The African State and the Legacy of Colonialism

Abstract

It is no secret that Africa is wallowing in poverty. Africa, a continent of almost 1 billion people can hardly seem to feed itself. The public institutions of education, healthcare and government are mired in corruption and inefficiency making them un-useful to the majority of the population.

Whatever one may choose to define modern day development as, Africa will not be seen as developed. The debate surrounding what causes this under development in Africa is a long one. People are split between the camp that believes that colonialism and imperialism of the past has greatly caused the under development while others believe it is the leadership which Africa has that causes it not to achieve its potential. Some also believe we are still suffering under residual neo-colonialism from the western countries and more recently the east.

This paper will look into the various arguments for and against the debates surrounding development in Africa and see if there is any link between development and colonialism in Africa and further see if there exists any residual effects in neo-colonialism on development.

Keywords: Colonialism, Development, Africa, Legacy of Colonialism, Neo-Colonialism