Developing countries have been on the spot for their continued underperformance despite many international institutions and governments providing a lot of funds in aid. This is evident in the rising levels of poverty that have become the order of the day. Noticeably, armed conflict proves to be another challenge and as seen in South Sudan, it robes the country of critical infrastructure and development. In the end, governments have to manage their institutions well and corruption should be eradicated if developing countries are to be developed .
Poverty in Developing Countries
If anything, one cannot help but notice that most developing countries are suffering due to their despotic political constructs. This is because in most developing countries, politics is what controls almost everything, especially wealth, and the allocation of resources such as land (Elayah, 2016). In this regard, corruption and mismanagement by the political class are what encourages poverty in developing countries.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
It is crucial to note that developing countries have to engage in mindful voting whereby they vote credible leaders who are willing to tackle corruption even among the most influential people in the country. Second is that the political class has to come to their senses and realize that with the continued mismanagement of public resources, there is no future (Elayah, 2016). For example, if funds to build infrastructure are always stolen , the next generation will wallow in poverty with their predecessors had done nothing to help them. In the end, transparency must be assured in the political structures. Transparency can be guaranteed by strengthening the judicial system and ensuring that no one takes shortcuts to circumnavigate justice (Zahonogo, 2016). Notably, procurement officials must be kept in check as well as key decision makers. If this is done , poverty will be a forgotten factor in developing countries.
International Finance in Developing Countries
It is saddening to learn that monetary assistance sent to developing countries disappears once it enters their banking systems. For instance, the World Bank supported developing countries with about $59 billion in their fiscal year between June 2016 and June 2017 (The World Bank, 2018). Despite this, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has attested that five sub-Saharan countries are in debt distress with an additional nine being at risk to join those (Melina & Portillo, 2018). This implies that assistance to developing countries is simply stolen considering that developing nations are still wallowing in poverty. Many developing countries tend to borrow money without a proper plan on how to use it; with this in mind, money is stolen once it enters the banking system especially if it is deemed idle (Melina & Portillo, 2016). In the same way, rampant corruption tends to convince everyone that they cannot succeed in life without emptying the public coffers. It is, therefore, these and other factors that lead to the misuse of public funds.
War and Peace
Armed conflict has continued to be a crucial factor that facilitates the distractions in developing economies and their infrastructure. With 70% of the 1.1 million refugees from South Sudan being children, one cannot help but realize that the dangers of armed conflict (UNICEF, 2017). Children become orphans and some are separated from their parents, others are left to the streets as child prostitutes or soldiers. This education system is consequently broken apart and in the process, the economy of the prerequisite country falls. Also, infrastructure cannot be built in the presence of armed conflict and this is detrimental to the economy. Health infrastructures have continued to be attacked in South Sudan where about fifty medical institutions were attacked in 2016 and 2017. During armed conflict, citizens cannot take part in active and democratic elections especially with so many refugees (UNICEF, 2018). This in addition to the political class being sole decision makers even in the judicial system as it prevents any form of social upheaval from taking place.
Institutional Management
Notably, the ability to properly manage the institutions of a country is a key factor to assuring development. Such institutions that require proper management include the legislative, judicial, and financial systems. The legislative is needed to make laws, and in most cases, it is composed of a parliamentary system (Zahonog, 2016). It is, however, important to note that most developing countries tend to have corrupt parliamentarians who are simple “stamp it all” robots that do what they the elite requires them to (Zahonogo, 2016). This is a form of mismanagement that does not encourage development. On the other hand, the financial system should be credible enough to provide that funds are channelled to their right use. Instead, developing countries have created loopholes in their financial arrangements with bloated budgets and doubtful procurement structures that result in the loss of public funds. In this respect, mismanagement of institutions by the government is vital if development is to be realized in developing countries.
Conclusion
In conclusion, developing countries seem to grapple under the banner of arrested developments despite institutions such as the World Bank lending about $59 billion in 2016. Admittedly, this lack of progress is due to rampant corruption and armed conflicts that prevent critical social upheavals that would lead to development . With an example of South Sudan which has an ongoing armed conflict, it is evident that developing countries have to manage their government institutions well to assure change and encourage growth.
References
Elayah, M. (2016). Lack of foreign aid effectiveness in developing countries between a hammer and an anvil. Contemporary Arab Affairs , 9(1), 82-99.
Melina, G. & Portillo, R. (2018). Economic fluctuations in sub-Sahara Africa. International Monetary Fund.
The World Bank (2018). Nearly $59 billion in World Bank group support to developing countries in fiscal year 2017. Retrieved from www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2017/07/18/nearly-59-billion-in-world-bank-group-support-to-developing-countries-in-fiscal-year-2017
UNICEF (2018). Reaching children in South Sudan . Retrieved from www.unicef.org/infobycountry/southsudan_74635.html
Zahonogo, P. (2016). Trade and economic growth in developing countries: Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of African Trade, 3(1-2), pp. 41-56.
