As the balance of economic power shifts, people in all corners of the world are moving away from poverty and life in rural communities and heading to cities and have become consumers with new expectations, ambitions and political demands. There seem to be a rise of the new middle class.
According to the World Bank, six of the 10 fastest growing economies are in Africa. Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo are the countries to watch. Starting this morning at the Silverbird Cinema in Accra, BBC Africa will be exploring the ‘Africa Rising’ narrative. It will look at the winners and losers of this growth and ask how economic development on the continent can be turned into a wider, more inclusive development which improves the lives of ordinary people.
The entire programme will be broadcast on BBC tomorrow and rebroadcast on Sunday.
The BBC Africa Debate edition from Accra will be presented by the BBC’s Akwasi Sarpong and Rupa Jha. The debate will explore the extent to which Africa’s growing middle class is driving, and can drive, this economic growth. It will explore what the African middle class is, how fast it is growing, and what impact it is having – on economies and governance.
Already, the Lagos edition, last Friday 21 June, was presented by the BBC’s Nkem Ifejika and Will Ross. The debate explored economic growth in Nigeria and how it fitted within the wider perceived pattern of economic growth in Africa. It also looked at the winners and losers of growth and asked how economic progress on the continent could be turned into a wider, more inclusive, development which improved the lives of ordinary people.
In a release, BBC Focus on Africa editor, Rachael Akidi, said: “Some of the world’s fastest growing economies are in Africa, and the continent has been described as the hottest frontier for investment. But how much of this economic growth is trickling down to the people?”
Sharing some insights with the Daily Graphic, Ms Charlotte Attwood, Producer; Mr Akwasi Sarpong and Ms Rupa Jha, all presenters, were of the opinion that with rapid economic growth across sub-Saharan Africa, coupled with economic downturns in Europe and North America, investors were increasingly looking to the continent as a new opportunity. But to what extent can the list and numbers be believed, and do the statistics equate to a better standard of living for ordinary people in Africa?
They wondered whether ordinary people were benefitting from the boom.
According to Ms Attwood, the Accra edition of “Africa Rising: Who benefits?” will use human stories and personal experiences from key stakeholders to examine the consequences of economic growth in Ghana and question the statistical trends.
According to Mr Sarpong, “46 per cent of Ghanaians are in the middle class but how true is it?”
“We are trying to get the country representative of AfDB for the panel since they are the ones who have been talking a lot about Africa’s new middle class and coming up with the figures which are used to define them,” Mr Sarpong disclosed. Furthermore, he said that the Minister of Finance, vice-president of Imani and a representative from the middle class, Mr Robert Asiedu, who works with a Forex Bureau firm in Accra, will be on the panel to interrogate the debate of who is a middle class person and whether they have what it takes to contribute to the Ghanaian economy.
“This is a really interesting theme”, Ms Rupa Jha opined and said she hoped to bring her experience as a person coming from India to bear on the discussion.
From the audience’s perspective, Charlotte Attwood said that “we would like to know whose growth Africa’s middle class is driving.”
“It was hot and an amazing experience monitoring the Lagos edition last week,” she stated. “No doubt, there is a lot of wealth in Nigeria, but the slums are also staggering,” she stressed and said that there was a stark contrast of the “big man getting richer and the poor, getting poorer.”
Monitoring the Lagos edition from Ghana, Mr Sarpong said that issues of jobs, inefficiency and how the government utilised or used resources were some of the key highlights.
He was hopeful that the Accra edition, today, would be used to challenge leaders and continue the conversation of the “Africa rising narrative; who benefits.’
This edition of BBC Africa Debate will be pre-recorded in Accra at 10-12am today. Social media audiences will follow the season on Twitter #bbcafricadebate, @bbcafrica, and on the BBC Africa page on Facebook and Google+.
Africa Rising: Who benefits? coincides with and complements a wider BBC series on the new middle class - which runs throughout June and July across the BBC’s international news services – on BBC World Service, BBC World News TV and on bbc.com/news.
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By Kobby Asmah
