Rethinking Development in Africa: Agenda 2063 and John Wesley’s Socio-Political Theology

Abstract

Africa remains underdeveloped despite many years of conceptualising, formulating and implementing different development policies and programs. Africa’s developmental challenges have attracted attention from various stakeholders and many factors have been identified as contributing to the problem. The African Union, at its Golden Jubilee celebration in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) in 2013, adopted a new development plan aimed at making Africa a key player in global affairs by 2063. Africa’s new development Agenda has been engaged at various conferences and seminars. However, not much theological engagements with the document have been witnessed so far. The purpose of the paper is to explore how a contextual application of selected aspects of John Wesley’s socio-political theology might catalyze the achievement of two of the seven aspirations set out in Agenda 2063. The main thesis of this paper is that human political activities are deeply rooted in God’s political nature and hence must be exercised within God’s sovereign rule. The paper concludes that the development of Africa must not only focus on socio-economic progress but also on moral/spiritual development. The paper contributes to the ongoing scholarly discussions on Agenda 2063 and provides Christians, political leaders in Africa and other stakeholders with theological framework for achieving a holistic and sustainable development in Africa.