Kae Matundu Tjiparuro
With the world on the brink of the Third World War (WWIII), African political leaders were meeting in the Angolan capital of Luanda.
Presumably to find and foster business links with business people from the United States of America (USA). Oblivious to the war ongoing, which was then in its 12th day between Israel and Iran, was nothing but a capitalist war America waging in the Middle East, with Israel as its proxy. One of the many wars Capitalist and Imperialist America has ever been waging all over the world since the dawn of Capitalism and Imperialism. Manifested in many onslaughts against countries and nations of the South by the North, led by America. Hence the existence of the Cold War between the West, with its foremost leading country, America, and the East, then led by the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). With the subsiding of the Cold War, partly due to the breakup of the Soviet Union, the Cold War has apparently subsided. Paving the way for globalisation. But globalisation has been nothing but another Cold War. Underpinned more than anything by economy, in today’s diplomatic parlance economic diplomacy. Which can be seen as nothing more than a continuation of the age-old competition and rivalry between major global powers, manifested in this day and era by trade wars. Parallel to such trade wars with defence alliances as in the Northern Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato), between America and some, especially Western European countries and nations, and the Warsaw Pact led by the Soviet Union, today’s Russian Federation. But which has also since folded with the Cold War. But as much as Nato still exists, with America as its strong persona, the Warsaw Pact no longer does, but the Russian Federation has mustered a defence mechanism of its own against Nato. Enters China as an emerging superpower, if not already a superpower in her own right.
Against whom is the latest strong nation mentality by the USA targeted but not directly, as was manifested recently with USA attacks against Iran? Under the pretext of halting and destroying Iran’s nuclear capability. This is while Iran has not only been maintaining that its nuclear capability is only for peaceful developmental purposes but also the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) testifying and affirming and confirming to the contrary, of having no evidence that Iran is building nuclear weapons.
There are many ironies to the said business gathering between Africa and the USA. The most obvious one being the ominous silence emanating from the summit about the deplorability of especially the USA joining the Israeli-Iran armed conflict. Thereby violating Iranian airspace and her sovereignty and bombing Iranian nuclear facilities. Angola under the MPLA has been known as one of the last of the socialist-orientated African countries. Only two of them are in Southern Africa, with Mozambique under Frelimo. The other would have been Namibia, which under Swapo has not only long shed the ideology of Marxist-Leninism but has altogether bid socialism goodbye, if not totally buried it.
Hanging onto it only nostalgically with the rhetoric such as socialism with Namibian characteristics, whatever that means. Only for these countries to now be priding themselves on hosting business summits like the one that ended in Angola about two weeks ago. While the world has been and continues to be on the brink of WWIII. Such a summit being presumably purely business-orientated and, from the African perspective, developmental. However much Africa would have wished to rationalise the summit, it cannot and could not be looked at from any different spectacle(s) than that of capitalism and capitalist hegemony.
While summiting, and Iran, certainly a comradely and friendly country and nation not many years ago to Angola, Mozambique and Namibia, as indeed may and must have been to many other African countries, when they were clamouring for their freedom and independence, including economic emancipation, from among others Capitalism, there was hardly a murmur from these African countries and others about the despicable acts of aggression by the USA and its proxy, Israel, against Iran. Once a trusted friend, indeed. The African silence is understandable, though.
As much as Africa and its leaders would wish to deny going to the summit without a begging bowl, they are yet to show boldly in practice, let alone ideologically, that the USA to them is not purely a capitalist big brother. For as long as these countries have fully embraced and/or have no means of unshackling themselves and their people from capitalist exploitation of their raw natural resources, they shall remain beholden to capitalism and the USA as the leading capitalist country.
The business people who graced the said summit, to which African leaders seemed to have flocked in numbers with few notable absentees, instead of African business people, cannot be anything else other than quintessential Americans. While Africans may not have been dangling the begging bowl as they postured, many an African public statement at the summit, on finer reading, could not but reveal a veiled humble submission in the face of the subjects of capitalist Big Brother. Begging or not begging, the undeniable truth is that Africa has as yet to find the requisite leverage with regard to various aspects necessary to make it an equal partner, especially with regard to partnerships. More so even African governments with regard to public-private partnerships. A point raised by Admassu Tadesse, President and CEO of the Trade and Development Bank Group. When he observed that rising inflation and financing costs in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic had forced some African economies into having to restructure their debts. Noting that African MFIs, despite being significant lenders to these countries, have been excluded from debt negotiations, leading to decisions that have adverse consequences for them.
African Union Commission Head, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, went straight to the crux of the matter, calling for frank engagement between the United States and Africa, noting that trade between the two regions is not helped by the imposition of travel bans on some African countries as well as the imposition of tariffs in violation of World Trade Organisation rules and other international agreements.
These are all clear pointers that it is yet a long way to go, if it is meant well at all, before Africa and would-be African capitalists can honestly benefit, whatever such may mean, as equal partners, let alone if its partners start dealing with her in good faith. If the call and observation, if not lamentation, of the Namibian President, Her Excellency, Netumbo Nandi-Ndeitwah, for “trust”, is anything to go by. Nothing speaks to the continuous subservient role of Africa than the presumed deal between the DRC and Rwanda than the so-called peace deal imposed on them by the US President, Donald Trump. Whereby the US shall be leading in the continuation of the plunder of the natural resources of the DRC.
