Economic mismanagement by African leaders poses a greater threat to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) than the current global financial crisis, according to the Vice President of The Hunger Project (THP).
In an interview with Daily Graphic, Dr. Tadesse said that with proper management of the economy and adherence to good governance and good democratic practices, Africa could produce enough food to feed its people and even export some to other parts of the world.
Dr. Tadesse is assured that in spite of the effects of the financial crunch, it us still possible for Africa to eradicate hunger and poverty, as well as achieve the other targets of the MDGs by their first and second time lines in 2015 and 2025 respectively.
"Africa has enormous natural resources such as oil, gold, cocoa and coffee. If African governments use these resources judiciously and they focus on more trade and less aid, and if the international community fulfill their promise to give financial support to Africa, it is possible to achieve the MDGs", he said.
Dr Tadesse pointed out that achieving the targets of the MDGs required African Governments to be committed to good governance, good journalism and democratic practices, political stability and respect for the will of the People.
Dr Tadesse said agriculture was crucial for Africa's development and stressed the need for African governments to promote the modernisation of agriculture, while projecting it as a lucrative sector and not just one meant for the less educated.
"Agriculture in Africa must be modernised; it must have its value. It's not only for people who are not educated," he emphasised.
It would seem like this is another cry towards modernisation development. Development through religious imitation of more "developed" societies, no matter cultural differences.
I`ve blogged about this earlier, outlining the historical context of the modernisation paradigm using a project in Ghana as example. A lot more about the modernisation paradigm in development theory could be read through Jan Servaes and his book Communication for Development: One World, Multiple Culures, where he scrutinises the different historical approaches to development theory.
A significant criticism of modernisation theory and the development of so-called Third World countries through the use of media technologies is that it threatens local culture established within a developing nation.
The criticism goes further, claiming Western models of journalism are imposed upon a developing country with the notion that “this is how development should be in the Third World and this is how it should be done.”, quoting Melkote & Steeves in their book Communication for Development in the Third World: Theory and Practice for Empowerment.
This impedes the survival of local culture and stops natural progression and development, forcing the country to move towards westernised ways of living which may be unsuitable for it.
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