You might think that Paul Kagame, the Rwandese strongman about whom a lot has been said and not all of it flowery, would shrivel in the company of certain foreign interests, given that powerful Western interests love and respect him so much.
Actually, far from it. He is probably the most forthright, outspoken, no-filter politician in power in Africa today. And he fires with such an icy intensity.
But my trophy for the pithiest speech at the just-concluded Africa Climate Summit goes to the tall man with the iffy plumbing and the hat, President Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan.
I knew a couple of South Sudanese many years ago when I hung around Dr Mansour Khalid, who was a friend of Dr George Garang.
The Sudanese, when they are clever, they are really, clever. When they go the other way, well, they go. I thought Dr Garang was the clever one and Mr Kiir went the other way, and I probably was not wrong. But he showed up and he got the job done. It was a good speech; the delivery may have been a bit halting, but it was clear and direct.
“We have over two million people who have lost their livelihoods as a result of climate change. In the face of this, we cannot continue to lament about the impact of climate change and wait for financial support promised by high polluters. As Africans, we need to understand that transition to a low carbon economy will come from within and its path lies in operationalising the theme of this Summit,” he said, in a quote from his speech by Nation.Africa, part of which I heard and a bit which I missed.
While I did not enjoy the conference as much as I thought I would, I had gone to great lengths to lay a good disguise foundation, hoping to look the part – a mid-level civil servant from Africa in conference uniform – in order to waft in and out of spaces unnoticed. I need not have bothered, a press pass got you into a lot of meeting rooms.
Overall, the rich countries came in strength and did the usual thing: Administered the Kool Aid by the drum, gave assurances that you are important to us, we’ll come through for you, we’ll give you a lot of grants and then proceeded to announce small aid packages, compared to the huge investments required to make a difference in the climate change effort and economic development of Africa.
As a matter of fact, it is perhaps common knowledge that the big powers are not interested in Africa’s economic development, quite to the contrary.
If they were, they would lift the trade blockade against the import of finished products from Africa and offer sufficient investments and technology transfer.
In any case, any country or region that the big powers wanted to develop, whether South Korea or Taiwan, it happened.
Colonialism ended 60 years ago
Africa is tired. Colonialism ended 60 years ago, but Europe and America continue to run rings around Africans and manipulate the continent for raw materials, for diplomatic clout, for their national security interest and give sweet assurances and diplomatic gestures in return.
Now we face an existential threat, which is going to affect us first and most while what President Kiir was quoted as calling “high polluters” make hot hair promises and seek to transfer the responsibility of cleaning up the mess to Africa, in exchange for pennies, at best.
That is why Africa is saying, let’s change the game; invest your capital in our resources and let’s save the planet. Forget about helping us.
Africa gets it. For life on planet Earth to be preserved, the world needs Africa’s resources: its hordes of young, healthy people, its green minerals, its forests, its rivers, its land, its sunshine and wind.
It is not Africa which needs alms from the world, it is the world which needs Africa’s resources. Foreign countries have previously got through to these minerals by force: Coups, mercenaries or tin pot proxies like Mobutu Sese Seko. Will they continue in the same vein?
The old narrative is beginning to grate. We don’t need help, you do. The sly French domination of West Africa is a constant theme where it matters for young people – on TikTok.
Africa is raising a generation that will not accept the games of the past. Radical voices like Julius Malema’s of South Africa are finding a fertile ground. If there is no partnership with Africa to save life on earth, there will certainly be a fracture in the Matrix.
African presidents like William Ruto of Kenya are politely asking for a fair shake for Africa in the global financial architecture. They are also politely pointing out that countries that developed by polluting shouldn’t ask less developed countries to forego the welfare of their own people and sacrifice development to lift the bigger burden in saving the planet.
But they are offering an alternative; they are saying we can use renewable energy and we have lots of the resources for it. But renewable energy is very expensive to bring onstream. But we are not asking for grants, we are asking for investment where commercial returns are guaranteed.
Will the colonisers take the deal?
