Downgrading Knowledge Reason For African Brain Drain
Panafrican News Agency <http://www.africanews.org/PANA/news>
February 23, 2000
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - A regional director for the International
Development Research Centre in Africa Wednesday argued that Africa's brain drain
problem was a result of the act of "downgrading" knowledge on the continent.
Sibry Tapsoba, called for a voluntary approach to "improvising knowledge
generation" conditions in Africa in order to slow the flight of trained
manpower.
Tapsoba, regional director for West and Central Africa, highlighted at the
conference on Brain Drain and Capacity in Africa what he termed the link between
"brain drain" and the general value attached to knowledge in any given society.
"In Africa, it appears as if we are doing everything to downgrade knowledge. In
fact, those who seem to possess it are sidelined and even persecuted," said.
He noted that Africa was spending less and less on higher education system, and
research laboratories in many Africans countries are in a state of decay "with
equipment and documentation material not regularly renewed."
Tapsoba pointed out that Africa cannot possibly keep its best "minds" if
countries continue to pay less for top researchers and skilled.
But he noted that the development of a country is built on the basis of the
"best people that can be mobilised."
He stated that this was particularly so in this day and age of development based
on technology.
"When wars are not making living conditions impossible for populations, we are
doing everything possible to keep the best minds out of Africa. In fact, it may
seem that we are more secure when they are not in the country, and then complain
that they have left," he explained.
Tapsoba said that "to keep African brains in Africa requires a voluntary
approach to improving knowledge generation conditions and policies."
He added that Africa at present lacks the necessary human capacity to compete
with the other continents "in this new era of technological development, where
skilled human resources are at the core of development."
He observed that the problem of "brain drain" was not just a simple matter of
migration, but "it is the migration of what Africa has best to compete in this
very sophisticated and technological society."

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