Africa problems are more qualitative than quantitative

This is what I would summarize what I saw during my vocational talk to the Postgraduate students at the University of Dar es salaam this week. One Kiswahili word would really convey the impression I got, ‘Kumekucha!’. Thanks for the invitation by the department of Geography particularly Brother Kengela and Dr. Chris.

I saw a desire for change an agenda I am committed push in the second liberation of our country. The room exploded into a round of applause when I quoted prof Achile Mbembe from Wits who told us (when opening a regional summit of Think Tank Africa in Pretoria last year) that, ‘The Africa problems are not quantitative but qualitative’. As much as one would academically argue against this statement, we would all agree on this fact that a lot of numerical (statistical) studies have been accomplished in the continent yet Africa problems are still perennial we hence need to look more on the quality side of them.

We know a lot for examples about the quantitative side of poverty, corruption, diseases, ignorance and conflicts but yet no significant step has been achieved of which we can all be proud of. What about the qualitative side of each of these challenges? Could a solution emanate more as a result of qualitative approach at small scale balanced by quantitative when we discover things are working at a small scale qualitatively?

Tafadhali tutafakari wapendwa tunaoguswa na hali ya kusikitisha ya Afrika na hasa nchi yetu ya Tanzania.