{"content":[{"text":"Africa: An Agenda for the \n Twenty-First Century","bbox":{"left":0.21113,"top":0.080714,"width":0.4833019999999999,"height":0.069262}},{"text":"Introduction","bbox":{"left":0.382788,"top":0.182219,"width":0.13952200000000003,"height":0.020815}},{"text":"At the dawn of the twenty-first century, Africa is at a cross- \n roads. It must quickly select the path it wishes to follow. Either the \n continent takes its destiny squarely into its own hands, or it leaves \n the shaping of its future to chance or to special interests. Africa does \n indeed have a choice. On one hand, it can allow the forces of implo- \n sion and ethnic warfare to become the masters of its fate, to the \n advantage of a few potentates lacking in vision or warlords with \n transient alliances. Thus, history would repeat itself, with all the suf- \n fering that this entails, and this old continent will be at the mercy of \n all types of corruption. Africa would be stripped of the wealth of its \n soil and the promise of its youth and left marginalized, adrift in the \n wake of history. \n But Africa could just as well opt for another course. It can say \n \"no\" to marginalization and fully integrate itself into the great global \n village that the world has become in this Internet era. It can become \n one with the world so that its youth can build a future brimming with \n hope, grounding its action so that each and every man and woman \n participates in developing the nation, ensuring both transparency in \n the management of public affairs and a sense of a common destiny. \n These are the foundations of a stable, inclusive, and predictable \n environment. Africa has to choose between all the models of devel- \n opment that have been implemented in the rest of the world, includ- \n ing those in Asia, with all their strength and caveats. \n In this paper, I will first show that the economic landscape in \n Africa has changed dramatically in the past several years and that","bbox":{"left":0.085228,"top":0.220614,"width":0.732359,"height":0.4950300000000001}},{"text":"Article by Alassane D. Ouattara, published in The Brown Journal of World \n Affairs, Vol. V, No. 1 (1998). Reproduced with the permission of The Brown \n Journal of World Affairs. This article drew in part on Mr. Ouattara's recent speeches \n addressing a number of special issues facing Africa.","bbox":{"left":0.083564,"top":0.750153,"width":0.741893,"height":0.06706800000000002}},{"text":"9","bbox":{"left":0.445739,"top":0.848852,"width":0.011438999999999977,"height":0.017345999999999973}},{"text":"©International Monetary Fund. Not for Redistribution","bbox":{"left":0.108061,"top":0.927473,"width":0.65206,"height":0.021924000000000055}}],"images_bbox":[],"images_bbox_not_text_overlap":[]}