understanding opportunity and risk

minimising future risk       creating sustainable advantage       creating opportunity

A UNITED STATES OF AFRICA July 2009

Africa - a series of individual countries and hotly contested lands, all on the same continent - with massive natural resources, massive potential ... yet massive disruption, high crime and near constant regions of civil war. In spite of its promise, Africa can be a harsh place.

Africa has been in receipt of much needed aid - in various forms. This has been good and helpful ... but not when it keeps going and essentially destroys established economies. Africa needs more than this. Africa needs a dream. Africa needs a visionary who is African, who has the strength of purpose to transform the dream into reality, who can galvanise against all that undermines Africa - and make a difference.

Why? Quite separate from what has gone on in the past, without a doubt Africa as a whole continent is about to be faced by some of the most major challenges ever imaginable. These are challenges no single fragile economy can overcome. These are challenges that WILL affect all countries, all people of Africa regardless of their present divisions, the squabbling and the much reported corruption. True, all countries struggle against division, against resource sapping squabbling and the contorting spectre of corruption - yet are magnified in Africa due to the prevalence of arms and munitions and ancient, bitter rivalry.

If Africa is to make any headway in the coming generation it has to be as a single coherent unit capable of tackling that which currently undermines its sustainability, and that which certainly will. Those issues rampaging over the horizon to systematically reduce African sustainability are areas such as climate change, the brain drain, peak oil, organised crime and unsympathetic multi-nationals with the mistaken philosophy of maximising business at any cost.

Yet times are changing. The world is moving. The harsh power of some multinationals can easily be tamed. The looming financial disasters of climate change and the brain drain and peak oil can easily be overcome. All of these can take place ... if ... Africa acts as a single unit to share capability, to share resource, to share the future. Working on their own, individual countries will quickly succumb to the changes in the near future. Simply speaking, no single country has the capability to overcome the approaching challenges. Working together with a common vision and a common future, there is much more hope of survival and sustainable development.

What African leaders do now will fashion this future. Yet African leaders are not renowned for their collective action. They need a leader. Someone with a strong vision to pull them together, to speak directly to the people - and create positive change, rather than waiting for yet another disaster to happen. Lessons need to be learned.

And the remainder of the world?

The remainder of the world would do well to assist in this transition toward a United States of Africa. It is in everyones benefit that Africa stands on its own as a constructive part of a progressive world.

Who will take up this challenge? Is there anyone out there who is listening?

Regards

JS

If you don't understand the risks, how can you prepare? Can you afford to let the issues be blurred?

The turbulent 21st century

life isn't black and white

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