African Leaders Speak Out for Physical Economic Growth at World Bank Forum
*Originally published on the author’s website.
Watch Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni’s at the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) summit, April 29 in Nairobi, Kenya
African leaders are displaying signs of resistance to simply taking orders from the Western controlled international financial system and their so called rules-based order. Their opposition to the diktats from the political-financial oligarchy has been demonstrated on two crucial fronts: energy and manufacturing.
Increasingly, African leaders are resisting demands from “developed” nations, whose populations have already 100% access to electricity, that less developed nations can only use so called renewables. The “advanced sector” threatens nations whose populations are literally dying from the lack of electricity, that they will not receive funds for investment in fossil fuel production. In other words, they insist African nations endowed with vast hydrocarbon natural resources should be prevented from utilizing these resources to produce electricity, which is necessary to improve the lives of their people. Under the cover of their duplicitous concern for the environment, the West is willing to have millions of Africans die with their deceitful cries to “save the planet.“ The two-faced nature of the rules-based order and their financial intuitions is demonstrated by their lack of support for major hydro-power projects in Africa. The United States and Europe have not supported the Grand Renaissance Dam (Ethiopia-5,150 MW), the Grand Inga (Democratic Republic of the Congo-40-50,000 MW), of the multination water project, Transaqua.
Read the courageous analysis by South African Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe: South Africa Energy Minister Rejects Western Dictates & Hypocrisy Against Africa’s Use of Energy Resources
Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, Tanzanian President, and Samia Suluhu Hassan, speaking at the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) summit (April 29th, Nairobi, Kenya) spoke for the necessity to fund manufacturing and infrastructure in Africa. (See below) It is imperative to end the Wests’ singular focus on extractive industries to loot Africa’s valuable resources. Numerous African leaders are correctly demanding that none of their critical minerals should leave their nations in its raw form. Instead, they insist these minerals must be transformed into products for trade and consumption by a growing indigenous manufacturing sector.
Read the remarks by Naledi Pandor, South African Minister of International relations, at the Ministerial meeting of the Bi-National Commission of South Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, last year. South African Minister Pandor Articulates Principles of Development for Africa
Edited excerpts below from the address by Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, to the International Development Association (IDA) summit April 29 in Nairobi, Kenya.
Borrowing for what? capacity building. Imagine! Seminars, they call you in a hotel, you eat chapati, mandazi, they say that is capacity building…it should be on the ground not just in seminars. So, if you are serious, I need to hear about the low cost funding for manufacturing, not for stories…for manufacturing,” he remarked.
The crisis Africa is in today is because of philosophical, ideological, strategic economic mistakes, which we have been talking about since the 1960s.
Our populations are increasing, but our economies are stunted. The IDA should tell us why they are funding the modern slavery of Africans, and we should address issues like why Africa is producing what it does not consume and consuming what it does not produce. ,The crisis Africa is in today is because of philosophical, ideological, strategic economic mistakes, which we have been talking about since the 1960s.
I was very happy the president of the World Bank talking about prosperity instead of profiteering, his own words. The problem has been the World Bank people and other groups talking of sustainable development. I have seen that those words sustainable development.
I’m now going to be 80 years old I’ve never seen sustainable pregnancy that the woman is pregnant this year the pregnancy continues the next year three years four years. It never happens in life pregnancy develops sustainably. The baby is growing bigger and bigger but at some stage one static growth must be transformed into qualitative change, the pregnancy must become a baby. I would even ask you to change those words in your documents. Africa does not need sustainable; you could call the sustainable under development. Africa needed this social economic transformation. The pregnancy must become a baby, the baby must grow and grow, and become a teenager. The teenager must grow. That is what happens in life. You cannot have quantitative growth and think you are doing anything.
So, if you are serious, I need to hear about the low- cost funding for manufacturing, not for stories … for manufacturing. The main reason why there is no growth is because the growth factors are not funded, they are not even under understood; those who want to help Africa should fund our transport systems, electricity, raw material processing, and import substitution.
Our populations are increasing, but our economies are stunted. The IDA should tell us why they are funding the modern slavery of Africans, and we should address issues like why Africa is producing what it does not consume and consuming what it does not produce.
I banned the export of minerals from Uganda. No export of minerals from Uganda if it is not processed here. You wait until I go away you can steal the minerals but not now. I ban this export of unprocessed minerals. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni
Museveni was seconded by Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who has fought for infrastructure development in her own nation. She said:
Considering the challenges related to present projected debt levels, we strongly believe that IDA should focus more on providing concessional loans such as 50-year credit loans. These facilities will provide more fiscal space for African countries to address competing development needs. (Emphasis added)
She is correct in identifying the need for long-term ,low interest loans to maximize investment in infrastructure and manufacturing. Infrastructure Progress in Tanzania
Watch Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni’s 30 minute speech at the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) summit, April 29 in Nairobi, Kenya
https://www.youtube.com/embed/585IMBb14Kg?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparentCourtesy of PD Lawton: africanagenda.net/musevenis-aptly-describes-sustainable-development-and-says-fund-the-railways-instead
What's Your Reaction?
