Bright Simons, Honorary Vice President of IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, has delivered a critique of African governments’ approach to domestic resource mobilization, describing it as being trapped in a “paradox of essentialism.”
Speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington D.C., Simons called out the widespread neglect of innovation, entrepreneurship, and strategic regional collaboration, all dismissed as “non-essential” despite their long-term value.
In a panel discussion under the theme “Safeguarding Domestic Resources in the Post-Global Aid World,” Simons argued that Africa’s policy architecture is ill-suited to its development ambitions.
“We suffer from what I call the paradox of essentialism when Africans must invest in solving our own problems, critical initiatives are routinely sidelined because they are perceived as non-essential,” he told fellow panelists and attendees.
He illustrated this paradox with the African Union’s funding dilemma. Despite being the continent’s principal diplomatic and trade body, over 70% of the AU’s budget is currently funded by European donors.
“If you’re a policymaker in Togo deciding between paying AU dues or building a school, the AU looks like a luxury. But without a well-financed AU, how do we negotiate global trade deals that favor the continent?” Simons remarked.
He emphasized that such underinvestment in continental institutions undermines Africa’s bargaining power on the global stage, particularly in trade, investment, and digital transformation.
Simons further spotlighted the plight of a Ghanaian entrepreneur producing electric tricycles and bicycles innovations well-suited for Africa’s urban mobility and environmental challenges. Despite the potential, her business receives no policy or financial support due to Ghana’s automotive policy, which favors large multinational car manufacturers and overlooks green, home-grown alternatives.
“She can scale production of eco-friendly vehicles, but the policy framework does not acknowledge her business model. We’re missing a huge opportunity to align industrial policy with innovation and sustainability.” Simons lamented.
According to Simons, African governments remain overly fixated on “hard infrastructure” like physical schools and clinics while ignoring equally vital “soft infrastructure” such as education quality, tech innovation, and entrepreneurship development. This narrow development lens, he warned, is stifling the continent’s potential to expand its tax base and ultimately reduce its dependency on foreign aid.
“Until we begin investing in the foundational systems that build human capital and enable businesses to thrive, increasing our tax-to-GDP ratios will remain a mirage. Our fiscal future depends not just on bricks and mortar but on ideas, innovation, and institutions,” he stated.
Simons called for a radical rethink of what constitutes “essential” development spending. He urged policymakers to adopt a long-term, strategic lens that includes innovation, regional cooperation, and soft infrastructure as cornerstones of domestic resource mobilisation.
“If we keep treating forward-looking investments as optional luxuries, we will remain stuck in a cycle of underdevelopment and aid dependency. Africa’s transformation lies not in perpetuating this paradox but in breaking free from it,” he concluded.
