Continued……The move also supports regional cooperation, with potential long-term benefits like enhanced digital infrastructure and harmonised standards, ultimately strengthening regional and continental integration efforts.

Sources

https://burkina24.com/2024/11/17/clap-de-fin-sur-la-19e-edition-de-la-semaine-du-numerique-vers-leffectivite-du-free-roaming-entre-les-etats-membres-de-laes

https://burkina24.com/2024/11/12/semaine-du-numerique-au-burkina-faso-la-19e-edition-fait-un-clin-doeil-a-laes

https://www.cybastiontech.com/digital-week-2024-its-a-wrap

IMF LOANS: AN ADDICTION AFRICA CAN DO WITHOUT

In 2023, Tunisia boldly rejected the IMF's demands to eliminate subsidies on essential goods like fuel in exchange for a $2-billion bailout. In stark contrast, Kenya and Ghana capitulated to the IMF's insistence on harsh structural reforms, including privatisation and the removal of subsidies, which ignited deadly protests. Now, a year later, Tunisia (though not out of the woods economically yet) appears on the path to recovery, having effectively managed its economy without the interference of the IMF, while Kenya and Ghana find themselves on the brink, grappling with spiralling debt and a deepening cost-of-living crisis. The lesson is that African leaders should take inspiration from Tunis and steadfastly reject neocolonialism in all its forms, choosing instead to govern with integrity and self-reliance.

Continued…..SOURCES:

https://www.barrons.com/news/tunisia-s-saied-rejects-imf-diktats-f50ee157

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/7/why-are-kenyans-angry-with-the-imf

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/tunisia-faces-rising-pressure-record-imf-delay-over-lack-reforms-2023-10-09/

https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2024/11/12/new-world-bank-report-tunisia-s-economic-growth-and-prospects-for-its-tax-system

'AFRICA READY FOR EMANCIPATION'
- COMMUNIST PARTY OF KENYA CONGRESS

The Communist Party of Kenya (CPK) held its second national congress on 16-17 November in the capital of Nairobi. 

Amidst the world’s mounting dissatisfaction with capitalism and imperialism, including conflicts on the African continent, the congress marked a pivotal moment in Africa's journey toward liberation. 

The party convened the congress with 126 delegates from 47 Kenyan counties and 54 foreign delegates representing communist and workers’ organisations. 

The goals for the weekend included affirming the struggle for independence and socialism, rebuilding the party's ideological foundations, strengthening party structures and mass organisations, cultural and historic renewal, and defeating counter-revolutionary forces.

Continued........Citizen Digital reported that during a press conference a few days beforehand, CPK Secretary-General Booker Omole said the congress was a tactical step in solidifying the party's position as the ‘vanguard of Kenya's working class.’ 

‘Vanguard’ is a term used in Marxist-Leninist organisations to describe a small group of people who lead the masses to revolution, unlike a mass organisation that the people lead.

African Stream was on the ground at the festive and informative congress, and we asked delegates why they think capitalism has failed and what might be the best alternative. This representative sample (@EugenePuryear of @pslnational; @Githuku_Kiama of @CommunistsKE; Jonis Ghedi Alasow (@Jonis_G_A) of Pan-Africanism Today Secretariat; Sobukwe Shakur, @aaprp organiser; and Samuel Maina of @CommunistsKE) reveals a historic opportunity is now available to Africans for the emancipation of our rich continent from the clutches of neocolonialism.

What are your thoughts on Africans' awakening, and what might be the way forward?

Sources:

https://www.weforum.org/stories/2020/02/countries-losing-faith-capitalism-economics-global-political-systems/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/oct/16/occupy-protests-europe-london-assange

https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/g/gilpin-capitalism.html?scp=168&sq=global%20economy&st=Search

https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2018/09/a-relentlessly-dark-indictment-of-global-capitalism?lang=en

https://nipashebiz.co.ke/communist-party-of-kenya-to-hold-2nd-national-congress-amid-rising-political-tensions

https://www.citizen.digital/news/booker-omole-upcoming-national-congress-will-address-kenyas-political-ills-and-deliver-a-free-nation-n352856

Continued……Tinubu has done little to inspire confidence. Upon taking power, he quickly adopted International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommendations by scrapping fuel subsidies and allowing the Naira currency to devalue, triggering its sharpest fall in history. Inflation has reached a 30-year peak and food prices have soared, leaving many families struggling. On the geopolitical front, Tinubu advocated for military intervention in neighbouring Niger following a popular 2023 coup d’état against Western-aligned leader Mohamed Bazoum.

Sources
News
https://x.com/davidhundeyin/status/1856379819572818210

https://saharareporters.com/2024/11/13/us-government-tells-court-tinubu-cia-asset-insists-nigerians-have-no-right-access

Documents
https://www.plainsite.org/dockets/download.html?id=334545504&a=1&z=79042c23

Continued……Tinubu implements Economic policies backed by IMF
https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/07/24/nigeria-tinubu-reform-economic-development-debt-imf-world-bank/

Tinubu threatens Niger invasion
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-66430113

Naira's fall
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nigeria-naira-falls-record-low-194518731.html

On 14 November, during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, 170 countries passed a resolution affirming the Palestinians' right to self-determination and freedom from Israeli occupation, as well as the establishment of an independent state of Palestine. Only six voted against it: Argentina, Israel, Micronesia, Nauru, Paraguay and the United States. US allies in Africa—Liberia, Rwanda and Togo—abstained.
 
In September, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Rwanda and South Sudan abstained from voting on a resolution calling for an immediate end to Israel's occupation of Palestine within 12 months, based on an International Court of Justice advisory opinion issued in July. The resolution passed despite opposition from the United States, Israel and 12 other countries.

Continued……The United States and Israel voting against Palestine's sovereignty is not surprising, given the US provided $17.9 billion in military aid to Israel in the first year of the military onslaught in Gaza, representing the largest amount of US military support given to Israel in a year.

The 14 November resolution, noscriptd ‘The Right of the Palestinian People to Self-Determination,’ stated that Palestinian rights are unconditional and non-negotiable. It emphasised the need to urgently end the Israeli occupation that began in 1967 without delay, and to achieve a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace settlement between the Palestinian and Israeli sides. The UNGA urged all bodies and states to support the ‘early realisation of [Palestinians’] right to self-determination.’

Sources:

https://press.un.org/en/2024/gashc4430.doc.htm

https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/spotlights/2024/us-spends-a-record-17-9-billion-on-military-aid-to-israel-since-last-oct-7

https://frontpageafricaonline.com/news/liberia-abstains-from-voting-for-un-resolution-calling-for-israel-to-leave-palestine-in-12-months

https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/09/1154496

ADETSHINA DEFIES TROLLS
WITH ‘MISS AFRICA’ WIN

Miss Universe Nigeria has a new crown. Chidimma Adetshina was named Miss Universe Africa and Oceania after coming second in the Miss Universe 2024 final in Mexico City. It’s been an emotional journey for the 23-year-old South African, who felt compelled to drop out of the contest in her home country after trolls and lawmakers alike started complaining about her Nigerian roots. (Worse, the authorities there are now investigating whether her mother committed identity fraud to obtain SA citizenship and want to revoke their passports.) But South Africa’s loss is a win for Nigeria. Adetshina ended up representing the nation and has now scooped for it Africa’s biggest Miss Universe win since 2019. In fact, it’s a glorious win for Africa - even if some of the trolls don’t realise it yet.