critical infrastructure such as transport and communication networks does not support the growth of economic activities in africa. the inadequate supply of electricity, for example, leads to increase in production costs thereby rendering products expensive. most of the existing legal infrastructure that is vital for the enforcement of competition laws, bankruptcy and other commercial laws are weak and inadequate. rule of law, property rights, among others must therefore be firmly rooted to provide the enabling legal environment for africa ’ s development. information / data constraints many development projects are poorly implemented due to lack of data, which often lead to insufficient knowledge on the magnitude developmental challenge. the poor data base is largely due to lack of adequate infrastructure and skills for data mapping and analysis. there is need to focus on addressing these challenges to aid effective policy formulation and implementation. bis central bankers ’ speeches access to credit entrepreneurs and investors are exposed to limited credit channels which constrains competitive business expansion and productivity growth. increases in foreign capital inflows and developmental aids have reversed following the global financial crisis. fdi inflows are relatively low making long - term investment difficult. there is need to re - engineer the credit market in africa so that the needs of entrepreneurs can be adequately met. climate change / natural disasters the impact of climate change and global warming that mostly emanates from the industrialized countries makes africa vulnerable to counter - productive forces. rising incidence of natural disasters including droughts, floods, tropical storms, soil erosion and landslides are major threats to human life and property imposing huge social and economic losses. the lack of capabilities to accurately predict, monitor and mitigate the above sources of environmental degradation has severely constrained development efforts in africa. trade retaliation africa ’ s attempt to protect infant industries may provoke retaliations from trading partners that could further shrink the market for africa ’ s exports. subsidies and fiscal incentives for domestic producers may induce tariff changes that could limit trade with other countries. trade retaliation is no doubt a major threat to the new development strategy for africa. violent conflicts the prevalence of conflicts and social instabilities are among the major problems turning african countries into fragile states. the continent has the high concentration of the world ’ s poorest people with little or no social safety nets. civil unrests, inter - religious and ethnic conflicts are prevalent in most of the countries. there are numerous cases of domestic and imported security problems as exemplified by the recent war in libya and the political crisis ; as well as the terrorist attacks across the continent. the inability to resolve conflicts erodes the

likely challenges to the new paradigm in order for africa to succeed under the proposed new economic development paradigm, the continent must cultivate a sense of urgency in overcoming some of the likely challenges currently confronting it. these challenges include : corruption the high incidence of corruption constitutes a major challenge to the successful implementation of any new development strategies in africa. the effects of corruption are bis central bankers ’ speeches multi - dimensional. corruption promotes the diversion, depletion and misallocation of scarce resources, as well as increase in the costs of production of goods and services. it results in inefficient state ownership, excessive private accumulation and widening inequalities. the lack of transparency and accountability associated with corruption prevents public participation in the decision - making process thus, limiting positive developmental outcomes. the multiplicity of functions and the wanton duplication of agencies in some african countries equally promote wastages and inefficiencies in the management of resources. corruption also distorts fiscal discipline and impedes institution of good corporate governance practices. market access low level of inter - complementarity of african goods limits the ability of the continent to support a high level of intra - african trade. this results from the production of the same category of goods – primary goods, in addition to the fact that they service the same international market. there is a strong need therefore for diversification of the production base in africa. market access is also greatly reduced by the existence of sanitary phytosanitory measures conditions under the wto, which promotes conditions that african countries cannot meet. there is need for the revaluation of the international trade rules that have limited the bargaining power of the continent. due to the weaknesses of the domestic production base, african countries are unable to reciprocate the most favourable nation status in countries with which they sign bilateral trade agreements, and also fully participate in preferential trade agreements such as the african growth and opportunity act ( agoa ) and economic partnership agreement ( epa ). technological constraints the low technology base in africa is a major constraint to development. old technologies are often deployed with over - reliance on traditional methods of production which results in low productivity and competitiveness due to the lack of economies of scale. african countries have also been unable to develop cutting edge technologies owing to weak research and development. this results from poor funding of research institutes and science education. there is need therefore for better funding of research initiatives in order to stimulate technological advancements. structural / institutional constraints the lack of