The Challenges African States Faced at Independence

The Challenges African States Faced at Independence One of the most pressing challenges African states faced at Independence was their lack of infrastructure. European imperialists prided themselves on bringing civilization and developing Africa, but they left their former colonies with little in the way of infrastructure. The empires had built roads and railroads - or rather, they had forced their colonial subjects to build them - but these were not intended to build national infrastructures. Imperial roads and railways were almost always intended to facilitate the export of raw materials. Many, like the Ugandan Railroad, ran straight to the coastline. These new countries also lacked the manufacturing infrastructure to add value to their raw materials. Rich as many African countries were in cash crops and minerals, they could not process these goods themselves. Their economies were dependent on trade, and this made them vulnerable. They were also locked into cycles of dependencies on their former European masters. They had gained political, not economic dependencies, and as Kwame Nkrumah - the first prime minister and president of Ghana - knew, political independence without economic independence was meaningless.   Energy Dependence The lack of infrastructure also meant that African countries were dependent on Western economies for much of their energy. Even oil-rich countries did not have the refineries needed to turn their crude oil into gasoline or heating oil. Some leaders, like Kwame Nkrumah, tried to rectify this by taking on massive building projects, like the Volta River hydroelectric dam project. The dam did provide much-needed electricity, but its construction put Ghana heavily into debt. The construction also required the relocation of tens of thousands of Ghanaians and contributed to Nkrumahs plummeting support in Ghana. In 1966, Nkrumah was overthrown.   Inexperienced Leadership At Independence, there were several presidents, like Jomo Kenyatta, had several decades of political experience, but others, like Tanzanias Julius Nyerere, had entered the political fray just years before independence. There was also a distinct lack of trained and experienced civil leadership. The lower echelons of the colonial government had long been staffed by African subjects, but the higher ranks had been reserved for white officials. The transition to national officers at independence meant there were individuals at all levels of the bureaucracy with little prior training.  In some cases, this led to innovation, but the many challenges that African states faced at independence were often compounded by the lack of experienced leadership. Lack of National Identity The borders Africas new countries were left with were the ones drawn in Europe during the Scramble for Africa with no regard to the ethnic or social landscape on the ground. The subjects of these colonies often had many identities that trumped their sense of being, for instance, Ghanaian or Congolese. Colonial policies that privileged one group over another or allocated land and political rights by tribe exacerbated these divisions. The most famous case of this was the Belgian policies that crystallized the divisions between Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda that led to the tragic genocide in 1994. Immediately after decolonization, the new African states agreed to a policy of inviolable borders, meaning they would not try to redraw Africas political map as that would lead to chaos. The leaders of these countries were, thus, left with the challenge of trying to forge a sense of national identity at a time when those seeking a stake in the new country were often playing to individuals regional or ethnic loyalties.   Cold War Finally, decolonization coincided with the Cold War, which  presented another challenge for African states. The push and pull between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) made non-alignment a difficult, if not impossible, option, and those leaders who tried to carve third way generally found they had to take sides.   Cold War politics also presented an opportunity for factions that sought to challenge the new governments. In Angola, the international support that the government and rebel factions received in the Cold War led to a civil war that lasted nearly thirty years. These combined challenges made it difficult to establish strong economies or political stability in Africa and contributed to the upheaval that many (but not all!) states faced between the late 60s and late 90s.

The Legalization of Euthanasia Essays - Euthanasia, Medical Ethics

The Legalization of Euthanasia Essays - Euthanasia, Medical Ethics Mrs. Turner English 10-4 1 April 15 The Legalization of Euthanasia Death is a tangible option for those who are suffering and see no value in life. As human beings, we should have the right to put an end to our own undergoing pain and choose a dignified death. Euthanasia, the hastening of death for a terminally ill person, is the practice of deliberately ending the life of an individual who is deteriorating from an incurable disease or intolerable pain. Todays euthanasia is generally associated with the mercy killing or where the patient requests his or her own death, also known as voluntary euthanasia. However, when a doctor takes premeditated actions to cause a death, it is known as active euthanasia. Knowing that, it is seemingly appropriate to say that I believe in the legalization of voluntary euthanasia. When a person no longer wishes to waste his or her life withering away in a hospital bed, that person should have the ability to resort to death because of their right to do as they please and the relief from the unendurable torment. An individual should have the liberty to own his or her own life, and if the reasons are rational, be able to discontinue his or her own life. Human beings are autonomous people with a right to self-sufficiency, independence, and self-regulation; we should be able to take responsibility for our own actions and make our own choices. If circumstances are completely intolerable, we should have the freedom to choose to die. Every person should have the legal right to make choices according to their own lives and values, as long as their choices do not insist upon the liberties of others. The choice of a terminally ill person to die does not impose on the rights of othersonly their own. Patients should be guaranteed the right of not being forced to suffer, as stated in the European Declaration of Human Rights (Euthanasia- ProCon.org). Whether they want to avoid excruciating pain or just end their life in a dignified manner, it is implied in the concept of ordered liberty that they have th e self-entitlement to refuse life-saving medical treatment or ask for death. To many patients, being clinically alive is simply inadequate and as a New York City doctor Jacob Appel argues, how they value their lives is inextricably linked to the quality of their lives (Right to Die). When a patients life lacks self-awareness or an inherent presence as a human because of their extreme physical and mental suffering, that patient should have the entitlement to choose a decorous death rather than an indecorous existence, as it offers them the solace of a potential escape from suffering if they ever desire it (Right to Die). A patient should have the justification to end his or her own life through the medical act of euthanasia because of the unsolicited agony, suffering, and misery linked to the disease or state he or she is in. Each person has different amounts of pain and suffering that he or she can tolerate and when a patient is suffering from a severe condition such as a terminal illness, one cannot disregard their feelings and thoughts of grief, distress, and hopelessness. By willingly falling into a deep sleep, patients are able to escape their desolation and feelings of despondency. Even with palliative care, many patients still experience extensive physical and existential suffering and pain, and pain is not always adequately controlled by palliative medicine (South Australia). With some cases of illnesses, the pain can only be subsided by producing a prolonged unconsciousness or coma. There are illnesses such as Total Dependence Syndrome, the loss of independence and control in the terminal de caying phase, which have non-painful syndromes but still involve extreme suffering (South Australia). Therefore, it is needless to say that euthanasia is a doctors act of clemency and care. Although doctors show an act of mercy for those who are suffering from unbearable pain through euthanasia, many people argue that they are still violating the Hippocratic Oath; a Greek medical oath taken by all physicians to swear upon their patients to the best of ones ability. The oath clearly dictates that physicians should not prescribe nor administer a lethal

Engineers in the construction industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Engineers in the construction industry - Essay Example It is true that architects design for the safety of the building. Some architects even use previously used design specifications that have been observed to work. They simply copy and paste them in the new project. They see the design through the construction stage. They then walk home with the believe that the design shall work considering that it has been observed to work in the past. This is not necessarily true. Every building, even with the same design specifications, has its own individual challenges. There are no two geographical locations that are similar in all aspects. Each building has its own individual challenges during and after its construction. The architect ensures that all challenges and setbacks in construction are surmounted.   In this regard, buildings are not complete when the architect goes home.Buildings are consumed in two major ways; as residential premises or for commercial use. Residential buildings are designed to accommodate or house the owner of the bu ilding and his close associates. These associates might be family members, members of his work force or friends. The buildings could also be used to house the owner’s associates only. They do not attract any financial gain or profits directly.   The owner of the building just benefits from the fact that he gets sheltered with the building or at least his close associates or property does so. All buildings of this nature need to be designed in a way that human health is not compromised. They should be well ventilated, warm enough and well lit. Buildings can also be consumed for commercial gain. The owner of the building may or may not reside in it. Part or the whole of the building is intended for generating financial gain. The building might even house non living objects entirely. It is possible that no human being or even animal or plant