WHAT USAID FUND CUT MEANS FOR AFRICA

Donald Trump’s decision to halt USAID funding has sparked mixed reactions - particularly in Africa, where the agency has long been a key player in foreign aid. Critics argue that USAID primarily serves US interests rather than genuinely promoting African development, often acting as a tool for economic and political control. Aid has perpetuated dependency rather than self-sufficiency, which is intentional. This also applies more broadly to US-funded institutions such as the IMF and their influence in shaping African economies. These entities dismantle public infrastructure while USAID funds selective projects that align with US geopolitical goals and undermine African governments that are not alined to US interests.

Continued……The agency’s history of backing dictatorial regimes and funding media outlets that shape narratives favourable to the US also raises concerns about neocolonial control.

With the closure of USAID likely to weaken America’s influence in Africa, some see it as an opportunity for African nations to develop more independent economic, media and governance structures. However, there is uncertainty over whether the US will adopt more ‘direct’ means to maintain its global influence.

Hear Us Roar: https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream

THE ‘UNITED STATES OF ISRAEL’ CONGRESS

This eye-opening clip begs the question: Who does the US Congress serve, and whose interests does it protect?

TikTok content creator @Jenbunny (TikTok) shared a video of the US Congress’ Bannon Office Building, wittily calling it ‘The United States of Israel Congress’ given that its halls are littered with Israeli flags and banners.

The settler-colonial state of Israel has received more funding from the US than any other country since World War II. And, since 7 October alone, the US has provided at least $17.9 billion in military assistance to Israel, funding the onslaught of Palestinians in Gaza, which the Lancet medical journal estimates had k*lled 186,000 as of July 2024.

Continued……US politicians, on the other hand—unsurprisingly—are also funded by the powerful pro-Israel lobby group American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), whose campaigns have helped seat and unseat US politicians based on their allyship (or lack thereof) with Israel. 

Video credit: @jenbunny (TikTok)


Sources:

https://www.ajc.org/news/what-every-american-should-know-about-us-aid-to-israel

https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/american-israel-public-affairs-cmte/summary?id=D000046963

https://usafacts.org/articles/how-much-military-aid-does-the-us-give-to-israel/

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241104-us-election-how-aipac-shapes-american-politics

Continued….. Here’s the catch: The resolution is non-binding, meaning it has no enforcement power. But it still has faced pushback in sectors of the bloc, with EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica arguing cancellation of the mineral supply deal would be unproductive. A quiet admission that Europe needs Rwanda as a middleman for plundering Congolese minerals.

It should come as no surprise that more than 40 per cent of Rwanda’s budget comes from foreign aid.

Continued….. Signed between Rwanda and the EU in February 2024 to ensure a sustainable supply of raw materials, the deal has drawn criticism amidst the DRC accusing Rwanda of looting its resources, costing Kinshasa about $1 billion annually. Meanwhile, European companies like Israeli-owned Swiss multinational Glencore continue to profit, as initiatives like the International Tin Supply Chain Initiative, meant to ensure conflict-free minerals, indirectly aid Rwandan companies, according to NGO Global Witness.

Between 1998 and 2010, the three-decade-long Western-backed war over natural resources k*lled about 6 million Congolese. As of 2024, the conflict had internally displaced about 7 million people. M23’s recent surge in seizing territories in eastern DRC has displaced more than 700,000 Congolese since January, according to the UN.

Sources
News
https://www.arise.tv/eu-parliament-urges-suspension-of-rwanda-aid-over-m23-rebel-ties/

EU Med Commissioner opposed
https://www.msn.com/en-xl/politics/government/eu-official-warns-against-suspending-rwanda-minerals-deal-over-dr-congo-allegations/ar-AA1z2bqx

Rwanda looting DRC
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/5/2/blood-minerals-what-are-the-hidden-costs-of-the-eu-rwanda-supply-deal
https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/other/rwanda-s-mineral-trade-at-risk-as-international-ngos-push-eu-to-withdraw-agreement/ar-AA1yrGmy

Glencore in DRC
https://archive.ph/IegJT

ITSCI aiding looting
https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/natural-resource-governance/itsci-laundromat/#resource-library

DRC poverty
https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/drc/overview

EU countries in ITSCI
https://www.itsci.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/iTSCi-Booklet-2016-.pdf

Congolese death toll
https://www.caritas.org/2010/02/six-million-dead-in-congos-war

Congolese internally displaced
https://crisisresponse.iom.int/response/democratic-republic-congo-crisis-response-plan-2025

Displaced since January 2025
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/02/un-experts-call-urgent-humanitarian-relief-and-political-solution-protect

Rwanda budget
https://issafrica.org/iss-today/could-fdi-be-rwandas-lifeline-as-donors-pull-the-plug

THE REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF DREADLOCKS

On this day, the British colonial state executed one of Kenya’s greatest freedom fighters, but his revolutionary spirit lived on - even in his hair. Dedan Kimathi’s dreadlocks were more than a hairstyle, they were a statement of defiance, a rejection of colonial domination and a symbol of African identity.

Today, dreadlocks are a common sight - in our homes, schools and places of work and worship.

It wasn’t always this way, and it took persistence and patience to mainstream an authentic African hairstyle. Stigma around dreadlocks was informed by colonialism, and its effects were felt decades after independence. It took commitment to African identity to reclaim what was once demonised.

Hear Us Roar: https://news.1rj.ru/str/AfricanStream

ELON MUSK REPRESENTS MOST WHITE SOUTH AFRICANS

Elon Musk’s father, Errol Musk, recently disclosed that his ex-wife Maye’s father, Joshua N Haldeman, moved from Canada to South Africa in support of the apartheid regime that came to power in 1948. Musk’s maternal grandfather’s political writings claimed that Black South Africans’ then-accounts of mistreatment were part of a tactic to brainwash the public. He asserted, ‘The white man has always developed the country he inhabits to the benefit of all.’

In this video, @fe.roch.ious, a white South African, explains that following Musk’s appointment as a ‘special government employee’ to the White House and his subsequent controversial actions and rhetoric, many people—predominantly white South Africans—hesitate to publicly acknowledge that Musk represents the majority of white South Africans, many of whom hold prejudice against non-white people. 

Continued……Recently, Musk shared a post highlighting the supposed ‘benefits’ of the British Empire, stating, ‘Not many people these days know that the British Empire was the driving force behind ending the vast majority of global slavery.’

Musk also sparked controversy at a rally after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump on 20 January, when he performed what appeared to many as a N*zi salute. He later turned the controversy surrounding his gesture into a joke on X.

Video credit: @fe.roch.ious (TikTok)

Sources:

https://theconversation.com/musks-inauguration-salute-is-not-the-only-apparent-fascist-signal-from-trumps-administration-248517

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1882406209187409976

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1846211256622968856

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/21/elon-musk-at-trumps-inauguration-whats-the-history-of-the-nazi-salute

https://www.npr.org/2025/02/13/nx-s1-5293124/special-government-employee-trump-musk-doge

https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-world-according-to-elon-musks-grandfather

https://x.com/african_stream/status/1863152242808742280

Resistance can cost you your life. But what kind of life is one in chains, subservient to the oppressor?

This Wednesday’s wisdom comes from ancestor Dedan Kimathi (1920-57) - the great Kenyan freedom fighter who led the Mau Mau rebellion against British colonial rule.

He understood that striving for freedom and dignity outweighs any cost, and showed by example that there can be no compromise, giving his life in the struggle for our liberation.

Sources:

https://museumofbritishcolonialism.org/2018-8-24-it-is-better-to-die-on-our-feet-than-live-on-our-knees-for-fear-of-colonial-rule-sg5hz/