Why is Africa poor? - Sub-Saharan culture

Sub-Saharan Africa is a rich mosaic of cultures, with more variety of beliefs and practices than can be seen on any other continent in the world. From the Wolof and Pulaar farmers of Senegal in the West to the traditional nomadic tribesmen of Somalia on the East, native customs have been blended with imported religions to weave a real tapestry of life across the land.

So how do these cultural beliefs influence wealth?

We begin with a look at the purpose of the culture in this region. An oxymoron perhaps, culture is not designed, but the collection of historical events, the memories of acts and deeds that grow to form a culture do not do so at random, and like evolution the ‘cultural norms’ that work best for the people practicing them become more accepted than those which do not.  A culture grows to ‘fit’ it’s community.

Cultural norms play a large part in family life in the region. Families are traditionally large, 2 children is considered unusually small (or very modern), while broods of 10 or more are not unheard of. The sharing of items and food is a given, passing a meal table while food is being served will result in the hale "you are invited" whether you are a member of the family or not. Likewise if your bicycle is not in use, and a brother or neighbor wishes to borrow it, they will, and you will think it normal.

Where sub-Saharan Africa differs notably to the west is that this sharing is extended to money. When an adult finishes a hard month’s work and has a little excess money, he will be put upon by poorer members of the extended family to share what remains. Considered ‘begging’ and somewhat shameful in the west, here it is not only normal, but the recipient of the money will not even show gratitude. Culturally the ‘funding’ of friends and family is considered an honour (although it is not optional), and the funder builds status within the community. It is therefore he, and not the recipient of the money who should be grateful.

Historically this cultural norm made sense, everyone in the community was provided for, wealth  travelled effectively down the poverty line, and those who could provide more sacrificed potential material gains for the respect of their peers and elders.

In modern times this cultural sharing of both assets and cash has many consequences on society. ‘Hording’ cash (read also, saving) is frowned upon, but the wary African no longer wishes to give away everything he has left over. Buying plots of land and then building, one wall at a time over a period of years is one way to get around the issue, and half built housing shells litter the countryside of Ghana. They will be completed slowly as each pay cheque comes in, or left to rot if the owner falls on hard times.

On a smaller scale our caretaker bought a battered and broken old taxi, and, despite having two children in school, spends any spare money he has repairing it so that one day he can put it on the road to earn extra income. As school fees are due, or hospital bills come in, an advance is required from us to help the situation, but crucially there is never any spare money to be shared, nor an appearance of wealth to prompt the request from peers.

How does this all affect national wealth? The inability of individuals to amass even a small amount of cash heavily stifles the creation of anything requiring investment. For a country where a quarter of the population is entrepreneurs, this is a real waste of burgeoning natural talent. On an individual level there are welders working as farm labourers for want of a welding torch and table, and seamstresses working in fish factories because they cannot save up for a sewing machine. Likewise investment in others’ businesses is very rare. A little upfront cash in a ‘Wagashi’ (delicious fried cheese) business to boost the heard, and the owner and investors would soon see returns, but as it is no one has the cash, so the food remains hard to find and sells out quickly.

Jealousy is the undesirable counterpart to the story above. Unlike in the west, where the enrichment of friends of family may be met with a little envy, but is otherwise considered praiseworthy, individual gains can be the subject of personal jealousy in sub-Saharan culture. The Fanti people of southern Ghana have accepted this cultural ‘trait’ to such an extent that they built a large statue of a crab in the centre of their capital city Cape Coast. On asking for the meaning of the crab the people will laugh and tell you ‘it represents our culture: when crabs are in a bucket they climb all over each other to get out, and when one is nearly out the others will pull him back in again’. At least they’re open about it.

Two examples from our time here back this one up. Our caretaker, who lost both parents aged five was raised by an aunt. His childhood and teenage years were spent on a farm, and having finished Junior High School aged 16, he was keen to go to agricultural college to further his understanding of farming. He was not asking for money, the school was not expensive and he would pay his way, but his aunt stopped him. He was needed at home, end of story. With no college education Teye continued to labour on the farm for many years before leaving the house, doing odd-jobs for a friend for some time, and finally becoming our caretaker. With a little more freedom early on he could have land and crops of his own by now, giving his own finances and the economy that little boost in the right direction.

The second example, also involving a jealous aunt, is about an excellent male batiker from the Accra region. Whilst receiving just 100 GHC per month (£40) this man came to be known by our director, and was offered a well paid position with Global Mamas. Again the aunt stepped in and stopped the move, which could have been the beginning of an exciting career for the young man. He continues to work for his aunt to this day.

Two final cultural areas which also impact wealth generation in the region:

The first harks back to the family, this time the huge innate respect for elders. The generations above you must be obeyed, whether it is your mother or grandfather at home, or an elderly man in the street, failure to obey will meet swift reproach. Again this is justified through evolution, the elders have more experience in life and should be obeyed instinctively. However this is a significant natural barrier to the western style ‘merit based’ staffing structure of a business. It is very difficult for a thirty five year old team leader to give a fifty year old in their team instructions, let alone hold them to account for poor performance. Our two resident elders here in PramPram refuse to do the cleaning in the morning, despite it being a shared task. The inability of a local to hire in ‘senior’ talent to her organisation without risking insubordination does not help the effectiveness of her business, and consequently reduces profit.

The second is language. While North America has one common language, and in South America Spanish is almost universally understood, in Ghana alone there are 7 ‘major’ languages, and over 100 dialects. There are 30 countries in the sub-Saharan band of Africa, each with this patchwork of tribal languages. Lack of easy communication with ones neighbours results in difficulty trading and less efficient markets, which again leads to an overall reduction in capital.

Sub-Saharan culture is exceptionally well designed for survival in a harsh and unpredictable environment. It is very fair from an income perspective, where respect is generated not by what you have, but by whom you have helped. Elders are obeyed instinctively in times of trouble, and the poor do not go hungry.

But this is a subsistence living, and in the modern world these cultural norms hamper the development of a middle class, and a healthy national economy. The culture is evolving, predictably in a western direction, and slowly, with the loss of traditional customs and beliefs, comes that much sought after commodity for which the heaviest of prices is often paid; wealth.

Why is Africa poor? - History of Ghana

With a per-capita income 50 percent less than that of the next poorest region, sub-Saharan Africa is the poorest place on earth, by some margin. But why? Over the next few weeks this blog will turn from a photo intensive look at modern Ghana to a philosophical debate about the evolution of wealth in this country, and the region as a whole.

The general consensus is that sub-Sarahan Africa is poor because it has been mis-managed, by it’s leaders, and by those providing big-money aid from abroad. We will examine these issues, but also look at how the culture of the people here impacts their wealth, as well as the impact of religion - both local beliefs and those imported from abroad.

But first, the question ‘why is Africa poor today’ can be answered very simply. Because it was poor yesterday. Change takes time, and we will open our discussions with a look at the history of Ghana and how the colonial period set it up very badly for the 20th century.

Why is Africa poor? - History of Ghana

The ancestors of today’s Ghanaian residents are said to have arrived in the 9th or 10th century, forming what we call today the medieval ‘West African Ghana Empire’. The empire was named after its then emperor, ‘the Ghana’. It is this empire which first became known to Europe and Arabia.

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in 1471. By then the area was known as the Gold coast, and the Portuguese came to trade in gold, ivory and pepper. Having held the area by force against other European nations for over a century, by 1598 the Dutch had joined the Portuguese and also begun trading in the region.

By the mid 17th century other European nations had arrived and the coastline was peppered with forts, which were regularly attacked, captured, sold and exchanged. The area developed the highest concentration of European military architecture outside of Europe. Throughout this period alliances were frequently made with local tribes, notably the Ashanti and the Fanti peoples, whom were often drawn into the battles, or attacked by rival European factions.

In the late seventeenth century the Gold Coast shifted from being a gold exporting economy to being a slave exporting economy. In exchange for guns and other imported goods, the local tribes were encouraged to make war further afield and bring back slaves to sell to the Europeans.

(The triangular slave trade. European ships laden with slaves were shipped from Africa to America, where the slaves worked to harvest the cash crops grown on the vast open plains. These crops were shipped back to Europe for consumption, and the ships then set sail for Africa with the goods required to purchase the slaves for the next run.)

Beginning in 1850, the coastal regions increasingly came under control of the governor of the British fortresses. British authorities adopted a system of indirect rule for colonial administration, wherein traditional chiefs maintained power but took instructions from their European supervisors. Indirect rule was cost-effective, minimized local opposition to European rule, and guaranteed law and order.

By the mid 20th century, as with most African countries, nationalism was on the rise and Ghana looked to be free of it’s colonial noose. The social and economic developments seen in the region throughout the  20th century were thought to be possible without British colonial masters, and on March 6, 1957 the former British colony of the Gold Coast became the independent state of Ghana, and the British withdrew.

With the formation of the National Assembly, and the beginning of self rule, our brief history of Ghana ends. What happened next will be discussed in a future piece on ‘Police, Government and Corruption’.

The past five centuries of history of sub-Saharan Africa are a tale of manipulation, exploitation, and constant warfare under the direction of Europeans. While the West went through the industrial revolution and grew rich on mass production and cheap imports, the Gold coast region was repeatedly torn apart and the pieces controlled in a giant game of ‘Risk’ by European masters.

Why is Africa poor today?  Because it was poor yesterday. But the debate does not end there, next week we will look at how culture plays a significant role on individuals’ wealth in the region.

- My thanks to the authors of the ‘History of Ghana’ page on Wikipedia, without whom this would have been a short and rather fact free blog entry.