Focus on Urban, not Rural

Is rural development really the way to go for Africa, especially ahead of urban development? Both need to happen, but the sensitivity of this issue may mask the fact that a focus on rural development is unsustainable. Why? Well, if we assume that rural communities are undeveloped, then it is unlikely that they will be contributing their ‘fair’ share towards development funds in the country.

I started thinking about this issue again after a speech by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. He said that African stock exchanges needed to integrate to achieve economies of scale. Sure, ‘integrating’ rural areas through development can help bring economies of scale, but Obasanjo also used the words “fast-track” and “short-cut”. Development in urban areas, even just ‘rural’ shantytowns in cities, seems more of a fast-track solution to me.

The danger though is that when development in rural areas is too heavily subsidised by richer urban areas is that rural inhabitants will become poorer as urban living will need to become increasingly more expensive to compensate. Building 1km of road for 1 000 urban residents, each paying $1 for it, is far more expensive per person than building 1 000km of road for 1 rural dweller paying $1.

Follow China we must (apparently), but the Chinese are actively making rural living more expensive by pushing rural inflation ahead of urban inflation to make it possible for rural dwellers to enter urban living. This, I guess, is much easier to do in an environment when you don’t need to be voted in though. The equation in a ‘democracy’ is: ‘free’ amenities equals votes.

Sure, going back to the road analogy, there are security advantages to developing rural areas, which would undoubtedly benefit urban areas too (especially the potential for increased food security). It also becomes easier to protect rural areas, which will definitely help increase the value of pastoral land. As ground becomes more expensive, it is increasingly necessary for landowners to consider the land as an investment. An unfortunate consequence of this is that poorer landowners may not be able to afford to keep their plots anymore, effectively being pushed off their land by development, but at least healthy payments for land would be more likely, making it easier to enter urban living.

This leads to another consideration. If governments are going to commission roads into the countryside, they need to make sure than the return on investment is justifiable. This means they need to make sure that the land is used productively, i.e. bigger farms, more machinery and fewer jobs. Perhaps when this leads to cheaper food in cities, this gain will make it easier to justify urban areas subsidising rural areas. Increased spending power also enables new opportunities for jobs in the economy, possibly making some space for urban migration.

The bottom line is that rural development can’t just happen. Sacrifices and pain are going to be involved and it’s important that those running for office make the electorate aware of this. There may be some wisdom after all in the adage: No pain, No gain.