AFRICAN LEADERS ARE NOW WAKING UP. Together we stand divided we fall

For a long time, Africa has been dancing to the tunes of countries in the global North. As Kenya President Ruto stated, her leaders are treated like schoolchildren, the continent is not taken seriously by the international community when it comes to providing solutions to problems on the international scene, her resources are exploited, and a lack of economic growth has led to a perpetual cycle of dependency on the global north, painting a picture of Africa as a continent that always needs to be helped. However, it appears that today’s African leaders are tired of this image and how the continent is treated by the global north, and so a number of them are standing up with courage and boldness, defending and promoting the cause of Africa during international summits. During the recently concluded Finance Summit in Paris, African leaders rose up once more to speak out against Africa’s treatment by the global north. It was very magnificent, and so in this video, we will analyze some of their statements during the summit.

On Thursday, June 22nd and Friday, June 23rd, 2023, many of the leaders of Western European, African, and Latin American nations as well as the heads of the IMF, World Bank, US Department of the Treasury, the ECB, and the European Commission convened in Paris for the Summit on a New Global Financing Pact, led by French President Emmanuel Macron. The summit aimed to address the needs of developing countries in their fight against poverty and adaptation to global warming, while also laying the groundwork for a long-term overhaul of the international financial architecture put in place by the West after WWII.

Apparently, the necessity for a new Global Financial Pact is due to the risk of climate change and the shift from fossil fuels to clean, sustainable energy sources. Western experts estimate that this shift will cost around $1 trillion each year until 2030, and Western leaders are proposing to fund it through a global tax. However, African leaders were unimpressed with the global North’s proposal because African countries are sinking in huge debt, as stated by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, and are under pressure to decarbonize their economies without adequate climate finance flowing in, which is simply not fair to them. Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema emphasized this point during the summit, saying, “Before we talk about financing, more financing, new financing,… you cannot expect a poor person to bear an additional burden…. Poverty actually exacerbates climate change mitigation measures.” For us as a global community to mobilize resources – yes, but these resources must be invested to help grow our economies.”

In his speech, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa challenged the world’s picture of Africa, saying, “We are not beggars, and Africa should not be seen as a continent that requires generosity.” We want to be treated as equals and as significant players on the global stage. He went on to recall how, in June, a coalition of seven African nations, including Zambia, Comoros, the Republic of Congo, Senegal, Uganda, Egypt, and South Africa, traveled to Ukraine and Russia on a peace mission and took a firm stance on the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict’s negative impact on the African continent due to rising food and fertilizer prices. He said that even though the meeting was not a win, it has opened the door for future talks and also shows that Africa has what it takes to provide solutions to international problems and that the perception that Africa cannot bring solutions to global problems should be changed.

President Ramaphosa further challenged the international community pledges he claimed were not completely fulfilled, specifically mentioning a $100 billion sum pledged in previous meetings. He described his country’s interaction with Western powers during the Covid 19 Pandemic, saying, ” .” He stated that this act instilled resentment in the global south toward the global north, which was exacerbated when opposition to Africa’s vaccine production project was faced at the World Trade Organization. He then questioned the international community’s value system, saying, “What is more important, life or profits by your big pharmaceutical companies?”

The president then concluded his speech by urging the West to follow through on its promises to Africa, declaring, “We must now see action from the West, not just talk,” and proposing a concrete infrastructure project that urgently required development funding, the INGA Dam, which can generate enough electricity for 12 to 15 African countries in a single go. If we can do that, then we as Africans will now be convinced that these summits are really meaningful; that we will now go home and say, ‘you know what, it’s worthwhile going to these summits, coming to Europe, and listening to all the promises because they are willing to act on the promises,” he concluded.

Finally, about the monies collected from the planned global tax, Kenyan President William Ruto rejected the concept that such resources be controlled by the World Bank and IMF, stating that “at the IMF and World Bank, you have the final say, we have no say.” We desire another organization of equals… That is why we argue that we require a new financial architecture in which governance and power are not concentrated in the hands of a few. Talking will not address this problem; you are not hearing us!”

Clearly, these bold declarations from African leaders demonstrate that the continent seeks equal involvement in global affairs and will no longer accept being treated as a secondary priority on the global stage. Unfortunately, the Paris Summit revealed that the demands of the developing world appear to be falling on deaf ears. Peddling false solutions, offering piecemeal and inadequate debt relief efforts, and shifting the onus to the private sector was the plan that developed countries offered in Paris. And as such, the credibility of the West has been shattered and African leaders believe that following Western demands is no longer their sole option, and they are rejecting it saying “walk your talk, or we’re done with you!

This is unquestionably a significant shift from several centuries of Western monopoly dominance, which resulted in a brutal colonial relationship with much of the world, imposed first by military conquest and then through debt clientage. If African leaders continue to act in this manner, acknowledging their importance on the global stage and working together, there is no question that they will be able to realize the dreams of our forebears who fought for our independence as a force to be reckoned with.

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