Why Africa needs to amicably address the issue of brain drain

It is clear that today there are more integrated world markets which have opened a wide potential for greater growth, and presenting an unparalleled opportunity for developing countries to raise their living standards, and continued interdependence between different countries and regions. However, African economies remain underdeveloped despite decades of conceptualising, formulating and implementing various economic policies and programmes. The African continent contains a growing share of the world’s absolute poor with little power to influence the exploitation of its own resources. The vast natural resources that African countries possess have come to mostly benefit foreign countries. Yes, even in this post-colonial era African natural resources including minerals seem to benefit multinational corporations more than the African counter parts where actual mining occurs. Modern economic growth theories point out that growth is a process of continuous technological innovation, industrial upgrading, diversification and improvements in the various types of infrastructure and institutional arrangements that constitute the context for business development and wealth creation. At the same time growth in today’s information-based global economy depends on a flexible, educated and healthy workforce. Investment in human capital promotes individual development and gives the ability to solve society’s socio-economic challenges hence escape poverty. Getting the best returns on investing in skills requires the ability to first assess the quality and quantity of the skills available in the population, determine and anticipate the skills required in the labour market, and develop and use those skills effectively in better jobs that lead to better lives. Low levels of human capital and particularly skills deficiency is a serious drag on investment and growth. Unfortunately, the progress in overcoming shortages of skilled and trained manpower in Africa seems to be disappointingly in vain to say the least. This is not solely due to low levels of education and training but also occasioned by one huge factor which is brain drain. Africa is losing a very significant proportion of its highly skilled and professional manpower to other markets and increasingly depending on expatriates for many vital functions. Many scholars who have been sent abroad for further studies or who are once out in one way or another, remain abroad leaving their family and workplace behind with the hope that a life can be achieved elsewhere, despite their well-being at home. We therefore end up losing critical human capital in which we have invested resources through education and specialized training, and never compensated by the recipient country while remittances as well are not sufficient to compensate for such losses. The cost of human flight in Africa is enormous and has been a major reason for the continent’s under development. Most countries have lost a tremendous amount of their educated and skilled workforce as a result of emigration to more developed countries, which has harmed the ability of the entire continent to exit from the spectre of poverty. This brain drain phenomenon has been potentially damaging for the Africa’s economy, it is certainly detrimental for the wellbeing of the continent’s poor majority, a possible cause of the inequalities in all academic disciplines and making most people desperately reliant on the government infrastructure. It often impacts some areas of specialization much more than others. It creates shortages for most African countries in medicine, nursing, physical and human sciences, and engineering and in technology. The liberal arts and humanities are not spared either. As a result, there have been attempts by some African countries coming up with restrictive proposals to stem the tide of brain drain. For instance, requiring that students who study overseas return after completion of the education to fulfill a specified commitment in a national service program. Ethiopia, Ghana, and Nigeria have tried this idea with some degree of success. Sudan once limited departures by requiring exit permits. Others have tried contractual bonding of persons leaving for studies abroad. This is done by ensuring that the departing student receives a foreign visa that requires the student to return home. Eritrea has asked students going to South Africa to post a certain amount of bond to ensure their return. The students have vehemently protested that they could not pay such money and the universities have backed down and have instead withheld their academic certificates until their return. However, the evidence suggests that these restrictive policies are rarely effective in stemming the brain drain. There is need for a sober approach to curb this. Governments and the private sector strengthening and expanding our universities is a key to mitigating the drain brain.Improving research and career advancement opportunities, morale, job satisfaction, better human resource and management policies are other elements to tackle this challenge. Africa is on a journey, an African journey to economic transformation is a journey that requires Africans and their skilled workforce to carry move forward. No charitable champion is going to command the survival of the continent with no motive of their own. This is why we need to amicably address the issue of brain drain as soon as yesterday! oscar_kimanuka@yahoo.co.uk

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Why Africa needs to amicably address the issue of brain drain