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| Why is the African continent poor? | Why is the African continent poor? |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| By Mark Doyle BBC world affairs correspondent | By Mark Doyle BBC world affairs correspondent |
| The desolate, dusty town of Pibor on South Sudan's border with Ethiopia has no running water, no electricity and little but mud huts for the population to live in. | The desolate, dusty town of Pibor on South Sudan's border with Ethiopia has no running water, no electricity and little but mud huts for the population to live in. |
| You would be hard put to find a poorer place anywhere on earth. | You would be hard put to find a poorer place anywhere on earth. |
| I went there as part of a journey across Africa to ask the question "Why is Africa poor?" for a BBC radio documentary series. | I went there as part of a journey across Africa to ask the question "Why is Africa poor?" for a BBC radio documentary series. |
| We have oil and many other minerals - go name it Barnaba Benjami, South Sudan regional co-operation minister | We have oil and many other minerals - go name it Barnaba Benjami, South Sudan regional co-operation minister |
| I was asked to investigate why it is that every single African country - with the exceptions of oil-rich Gabon and Algeria - is classified by the United Nations as having a "low" broadly defined Human Development Index - in other words an appalling standard of living for most of the people. | I was asked to investigate why it is that every single African country - with the exceptions of oil-rich Gabon and Algeria - is classified by the United Nations as having a "low" broadly defined Human Development Index - in other words an appalling standard of living for most of the people. |
| In Pibor, the answer to why the place is poor seems fairly obvious. | In Pibor, the answer to why the place is poor seems fairly obvious. |
| The people - most of whom are from the Murle ethnic group - are crippled by tribal conflicts related to disputes over cattle, the traditional store of wealth in South Sudan. | The people - most of whom are from the Murle ethnic group - are crippled by tribal conflicts related to disputes over cattle, the traditional store of wealth in South Sudan. |
| The Murle have recently had fights with the Lol Nuer group to the north of Pibor and with ethnic Bor Dinkas to the west. | The Murle have recently had fights with the Lol Nuer group to the north of Pibor and with ethnic Bor Dinkas to the west. |
| In a spate of fighting with the Lol Nuer earlier this year several hundred people, many of them women and children, were killed in deliberate attacks on villages. | In a spate of fighting with the Lol Nuer earlier this year several hundred people, many of them women and children, were killed in deliberate attacks on villages. |
| There has been a rash of similar clashes across South Sudan in the past year (although most were on a smaller scale than the fights between the Lol Nuer and the Murle). | There has been a rash of similar clashes across South Sudan in the past year (although most were on a smaller scale than the fights between the Lol Nuer and the Murle). |
| And so the answer to why South Sudan is poor is surely a no-brainer: War makes you destitute. | And so the answer to why South Sudan is poor is surely a no-brainer: War makes you destitute. |
| Why is there so much war? | Why is there so much war? |
| And yet South Sudan is potentially rich. | And yet South Sudan is potentially rich. |
| Our leaders, they just want to keep on being rich. And they don't want to pay taxes Fisherman on Lake Victoria Blog: Why is Africa poor? | Our leaders, they just want to keep on being rich. And they don't want to pay taxes Fisherman on Lake Victoria Blog: Why is Africa poor? |
| "It's bigger than Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi combined," the South Sudan Regional Co-operation Minister Barnaba Benjamin, enthused. | "It's bigger than Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi combined," the South Sudan Regional Co-operation Minister Barnaba Benjamin, enthused. |
| "Tremendous land! Very fertile, enormous rainfall, tremendous agricultural resources. Minerals! We have oil and many other minerals - go name it!" | "Tremendous land! Very fertile, enormous rainfall, tremendous agricultural resources. Minerals! We have oil and many other minerals - go name it!" |
| The paradox of rich resources and poor people hints at another layer of explanation about why Africa is poor. | The paradox of rich resources and poor people hints at another layer of explanation about why Africa is poor. |
| It is not just that there is war. The question should, perhaps be: "Why is there so much war?" | It is not just that there is war. The question should, perhaps be: "Why is there so much war?" |
| And the headline question is in fact misleading; Africans as a people may be poor, but Africa as a place is fantastically rich - in minerals, land, labour and sunshine. | And the headline question is in fact misleading; Africans as a people may be poor, but Africa as a place is fantastically rich - in minerals, land, labour and sunshine. |
| That is why outsiders have been coming here for hundreds of years - to invade, occupy, convert, plunder and trade. | That is why outsiders have been coming here for hundreds of years - to invade, occupy, convert, plunder and trade. |
| But the resources of South Sudan, for example, have never been properly developed. | But the resources of South Sudan, for example, have never been properly developed. |
| During colonial rule South Sudan was used as little more than a reservoir of labour and raw materials. | During colonial rule South Sudan was used as little more than a reservoir of labour and raw materials. |
| Then independence was followed by 50 years of on-off war between the south and north - with northerners in Khartoum continuing the British tactic of divide and rule among the southern groups. | Then independence was followed by 50 years of on-off war between the south and north - with northerners in Khartoum continuing the British tactic of divide and rule among the southern groups. |
| Some southerners believe this is still happening today. | Some southerners believe this is still happening today. |
| Corruption | Corruption |
| On my journey across the poorest, sub-Saharan swathe of the continent - that took in Liberia and Nigeria in the west, Sudan in the centre, and Kenya in the east - people explored the impact that both non-Africans and Africans had had on why Africa is poor. | On my journey across the poorest, sub-Saharan swathe of the continent - that took in Liberia and Nigeria in the west, Sudan in the centre, and Kenya in the east - people explored the impact that both non-Africans and Africans had had on why Africa is poor. |
| Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf says she underestimated the problem of graft | Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf says she underestimated the problem of graft |
| Almost every African I met, who was not actually in government, blamed corrupt African leaders for their plight. | Almost every African I met, who was not actually in government, blamed corrupt African leaders for their plight. |
| "The gap between the rich and the poor in Africa is still growing," said a fisherman on the shores of Lake Victoria. | "The gap between the rich and the poor in Africa is still growing," said a fisherman on the shores of Lake Victoria. |
| "Our leaders, they just want to keep on being rich. And they don't want to pay taxes." | "Our leaders, they just want to keep on being rich. And they don't want to pay taxes." |
| Even President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia came close to this when she told me she had underestimated the level of corruption in her country when she took office. | Even President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia came close to this when she told me she had underestimated the level of corruption in her country when she took office. |
| "Maybe I should have sacked the whole government when I came to power," she said. | "Maybe I should have sacked the whole government when I came to power," she said. |
| "Africa is not poor," President Johnson-Sirleaf added, "it is poorly managed." | "Africa is not poor," President Johnson-Sirleaf added, "it is poorly managed." |
| This theme was echoed by an architect in Kenya and a senior government official in Nigeria. | This theme was echoed by an architect in Kenya and a senior government official in Nigeria. |
| Both pointed out that the informal sector of most African economies is huge and almost completely unharnessed. | Both pointed out that the informal sector of most African economies is huge and almost completely unharnessed. |
| Eastleigh has the most expensive real estate in Nairobi | Eastleigh has the most expensive real estate in Nairobi |
| Marketplaces, and a million little lean-to repair shops and small-scale factories are what most urban Africans rely upon for a living. | Marketplaces, and a million little lean-to repair shops and small-scale factories are what most urban Africans rely upon for a living. |
| But such is their distrust of government officials that most businesspeople in the informal sector avoid all contact with the authorities. | But such is their distrust of government officials that most businesspeople in the informal sector avoid all contact with the authorities. |
| Kenyan architect and town planner Mumo Museva took me to the bustling Eastleigh area of Nairobi, where traders have created a booming economy despite the place being almost completely abandoned by the government. | Kenyan architect and town planner Mumo Museva took me to the bustling Eastleigh area of Nairobi, where traders have created a booming economy despite the place being almost completely abandoned by the government. |
| Eastleigh is a filthy part of the city where rubbish lies uncollected, the potholes in the roads are the size of swimming pools, and the drains have collapsed. | Eastleigh is a filthy part of the city where rubbish lies uncollected, the potholes in the roads are the size of swimming pools, and the drains have collapsed. |
| Africa is not poor. Africa is just poorly managed Architect Mumo Museva | Africa is not poor. Africa is just poorly managed Architect Mumo Museva |
| But one indication of the success of the traders, Mr Museva said, was the high per-square-foot rents there. | But one indication of the success of the traders, Mr Museva said, was the high per-square-foot rents there. |
| "You'll be surprised to note that Eastleigh is the most expensive real estate in Nairobi." | "You'll be surprised to note that Eastleigh is the most expensive real estate in Nairobi." |
| He added that if Eastleigh traders trusted the government they might pay some taxes in return for decent services, so creating a "virtuous circle". | He added that if Eastleigh traders trusted the government they might pay some taxes in return for decent services, so creating a "virtuous circle". |
| "It would lift people out of poverty," he said. | "It would lift people out of poverty," he said. |
| "Remember, poverty is related to quality of life, and the quality of life here is appalling, despite the huge amount of wealth flowing through these areas." | "Remember, poverty is related to quality of life, and the quality of life here is appalling, despite the huge amount of wealth flowing through these areas." |
| Then the young Kenyan architect echoed the Liberian president, some 5,000km (3,000 miles) away on the other side of the continent. | Then the young Kenyan architect echoed the Liberian president, some 5,000km (3,000 miles) away on the other side of the continent. |
| "Africa is not poor," he also said. | "Africa is not poor," he also said. |
| "Africa is just poorly managed." | "Africa is just poorly managed." |
| You can hear the first of Mark Doyle's programmes Why is Africa poor?on the BBC World Service on Monday 24 August 2009 at 0906 GMT, 1406 GMT and 1906 GMT. It will also be available for a week on the website. |