« African intellectuals and economists have also reminded us that the continent is not asking for charity and deserves to be treated as an equal.
26 May 2021 – AIDE INTERNATIONALE : LA NOUVELLE DONNE (4 ÉPISODES) – Episode 3: Development programmes, the voice of Africa, FRANCE CULTURE
On 18 May, the summit on financing African economies was held in Paris. It was an opportunity for many African politicians and intellectuals to call for a rethink of development aid mechanisms on a more equitable basis, in which Africa would also have a say.
More than thirty African heads of state were gathered in Paris on 18 May at the summit on African economies to discuss the continent’s financing needs in the face of the social and economic crisis caused by the pandemic. While President Macron, who initiated the event, welcomed the establishment of a « new deal » for African countries, other more critical voices were also heard, such as Senegalese President Macky Sall, who called for new relations based on « co-construction » rather than dependence and assistance.
African intellectuals and economists also reminded us that the continent was not asking for charity and deserved to be treated on an equal footing. It must be said that development aid is increasingly criticised. Some denounce its ineffectiveness, while others point out its trusteeship effect.
On Tuesday 25 May, the first edition of the Alternative Africa Report (AAR) was published in Dakar on the occasion of World Africa Day. Its authors asked themselves how Africa can take back its destiny and make its voice heard. For the first time, this report proposes an assessment of the continent by and for Africans. Intellectuals, researchers and civil society actors discussed « The sovereignty of African societies in the face of globalisation » and the solutions that Africa itself could develop to its problems.
Should this initiative be seen as the basis for a new relationship between African countries and their partners? Will these critical voices be strong enough to push for a review of the mechanisms of development aid and to correct its flaws? Do African societies finally have a say in the economic and social development models they wish to put in place for their future?
Conversation with Cheikh Guèye, geographer, coordinator of the Common Strategic Platform of the Senegalese NGO « Enda Tiers Monde » and contributor to the Rapport Alternatif Sur l’Afrique (RASA) and Gilles Yabi, economist and political scientist, founder and director of WATHI, a citizen, participatory and multidisciplinary think tank on West African dynamics and former journalist at Jeune Afrique
Consult the Alternative report on Africa, version 1 of which was published on Tuesday 25 May: here.
Disconnection does not mean autarky, it is a form of intelligence to take over economic sectors and relocate them. For example, in agriculture, the idea is to avoid the invasion of the most fertile peasant lands by international companies from Europe, Asia or elsewhere, because this generates conflicts and prevents us from achieving food self-sufficiency. Cheikh Guèye
The report talks about African sovereignty: the regional and pan-African dynamic is very important. This is why, for agriculture, there is a first level with national policies, then the coordination of policies at the level of an organisation like ECOWAS in West Africa to connect the dynamics of each of the continent’s regions. Gilles Yabi
