Africa's intellectual vacuum a major development problem: expert

Africa's intellectual vacuum a major development problem: expert

BY GEORGE KAGAME
Johannesburg


Professor Yassine Fall a UNIFEM senior economic advisor on the UN Millennium project has expressed frustration at the shortage of intellectuals in Africa saying that the intellectuals"-if they don't defect"-play a leading role in developing ideology, policies and theory to get Africa out of poverty.


Yassine was speaking during the The Women's Platform for Action in Africa taking place this week in Johannesburg South Africa. Referring to the continually increasing cost of food affecting 21 countries in Africa including the South Africa an Egypt Yassine said: "the high cost of water, fuel and food is ensuring that parents are failing to take their children to school."


She said the limited influence of intellectuals in policy decisions on the continent had ensured that even foreseeable problems y research-like food shortage-had cause Africa to suffer for long.
She said that the food crisis on the continent has been a threat for very long time but the problem was getting acute now because some governments were concentrating their efforts in growing plants that help in the manufacture of bio-fuels.

Without mentioning any examples, Yassine said "Now there's competition between government in Africa reserving land for bio fuels and farmers looking for land to grow food crops." Speaking at the same conference, Ms. P.m. Hollander a South African member of parliament said that the current financial crisis in western capitals had got the attention of policy makers in those capitals away from the high costs of food and ensured that issues of developing countries are now largely out of international affairs.


The Women's Platform for Action in Africa is part of the ceremonies preceding the Pan African Parliamentary session beginning on 27 October in its chambers located in Johannesburg. The PAP is the legislative organ of the African Union.

The conference was initiated by the South African Parliament in 2006, this year's theme is: "Women and the quest for Human Security" was designed to emphasize the current food shortage crisis that is threatening 21 countries in Africa with famine. It is sponsored by German Technical Cooperation-GTZ.