Africa is a beautiful continent full of rich nature and diverse culture. However, it has its problems: poverty, HIV/AIDS and famine, many of which, especially famine, lead to diseases such as kwashiorkor, which occurs in the poorer countries of the continent such as Niger, Sudan and Angola to name just a few. The question that will be floating around some people’s heads is: Can we place all the blame on the sudden departure of the colonial masters – Britain, Portugal, Belgium and France – in the mid-20th century when many countries tried to gain independence from these European powers, thus leaving the majority of the African continent in tatters?
The colonialists’ sudden departure could be attributed to the fact that they found no riches in our soil, for example oil, which lead them to search for oil elsewhere. This was found in the middle-eastern countries. However, they took with them the capital and their public administration skills that they had brought with them in the first place, which led to the downfall of many countries in Africa that we still see and experience today. Unfortunately many of these countries never recovered fully because they either did not have the money or because they were hindered by incompetent, unwilling and corrupt leaders in their government who pocket all the funding that should actually go into the rebuilding of the country. Many have tried to revolt against this autocracy, but only some countries had the tenacity and will-power to pull through. According to the GDP per capita, African countries constitute the top ten lowest on the list, with Zimbabwe being the lowest.
The problem though, is that not all the blame can be put on the colonialists, as in most African countries a corrupt government is at fault. Even in South Africa, which is seen as the example by most other African countries, the government has its problems. Unfortunately not enough money is available to create solutions, but this is not because of lack of...