Politically, Africa is a going through exciting times.The departure of long-serving African leaders in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Ethiopia, have sent strong signals that the continent is making gradual but bold strides for political transformation. The continent, which has the largest number of young population, is developing a psyche against corruption and authoritarian rule.
According to the Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, the performance of many African countries isdismal. In South Africa, corruption was the central issue that destabilised President Zuma. But the disconcerting aspect was the involvement of an Indian company owned by the Guptas. The Guptas built a business empire stretching from media to IT and mining after arriving in South Africa from India in the 1990s. They are alleged to have used their friendship with Mr Zuma to secure state contracts and influence political appointments. Such developments do not augur well for Indian companies expanding their business in Africa.
Many more African Countries are gearing up for Election. Democratic Republic of Congo, Tunisia, Cameron, Madagascar, Sudan, Libya, Mali, Gabon and Guinea Bissau etc are going to polls during 2018. It is hoped that democratically elected governments will come to power in these countries.
Africa cannot wish away the aspirations of the people, especially the youngsters, who are clamouring for jobs, better civic and educational facilities and importantly a system that is clean, transparent and people-centric. Happily, there are several silver linings in the horizon. Digital revolution is fast permeating the continent riding on the back of penetration of mobile telephony, proliferation of digital platforms and applications. The flip side is such radical changes are taking place in certain pockets. The challenge is to make it happen in a Pan-African basis.
