In eight years time the year 2030 will be reached, which was set as the goal for achieving sustainable development. However, it seems that in order to achieve this, a great deal has to happen in that short span, on the African continent in particular.

Africa’s colonial era and post-WWII neo-colonial era lies in the past. The Africa of anti-colonial wars, the era of independence and the first development decade of 1960s has long become history. The continent’s population grew at the fastest global rate since 1967, reaching 1.37 billion in 2021 and projected to reach 4 billion by the end of the century. According to the UN, villages have turned into towns, cities into mega-cities with at least 10 million people such as Cairo, Kinshasa, Lagos with Dar es Salaam, Johannesburg and Luanda estimated to achieve this by 2030.

Thus Africa represents a significant market of the future, with which it is essential to negotiate on equal terms. Development cooperation should not be seen as that of donor and recipient. Unfortunately, the target of furthering wellbeing on a sustainable basis has not been achieved. The lives of many Africans are dominated by poverty, hunger, joblessness. Migration thus continued, with unseaworthy ships often foundering. This results in the death of people in search of a better life or in many cases as fugitives of a corrupt, autocratic government that commits crimes against human rights. It is advisable that the EU negotiates a sustainable migration policy with the African Union to enable Africans to legally become EU immigrants. They are needed, not to be exploited, but as trained tradesmen and women as well as in the professions.

At the same time, the continent’s development requires suitable investments together with the transfer of know-how to promote industrialisation other than the exploitation of its valuable natural resources including land and export of ex-colonial goods such as coffee, tea, flowers, tourist souvenirs. Added value and jobs must be created in order to generate stability.
During the apartheid era in the 1960s, European – especially German – business enterprises had invested in South Africa and contributed to industrialisation. Today their investment in Africa should be encouraged and secured by their government. This would lead to combating climate change through climate-friendly energy, alleviating the consequences of the Covid, food security through modern agriculture and the provision of sustainable health and education systems. Infrastructure promoting sustainable development should be supported. Africa must be allowed access to markets. However, the issue of good governance and respect for human rights must never be overlooked, nor the support of humanitarian activities of non-government organizations such as international famine relief.

The concept of “development cooperation” with a patriarchal attitude is not acceptable. Africa’s governments have adopted their own measures and economic policies, such as the planned coordination of the southern Africa transport system intended to benefit landlocked countries. In addition, Europe is no longer Africa’s major partner to African countries; one only has to remember China, Russia, the USA as well as India and Turkey. Economic cooperation between the EU and the African Union should aim at sustainable development together with peace, freedom and respect of human rights.

More “musts” and “shoulds” could be listed. What is obvious is the fact that a great deal needs to be done to achieve the hoped for goals by 2030. That in particular means addressing structural economic and social injustices, which have to be reduced and finally eliminated. In short: human rights, democracy and good governance need to be strongly supported.