***** Was Africa better off under colonial rule or the current self-rule?
Posted by fwthom *******
.......it seems that Africa is better off under self-rule........but if you want to maintain your uninformed opinion then thats ok too.......we wouldn't want the facts to get in the way of your opinion........
The democratic gains across sub-Saharan Africa come amid the fastest economic growth the region has seen in three decades. Foreign investment is flooding in on the back of soaring prices for the oil, metals and minerals that are plentiful across the continent. The boom, coupled with the region's democratic progress, offers some hope that after a period of post-colonial turmoil, sub-Saharan Africa may be slowly emerging into a more peaceful and prosperous era.
In many countries, democracy is already robust. Ghana, sub-Saharan Africa's first independent nation, is now a thriving democracy and one of Africa's most stable countries. Tanzania, Mauritius, Senegal and Mozambique also have burgeoning, multiparty systems.
Late last year, South Africa's two-term President Thabo Mbeki was voted out of the ruling party's top seat. In April, Botswana's president handed over power to an interim leader ahead of elections next year.
The number of "free" countries among the 48 nations of sub-Saharan Africa -- those with multiparty governance, civil rights and a free press -- has risen to 11 in 2008 from just three in 1977, according Freedom House, a U.S.-based group that tracks freedom around the world. The number of nations ranked as not free at all has fallen to 14 from 25.
