Compared to other developing regions, Africa faces a unique developmental challenge, especially in the early stages of economic development. The average size of the economy, as measured by the Gross National Product (GNP), is quite small; average household incomes in Africa are far below those in other less-developed countries; and a majority of the countries classified by the United Nations (UN) as ‘least developed’ are in Africa. To make matters even more unsettling, domestic savings in Africa remain at a low level. This means that Africa relies heavily on foreign capital to sustain investment, coupled with stagnant or declining household incomes. The lack of domestic investment as a reliable source of capital formation means that African economies depend a great deal on exporting primary agricultural products to the external market. To reverse the secular decline, African countries were urged to embrace market, political, and institutional reforms. They were reminded that the western world was able to achieve spectacular levels of economic affluence and material prosperity because the countries concerned were guided by free-market principles and pursued unalloyed market policies. To potentially achieve the same, a stricken Africa was told, adherence to those lofty principles of market orientation would be indispensable. Hence, this paper tends to assess the level of reforms in relation to development initiatives in Africa and the impact on African economies.

Every society experiences a critical moment in history when change becomes highly desirable. Perhaps, reasons abound to explain why countries fail to realize their growth potentials, accomplish developmental goals or facilitate improved wellbeing of the majority of the citizenry. Chief of these, is, not being pragmatic enough to meaningfully respond to the dictates of globalization, especially as regards providing an enabling environment for the realization of these potentials for development purposes.1 Sub-Saharan Africa emerged into the 21^st century bedeviled by a host of severe problems, many of which have hung around her neck like an albatross— crushing debt, mass unemployment, collapsing infrastructure, weak growth, uninspiring and unredeeming leaderships, degenerating institutions, notable declines in human welfare, and accelerating environmental decay, thus necessitating the reforms and revitalization of her economy. Despite the vast economic potentials at its disposal—huge deposits of mineral wealth and significant agricultural resources— the continent continues to run pear-shaped economies. Signs of impending crisis and seeping malaise began to appear in the mid-1970s, and while several countries experienced some respite on an on-and-off basis, the general tendency has been steady deterioration in the overall economic situation.

A general diagnosis of Africa’s predicament undertaken by western analysts and institutions has suggested that the region’s regimented economic order underpinned by de facto political arrangements were responsible for institutional inertia, gross inefficiencies, and an overarching asphyxiation of potentially productive entrepreneurial energies. Also blamed for the plight were the pervasive bureaucratic controls and deep-seated tendencies of political interference in the economic processes of African states. These bred a frustrating network of patronage and clientelism that have effectively shackled and suppressed the spirit of enterprise.

International Relations Journal, Gross National Product (GNP), United Nations (UN), Development Initiatives in Africa, Less Developed Countries (LDC), African Economic Community (AEC), Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA).