19). This has led to sub-Saharan Africa becoming dependent on the Global North for the purchase of primary products (Galbraith 2002, p. 25 cited in Gamage 2015, p. 9). This is problematic given that Africa also faces competition from Asia and Latin America in these sectors, which forces African farmers to further lower costs, which could include reducing their workers' wages. The use of such measures has led to negative rates of economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa. For example, in 1975, regional GNP per capita was 17.6% of the world average and in 1999 it fell to 10.5% (Ferguson 2006, p. 9). Therefore, the main goal of neoliberalism, which is to achieve economic growth, has also not been achieved. It has been suggested that there has been economic growth since then, but even though sub-Saharan Africa is growing as a region, falling wages mean that the poorest will receive no benefits from a better economy. Therefore, if neoliberalism is considered a political tool used to restore the wealth of the bourgeoisie, then it cannot inherently be a viable tool