Page 103 - A People Called Afrika

NeoColonization

Not that the ‘prize’ for accepting them was at all appealing:

1) Payment of ‘colonial debt’ to France for infrastructure they
constructed during colonialism;

2) Mandatory deposits of 85% of national reserves into
France’s central bank under the control of France. These
governments had to seek permission to withdraw their own
money and when they did, it came as loans;

3) French government and businesses to have first right of
refusal for any raw materials found during and after coloniza-
tion, leftovers to go to the country of origin;

4) Priority given to France and French interests in procure-
ment and public bidding;

5) Exclusive right to train and supply the former colonies’
militaries;

6) Right for France to deploy military and maintain bases in
order to secure its interests in those countries;

7) French to be the official language and language of instruc-
tion;

8) Obligation to use French colonial currency;

9) Countries to send France their annual balance and reserve
reports;

10) Countries forbidden from entering into military alliance
with any other country unless authorized by France; and

11) Countries obliged to align with France in case of war or
global crisis.

The result was that France was taking more than USD 500
billion every year from these countries. To rephrase that,

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