Gloom, Growth And The New World Order

Global prospects with international economist Dambisa Moyo in Cape Town.

- Chris Bishop

She is a womanly whirlwind in the world of economics; a breath of fresh air born-and-bred in Africa in the realm of expertise dominated by middle-aged white men with thinning grey hair. This lady is one of the vibrant new generation of rock-and-roll economists who give the world a fresh view.

When she speaks, it is with machine-gun rapidity and force born of the robust Harvard debates where she studied and cut her teeth. She is dressed to the letter; more Armani than Adam Smith. She may not be everyone’s cup of tea in Africa, but if you book Dambisa Moyo you can be sure of drawing a crowd; her often gloomy predictions about the world economy, from her base in London, are also worth a thought.

Strange, on the first meeting here at the Mining Indaba, in Cape Town, in February, she appeared to be not that keen to speak of her homeland of Zambia. I pressed that we are an African publication and therefore take an interest in African roots. Reluctantly, she said a few words about Zambia before skipping on to her views on the world economy.