Agenda 2063

Neo-Colonialism in Africa Must be Replaced With Industrialization

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The three members of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES)—Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger—are shown in green. Three of the states that are seeking close cooperation with the AES—Tanzania, Sudan, and Nigeria—are shown in red.

May 10, 2025

This article Africa’s Revolution is reprinted from the May 2, issue of Executive Intelligence Review-EIR.

Africa’s Revolution: Alliance of Sahel States Boosts the Tempo

by David Cherry and Dean Andromidas

[Print version of this article]

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Revolutionary Government of Burkina Faso Facebook page

Ibrahim Traoré, head of state of Burkina Faso and a leader of the Alliance of Sahel States. Much of Africa is pushing back against the attempt by Gen. Michael Langley, commander of U.S. Africa Command, to portray him as corrupt in a U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee hearing April 3.

April 23—A revolution is underway in Africa to break the bonds of neocolonialism and industrialize the continent. It has been slowly picking up momentum for more than a generation. Now a new sense of freedom and possibility is unmistakable.

In 2015, the African Union Assembly of Heads of State adopted a grand design for Africa’s next fifty years called “Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want,” of which its plan for an African Integrated High-Speed Rail Network (AIHSRN) is emblematic of the whole.[fn_1]

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An African Union poster promoting the African Integrated High-Speed Rail Network, a high priority of Agenda 2063, the Africa We Want.

Agenda 2063 did not come out of the blue, but was nurtured in the environment of several wholesome processes aimed at economic integration of the entire continent to promote rapid economic and technological development.

While ignored and even undermined by the G7 and the European Union, Africa’s revolutionary process received strong support from China through the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC, begun in 2000); the birth of the BRICS in 2009 and its subsequent growth; China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) begun in 2013; the first and second meetings of the Russia-Africa Summit (2019, 2023); and the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum (first ministerial meeting in 2024).

Today, Africa’s full members of the BRICS are South Africa, Ethiopia, and Egypt. Africa’s partner members are Nigeria and Uganda. And the BRICS bank—headquartered in China and called the New Development Bank—established the first of its four regional offices in South Africa.

These collaborative processes sparked the new sense of freedom and possibility on the African continent.

The effort has been slowed by the lack of strong unity among the states, which allows the institutions of the Washington Consensus—led by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank through their destructive “structural adjustment programs”—to pick off individual countries that lack the power to oppose them. That is why the Pan-African movement has made no headway since the days of Ghana’s founding President, Kwame Nkrumah, and later, the revolutionary leadership of Burkina Faso’s Thomas Sankara.

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Senegalese scholar and scientist Cheikh Anta Diop called for industrialization, nuclear power, and the highest levels of education.

The famous Senegalese physicist, historian, and political leader, Cheikh Anta Diop, always asserted that Africa could only achieve independence and resist the power of its former colonizers through becoming a true federation of its many states.

In a 1977 interview, Diop said that the only independent countries on the planet were the United States, the Soviet Union, and China, because they were continental powers. When asked how can Africa become a federation, given the weakness of the then Organization of African Unity (predecessor of the African Union), he said,

To begin with, a group of states could already band together in an open federation and actively incite the other states to join. I understand that this is more easily said than done, but a start has to be made somehow, somewhere. I see no other way for such a state than in one, two or three states taking the initiative of surrendering a good part of their own national sovereignty and accepting to be the initial nucleus of an open federation. This demands courage, a lot of courage, political foresight and, above all, a deep, profound commitment to Africa as a historical, cultural, and political entity.[fn_2]

It appears that this process is now beginning with the formation of the Alliance of Sahel States.

The Alliance of Sahel States

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freeworldmaps.net

The three members of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES)—Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger—are shown in green. Three of the states that are seeking close cooperation with the AES—Tanzania, Sudan, and Nigeria—are shown in red. The number is growing.

The revolutionary process that led to Agenda 2063 moved to another level when Mali’s army carried out a coup in May 2021. Burkina Faso’s army followed with a coup in January 2022, and Niger’s in July 2023. The three governments soon formed a confederation, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), which is already making provision for possible additional members. Shining brightly among the guiding lights for these revolutionary governments are Diop and Sankara, both mentioned above. Diop mapped out the industrialization of the continent in a little book called Black Africa: The Economic and Cultural Basis for a Federated State (1974), and Sankara was exemplary as the selfless and visionary President of Burkina Faso from 1983 until his assassination in 1987. The AES is already winning admiration across Africa.

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Burkina Faso Government

African hero Thomas Sankara, president of Burkina Faso from 1983 until his assassination in 1987.

The three revolutionary governments have now obtained support from the Russian Federation. The foreign ministers of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger arrived in Moscow “to address the profound aspirations of AES peoples” in the first AES-Russia consultation over April 3-4, 2025 at the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

In this consultation, Russia said it would train AES troops and law enforcement personnel and supply them with military equipment to fight the prevalent Islamist terrorism, without imposing conditions on the Alliance. According to the AES, Russia will also play a role in the introduction of an AES currency. In an April 11 RT interview with Niger’s Foreign Minister, Yaou Sangaré Bakary, the minister said the AES would introduce its own currency and ditch the CFA franc and UEMOA (the West African Economic and Monetary Union), both tightly controlled by France. He said it would not happen immediately, but “Russia will occupy an important place in the introduction of our currency.” Tasks such as this, he said, will be easier now that the AES has kicked out the French and U.S. military forces—that was the most difficult.

Bakary’s short but quietly powerful interview with RT will doubtless have an impact across Africa. “We know our sovereignty begins with the printing of money,” he said, and “you can’t be AES and accept that the printing press is in France.” “Most of us [cabinet ministers] are over sixty. We are not doing this for ourselves. We are doing it for our children.”

The Alliance, Its Ripples, Its Parallels

The momentum of the AES is producing a variety of ripple effects across the continent. And there is independent, parallel motion. The following brief accounts report only a few developments in the AES and a small number of other countries, chiefly from the first three weeks of April. On the larger canvas, there are many more.

AES. The Alliance of Sahel States (AES) of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger announced March 13 the formation of its investment bank, the Sahel Confederation of States Investment and Development Bank, with an initial capital of 500 billion CFA francs ($860 million).

The AES air force chiefs met at Mali’s Military College April 19 with a view to forming a joint air force. In February and March, the chiefs of staff of the three countries’ militaries had also met, and two joint anti-terrorist operations have now been carried out. From February 24 to March 6, they conducted large-scale patrols “to regain control in unsafe areas, protect the local population and destroy the operational potential of terrorist groups,” according to Pravda Mali March 7. Pravda Mali reports many AES developments.

Burkina Faso. Two years ago, head of state Ibrahim Traoré said, “Soon the factories will rise.” In January 2025, the first tomato processing plant began operations. In February, Burkina Faso produced its first gold bar, refined from its own gold ore. The government plans to increase cotton production to 550,000 tons by 2025-2026, an increase of 83%. To achieve this goal, abandoned lands will be restored, 5 billion CFA francs will be budgeted for farmers’ subsidies, and 346,778 hectares will be allocated for cotton with an expected yield of 865 kilograms per hectare. Traoré announced April 21 that all education, up to and including university, will be free for all citizens.

Mali. Mali seeks to increase rice production by more than 80% by 2030, from the current 3 million tons to 5.5 million tons, APA News reported April 21. Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maïga appealed for the necessary investments from national and international partners on April 17, when he chaired the National Forum on Sustainable Financing under the sponsorship of the National Program for the Intensive Rice System (PN-SRI), in Bamako. While Sahel governments have been working toward food self-sufficiency, Mali still has to import some of its rice, a staple food in much of West Africa and the Sahel.

Nigeria. Nigeria, the immediate neighbor of Niger which had threatened it, has reversed itself and now seeks peace and cooperation, as reported by Arise.TV (Nigeria) on April 17. After the coup in Niger in July 2023, Nigeria had led ECOWAS (the Economic Community of West African States) in imposing sanctions on Niger and attempted to organize an invasion to depose the revolutionary government. But on April 16, Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, arrived in Niamey, the capital of Niger, at the head of a delegation of senior diplomats, policy advisors, and defense liaison officers, to restore and strengthen relations between Nigeria and Niger. The Nigerian delegation brought a message for General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the head of state of Niger, from Nigerian President Bola Tinubu. Discussions covered mutual security, trade, economic development, and building the trans-Sahel railway.

Nigeria has meanwhile developed its own indigenous attack drone, according to Africa Today (YouTube), April 17. African governments in need of military hardware to fight terrorism have found themselves at the mercy of the vendor or the vendor’s government. Timely delivery has been a problem for Nigeria when it has been facing the destructive Boko Haram or other terrorist networks.

Sudan. The government of Sudan formalized cooperation with Niger and Mali in June 2024. Deputy Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces General Shams al-Din Kabbashi, and Niger’s head of state, Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, met in Niamey, the capital of Niger, June 7, 2024 and agreed to work on common positions to be taken in meetings of regional and international organizations. Gen. Tchiani hoped that stability could be restored soon in Sudan and expressed Niger’s readiness to cooperate with Khartoum in addressing common difficulties. Gen. Kabbashi flew on to Mali, where he met with the President, General Assimi Goïta. The two agreed to establish cooperation in the political, economic, and cultural fields, and signed MOUs between their respective ministries of defense and foreign affairs. They also considered cooperation between Sudan and other Sahel countries in the security field and in coordinating positions in regional and international organizations.

Tanzania. The President of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan, on April 17 sent her predecessor, former Tanzanian President Dr. Jakaya Kikwete, as her special envoy to the Burkina Faso capital, Ouagadougou, to meet head of state Captain Ibrahim Traoré and his associates. Dr. Kikwete and his team came with a proposal for partnership and deep cooperation. He spoke of cooperation in agriculture, mining, education, health, manufacturing, and military affairs. One of the first proposed steps in this cooperation is in cardiology. The Tanzanian Heart Institute is a leader in cardiology in Africa, and Tanzania proposes cooperation with, and training for, Burkinabe surgeons.

Ghana. Ghana has ordered all foreign nationals to cease artisanal gold trading by April 30. “This directive is part of the enforcement of the newly enacted Ghana Gold Board Act, which aims to reform gold sourcing, boost revenue, and curb smuggling,” according to the New Africa Channel (YouTube) April 16. The Act was signed into law by Ghana’s new President, John Dramani Mahama, on April 2.

DR Congo. The Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Judith Suminwa, has called for a “patriotic action plan” to control mining. During a three-day national dialogue April 15 to 17, she endorsed the initiative of a civil society organization, the Crisis Committee for Peace and Security, to reform the role of government in the mining sector. She charged the organization to come up with “a concrete, rigorous, ambitious, and patriotic action plan,” saying, “Mining governance cannot remain the domain of technocrats and cabinet experts. It must return to being a subject of public debate, a lived social issue, and a political priority.” She said the war in eastern Congo “stems from an insatiable appetite for our coltan, gold, copper, cobalt, and other minerals,” according to copperbeltkatangamining.com.

Suminwa was briefly the Minister of Planning before being appointed prime minister in June 2024.

Uganda. President Yoweri Museveni reaffirmed his prohibition of any export of unprocessed minerals, including iron ore, when he opened the Eighth African Leadership Forum April 7 in Kampala. In his speech, broadcast on CTV Uganda, he said, “I have banned all the export of unprocessed minerals from here.” Adding, rhetorically, “Let them stay in the ground. When the grandchildren come, they will get them out.” The prohibition goes back to 2015, but Uganda’s trade data show that it could only be applied imperfectly. Museveni is working toward a fuller implementation of his prohibition, as shown by the commissioning ceremony of the Abyssinia Group of Industries’ new steel mill in Jinja in January, where Museveni also spoke and emphasized the need for Ugandans to process the country’s raw materials in such manufacturing facilities as this new steel mill.

All across the African continent, there is a rising awareness that industrialization is uniquely capable of building the power needed to make African sovereignty a reality. At this moment, the Alliance of Sahel States and its policies, including its federative principle, are recognized by many African leaders—far more than the few enumerated here—as providing leadership and a powerful beacon of hope for the continent.

[fn_1] EIR will soon publish a full article on Agenda 2063. It was described in “Extending the New Silk Road to West Asia and Africa” in EIR, November 17, 2017, on pages 44-46. [back to text for fn_1]

[fn_2] The interview was published in Afriscope in February 1977 and reprinted as an appendix in the Expanded Edition of Cheikh Anta Diop, Black Africa: The Economic and Cultural Basis for a Federated State (Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books, and Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1987). [back to text for fn_2]

Lawrence Freeman is a Political-Economic Analyst for Africa, who has been involved in economic development policies for Africa for 35 years. He is a teacher, writer, public speaker, consultant on Africa, and an analyst of global strategic relations. Mr. Freeman strongly believes that economic development is an essential human right. He is the creator of the blog: lawrencefreemanafricaandtheworld.com, also publishes on: lawrencefreeman.substack.com, “Freeman’s Africa and the World, and on X @lkfreemansafrica

A Nuclear Energy Economic Platform Is The Future for Africa

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The only nuclear power plant on the African continent, is in Koeberg, South Africa

“Nuclear Energy gives you the benefit of industrialization, and beneficiation within the [African] economy, translating to a higher and inclusive growth path and job creation.”

This is the edited transcript of the presentation of Gaopalelwe Santswere to Panel 2, “Physical Economy: Developing the Nӧosphere,” of the Schiller Institute’s Nov. 12, 2022 Conference, “The Physical Economy of the Noӧsphere: Reviving the Heritage of Vladimir Vernadsky.” Mr. Santswere is a nuclear physicist and senior scientist at the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation. He is the President of the African Young Generation in Nuclear (AYGN). (EIR magazine. Nov 25, 2022)

Africa’s Need for Nuclear Power and Nuclear Medicine

Gaopalelwe Santswere (Courtesy of EIR magazine)

Gaopalelwe Santswere: Thank you very much for the opportunity to be part of the speakers today on a very important topic of the growing youth movement for nuclear power and nuclear medicine in Africa. We’ve seen that Africa has adopted what is called the Agenda 2063. One of the ancestors of Agenda 2063 is the need for integration, as one of the key foundations for assuring Africa achieve its goals for inclusive and sustainable growth and development. There we have seen that within the African Agenda 2063, there are about seven aspirations. Just to give you one of the most fundamental ones, which is Aspiration 2 of this Agenda 2063, placing import on the need for Africa to develop world-class infrastructure that criss-crosses Africa and which would improve connectivity through newer and bolder initiatives to link the continent by rail, road, sea, air, and develop regional and continental power pools, as well as ICT [Information and Communication Technology].

So there’s a need for us, if you look at the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, to assure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

Now, if you take a look at Africa, we’ve got about 620 million Africans who are sitting without power. So out of 1.2 billion, you can see that almost half of Africans don’t have access to electricity. Therefore, Africa has not the opportunity to industrialize to have a future in the continent which would create sustainable jobs, to improve the conditions of the Africans in order to ensure that they can move forward.

There has been quite a robust debate within the continent as to what sort of technology should the continent adopt in order to ensure that we can move forward, and also develop the continent for the sustainability of most of the continent’s population, which are young people. So, when we look at the types of energy sources that we have, we know that there is some potential hydro in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which can potentially give us 40,000 MW of electricity. But we know what is the problem there: The geopolitical instability, regional instability that has caused the delay of this project seeing its life.

So we have seen, recently also, in the topic of hydro, Ethiopia has just launched or commissioned a hydropower plant that is supplying most of the East African countries there. But it also was not completed without political tension with Egypt and Sudan, because they’re saying that as it continues to fill up, it could potentially dry up some of the [downstream areas in Sudan and Egypt] and also affect the income.

Now we have seen the potential contention between the use of coal or hydrocarbons within the world: The world is saying that we need to move away from hydrocarbons and move to more clean energy that will sustain the world moving forward. But that being said, we’re seeing that world has not been achievable because of what we have seen in terms of the energy crisis in Europe and so forth.

So for Africa to develop, one of the energy sources that we foresee potentially could develop Africa is the use of nuclear power. We know that in Africa we’ve got two units at Koeberg Nuclear Power Plant in South Africa, that are continuously supporting South African electricity to almost 2,000 MW. But it’s the only two power reactors that are currently existing in the continent.

We have seen a number of countries expressing interest within the African continent, countries like Kenya, countries like Nigeria, countries like Ghana and so forth, who want to introduce nuclear power, due to the demand or energy poverty that their populations are subjected to. We have seen recently that Egypt has started construction on 4,800 MW of new nuclear power plants in the continent. This is very much welcome, because we have seen that now nuclear is starting to expand within the continent, and this will bring much relief in terms of the energy poverty that the continent has been experiencing for decades. We know that Africa is mostly referred to as “the darkest continent” because of lack of access to electricity.

So, one of the things that we need to do, in Africa in terms of energy, is to have a strategic plan that will ensure its society or citizens’ wellness within the continent; energy security which takes consideration of the environment; and competitiveness, including affordability and funding, in order to ensure that we have got economic growth and transformation, job creation, and equitable share in fulfillment of the African objective.

Now, when we look at a nuclear power plant, it is one of the most affordable [sources of] electricity. We can take cognizance that when you look at the power generation in South Africa in terms of the cost per kilowatt, nuclear is very, very low compared to other energy sources. Most of the developed countries in the world, they exist because the economy is based also on the development of nuclear power, so therefore, Africa must take some of the lessons from the world to ensure that they also can emphasize energy security, they also improve the lives of their citizens, by developing the nuclear power plan.

So, one fact is that we have over the years developed what we call the African Young Generation in Nuclear, which has enabled the young generations within the continent to emphasize why there is a need for us to go nuclear. We have emphasized that the bottom aspect of this is because Africa has to develop its own capacity and ensure that it addresses the socioeconomic issues of the continent through the promotion of nuclear power technology in Africa.

So, we need to do this. We have been doing it by degrees, to define, first, nuclear technology and educating the public about the benefits of nuclear for the public. We have facilitated the student government platforms and knowledge transfer platforms between the current generation of leading nuclear experts and the young generation about the nuclear profession.

What we are doing is, we have offered the platform to share, exchange ideas, and network on issues related to nuclear science and technology. Because what we have seen is that once we have addressed the energy issues, we have addressed a lot of things. And we strongly believe that nuclear has the capacity to address what Africa is lacking currently. And just to mention a few: We’ve seen that when you develop nuclear, you develop an economy in terms of energy security and by socioeconomic development. We align with national goals in terms of national development plans for energy transfer, and diversifying the African continent’s energy mix, which opens up an array of opportunities within the energy sector. It gives you the benefit of industrialization, and beneficiation within the [African] economy, translating to a higher and inclusive growth path and job creation. Of course, this will increase the pace of inclusive growth, which will face the biggest challenges on the continent.

Also bearing in mind, for sustainable economic growth we need to develop a technology that can develop and advance the economic wellbeing of the African continent.

So what we need also to recognize is that nuclear technology is not only power related. We can also apply it in different sectors like agriculture, nuclear medicine, and so forth. We know, just from the International Atomic Energy Agency this year there was a scientific forum focusing on the Rays of Hope initiative to ensure there can be access to cancer care. So we strongly believe that the nuclear technology can address that kind of issue.

We know that the continent has been losing quite a lot of money, where the patients are taken out of the continent to get care in the East or in Europe. So therefore, we strongly believe in the development of cancer treatment within the continent through radiotherapy, through access to nuclear medicine. Of course, we understand that cancer is one of the most killing diseases of the continent. So diagnosis and treatment of cancer will ensure that the development of Africa moves forward.

Just to give you an example: For a treatment for cancer, for example prostate cancer, we’ve seen South Africa developing the [radioactive isotope] Lutetium-177 production facility, which we have seen can treat prostate cancer much better.

So with that, I would like to say thank you for the opportunity. Thank you very much, and we look forward to the discussion.

Read my earlier posts:

South African Activist Campaigns for Nuclear Energy For Africa: Essential for Industrialization

South Africa: A Leader on the Continent for Nuclear Energy

Lawrence Freeman is a Political-Economic Analyst for Africa, who has been involved in economic development policies for Africa for over 30 years. He is a teacher, writer, public speaker, and consultant on Africa. He is also the creator of the blog: lawrencefreemanafricaandtheworld.com. Mr. Freeman’s stated personal mission is; to eliminate poverty and hunger in Africa by applying the scientific economic principles of Alexander Hamilton

The Africa Integrated High-Speed Rail Network is Feasible and Will Create A Prosperous Future for All African Nations

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Please watch the 30 minute video below, which is a provocative interview with Roland Ataguba, Managing Director of Bethlehem Rail Infrastructure Limited. He discusses in detail the feasibility of An Integrated Railway  Network

Please watch the 8 minute video below on the The African Integrated High-Speed Railway Network (AIHSRN), “An Agenda 2063 Flagship Project” proposed by the African Union.

 

 

This article: http://africanagenda.net/african-new-paradigm/, by PD Lawton, creator of the website: AfricanAgenda.net, reviews major rail and related infrastructure projects that African nations are planning and presently constructing.

 Lawrence Freeman is a Political-Economic Analyst for Africa, who has been involved in economic development policies for Africa for over 30 years. He is the creator of the blog: lawrencefreemanafricaandtheworld.com

UN Speech by Ivory Coast President: “Bolder Measures” Needed To Help African Economies Hit by COVID-19

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Debate
Other press by DR General debate of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly by videoconference: Statement by HE Mr. Alassane OUATTARA, Head of State of the Republic of Côte d`Ivoire, September 24, 2020

September 28, 2020
The remarks by President Quattara at the United nations echoed those of other leaders of developing nations. However, we must contemplate taking even bolder action. The present global financial-economic system needs to be restructured.  The Bretton-Woods system as envisioned by President Franklin Roosevelt has been distorted beyond recognition.  The amount of debt and derivatives on the books of the international banking system is suffocating real economic expansion. Yes, we must have a debt moratorium for the duration of the crisis, but we have to do more. We have to construct a New Bretton Woods that will deflate existing unpayable debt and establish  standards for prioritizing the issuance of new credits explicitly for development; in particular infrastructure.  The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore, for all the world to see, the gross failure of the current globalized system. We, humanity, will only progress when we establish a higher platform of economy, one dedicated to the promotion of human life, not the balance sheets of debts. Read: New Economic Order Required to Combat COVID-19 in Africa

General debate of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly: Statement by His Excellency Mr. Alassane Ouattara, President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire

Excerpts below:
“Faced with the spread of COVID-19, developing countries, especially African countries, are more severely affected by the economic and social effects of the absence of global initiatives in favor of of their savings. In this context, in my capacity as Champion for the implementation of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, I welcome the initiative of the G20 to grant a moratorium on the service of the bilateral public debt for the benefit of several African countries.

“I call on all the continent’s partners to take bolder measures aimed at relieving our economies hard hit by the effects of COVID-19. Africa’s financial needs are estimated at US $ 100 billion per year over three (3) years, or a total of US $ 300 billion. In addition, countries should have budgetary leeway to allow them to pursue the necessary social investments and take into account security needs, especially in countries facing terrorism.

“Finally, the world must hear the Africans’ call for the cancellation of the public debt of their countries. My country supports the African Union’s efforts to collectively renegotiate the continent’s debt with the creditors, and to obtain an extension of the debt moratorium, mentioned above. But we must go further and act without further delay. African countries need lasting solutions, in particular liquidity and investments, in order to withstand the unprecedented shock suffered by our populations and to continue the development process of the continent.

Among these solutions, I recommend recourse to the Special Drawing Rights of the International Monetary Fund; a mechanism that has already proved effective during the global financial crisis of 2008-2009.

“The fight against COVID-19 must not overshadow other diseases such as Malaria and AIDS, which claim more victims in African countries. Above all, it must not destroy efforts to fight poverty. In this area, my country has launched vigorous reforms that have reduced poverty by 15.6 percentage points in eight years.
The regional study on poverty by the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and the World Bank confirms that Côte d’Ivoire has gone from a poverty rate of 55.01% in 2011. at 39.4% in 2018. It is therefore about 1.6 million Ivorians who were lifted out of poverty during this period.

“Likewise, still according to recent statistics from the World Bank, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita of Côte d’Ivoire has more than doubled, from 1120 US dollars in 2011 to 2290 US dollars in 2019. , making Côte d’Ivoire the country with the highest per capita income in the West African sub-region.”

It Cannot Be Denied: China Helping Africa Realize Its Dream

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Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (L), Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh (C), and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir (R) on Dec. 9, 2018, inaugurate a Chinese-contracted major road project as the Ethiopian government aspires to connect strategic towns in western Ethiopia. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

November 28, 2019

China to help Africa realize “African dream” early: Chinese state councilor

Xinhua|-November 23, 2019  

China is willing to make every effort to help Africa get out of the “underdevelopment trap” and realize the “African dream” at an early date, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Saturday.

Wang made the remarks while attending the Group of 20 (G20) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Nagoya, Japan.

According to him, lack of fund is the biggest challenge to Africa’s development, with an annual infrastructure investment gap of 100 billion U.S. dollars. China’s infrastructure projects in Africa generate more than 50 billion U.S. dollars in revenue every year, he said.

For example, the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway has created nearly 50,000 local jobs, driving Kenya’s economic growth by about 1.5 percent, Wang said, adding that China-Africa cooperation is part of South-South cooperation and is mutual help between friends and brothers.

China attaches great importance to the debt issue, actively helps African countries improve their debt management capacity and provides necessary support when they encounter difficulties, Wang said. The two sides have made positive progress in jointly building the Belt and Road with high quality, he added.

The Belt and Road Initiative is highly compatible with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and development strategies of African countries, forming a strong synergy for promoting common development, Wang said.

In order to better help Africa achieve sustainable development, it is necessary to focus on solving the three major development bottlenecks, namely lagging infrastructure, lack of talent and capital shortage, while solving the three livelihood issues of employment, food and clothing and health, he added.

In this regard, China will adhere to the principle of upholding justice while pursuing shared interests and the principle of sincerity, practical results, affinity and good faith, and work tirelessly to help Africa develop, Wang said.

China has helped Africa build more than 10,000 km of roads, over 6,000 km of railways and a large number of libraries, schools, hospitals and other livelihood facilities throughout the continent, greatly promoting local development, Wang said.

Meanwhile, more than half of the eight action plans and supporting financing announced at the Beijing Summit of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation last year have been implemented or seen concrete arrangements.

He called on developed countries to honor their commitments to Africa and provide tangible assistance in capital and technology among others. China is ready to work with all parties to give full play to respective advantages, jointly promote peace, stability and development in Africa and help African countries realize the “African dream” at an early date, he said.

Read: China Helps Africa To Realize African Dream

 

UN Sec-Gen Guterres: “The Winds of Hope Are Growing in Africa”

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August 30, 2019

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres addresses the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Yokohama, Japan, on 28 August 2019

Let us remember what Pope Paul VI wrote in his 1967 encyclical; “On the Development of Peoples”: the new name for peace is development.  UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ support for development of Africa at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development-  (TICAD) conference is salient. Japan’s motivation to invest in Africa’s infrastructure is not to counter China. And China is not attempting to build a new colonial empire in Africa. These false characterizations are expressions from the old geo-political financial system that is losing its control over global policy. Witness the the utter failure of the G-7 Summit of so the called advanced sector nations. The Western banking system is about to collapse again as a result of the central banks pumping in into the financial system $17 trillion of “quantitative easing” over the last ten years.  The US should stop attacking China’s new paradigm of development typified by its Belt and Road Initiative-(BRI), and President Trump should end his stupid, counter productive tariffs. The world needs leadership to lift the planet onto a new scientifically driven economic platform that will not only end poverty and hunger in the developing sector, but also raise the standard of living of all nations. 

In this spirit, one concrete initiative that should be taken up at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly-(UNGA )is; funding for recharging the shrinking Lake Chad. The Transaqua inter-basin water transfer project has the support of the nations of the Lake Chad Basin and UN Sec Gen Guterres. This project, which has been called, “A Kwame Nkrumah Pan- African Infrastructure Project,” would transform the Lake Chad Basin. With the head of the Nigerian Mission to UN, Ambassador Tijjan Muhamed-Bande, presiding over this year’s UNGA, and Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari  an ardent supporter of recharging the lake, we are at a propitious moment for the UN take bold action for the Lake Chad Basin.   

Excerpts: 

“African nations have made ‘significant progress’ in developmental efforts in the last few years, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday, kicking off the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), taking place in Yokohama.

“I see Africa as a dynamic continent of opportunity where winds of hope are blowing ever stronger,” Mr. Guterres expressed

“Africa needs peace for its development” the Secretary-General said in closing.

“I look forward to productive discussions over the next days that will culminate in a common understanding of the priorities for common and coherent action to promote peace and sustainable development across Africa.”

Read: For Africa the Winds of Hope are Growint Stronger

Read: United Nations Conference: The Lake Chad Basin Should not be ‘Managed’; it Should be ‘Transformed.’

Africa’s East-West Railroad is 50 years Over Due

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An East-West railroad, along with Trans-African highways, and  electrical power, is essential for African nations to become  sovereign independent nations. It is coherent with the African Union’s “Agenda 2063.” Sudan is geographically situated to become the nexus of the East-West and North South rail lines. Africa’s collaboration in recent years with China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Russia, and other nations to build vitally necessary infrastructure is the only way to eliminate poverty, hunger, and disease. It will also lead to finally putting African nations on the path to building robust agricultural and manufacturing sectors. This policy stands in stark contrast to President Trump’s “non-Africa Strategy,” which will do nothing to help Africa, nor improve US Security.  

Russia Wants To Help Build an African Cross-Continental Rail Line

Dec. 16, 2018

The Russia-Sudan Inter-governmental Commission announced in a report that Russia wants to participate in the construction of a cross-continental rail line, which will connect East and West Africa. TASS reported that the commission document states: “The Sudanese side expressed interest in participation of the Russian companies in constructing of the Trans-African railway from Dakar-Port Sudan-Cape Town. The Russian side confirmed readiness to work out the opportunity for participation but asked for [the] provision of all the financial and legal characteristics of this project.”

TASS explained that “the Trans-African railway line is part of the African Union’s plans to connect the port of Dakar in West Africa to the port of Djibouti in East Africa. It will run through 10 different countries (many of them landlocked) and is expected to boost trade on the continent. The route will be the expansion of the existing Trans-African Highway 5 (TAH5). The first phase of the project will be an estimated $2.2 billion upgrade to 1,228 kilometers of existing rail between Dakar, the capital of Senegal, and Bamako, the capital of neighboring Mali.

The project has already attracted Chinese investment in African infrastructure through Beijing’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).” 

 
 
 

 

Transaqua Begins: A Wonderful Step Forward for Africa!

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Today a huge step forward was taken for the Africa continent with the initial funding for a feasibility study of the Transaqua water project. Transaqua, a transformative inter-basin water transfer project to re-charge the shrinking Lake Chad, was first proposed over thirty years ago, to create a super-economic development zone between the nations of the Lake Chad Basin and Great Lakes Region. Expanding this lake is crucial for the Sahel and will help to turn back the desert. The success of Transaqua, a Pan African infrastructure project, will be bring peace stability to Nigeria, and to the other member states of the Lake Chad Basin, and as well create new levels of economic wealth. It will contribute to the industrialization of Africa, and should become part of the African Union’s “Agenda 2063.” I am proud that I have been advocating this project around the world, especially in Africa and in the United States.

All Africans, and friends of Africa should rejoice at this small, but potentially giant step forward for the people of Africa.

Today, October 16, 2018- A MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) for the initial funding of the feasibility study for the Transaqua project was signed in Rome by the Italian government and the Lake Chad Basin Commission. Francesco La Camera, director general of the Italian Environment ministry, and Mamman Nuhu, Executive Secretary of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, signed today a document that certifies an Italian government grant of 1.5 million Euros to finance the feasibility study for the project refill Lake Chad and build a water, transport, electricity and agro-industrial infrastructure in central Africa, developed by the Italian firm Bonifica more than 35 years ago.

The formal signature is following the decision announced last February 29 at the International Lake Chad Conference in Abuja, Nigeria. There will be further bureaucratic steps before the grant can be delivered and the feasibility study can start.

“It is a historic step”, said Bonifica CEO Romina Boldrini. “Italy is giving money for Transaqua. Everybody is expecting Bonifica to start the feasibility study now”.

Marcello Vichi, the head of the Bonifica team that drafted the original Transaqua study in the seventies, said he is “very satisfied” with the agreement. “Finally, after so many years, Africans and Europeans understood the importance of the project. Now we have to make up that lost time”.

Read:  Save Lake Chad With Transaqua: Presidents Roosevelt and Nkrumah Would Concur

Final Call: IMF and World Bank real culprits in Africa’s debt crisis

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This article debunks the myth of China colonizing Africa through a “debt trap” policy. It also has quotes from me on this subject. You can read more comments from me with this link to my post: A Brief Response: Marshall Plan for Africa or “Debt Trap?”

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FINAL CALL: IMF-and-World-Bank-real-culprits-in-Africa-debt-crisis.

BY JEHRON MUHAMMAD |  SEP 12, 2018 

Many Western press outlets, including CNN, have repeated a recent claim presented to the U.S. State Department that the “Chinese government is leveraging billions of dollars in debt to gain political leverage with developing countries.”

The phrase they use to accuse China is “debt book diplomacy,” a play on the past usage of the term “gunboat diplomacy” about U.S. policy. They accuse China of miring Africa in debt and “undercutting their sovereignty.”

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with African Union Chair Paul Kagame who is President of Rwanda at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 4, 2018. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

Not to be outdone, ABC News chimed in: “China’s commercial presence in Africa has prompted complaints in some countries that the continent gets too little from the relationship. Africa is a major target of Beijing’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiative to build ports, highways and other trade-related infrastructure, but some critics in Tanzania, Kenya and other countries say they leave hosts with too much debt.”Pushing back, China claims to be helping African development, not piling up debt, one top China government official said.

“If we take a closer look at these African countries that are heavily in debt, China is not their main creditor,” its special envoy for Africa Xu Jinghy said, during a news conference. “It’s senseless and baseless to shift the blame onto China for debt problems.”

Claims that China is an “economic predator” in Africa, pillaging natural resources and dragging it into debt crisis are “as false as they are sensational,” the Xinhua official Chinese news agency said in a commentary.

According to African economic and political analyst Lawrence Freeman, “It is more than ironic that the West is complaining about Africa’s debt to China. Since the 1960s, Western nations, the IMF, World Bank, Paris Club, etc., have ‘looted’ Africa of hundreds of billions of dollars in bloated debt payments and through the manipulation of currencies, and terms of trade.”

Of note is the fact that the anti- China accusation is fairly recent. An April 18 Financial Times article, headlined “African nations slipping into new debt crises,” did not mention China one time as the source of the continent’s debt crisis.

In fact the FT’s piece is critical of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. “The increase in debt should have raised all sorts of flags and triggered triage, but it didn’t. Neither the International Monetary Fund nor the World Bank sounded the alarm,” the London-based financial paper reported.

In addition, the FT claimed some African countries were hit because “they borrowed in foreign currencies and were finding debt hard to finance after a significant depreciation.”

In 2017 Quartz Africa reported, again not mentioning China, that “African eurobond debt is growing to risky levels.” A eurobond, also referred to as sovereign bond, is a debt security issued by a national government and is denominated in a foreign currency, usually dollars, rather than the euro that its name implies.

This debt crises have been cyclical. Africa’s debt of the 1980s mushroomed to $270 billion and had many factors, according to Quartz, “depending on which side of the fence you’re on.”

Those events came full circle. Even though Quartz recognized the repeating “hallmarks” of unchecked corruption, poor governance, and political mileage investment, the “single catalytic factor to trigger debt unsustainability in Africa has always been the crash of commodity prices on the global market.”

The news service Reuters reported in May of 2017 that “most sub-Saharan African countries still rely on U.S. dollar-denominated debt to finance their economies. Some investors say this is sowing the seeds of future debt crises if local currencies devalue and make dollar debt repayments more expensive.”

The United Nations trade body UNCTAD estimates that Africa’s external debt rapidly grew to $443 billion by 2013 through bilateral borrowing, syndicated loans and bonds. But since then sharp currency devaluations across the continent have pushed up the cost of servicing this debt pile, which continues to grow, the agency said.

It’s no wonder over 50 African heads of state attended the Sept. 3-4 Forum on China-African Cooperation (FOCAC) in Beijing. During the forum China president Xi Jinping announced a hefty $60 billion package to compliment another $60 billion pledged at the 2015 summit.

This breaks down, according to press reports, to $15 billion in grants and interest free loans, $20 billion in credit lines, a $10 billion fund for development financing, $5 billion to finance imports from Africa and waving the debt of the poorest African nations diplomatically linked to China.

On top of President Jinping letting the numbers speak for themselves he had words for China’s detractors: “Only the people of China and Africa have the right to comment on whether China-Africa cooperation is doing well … . No one should deny the significant achievement of China-Africa cooperation based on their assumptions and speculations.”

The African Union chairman, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, has been heard to call Chinese aid and investment strategy in Africa “deeply transformational” and respectful of the continent’s global position.

He said FOCAC had grown into a powerful engine “of cooperation fully aligned with Africa’s Agenda 2063 and sustainable development goals.”

“Our growing ties with China do not come at anyone’s expense. The gains are enjoyed by all who do business with us. Building the capacity of African institutions to transact and monitor more effectively is what will make the biggest difference,” he said.

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FOCAC Summit: President Xi “China and Africa will walk together towards prosperity.”

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{I have been telling my friends for years that China-Africa cooperation will change the African continent. With investments in vital categories of infrastructure, African nations can industrialize and develop advanced agro-manufacturing sectors. Economic sovereignty is now possible for African nations after 500 years of slavery and colonialism.

This recent FOCAC summit has placed Africa-China relations on center stage in front of the whole world. As Faki Mahamat, Chair of the African Union Commission said at the conference; China-Africa cooperation is a solid foundation for a new international order.(Watch the video of his remarks below)  

I will be writing more on the significance of the new era of China-Africa cooperation, but for now, we can and should rejoice. The world has changed for the better, even though there are dangerous pitfalls ahead. }

 

China To Invest $60 Billion in Africa over the Next Three Years; Xi Says: ‘Explore a New Path of International Relations’

Sept. 3, 2018

Chinese President Xi Jinping in his keynote of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), announced that China would be investing $60 billion in Africa over the next three years, which would include $15 billion of interest-free and concessional loans, $20 billion of credit lines, a $10 billion special fund for development financing, a $5 billion special fund for financing imports from Africa, and encouraging investment by Chinese companies to the tune of $10 billion in Africa.

In his speech, President Xi said that China-Africa cooperation was based on the following principles;  The Five “No’s”:

No interference in African countries and pursuit of development paths that fit their national conditions;

No interference in African countries’ internal affairs;

No imposition of China’s will on African countries;

No attachment of political strings to assistance to Africa;

No seeking of selfish political gains in investment and financing cooperation with Africa.

“We welcome Africa to the fast train of Chinese development,” Xi said. Central to the cooperation has been the Belt and Road Initiative, which in Africa is in synergy with the African Union’s “Agenda 2063,” which marks the centennial of the official end of colonialism in Africa in 1963.

President Xi laid out the eight major initiatives that China would implement in collaboration with Africa in the coming three years:

1. In industrial promotion, China will set up a China-Africa trade expo in China in order to encourage Chinese investment in Africa.
2. It will also carry out 50 agricultural assistance programs, provide $147 million in food aid to African countries affected by natural disasters and send 500 agricultural experts to Africa.
3. With regard to infrastructure, China together with the African Union will formulate a China-Africa infrastructure cooperation program.
4. With regard to trade, China will increase its imports from Africa, in particular non-resources products.
5. On green development, China will undertake 50 projects focusing on climate change, ocean, desertification prevention and control, and wildlife protection.
6. On capacity building, China will set up 10 workshops in Africa to offer vocational training for young Africans. It will also train 1,000 high-caliber Africans for training in innovation sectors; provide Africa with 50,000 government scholarships; and sponsor seminar and workshop opportunities for 50,000 Africans and invite 2,000 African students to visit China for exchanges.
7. In health care, China will upgrade 50 medical and health aid programs for Africa. On people-to-people exchanges, China will set up an institute of African studies and enhance exchanges with Africa on civilization.
8. And on peace and security, China will set up a China-Africa peace and security fund and continue providing free military aid to the African Union and will support countries in the Sahel region, and those bordering the Gulf of Aden and the Gulf of Guinea, in upholding security and combating terrorism in their regions.

African Union’s Moussa Faki Mahamat, Addresses FOCAC Conference

Please review this excellent speech by Faki Mahamat, Chair of the African Union Commission, at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. In his remarks the AU Chair called for “the urgent reform of the international financial institutions…That China-Africa cooperation is a solid foundation for a new international order…Our partnership [with China] can reshape the world’s geo-political landscape”He went onto say that the AU welcomes the Belt and Road Initiative and its synergy with AU’s “Agenda 2063.”

 

Presidents Ramaphosa and Kegame: Africa Supports the Belt and Road Initiative

In his speech to the FOCAC Summit, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said, the Belt and Road Initiative was in the interests of the African nations. China-Africa cooperation, he said, was in the interests of the African nations. “In the values that it promotes, in the manner that it operates, and in the impact that it has on African countries. FOCAC refutes the view that a new colonialism is taking hold in Africa, as our detractors would have us believe...It is premised on the African Union’s Agenda 2063, a vision that has been crafted in Africa, by Africans. It is a vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the international arena.”

“Why do we support the Belt and Road Initiative?” Ramaphosa asked. “Because we are confident that this initiative, which effectively complements the work of FOCAC, will reduce the costs and increase the volume of trade between Africa and China. It will encourage the development of Africa’s infrastructure, a critical requirement for meaningful regional and continental integration.”

Ramaphosa was followed by Rwandan President Paul Kagame, the current rotating chairman of the African Union. “Africa wishes to be a full and integral part of the Belt and Road Initiative. The gains will be enjoyed by everyone.” Kagame praised in particular the personal commitment of President Xi to this initiative. “He has visited every region of our continent, including my country Rwanda. China has proven to be a win-win partner and dear friend,” Kagame said. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres gave support to the message expressed by the African leaders, who said that “it is vital that current and future development cooperation contributes to peace, security and to building a ‘community of shared future for mankind,'” reiterating a concept that lies at the basis of President Xi’s conception of a new form of international relations. Guterres also expressed support for the importance of the strengthening South-South cooperation.