Africa has been having problems since the countries on the continent aggressively upheld the belief of self-rule and saw that as a right. However, since then these countries have experienced a lot of problems. Some of these problems will always be there and they will never finish because that is just the nature of developing the countries. However, even though Africa still has a long way to go in terms of development, economic, social, and political, there are areas that can spearhead this development. Certain issues are more strategic than others and as a consequence tackling those problems is integral to mitigating other areas of   life in Africa.  Though economics and politics are obviously necessary, finding a more common element that exacerbates the problems from in the political, social, as well as social arena is integral to solving the problems.  In other words, when a  ship is on sea and about to drown, the problems can range from waves, inexperienced drives, or holes in the ship; it would obviously be rational to mend the holes first which then allows  the crew to work on other  problems on the ship.

People are the essence of every social, economic, or political composition. Whether we speak of family or the nations; people reflect the extent to which that nation or family will be productive. The main problem that is facing African countries today is the way people have been raised and the importance with which individuals have been respected; individual freedom and an environment accentuating as well as respecting that freedom is crucial. In Africa, individualism is not an ideal that is cherished and as a consequence innovation that can come from the individual is tarnished.  Women and   young people have been relegated to positions that do not serve any of their future needs and there are no structural initiatives that allow for the individual productivity of the people in Africa.  So, the treatment of women and  young people is certainly a problem because that is a resource that certainly can be used in a productive way because their cultural enslavement does not add to the productivity of the country. If women are given economic, social and political autonomy they can certainly contribute to the growth of Africa in those areas respectively.  An aggregation of the problems women face, though they might be isolated, leads to a micro-problem meaning that if each woman had the autonomy as well as the support to educate herself and sustain herself financially then problems in Africa would reduce.

The other problem is the level of discourse in the country towards things such as HIV/AIDS. The subject (sex--this is not the only way the disease is transmitted)  through which the disease is transmitted is a cultural taboo in some parts of Africa and as a consequence discussing how HIV/AIDS   is passed becomes a problem. Moreover, in a culture in which women only serve as subordinates both in sexual activities as well as economic and social activities the disease is obviously accentuated because of that fact! Women occupy a slavish position in Africa and as a consequence they are not vocal in relationships: telling a man to wear a condom is perceived as an attack on his manhood. This is also a result of the lack of education.  The key to solving problems is illuminating their existence; this process is a philosophical truth because one can't solve problems that don't exist. So, discourse and the easiness with which communication comes into the lives of  the people on the continent about social , economic, as well as political issues is certainly integral to the way the continent can solve problems.

In addition to how human capital is treated, the other aspect of African life that   needs to be addressed is political corruption; its existence is obvious becomes minister’s salaries are not that high (check Parliament of Zambia website).  When politics is viewed as a career and not an arena for public discourse for the betterment of the country; then any development is impossible.  Politics in Africa since the time of independence has been viewed as a conduit through which men amass power as well as wealth; in fact it is a social anomaly to find a politician who is poor. Ministers send their children to schools abroad, their wives buy clothes from the West and they order the most expensive cars while the populations they represent die of poverty. Moreover, the citizenry has been conditioned to view these egregious activities as necessary and often do not object or for that matter do not see anything wrong with ministers living like kings while the rest of the country lives in poverty. The way politics is viewed will also be based on how the general population has been educated.  

Management of public resources is very crucial and has always been a topic of much debate in African countries.  This is also tied to the way politics will change because politicians are the main problem in this area. Stringent government regulations that still allow for business innovation will allow the private sector not to view government as an ally in their quest for profits; getting a contract for mining rights should not be because the member of parliament representing that district  where the mine is located  has been given money. It should be based on the competitive nature of the offer from the private firm and the subsequent public benefit that comes from that. Management of resources certainly is a huge problem in Africa; solving this problem would result in fixing other problems--- better management of resources will result in employment, investor attraction, and monetary gains from these can be used for better social programs such as better education etc.

So, the way human beings are treated in Africa, especially women and young people is a very big issue because the mistreatment of this population is correlated with progress in the economic, social, as well as political arena. If women are helped and allowed to pursue careers that unchain them from the home-sphere then in the long-run they are better off. In addition, the way politics is viewed should change and the cultural hold over politics by the fighters of the independence movement should stop; the fight is over and the countries have to look to the future for an existence that is better! Management of resources borders on economics as result being frugal yet understanding the need  for expedient industrial growth is  a crucial tactic. The global economy is here and here to stay and those who survive are those who change themselves to take advantage of the global structure rather than those who decide to change the structure.  Taking advantage of the global economy is something that Africa can do, especially when she attempts to solve problems such as HIV/AIDS because these are international problems given the level of migration and the penetrability of international borders.   The  global economy can be taken advantage of  because  Africa has human capital as well as the necessary natural resources to  take advantage of the structure; but this move  is highly based on how the  people living on the continent are treated, how educated the citizenry becomes, and how politics changes---preferably politics changing to become a realm for the betterment of society than individual gain, this does not suggest that we shouldn't have individual, rugged ambitious people but that is not what politics is about, that quality is better served in the business arena.