Black Diasporic Essentials For "Liberation"

[J-Nice]

I'll come back to this thread and post when I can get to my laptop. I'm mobile at the moment. @KidStranglehold Claude Anderson explains alot more in detail in his books than he ever does in his lectures and speeches. I'll post some info from there and other sources that we can all read and look at so we can begin to form viable solutions that we can implement in our own communities with people with similar mindsets.


But I definitely don't want people to pile on Claude and others who have contributed great work in that area.

 

[Bawon Samedi]

^arent there Chinatowns popping up elsewhere tho?

You mean Chinese setting up communities throughout the USA like EVERY OTHER immigrant group? Then yes. However the main point is that Chinatown is not somehow magically immune to gentrification and the all be all of how blacks should practice economics. Hell, in general using Asians in America as an example of practicing economics would be unrealistic for a disenfranchised group in America such as blacks..

 

[Poitier]

CURRENCY

1. African perspective

Any true autonomy has to come with a currency tied to the high consumer confidence that comes with a strong economy. In a global economy, countries like China, Germany and America can sway the markets due to the sheer volume of their demand for goods and commodities. A decline in demand from these countries has a significant effect on many emerging and developing economies that tend to rely on commodities and thus are sensitive to the ebbs and flows of a volatile market, many of which are African nations. These nations must strive for diversified economies with multiple revenue streams, ideally manufactured goods. In addition, diversification must be the goal in times of commodity boom and not just when there is a lack of plenty.​

Angola To Cut 2015 Oil Benchmark To $40 Per Barrel - Ventures Africa

African energy producers face oil price pressure - GRI Insight

The Impact of the U.S. Shale Boom in Africa - JIA SIPA

Figure 1: Percent decrease in GDP, 2014 to 2015.
OPEC Economies On Their Last Legs | OilPrice.com

To see the impact of relying on commodities and the greater market, one need not look further than the oil glut created by Saudi Arabia in reaction to US shale that has made life hell for nations like Angola, Nigeria, Brazil and Russia with ballooning budget deficits and inflationary currency. There are geopolitical implications to consider with this dynamic. A glance at countries placed under U.S. embargoes and sanctions for human rights violations makes one thing clear: most of the countries on this list are commodity-dependent. We do not want the White supremacist structure to have the ability to sink our global economies and turn our fiat currencies into paper.

2. African American perspective
​

African Americans must begin to divest from the dollar or at-least diversify the currencies we deal in. We cannot afford to wholly confide in a currency that the White supremacist print and circulate. That puts us at their mercy. The BREXIT and the British Pound is a lesson in the mirage of currency strength and that was engineered by the European White supremacist structure. Though not perfect and with vulnerabilities, the rise of crypto-currency and mobile money has provided us the opportunity to by-pass our reliance on this structure.





INTRA-TRADE

 

[SolesKing305]

great thread.. subbing for the office

+rep

 

[EndDomination]

Engineering development and the avoidance of brain drain is also vitally important, particularly in places like Haiti and Jamaica here in the West, and Nigeria/Ghana/Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa.
The education systems are strained beyond measure, violently underfunded, and are still producing brilliant young adults who are lured away by stable salaries and stronger infrastructure in other countries. There are a few videos I was watching (one was a Ted x Talk) regarding the desperate need for well-trained/educated engineers in those regions.
What I wouldn't give to go back in time and major in an engineering field, so I could be far more "hands-on" with work, especially in Haiti.

 

[BigMan]

Engineering development and the avoidance of brain drain is also vitally important, particularly in places like Haiti and Jamaica here in the West, and Nigeria/Ghana/Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa.
The education systems are strained beyond measure, violently underfunded, and are still producing brilliant young adults who are lured away by stable salaries and stronger infrastructure in other countries. There are a few videos I was watching (one was a Ted x Talk) regarding the desperate need for well-trained/educated engineers in those regions.
What I wouldn't give to go back in time and major in an engineering field, so I could be far more "hands-on" with work, especially in Haiti.

Can you post that video?

U Haitian btw?

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

@Poitier

Any more thoughts?

 

[Poitier]

@Poitier

Any more thoughts?

Been a bit lazy. Will try to finish this starting Monday then get feedback.

 

[Poitier]

@marcuz don't run

 

[Akata Man Bromo]

*bookmarks and sets alerts*

 

[Poitier]

Engineering development and the avoidance of brain drain is also vitally important, particularly in places like Haiti and Jamaica here in the West, and Nigeria/Ghana/Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa.
The education systems are strained beyond measure, violently underfunded, and are still producing brilliant young adults who are lured away by stable salaries and stronger infrastructure in other countries. There are a few videos I was watching (one was a Ted x Talk) regarding the desperate need for well-trained/educated engineers in those regions.
What I wouldn't give to go back in time and major in an engineering field, so I could be far more "hands-on" with work, especially in Haiti.

I consider this a secondary issue and a periphery issue dependent on the broader categories I am addressing. Your second paragraph kind of alludes to that.

 

[Poitier]

"Africa has integrated with the rest of the world faster than with itself"

INTRA-AFRICAN TRADE/INTEGRATION

1.The Problem:

Africa’s rates amongst the lowest in the world, with less than 20 per cent of what is produced in the region, remaining on the continent.

“This, in essence, means that over 80 per cent of what is produced in Africa is exported, mainly to the European Union, China and the United States. In comparison, over 65 per cent of Europe’s trade occurs on its own continent, and in North America, the figure is around 50%(1),” a statement quoted Heymans to have said.

Intra-Africa Trade to Play Larger Role in GDP Contributions​

The Why:

The World Bank recently reported that intra-African trade costs are estimated to be approximately 50 per cent higher than in East Asia due to the number of permits required when transporting goods across certain borders, or the fees payable for prolonged waiting periods at the border. Another issue is the varying de minimis values across the region. In Angola for example, the de minimis value is $350 (if imported via Luanda) while in Zimbabwe, the de minimis is USD 10. The varying values can often make it difficult for companies to plan market expansion strategies in Africa.

Intra-Africa Trade to Play Larger Role in GDP Contributions

If the residents of San Francisco faced the same charges in crossing the Bay Bridge to Oakland as do residents crossing the Congo River between Kinshasa and Brazzaville, a similar distance, they would pay more than $1200 for a return trip. As a result passenger traffic at this obvious focal point for cross-border exchanges between the two Congos is around five times smaller than that between East and West Berlin in 1988 – which was of course well before the dismantling of the Berlin Wall!

In southern Africa, a truck serving supermarkets across a border may need to carry up to 1600 documents as a result of permits and licenses and other requirements. Slow and costly customs procedures and delays caused by other agencies operating at the border, such as standards, raise the costs of trading. For example, one supermarket chain in Southern Africa reports that each day one of its trucks is delayed at a border costs $500 and it spends $20,000 per week on securing import permits to distribute meat, milk, and plant-based goods to its stores in one country alone.

Request Rejected

Poor infrastructure is one reason for Africa’s sclerotic trade. The continent’s multiple trade agreements are another hindrance. Africa has 14 different trading blocs with overlapping members. Most countries belong to at least two blocs. Many belong to three.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/baobab/2013/04/intra-african-trade


Benefits:

Some of the opportunities that could come about through greater regional integration include:

• Bringing staple foods from areas of surplus production across borders to growing urban markets and food deficit rural areas. Indeed, Africa has the potential to feed Africa. But at present only 5% of Africa’s imported cereals come from other African countries.
• A significant amount of cross-border trade takes place between African countries at small scale and is not measured in official statistics. Allowing these traders, many of whom are women, to flourish and gradually integrate into the formal economy would boost trade and the private sector base for future growth and development and have swift impacts on reducing poverty.
• With rising incomes in Africa there are emerging opportunities for cross-border trade in basic manufactures such as metal and plastic products that are costly to import from the global market.
• The potential for regional production chains to drive global exports of manufactures, such as those in East Asia, has yet to be exploited. There are also opportunities to develop regional value chains around mineral commodities such as phosphates for fertilizers and regional processing of nickel and copper.
• And cross-border trade in services offers untapped opportunities for exports as well as better access for consumers to critical services such as health and education and firms to services such as accountancy and other professional services that boost productivity.
• In linking rural communities to markets to improve access to new technologies and to markets for the goods and services they produce,
• In leveraging trade and cross-border exchange to generate solidarity between communities in fragile states and enhance opportunities for sharing the benefits of growth and increasing prosperity
• In providing a route for small firms to grow and increase their capacity to leave the informal sector and thrive in the economy.
• In assisting women in dealing with poverty by providing more opportunities for jobs and better returns from cross-border trading activities.

Request Rejected

All of my broader categories have to be addressed in unison. For example, these excerpts on how integration, capital and commodities intersect:​

Because of this greater focus on extra-than intra-regional trade, recent export growth in Africa has been driven primarily by commodities, with limited impacts on employment and poverty.

Rather than exporting minerals and fuels to distant markets, greater intra-African trade of goods and services would support more employment-intensive activity than exports from extractive industries.

Request Rejected

A range of complementary policies helps maximize the gains from trade integration for the poor – including policies related to human and physical capital, access to finance, governance and institutions and macroeconomic stability.

Request Rejected

​

Reasons for Optimism: Integration is improving rapidly, though hurt by the global recession, even if from a horrible starting spot, but it must not stagnate.

According to the report, nine of the 10 countries where global connectedness increased the most—in absolute terms—from 2011 to 2013 are frontier economies, with Burundi, Mozambique and Jamaica experiencing the largest gains.

Intra-Africa Trade is Key to Continent’s Economic Development

Note: These trade numbers are probably lower than their actual value given the informal economy in Africa and the smuggling of goods across borders, but the numbers are still abysmal even given that qualifier. Quite frankly, this is the category I am most certain will improve for the better. Additionally, we should begin to move from thinking of Intra-African trade as just the export/import of goods between countries on the continent and expand it to countries and enclaves in the diaspora, though it is much harder to statistically capture the latter much like the informal economy.

Edit: Found A Good Excerpt On the Informal Economy​

Yet traders find a way around such barriers. Staples such as sorghum and cassava (a plant with a carbohydrate-rich root) do not show up in the figures but are traded informally. Many other goods move across borders but elude the customs inspectors who record official trade flows.

The Ecobank researchers give two examples of informal trade routes that are well established. Somali traders based in the Eastleigh area of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, (known as “Little Mogadishu”) import rice, sugar and consumer goods into Dubai, tax-free, and then distribute them around east Africa. There is a similar dodge in west Africa. Imports are shipped into Benin and Togo and spirited across borders to consumers in neighbouring Ghana and Nigeria. Such networks mean there is more trade going on within Africa than is acknowledged. But it is not as nearly as much as it could be.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/baobab/2013/04/intra-african-trade
​

ENERGY
FOOD PRODUCTION

 

[Bawon Samedi]

^^^Good shyt.

 

[Bawon Samedi]

Bump.

 

[mbewane]

Engineering development and the avoidance of brain drain is also vitally important, particularly in places like Haiti and Jamaica here in the West, and Nigeria/Ghana/Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa.
The education systems are strained beyond measure, violently underfunded, and are still producing brilliant young adults who are lured away by stable salaries and stronger infrastructure in other countries. There are a few videos I was watching (one was a Ted x Talk) regarding the desperate need for well-trained/educated engineers in those regions.
What I wouldn't give to go back in time and major in an engineering field, so I could be far more "hands-on" with work, especially in Haiti.

This gets even worse when outisde firms/NGOs come in from China, Europe or the US and bring their own people while you have competent people right there who on top of that know the local realities. It creates what could be called an "expat bubble" that doesn't bring much to the country, actually sometimes even worse because since NGOs provide services for "free", then local (like doctors for example) who provided the same services end up without any income. There was a crazy story about some NGO who brought "moustiquaires" (the thing we put over beds to protect from mostiquoes, don't know the name in English) for free, but the thing is you had a local company who produced them. But since they were now free, well said company went out of business. I think it was in Benin or Togo.

Great thread @Poitier. Intra trade is a huge issue, both with administration and infrastructure. Totally agree about the fact of cross-investing (African in the US and Black Americans in Africa), I guess prejudices and lack of information still plays. Also I think it's still quite new for Africans to invest outside of Africa, I know Angolans have been investing heavily in Portugal, linguistic and historical ties play a part too.

One interesting thing I read is that Senegal has a program dedicated to helping people who left to come back, like they get some government help/funding to open up a business back in Senegal. It's only part of the issue and a small step, but I think it's something other African countries who can afford it should look into.