-budd-considering-legal-action-over-comrades-dq (5 May 2016). ↵
[20] B. Heine & D. Nurse: African Languages: An Introduction, p. 1. ↵
[21] Tolerance and Tension: Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa, http://www.pewforum.org/files/2010/04/sub-saharan-africa-full-report.pdf (8 May 2016). ↵
[22] The Story of Africa: Traditional Religions, http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/index_section6.shtml (8 May 2016). ↵
[23] Tolerance and Tension: Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa, http://www.pewforum.org/files/2010/04/sub-saharan-africa-full-report.pdf (8 May 2016). ↵
[24] A. Kalibata: Agriculture will drive Africa’s rise to economic power, http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/jun/03/agriculture-africa-rise-to-economic-power (6 May 2016). ↵
[25] Africa’s Agriculture and Agribusiness Markets Set to Top US$ One Trillion in 2030, http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2013/03/04/africa-agribusiness-report (6 May 2016). ↵