Urbanization and Foreign Aid

Urbanization and Foreign Aid

Africa has long been the site of urbanization and foreign aid since the so-called Scramble for Africa (Hopkins, 1993, p. 489). Other sources, however, indicate that if one were to look at the formal influence of colonization, the many different countries in Africa have been receiving a sort of 'forced' foreign aid even prior to the Scramble of Africa. As such, there has been a substantial amount of urbanization fueled by foreign interest in a country such as South Africa. It is important to note that this foreign aid is not necessarily altruistic. Africa in general has long been revered for its rich mineral resources, fertile areas, and abundance of what was appropriated as human labor. This sentiment certainly applies to South Africa, which was long desired by Europeans for its "gold mines" (Cox et al., 2004, p. 2), diamonds, and other abundantly available resources. A thorough examination of certain historical and contemporary aspects of this country reveals that the effects of urbanization and foreign aid have been both positive and negative, and that many of the foreign efforts to fuel urbanization are still taking place today.

One of the most poignant negatives associated with urbanization and foreign aid to South Africa is the racist social-political climate that is responsible for apartheid. During this particular epoch in South African history, apartheid was directly linked to the concept of migrant workers. With European representatives from Switzerland and Germany funding money into South African cities such as Cape Horn and Soweto, urbanization greatly reduced the history of migrant workers in this country. Apartheid largely spawned from this occurrence, since the settlement of native Africans who had been migrants into such cities "promoted something of a moral panic among white South Africans, a moral panic & #8230;prior to the coming to power of the National Party, the party of Apartheid" (Cox et al., 2004, p. 2). Therefore, one of the results of urbanization in South Africa is that white South Africans became afraid and instituted apartheid to control native Africans within that country. Other negative impacts of urbanization and foreign aid are reflected in the procuring of South Africa's resources to foreigners. For instance, many of the companies that have invested in South Africa's lucrative gold mining industry are foreign based -- meaning that South Africans labor to reap a product which the country and its native South African countrymen barely benefits from (Stoddard, 2013). Lastly there are burgeoning "unemployment rates" and "urban crime" (Cox et al., 2004, p. 3) in South Africa cities due to urbanization, for the simple fact that there are not enough jobs paying sufficient wages to Native Africans who have come to cities in rural areas.

The positive aspects of foreign aid resulting in urbanization are not enough to offset the negatives. However, industrialization has taken place in many of the cities in the country, enabling the emergence of industries such as colleges and university level education (University of South Africa, the College of Cape Town, etc.) and gambling. The results of industrialization and urbanization have enabled South Africa as a whole to modernize, largely due to the influence of foreign aid. Entities such as the South African Local Economic Development Network of Africa pour foreign funds into the country and assist with its economic situation. Lastly, the influence of foreign aid and urbanization has helped South Africa to become recognized at the international level.

One of the most severe problems caused by urbanization in South Africa is the high unemployment rate. As of October of 2013, the unemployment rate in the country was at nearly 25% (van Vyck, 2013). However, it is worth noting that this rate represented a decline in unemployment. This decline in unemployment can be attributed to the efforts of foreign investors in programs such as the Local Economic Development Network (LED) of South Africa, which established funds into local businesses to help promote job opportunities and reduce the incidence of unemployment. LED's relationship with government entities at both the national and local level are fairly comprehensive, particularly in relation to helping South Africa solve its unemployment problem -- which is intrinsically related to the incidence of urban crime in the area. The subsequent quotation emphasizes this fact. "Local governments are usually given a general mandate to undertake economic development, which includes developing local strategies, coordinating with local private sector and civil society actors, enhancing the local environment for business and attracting investment" (LEDNA, 2013) As previously denoted, Led is financed by investors in Germany and Switzerland.