Myth Busters : 5 Myths About Africa.


By Phumzile Mavimbela

Africa is a very beautiful continent  with diverse cultures and beliefs. The Landscapes are breath taking and the people are sensational. However  with so many amazing places to tell about this great continent . The truth about is often distorted to those living beyond the borders of this great continent. How the media has and is framing Africa greatly contributes to the narrative about painted about it. The western media has often painted Africa as  a war torn continent, with uncontrollable diseases and  primitive people. Today  this article seeks to  resurface the beauty of Africa  while breaking  common myths and reinforced stereotypes.  

Africa is Primitive 

In many ways, Africans are leading the world in leveraging cell phones to enhance everyday life. According  Money transfers using mobile technology called M-Pesa in Kenya are now almost more common than cash, with nearly 13,000,000 users throughout the nation. Internet penetration is still less extensive than in other parts of the world, but studies show that the Africans who are online regularly use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and others. Far from being inaccessible to Africans, the Internet, social media, and cell phones are shaping Africa’s future. Africans have always aligned themselves to developing technology with an attempt to improve every day life. The pace may not be as fast as countries such the United States and  China. However the rate at hic African is
advancing advancing digitally is recommendable .

Global Mindset lists some of the commendable technological advances in Africa which  people outside Africa think do not exist.:

  • Traffic-Regulating Robots. Thérèse Izay from Congo-Kinshasa invented humanlike robots to regulate traffic in Kinshasa. The robots function as a traffic light combined with a crossing guard. In March 2015, there were five robots regulating traffic in this city, located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  • Drone in Nigeria. In December of 2013, Nigeria’s first unmanned aerial vehicle, commonly referred to as a drone, was created at the Nigerian Air Force School of Engineers. It can fly nonstop at 3,000 feet for nearly four hours. This is a significant accomplishment because it was Nigeria’s first indigenous drone flight.
  • Mercedes S-Class Interior Design. Steeve Burkhalter from Congo-Brazzaville designed the interior of the Mercedes’ concept car.


Africa is a poor continent 

Africa is one continent rich with natural resources and mineral in that we will count gold, silver , diamonds, platinum, oil and many more.  The colonial background of the continent has made many of its countries vulnerable to exploitation and foreign aid. However focusing on rebuilding African countries have demonstrated an ability to rebuild  their economies . 

Africa Is a Country

One myth common to people from Western lead countries is that  Africa is a country. Africa is vast and is made up of 54 independent  countries. It is the second-largest continent in the world. Out of  the nearly 200 independent countries on earth, a quarter of them are in Africa, where the population is more than 1 billion.


Africa is  just a jungle 

Another popular misconception is that Africa is underdeveloped and people live in the dessert and in the jungle. With no electricity and adequate shelter.   Zoe Kelland  and  Erica Sanchez in Debunking 5 Common Myths and Misconceptions about Africa remind us of time In 2014, Delta airline, a major US carrier, made a huge mistake on social media. Whilst congratulating the US World Cup team on a victory over Ghana, they used a photo of a giraffe to represent the African nation. Unfortunately for Delta there are in fact no wild giraffes in Ghana, and the Twitter community was quick to alert them to this. 

Slammed by accusations of racism and stereotyping, Delta have since apologised for the image used. However, this highlights how widely such stereotypes are still accepted and perpetuated in Western media. Yes, there are a whole host of exciting wild animals, and gorgeous savannahs, in some regions of Africa. However, there are also huge cities, rolling beaches, historic ancient monuments and more. One region of Africa is not identical to another, and we shouldn’t stereotype a whole continent in this way.


Africans cannot speak English

Finaly another misconcption I will touch on is that people often think because of Africans " primitiveness" Africans cannot speak English . Africans  at times are  regarded to speak " African" . There are over 2000 languages spoken across the African continent, and ‘African’ is not one of them. English is also an official language in 24 African nations and taught to a high level in schools across the continent.

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