France

Transaqua: Save Lake Chad & Prevent African Coups Like Niger

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Transaqua, the “Mattei Plan” boycotted by France

TRANSAQUA, THE ITALIAN WAY TO SAHEL BOYCOTTED FROM FRANCE AND EUROPEAN UNION

September 19, 2023

This new article, TRANSAQUA, THE ITALIAN WAY TO THE SAHEL BOYCOTTED BY FRANCE AND EUROPEAN UNION, by Italian journalist, Francesca Ronchin, is quite timely, given the explosive developments we are witnessing amongst the nations in the Sahel and West Africa, today.

Ms. Ronchin does a service for Africa by publishing this story on August 30th (originally in Italian), one month after the coup in Niger. The obviously complete failure by France, the United States, and Western institutions, to nurture real economic development and provide security for Sahelian nations has led to a succession of coups. From my vantage point as a physical economist, these drastic changes in leadership are understandable, though by themselves they will not provide a solution. Unfortunately, more coups may be on the way.

Take the case of Niger. With almost half its people living in abject poverty, only 3% of the population having access to electricity, and the youth seeing no future as a Francophone nation, should anyone be surprised of the anger directed at the Western backed government? Niger is home to multiple miliary bases for drone deployments and to house 1,100 U.S. troops and 1,500 French forces.

The relevancy of Transaqua* is that, if this great water-energy-agricultural infrastructure project had been implemented, as I have advocated for 30 years, the conditions life in the nations of the Lake Chad Basin would have undergone an economic transformation. Had there been progress over recent decades in constructing Transaqua, Niger today, would be a completely different nation. If the U.S. had deployed the over $500 million it spent on military training and building drone bases on developmental infrastructure, such as electricity, the coup in Niger could have been averted. Sadly, the concept of development has vanished from the comprehension of the U.S. President, Congress, and State Department.

Although, it would appear to be miraculous, America is still capable of following in the footsteps of our most pro-African president, John F Kennedy, who unlike his immediate predecessors and those who came after him, had a true vison for the development of Africa. **

*Transaqua is discussed in detail in numerous posts on this website-click lawrencefreemanafricaandtheworld.com/lake-chad-basin–   

** Betting on the Africans, John F Kennedy’s Courting of African Nationalist Leaders. Philip E Muehlenbeck, Oxford University Press, 2012

Read my earlier post: To Prevent More Coups Like Niger: Eliminate Poverty in Africa

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. Mr. Freeman strongly believes that economic development is an essential human right. He is also the creator of the blog:  lawrencefreemanafricaandtheworld.com.

Are The French Losing Their Colonial Grip On Francophone African Nations?

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CFA franc is used by 14 countries of the African continent: eight belonging to the UEMOA area (Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast, Niger, Guinea Bissau); and five in the CEMAC zone (Central African Republic, Gabon, Chad, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea), The CFA has about 155 million users. Although operational in these countries since independence, this currency until today is manufactured in France. It has been pegged to the euro for 20 years through the French Treasury, and its value is defined by the European currency (1 euro = 655.96 CFA francs). In other words, it is convertible only in Euros, hence its dependence on the financial policy of Europe. (courtesy of afric.online)

Nov. 12, 2019

Despite liberation from France over half a century ago, France has maintained its colonial hold on Francophone nations through its control of the CFA franc currency. It appears France’s grip is loosening with actions led by the President of Benin, Patrice Talon. Without control of one’s own currency no African nation can be truly sovereign. Ambassador Arikana Chihombori-Quao has been relentlessly campaigning for the French to end their modern day colonialism, which requires Francophone nations to use the CFA franc and deposit their reserves in Paris banks. Amb Chihombori, who was the African Union’s ambassador to the United States, was dismissed without cause last month. Many of her supporters believe that it was pressure from France that forced her to be discharged from her post in Washington.

Francophone nations in West Africa, former French colonies, want more control over the management of their currencies and plan to move some reserves from France, said Benin President Patrice Talon.

The eight member-nations of the West African Economic and Monetary Union “unanimously agree” on ending a decade-old model whereby their foreign-exchange accumulation is kept at the French Treasury, Talon said in an interview with Radio France Internationale (RFI). Their currency, the CFA franc, is pegged to the euro, and its convertibility is guaranteed by the former colonial ruler.

Established after World War II, the discussion of the use of the CFA franc frequently triggers debate about the region’s continued economic dependence on France and the view that the currency is artificially strong and curbs the region’s competitiveness. Its supporters cite the region’s low inflation and the currency’s stability relative to other African nations as reasons for its continued use.

“I can’t give you the date, but the willingness of everyone is already there,” Talon said in response to to French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire’s openness to a reform of the currency. “Psychologically, with regards to the vision of sovereignty and managing your own money, it’s not good that this model continues.”

The regional central bank will manage the reserves and distribute them to partners around the world, including Japan, Europe, China, and North America, said Talon. Ivory Coast, with an economy of about $40 billion, is the biggest among the users of the CFA franc in West Africa. In addition to the eight West African nations, six other nations in the Central African Economic and Monetary Union also use the same model.

How the Imperialist CFA franc Suppresses Growth in Africa

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Africa’s ‘colonial’ CFA currency (courtesy dw.com)

The article in the link below is a detailed and useful expose of how the CFA franc, controlled by France, contributes to the suppression of economic development in Africa. We have now past a half century since many nations in Africa liberated themselves from colonialism. Yet the French banking system still exercises colonial domination over the finances of African nations that should be economically independent. African nations will never be truly independent until they are economically sovereign. This means having sovereign control over their own currencies and the issuing of credit for internal improvements of their economies. African nations should have National Banks and Development Banks for the issuing of credit, as first conceptualized by Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton’s concept of government-national credit was essential for the creation of an industrialized USA from thirteen agrarian based colonies.

Read: Towards a Political Economy of Monetary Dependency

For more analysis of Alexander Hamilton’s credit policy read: Nations Must Study Alexander Hamilton’s Principles of Political Economy

Celebrate Africa’s New Free Trade Agreement: Terminate CFA franc

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With the initiation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement on May 30, 2019, now is the time for African nations to finally jettison the CFA frank, a relic of French Colonialism. No longer should 14 African nations have their sovereignty infringed upon by a former European colonial country. Economic sovereignty is inviolate. For a nation to develop its full economic potential it must control its currency, which is a from of national credit. One of the great accomplishments of the President’s George Washington’s Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, was his creation of a National Bank, which unified all the currencies and debt held by the thirteen colonies. A nation that does not have sovereign authority over its currency and credit will never be truly free, and its people will suffer from underdevelopment..

Map showing those countries using the CFA franc
It’s used by Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali. Niger, Senegal and Togo in West Africa, and Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon in Central Africa

Read: Africa’s CFA Franc Colonial Relic or Stabilizing Force