"Truth be told, there are hurdles for investors to overcome. For the most part infrastructure (roads, telecommunications, power supply, etc.) is scant, and of poor quality, making the costs of overall production of goods and services (when transport costs are figured in) steep - which explains why it is cheaper to make almost anything in Asia and ship it to Europe, than produce it in Africa, although the continent is much closer.
However, physical constraints are nothing when compared with man-made disincentives: widespread corruption, a maze of bureaucracy, a highly circumscribed regulatory and legal environment, and ensuing needless streams of red-tape.
Doing business in Africa is a nightmare. The World Bank's annual 'Doing Business' survey provides data on the relative ease (or difficulty for that matter) with which business can be conducted around the world. The results are all too revealing, and do much to explain why Africa remains at the bottom of any FDI investors' list."
(Dead Aid. pig 101. Dambisa Moyo)
No comments:
Post a Comment