Analysis of Capacity Building and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa
Robert Dibie, Ph.D.; Felix Moses Edoho, Ph.D.; Josephine Dibie, Ph.D.

Abstract
This paper examines how countries in Sub-Saharan Africa seek to enhance their human, institutional and infrastructure capacity in order to secure a stable and sustainable economy. It argues that technical capacity building will serve as a lever for economic growth and social development. Capacity building is a continuous process of development that could be accomplished through the participation of the citizens in their own development. The dynamics of development and participation at both national and grassroots levels must involve the exposure of government change agents to participatory learning and action models. The paper uses data derived from primary and secondary sources to analyze the capacity building problems.The conceptual framework is based on the social constructionist, the build block model of development, monetarist and the Keynesian theories. The findings reveal that there is a negative correlation between the nations’ educational system and the kind of skills needed to achieve sustainable development. In addition, government policies have not been able to effectively galvanize the private sector and NGOs to create more technical skills and jobs for citizens. The paper recommends that the dynamics of development and participation at grassroots level must involve the exposure of government change agents to participatory learning and action methodologies. Thus, government, private sector and NGOs should collaborate to establish a mechanism for a better and efficient approach to providing skilled capacity. Sub-Sahara African nations need to establish capacity building projects that could help to nurture changes in behavior, attitudes, methods and humanist paradigm, as well as offers not only the basis for selfreliance, participatory sustainable development but a means and an end in itself.

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