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Fungi Kwaramba
Political Editor
MORE than 137 years ago, 13 European nations, plus the United States, met in Germany to share among themselves the African continent, in what is now commonly referred to as the Berlin Conference.
This was the beginning of the scramble for Africa that led to the invasion, annexation, division, and colonisation of the continent that had no representation at the Berlin Conference, and which for more than a century was under the clutches of an exploitative and often brutal rule by seven European nations.
Africans were violently subjugated, disposed of their land, and forced into barren lands while the colonialists plundered the continent to fuel their industries and develop their nations, it was yet another form of slavery that left deep wounds on the continent that fester to date.
When Africans took up arms, in succession gaining independence, the damage on the continent had already been done, with the newly independent states becoming pawns during the Cold War era when the West and the former Soviet Union stood at odds in a battle for global domination.
But as African leaders began to find their voices post-Cold War, the West, which to this day controls the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) turned the screws on the continent through a tough debt regime that choked the development of newly independent states.
According to the International Socialist Review, “the legacy of Western domination has left Africa devastated with crippling rates of poverty, hunger, and disease. The continent today has a gross national per-capita yearly income of $829 — below that of the 1950s and 1960s in most African countries — and an average life expectancy of only fifty years.
“Sixty-two percent of Africans have no access to standard sanitation facilities, and two-thirds of the total world population suffering from HIV/AIDS (25,8 million people) live in Africa.
“It remains a continent abundant in human and natural resources, but these manage to enrich only a handful of African rulers and foreign capitalists.”
Although the wounds inflicted by Europeans still rankle, the current generation of African leaders that includes President Mnangagwa is determined to chart a new path that is based on mutual trust, equality, and equity
This is the new path that the two subcontinental regions of Europe and Africa sought to curve when they met in Brussels, Belgium, last week at a conference that was attended by more than 70 leaders from the two continents, unlike at the Berlin Conference, in Brussels, Africa had a voice.
Held under the apt theme “Europe and Africa: A joint vision for 2030”, the AU/EU summit focused on rebooting relations, not only from the past exploitative nature between the two continents, but also to drift away from viewing Europe as a magnanimous donor.
At the summit, Africa, as a confident continent waved goodbye to the “white saviour” mentality and demanded among other things a return of artefacts that were looted by Europeans during the colonial era.
Indeed, Africa has the moral right to call for reparations, not only for colonialism, but also for the slave trade, for any partnership based on equality and that seeks to provide Africa and Europe with an equal footing should begin by acknowledgment by Europe and subsequent condemnation of their past behaviours.
Such a scenario will foster real friendship and cooperation between the two continents.
It was, therefore, a step in the direction that the two continents agreed in a joint communiqué at the end of the summit that the renewed partnership will be founded on geography, acknowledgment of history, human ties, respect for sovereignty, mutual respect, and accountability, shared values, equality between partners and reciprocal commitments.
The key buzzword words are “acknowledgment of history”, something that entails correcting past injustices, an onerous responsibility that should be undertaken by the EU member states, which might be feeling overtaken and overshadowed in Africa by states like China.
African voices must be heard and gone are the days when the West used to dictate to Africa while doling handouts. Africa must rise, as it indeed did during the conference and ascertain its authority, whether in the use of fossil fuels, that it has aplenty or in the democracy models of choice.
One of the key take-away from the summit was a commitment to multilateralism, as opposed to unilateralism, the doctrine that the West has used over the years to punish sovereign states that hold divergent views to theirs.
In what could turn to be a progressive step, the two continents committed to working together to promote effective multilateralism within the rules-based international order, with the UN at its core.
“We pledge to work towards more converging positions in multilateral fora to reduce global inequalities, strengthen solidarity, promote international cooperation, fight and mitigate climate change and improve delivery on ‘global public goods’, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and AU Agenda 2063.
“We commit to providing political support to achieve the necessary reform of the WTO and to improve its functioning with a view to strengthening the multilateral trading system. Both sides commit to contribute to the UN system reform efforts, including of the UN Security Council.
“We also recommit to the full implementation of the Paris Agreement and the outcomes of the COPs (UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties). We recognise that Africa’s energy transition is vital for its industrialisation and to bridge the energy gap. We will support Africa in its transition to foster just and sustainable pathways towards climate neutrality.
“We recognise the importance of making use of available natural resources within that energy transition process. We support Africa’s hosting of COP 27 in Egypt in 2022, as well as an ambitious global biodiversity framework.
“We commit to working together to develop a new ambitious WHO international agreement on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.”
This is indeed a step in the right direction which however must be put into practice as a matter of urgency, as President Mnangagwa noted in his virtual address at the United Nations General Assembly last year that it is a matter of concern that the Ezulwini Consensus, a position on international relations and reform of the United Nations that was agreed by the African Union, has not been implemented even though Africa is now emerging a major global player, with its young population.
“It is now more than 15 years since the adoption of the, reaffirmed in the Sirte Declaration,” President Mnangagwa said. “It is deeply regrettable that reform of the Security Council and implementation of Africa’s position has not been achieved.
“We cannot continue with a situation where over 16 percent of the world’s population does not have a voice in decision-making. This is a serious indictment to our avowed commitment to multilateralism and the basic principles of natural justice, fairness and equity.”
On a microcosm scale, Zimbabwe, a victim of Western unilateralism through the imposition of baneful sanctions, has under the leadership of President Mnangagwa demonstrated that with its resources, even under the yoke of the economic embargoes Africa has the potential to develop especially if it fully implements the African Continental Free Trade Area, which is a strategic framework for delivering on the continent’s goal for inclusive and sustainable development and is a concrete manifestation of the pan-African driven economic growth.
It is also noteworthy that while there was a triumphant feeling among African states that Europe would help Africa with Covid-19 vaccines, that was a footnote for Zimbabwe, a country that has defied all odds to acquire its vaccines with enough to spare for booster shots as is being done in western countries.
As one of the regional influential leaders, President Mnangagwa was in Brussels received with full stretched hands to pomp and circumstance by his European hosts, there was none of that stigma of a sanctioned pariah state, rather Zimbabwe is fast becoming the game-changer as the EU seeks a strong partner to keep jihadists, who are threats to its investment, at bay.
The jihadists have been attacking Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province.
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