THE POLITICS OF BEIJING CONSENSUS IN AFRICA

Abstract

This paper seeks to examine the Politics of Beijing Consensus in Africa. When the wind of change blew across Africa in the 1960s, it heralded the epoch of political independence. This was after many decades of colonial- imperialist exploitation and disarticulation of pre-capitalist social institutions. It was believed that with the unrivalled endowment of the continent in human and material resources, the new political reality will unmistakably usher in an era of sustainable development. Unfortunately, five decades after independence, the continent is yet to rise beyond its inhibiting crises. The aftermath is that by the twenty-first century, Africa has become a development failure. This reality necessitated the need and clamour for the Beijing Consensus as a paradigm for development, and the rejection of the Washington consensus. In carrying out this qualitative research, our sources of data collection included the primary and secondary sources. These include interviews, literature review, official government reports, and newspapers. It was discovered that most African leaders are addicted to the Beijing Consensus because of its non-stringent conditions for loans, and ready to carry out development projects without ideological discrimination. We, therefore, recommend that in accepting the Beijing Consensus, African leaders must ensure that the partnership would ensure a development-oriented policy that would reduce the social frustrations of the people, reduce social inequality, eliminate the incidence of graft and protect human rights. Article visualizations: