Beyond Structural Adjustment: Policies for Sustainable Growth and Development in Africa

It is now almost a decade since the first structural adjustment programme (SAP) was introduced in Africa. As of today, as many as two thirds of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa are implementing these programmes. While their rationale is rooted in the economic crisis which surfaced in the late 1970s, the last ten years have signalled an unabated slide into deep distress. From one report to the other, and from all available economic and social indicators, the story is the same — continuing economic retrogression and social deprivation. Cyclical fluctuations are normal features of economic systems, but the duration and depth of the current African economic crisis suggest that we are not witnessing different phases of economic cycles. Instead, we are confronted with a retrogression that probably has few precedents in economic history. During the 1980s, per capita incomes declined by over 25 per cent. Balance of payments and financial difficulties also worsened and the external debt burden became a major obstacle to growth and recovery.