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Abstract
It is a time of great hardship for much of the population of our continent, but also, in my view, a time of substantial promise. The problems of Africa in 1985 hardly need elaboration. The view that this is a time of substantial promise for Africa may require some explanation, since so many observers offer little else but gloomy forecasts. My guarded optimism is based on two observations. First, the natural resources of Africa and the potential of its 400 million people, which so excited the world as the continent gained independence in the 1960s, are still there in 1985. Second, everyone concerned with Africa—its people, its governments, its friends among the international agencies and bilateral donors—recognizes that Africa is facing vast problems of development. There is broad consensus on the reasons for our current problems. If recognition of a problem is a first step toward its solution, we are certainly ready for the second step.
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