Africa: foreign currencies in short supply

Philemon Mbale NSONGAN

  

Today we reflect on the problem of the currency crisis in several African countries…
From Nigeria to Zimbabwe to the Central African states, the problem is real.

The dollar, the euro and the pound sterling, which are widely used in international trading, are in short supply.

Much has been said about the origin of this situation.

Beyond the fact that economies are essentially extroverted; oriented towards satisfying external needs, beyond the structure of African economies refractory to the transformation of their own raw materials to specialize in exports of raw materials. This situation should challenges our states as a priority.

How do we get out of this? Many, like the analyst Idriss Linge, believe that it is imperious to transform the structure of African economies from top to bottom, so that they cease to be mere powder suppliers of raw materials to the rest of the world…

Certainly we can question the role of certain companies and multinationals that export the essential, if not all their benefits…

Some companies, businessmen and even individuals can be blamed for their currencies in foreign bank accounts. Accentuating the currency crisis…

Economic intelligence specialists we consulted during the preparation of this segment implore with all their hearts the advent of strategic states in Africa… They underline a kind of physical inactivity, lack of audacity, lack of revolt of our states…

In Africa it is still normal to import most of what we eat while arable land in abundance suffers from fallow.

In Africa, it is normal to import biscuits, eggs, mineral water, needles, etc… In short, to squander the rare currencies laboriously acquired to obtain products that are within our reach…

President Buhari, whose country spent $503 million on food in 2018, has been hostile to spending precious dollars now to buy food that can be produced…

And $503 million, I would point out that this is the profit made in China in 2015 by the American car manufacturer General Motor…

This is the amount that the continent’s largest economy spent in 2018 to import rice only.

It is thinking time for Africa

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