Africa Works

“Africa is now so far behind other regions that it cannot relate to other economies apart from through resource extraction. Market mechanisms alone cannot enable Africa to catch up with Asia as an exporter of manufactured goods.” — Paul Collier

“The U.S. has a vital interest in strengthening the military and intelligence capacity of poor countries like the ones we find in Africa. For their part, African countries could immeasurably improve their ability to solve the problems of peace and security with the aid of the U.S.” — Edmond J. Keller

“There are many people in South Africa who are rich and who can share those riches with those not so fortunate who have not been able to conquer poverty.” — Nelson Mandela

“I think the West does some injustice to us. They don’t want us to be ourselves, to develop into partners, into people who also have sense, values, and culture to live by.
… Even in politics, we are never meant to graduate from being pupils of democracy or governance. We are always people to be brought up, educated, told what to do, be consumers of ideas and practices that come from the West. There is no point at which you graduate.” — Paul Kagame

“African leaders need to learn when to retire. Those who cling around in a naïve hope that they will achieve more only end up destroying the very foundations of their previous success.” — Andrew Mwenda

“The effect has been to set up a conflict between the global forces of conservation and those local and international interests that are pushing for the exploitation of natural resources as an engine for development. Both sides in this struggle over Africa’s rural resources have engaged in the manipulation of narratives of degradation either to blame local people’s mismanagement or to see rural people as passive victims.” — James McCann

“Zimbabwe has become a lawless country. It doesn’t obey its own laws, or international laws.” — James McGee, U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe, June 2008

“If we are able to utilize Africa’s plentiful resources more fully by harnessing Japan’s technologies, this will surely be a major trigger for growth and without a doubt benefit Africa.” — Yasuo Fukuda, prime minister of Japan

“Africa has given us the soundtrack of modernity.” — John Ryle

“There’s also the view among many black Americans that Africa is home. But when you’re a black American you’re very much an American first.” — Michelle Obama