Essential The Africa the Media Doesn't Tell You About

[Misreeya]

Egypt is building a new capital -- and China is bankrolling it

CAIRO — The Egyptian government is determined to build a new capital in the desert 28 miles southeast of this iconic city — and it's no longer a mirage now that China is bankrolling most of the $45 billion project.

Work has already begun on a 270-square-mile tract of army-owned land that would house as many as 5 million people when completed in 2021. PresidentAbdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is pushing the project, has his skeptics, who wonder how cash-strapped Egypt can afford such an ambitious development.

Enter the Chinese. On Sunday, China Fortune Land Development announced it would invest $20 billion in the still-unnamed capital. That comes on top of a $15 billion agreement by China’s state-owned construction company to finance 14 government buildings, a zone for trade fairs and a 5,000-seat conference center that would be the largest in Africa.

This week, the Egyptian government also announced it was speaking with the Chinese about building a university in the new city. China's role is the latest example of using its new-found wealth to expand its influence in global affairs.

The move was prompted by the chaos and congestion of this ancient city of nearly 30 million people, a third of Egypt's population.

“I can say with total honesty that this project is 20 years overdue,” said Mohsen Salah El Din, chief executive of the state-owned Arab Contractors, which is involved in the project.

“We had to find an alternative location to suck this congestion out of Cairo and relocate where the government would be and where the civil servants working in these agencies would live so that they don't have to commute long distances between home and work,” he said.

Supporters of the move say Egypt is following a proven model: Turkey, India and Brazil all moved their capitals in the 20th century.

“Egypt's administrative capital is not different from Ankara, New Delhi or Brasilia,” said Zeyad Elkelani, a political science professor at Cairo University. He said the new city would help the president reduce unemployment and streamline the country's massive bureaucracy — an estimated 7 million public workers.

Many government workers won’t want to leave Cairo and move to the new capital, Elkelani said. Their families pass down their Cairo apartments from generation to generation. And there is no culture of commuting on a highway to work in the country. The result will be a welcome attrition in government employment.

A delegation looks at a scale model of the new Egyptian capital displayed at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik on March 14, 2015. (Photo: Khaled Desouki, AFP/Getty Images)


“The new capital is an important step to make room for the private sector,” Elkelani said. “The bureaucracy has been choking business in Egypt and the residents of Cairo.”

Several hundred apartment buildings already have gone up in the new city, and construction crews are building roads and laying sewage lines.

In a sign of how determined the government is to move, the Interior Ministry announced it would phase out operations by July 2017 at the Mogamma building, where 30,000 state employees handle everything from new business registrations to issuing passports. The ministry plans to convert the landmark building into a hotel.

Mogamma dominates downtown’s Tahrir Square, where anti-government demonstrations in 2011 led to the ouster of longtime President Hosni Mubarak.

“Nobody likes coming here,” said Razan Bishara, a biology student who recently accompanied a visiting French friend to the building to renew her tourist visa. “But at least I can take the Metro to Tahrir Square. I don’t know how we are going to get bureaucratic stuff like this done when they move this place to the middle of the desert.”

Khaled Abbas, an assistant minister at the Ministry of Housing, said his agency will be the first to move. "And we’ve already designated the area for a new presidential palace and a nearby presidential district with 25,000 housing units in the works there,” he said.

Still to be determined: what to name the new city.

Officials now refer to it as the “New Administrative Capital,” but that doesn't generate excitement for an audacious plan that will include green areas comparable to New York’s Central Park, soaring skyscrapers rivaling Dubai's unique towers, an airport bigger than London’s Heathrow and an amusement park that outdoes Disneyland.

“The name is an issue,” Abbas said. "We are working on branding now."

If anyone thinks the project is diverting needed funds to improve Cairo’s crumbling infrastructure and other pressing needs, they aren't saying so publicly for fear of retribution from a military-run government that ousted Egypt's first democratically elected president in 2013 after renewed popular unrest.

Nezar Al Sayyad, an Egyptian-born professor of architecture at the University of California-Berkeley who is now a U.S. citizen, was detained briefly last year at Cairo International Airport and questioned about humorous jabs he made on his Facebook page about the new city.

“The whole thing reflects the top-down thinking of the government,” Al Sayyad said. “It is a military-style operation on land that is owned and being sold by the army.”

“I called the new city Sisi-land," Al Sayyad said, "and that upset them.

Egypt is building a new capital -- and China is bankrolling it

 

[The Odum of Ala Igbo]

Egypt is building a new capital -- and China is bankrolling it

CAIRO — The Egyptian government is determined to build a new capital in the desert 28 miles southeast of this iconic city — and it's no longer a mirage now that China is bankrolling most of the $45 billion project.

Work has already begun on a 270-square-mile tract of army-owned land that would house as many as 5 million people when completed in 2021. PresidentAbdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is pushing the project, has his skeptics, who wonder how cash-strapped Egypt can afford such an ambitious development.

Enter the Chinese. On Sunday, China Fortune Land Development announced it would invest $20 billion in the still-unnamed capital. That comes on top of a $15 billion agreement by China’s state-owned construction company to finance 14 government buildings, a zone for trade fairs and a 5,000-seat conference center that would be the largest in Africa.

This week, the Egyptian government also announced it was speaking with the Chinese about building a university in the new city. China's role is the latest example of using its new-found wealth to expand its influence in global affairs.

The move was prompted by the chaos and congestion of this ancient city of nearly 30 million people, a third of Egypt's population.

“I can say with total honesty that this project is 20 years overdue,” said Mohsen Salah El Din, chief executive of the state-owned Arab Contractors, which is involved in the project.

“We had to find an alternative location to suck this congestion out of Cairo and relocate where the government would be and where the civil servants working in these agencies would live so that they don't have to commute long distances between home and work,” he said.

Supporters of the move say Egypt is following a proven model: Turkey, India and Brazil all moved their capitals in the 20th century.

“Egypt's administrative capital is not different from Ankara, New Delhi or Brasilia,” said Zeyad Elkelani, a political science professor at Cairo University. He said the new city would help the president reduce unemployment and streamline the country's massive bureaucracy — an estimated 7 million public workers.

Many government workers won’t want to leave Cairo and move to the new capital, Elkelani said. Their families pass down their Cairo apartments from generation to generation. And there is no culture of commuting on a highway to work in the country. The result will be a welcome attrition in government employment.

A delegation looks at a scale model of the new Egyptian capital displayed at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheik on March 14, 2015. (Photo: Khaled Desouki, AFP/Getty Images)


“The new capital is an important step to make room for the private sector,” Elkelani said. “The bureaucracy has been choking business in Egypt and the residents of Cairo.”

Several hundred apartment buildings already have gone up in the new city, and construction crews are building roads and laying sewage lines.

In a sign of how determined the government is to move, the Interior Ministry announced it would phase out operations by July 2017 at the Mogamma building, where 30,000 state employees handle everything from new business registrations to issuing passports. The ministry plans to convert the landmark building into a hotel.

Mogamma dominates downtown’s Tahrir Square, where anti-government demonstrations in 2011 led to the ouster of longtime President Hosni Mubarak.

“Nobody likes coming here,” said Razan Bishara, a biology student who recently accompanied a visiting French friend to the building to renew her tourist visa. “But at least I can take the Metro to Tahrir Square. I don’t know how we are going to get bureaucratic stuff like this done when they move this place to the middle of the desert.”

Khaled Abbas, an assistant minister at the Ministry of Housing, said his agency will be the first to move. "And we’ve already designated the area for a new presidential palace and a nearby presidential district with 25,000 housing units in the works there,” he said.

Still to be determined: what to name the new city.

Officials now refer to it as the “New Administrative Capital,” but that doesn't generate excitement for an audacious plan that will include green areas comparable to New York’s Central Park, soaring skyscrapers rivaling Dubai's unique towers, an airport bigger than London’s Heathrow and an amusement park that outdoes Disneyland.

“The name is an issue,” Abbas said. "We are working on branding now."

If anyone thinks the project is diverting needed funds to improve Cairo’s crumbling infrastructure and other pressing needs, they aren't saying so publicly for fear of retribution from a military-run government that ousted Egypt's first democratically elected president in 2013 after renewed popular unrest.

Nezar Al Sayyad, an Egyptian-born professor of architecture at the University of California-Berkeley who is now a U.S. citizen, was detained briefly last year at Cairo International Airport and questioned about humorous jabs he made on his Facebook page about the new city.

“The whole thing reflects the top-down thinking of the government,” Al Sayyad said. “It is a military-style operation on land that is owned and being sold by the army.”

“I called the new city Sisi-land," Al Sayyad said, "and that upset them.

Egypt is building a new capital -- and China is bankrolling it

Egypt has a problem that France has. It's capital, Cairo (like Paris in the 19th century) is huge and can easily bring down a government. After the failed Paris Commune of 1871, the French redesigned their capital so it'd be harder to create barricades and launch a revolution. This is a similar strategy. Great post!

 

[Bawon Samedi]

hmmmm....

At last, evidence that African agriculture is powering economic transformation

The evidence is now in and the verdict is that Africa´s agriculture is powering economic transformation in the region. African agriculture has shown remarkable improvement compared to its precarious state 15 years ago.

However, progress is uneven across the region. Governments that have invested in their agricultural sectors, such as in Ethiopia, Rwanda and Burkina Faso, are reaping the benefits – stronger economic growth, declining poverty rates, better nutritional status and a more rapid shift of the labour force out of farming.

But there is still much to do. This is especially true for countries that have not adequately promoted their smallholder farmers. And this is not rocket science. The actions that governments need to take are well understood and backed by strong evidence. Implementation is now the priority.

These are the main messages of the Africa Agriculture Status Report 2016: Progress towards Agricultural Transformation in Africa, published by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Agriculture. The report provides an in-depth and unsparing review of the drivers of this dynamic period in African agriculture – one that the authors see as a prelude of bigger things to come.

Improving at last
Along with other co-authors of the report, I was pleased to note that after decades of stagnation, much of Africa has enjoyed sustained agriculture productivity growth since 2005.

Agriculture has done especially well where governments quickly embraced the African Union’sComprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme created in 2003. A key component was the programme’s call for African governments to allocate 10% of their budgets to agriculture.

Early adopters of these goals, like Ghana and Rwanda – even if they didn’t hit the 10% target – saw farm productivity rise by an average of 6.01% per year as opposed to late adopters (4.51%) and non-adopters (0.18%). This, in turn, helped spur a 6.07% average annual increase in overall GDP per capita.

Meanwhile, countries that turned a blind eye saw farm productivity rise by less than 3% and GDP rise by only 2.2% The trend is similar for declines in malnutrition. Countries that largely adhered to their targets experienced annual reductions in malnutrition of 2.4-5.7%, compared to just 1.2%, on average, for other countries.

Not out of the woods
But we also make clear in the report that not all the signs are good. We note that Africa remains

the world’s most food-insecure continent, with relatively low levels of agricultural productivity, low rural incomes, high rates of malnutrition, and a worsening food trade balance. And the region’s agricultural performance has tapered off somewhat in the past couple years.

We also note that agricultural development is uneven across the continent. Countries that have put the right mix of agricultural investments in place have reached or come much closer to reaching key development milestones. They have also enjoyed the benefits of rapidly rising private investment in African agriculture. But where farming has been neglected, it has failed to generate sustainable and equitable economic growth.

Other trends, while not all rosy, point to opportunities for progress. They include:

Public investment in agriculture:
Investment has risen appreciably across Africa, from an average per country of $186.4 million in 1995-2003 to $219.6 million in 2008-2014. But only 13 African countries have met their pledge to invest at least 10% of public funds in agriculture. If all were to do so, public funding for agriculture across Africa would be $40 billion instead of the $12 billion that it is currently.

Also, the composition of public investment in agriculture matters greatly. The evidence shows that investments in roads, rails and ports; agricultural research and development, and effective extension systems powers agricultural growth and poverty reduction much more effectively than investments that crowd out the private sector like input subsidy programs.

*Agricultural growth for broad-based benefits: *
Farming will be a major source of employment in Africa for another decade or more. But to provide a long-term economic lift, agricultural growth must be broadly based so that it promotes spending by millions of farmers and so spurs the demand for jobs in the broader economy. This is not achieved by mega-farms. Transformation is most rapidly achieved if policy actions can promote inclusive forms of agricultural growth.

Bridging yield gaps:
On some 65% of Africa’s arable land, farmers lack the necessary inputs and ability to restore and maintain soil fertility. As a result, those growing improved varieties of maize and other crops see only a 28% bump in yields, on average, while farmers in Asia gain an 88% increase. Clearly, a major challenge is to make fertilisers, improved seeds and improved soil management practices more readily available, especially to smallholders.

*Town and country: *
Urban consumers are driving a lucrative market for food products that could be worth $1 trillion by 2030. This would generate significant income and employment for African farmers and food companies. Currently, however, this demand is met through a hefty serving of food imports.

Investing in African smallholders will not only help feed the region. It will create jobs for the rapidly rising youth labour force both in agriculture and the broader economy.

*Tight money: *
Only about 10% of rural households in Africa are linked to any formal financial institution such as a bank. This situation is poised to change because of innovations such as farm loan programmes that share risk among many participants, new approaches to microfinance, and mobile banking services.

*Unleashing the power of youth: *
Africa’s youthful workforce could open up a wide range of economic opportunities with the right mix of policy and public investments. Conversely, if governments do not pursue policies that make agriculture attractive to youth, the result will be widespread youth unemployment and disillusionment. Government policies and public investment can make agriculture much more attractive to young people.

What can be achieved in the next two years
In 2016, Africa can look back on a decade of notable progress toward realising its agricultural potential. But it has a long way to go before farming and the wider economy becomes healthy and robust.

Much depends on strong political leadership, backed by solid commitments from donor countries. Governments often exhort the private sector to invest more in African agriculture, but it is government actions in the first place that influence the scope for private investment.

In these ways, governments hold the key to determining whether the region’s economic transformation will be a relatively smooth, robust and peaceful process or a painful and protracted one.

At last, evidence that African agriculture is powering economic transformation

 

[Bawon Samedi]

I mean really whats there to not like about Tanzania:

1. Stable country(no conflicts)
2. Slowly growing economy.
3. Good looking women.
4. Beautiful wildlife.
5. Beautiful terrain
6. Rich and long history.
7. A government that welcomes AAs and other diasporans.
8. Abundant resources.

Oh yeah I forgot diverse ethnic groups that coexist peacefully for the most...

 

[Poitier]

Oh yeah I forgot diverse ethnic groups that coexist peacefully for the most...

disagree here.

 

[Bawon Samedi]

disagree here.

I mean you can add a little beef between Zanzibar and the mainland but ever since then I have not heard anything on the scale of say Nigeria.

 

[Poitier]

I mean you can add a little beef between Zanzibar and the mainland but ever since then I have not heard anything on the scale of say Nigeria.

in terms of violence maybe but its just as pronounced in the politics.

 

[Bawon Samedi]

in terms of violence maybe but its just as pronounced in the politics.

Maybe I need to do a bit more research.

 

[Poitier]

Maybe I need to do a bit more research.

The decline they experienced up until recently can be attributed to corruption among ethnic lines leading to mismanagement of resources. I guess if you compare it to Kenya, Ethiopia or Nigeria then its done a good job but still can be improved.

 

[Yehuda]

Liberia: A Look At Morocco's Ambitious Renewable Energy Program

5 OCTOBER 2016

By William Q. Harmon

Fifty-four journalists from 28 African countries, who were visiting Morocco to assess the level of preparation the country has made for the upcoming global conference on climate change (COP 22), were astounded by the country's ambitious renewable energy program.

Being highly impressed after top Moroccan government officials, including the Ministers of Interior and Agriculture and Fisheries drilled them with the level of progress that that country is making to address the issues of climate change, the journalists were fortunate to pay a visit to Morocco's gigantic solar energy plant--known as Noor-Ouarzazate.

Renewable energy, such as wind, solar, geothermal, hydro-electric and biomass--provides substantial benefits for the climate, health, and economy.

But before we explore the Moroccan program, let it be established that renewable energy is one of the best ways to mitigate the huge impact of climate change. Many will ask how does this happen?

First of all energy sources have an impact on our environment, but it is no secret that fossil fuels -- coal, oil, natural gas and even charcoal in the Liberian context -- do substantially more harm than renewable energy sources by most measures. Fossil fuels cause air and water pollution, damage to public health, wildlife and habitat loss, and effect water use, land use, and generate emissions that contribute to global warming.

Human activity is overloading our atmosphere with carbon dioxide and other global warming emissions, which trap heat, steadily drive up the planet's temperature, and create significant and harmful impacts on our health, our environment, and our climate.

For example, one of the two biggest emitters of greenhouse gas, the United States' electricity production, accounts for more than one-third of its global warming emissions, with the majority generated by coal-fired power plants. This approximately produces 25 percent of total U.S. global warming emissions and natural gas-fired power plants produce 6 percent of total emissions. In contrast, most renewable energy sources produce little to no global warming emissions.

It is in this regard that Morocco embarked on constructing the world's largest renewable energy program (wind, solar and hydroelectric combined) while also boasting the construction of Noor-Ouarzazate, the largest solar energy plant in the world when completed.

The Moroccan government is keen on increasing renewable energy production. Renewable energy, the officials said, represented 0.4% of the national energy balance (excluding biomass) and nearly 10% of electricity production in 2007. This has doubled significantly over the years. Renewable energy is supported by strong hydropower sources and the newly-installed wind energy parks (147 MW installed and 975 MW under deployment). Morocco plans a $13 billion expansion of wind, solar and hydroelectric power generation capacity and associated infrastructure that should see the country get 42% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

In November 2009 Morocco announced the ambitious Noor-Ouarzazate solar energy project worth $9 billion which officials say will account for 38-45 percent of Morocco's installed power generation by 2020.

Funding for the project is from a mix of private and state capital. The ceremony was attended by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Moroccan king, Mohammed, VI. The project will involve five solar power generation sites across Morocco and will produce 2,000 megawatts of electricity by 2020. It will add in terms of power generation the equivalent of the current electricity consumption of the country's commercial capital, Casablanca.

As a net energy importer, Morocco launched the National Renewable Energy and Efficiency Plan in February 2008 to develop alternative energy to meet 15% of its domestic needs and increase the use of energy-saving methods. The plan is expected to create more than 40,000 jobs and stimulate over €4.5bn in investment by 2020. The National Plan for the Development of Solar Thermal Energy, formulated in 2001, aimed to install 440,000 solar-powered water heaters of which 235,000 was completed in 2012. The Moroccan government plans to produce 40% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.

Many initiatives are dedicated to renewable energy such as solar power plants, pumping stations, hydraulic turbines, waste recycling, water pumps, sea water desalination, air conditioning and solar water heaters. Renewable energy is also the focus of many economic and social programs, as in the case of rural electrification, where individual photovoltaic solar systems account for 7% of energy production.

Two years ago, the World Bank approved the "Noor-Ouarzazate Concentrated Solar Power Project--initially commencing as a US$159 million solar energy development project. The financing was intended to expand development of a Moroccan solar energy complex with the goal of increasing the complex's energy production. By October 2014, the complex carried a 160 megawatt capacity. Project planners hope to grow that capacity to 350 megawatts.

The country had earlier in 2009 announced it would produce 2 Gigs of solar capacity by 2020; subsequently launching the Noor-Ouarzazate.

Five solar power stations are currently under construction. The Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN), a public-private venture, has been established to lead the project. MASEN has invited expressions of interest in the design, construction, operation, maintenance and financing of the first of the five planned solar power stations, the 500-megawatt plant in the southern town of Ouarzazate. The first plant was commissioned in 2014, and the entire project will be commissioned in 2019. Once completed, the solar project will provide 18% of Morocco's annual electricity generation, a tour guard told the journalists.

Morocco is also the only African country to have a power cable link to Europe, which aims to benefit from the €400bn (US$573.8bn) expected to come from the ambitious pan-continental Desertec Industrial Initiative based in Europe.

Liberia: A Look At Morocco's Ambitious Renewable Energy Plan

 

[Poitier]

 

[Bawon Samedi]

UN: Congo Welcomes Morocco’s Return to African Union
United Nations – Congo on Friday welcomed Morocco’s decision to return to the African Union, its “great African family.”

“I seize this opportunity to welcome the decision of the Kingdom of Morocco to return to the African Union, its large African family”, Advisor to the Congolese mission to the UN, Gaston Kimpolo, said before the 4th Committee of the UN General Assembly.

The Congolese diplomat said that upon its return to the AU, Morocco is “required to continue, within the framework of the African Union, the historical role it has always played for peace and development in Africa”.

Tackling the Sahara issue, the Congolese diplomat called on the parties to pursue good faith negotiations to reach a “just, peaceful, lasting and mutually acceptable political” solution.
UN: Congo Welcomes Morocco’s Return to African Union

 

[Yehuda]

Tunisia government in talks with unions over wages - officials

Unemployed graduates shout slogans during a demonstration to demand the government provide them with job opportunities, on Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis, Tunisia January 20, 2016. (File photo: Reuters)

Reuters, Tunis
Monday, 10 October 2016

Tunisia’s government sought in talks with the powerful UGTT labour union on Monday to reach agreement on a public sector wage freeze to reduce the deficit.

Prime Minister Youssef Chahed has made controlling public wage increases part of a broad package of reforms, subsidy cuts and new taxes he hopes will control spending and spur growth, but unions are resisting any salary freeze.

The UGTT last week said it would oppose any proposal to suspend public sector wage increases next year, one of the measures Chahed has said he wants to introduce.

Public sector wages make up 13.5 percent of Tunisia’s gross domestic product, one of the largest ratios in the world. Chahed has promised to push the economic reforms Tunisia’s needs to support its democratic progress since the 2011 uprising toppled autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali.

Last Update: Monday, 10 October 2016 KSA 19:56 - GMT 16:56

Tunisia government in talks with unions over wages - officials

 

[Bawon Samedi]

Guard against corruption, political arrogance – Rawlings to Burkina Faso
Ghana’s former President, Flt Lt. Jerry John Rawlings has called on the people of Burkina Faso not to allow corruption, arrogance and high-handedness of political authority to derail the political freedom they have won through their blood and toil.

He said there was no easy road for the journey of emancipation because of the stark inequalities of globalization and the force-feeding of economic partnership agreements on the continent, describing “the power of imperialist control” as being “almost like a noose round Africa’s neck.”

Flt Lt Rawlings made the call when he paid a courtesy call on Burkinabe President Roch Marc Christian Kabore and later at the launch of the Thomas Sankara Memorial Project in Ouagadougou over the weekend.

The former President who is the Honorary Chair of the Thomas Sankara Memorial Project was in Burkina Faso for a three-day visit as part of activities marking the formal launch of the Project.

In his address at the launch in Ouagadougou on Sunday, the former President said the efforts that led to the popular people’s uprising of 2014 and more significantly, the daring standoff against the Presidential Guards in 2015 was a manifestation of the ideals that Thomas Sankara stood for.

He added; “No matter how long a people feel oppressed the strength of courage and defiance is more powerful than any force in the world. The actions of ordinary unarmed patriots of Burkina Faso charging into the streets and refusing to go back home in 2014 and 2015 was an image that astounded the world and proved that real people’s power still existed in our part of the world.”

Former President Rawlings commended the people of Burkina Faso for deciding to institute a memorial for the late Thomas Sankara, stating; “Sankara’s goal of combating corruption and taking the destiny of his country into his people’s hands, in contrast to the overbearing dominance of the French colonial power, may have seen a significant setback very much like in my own country. But as Sankara himself said: “While revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill the ideas.””

The best way to perpetuate Sankara’s legacy, President Rawlings said, was to focus on building on the strong foundation blocks of nationwide literacy campaigns, decentralisation, promotion of public health, reforestation and agricultural growth, which Sankara initiated during his tenure of office.

PRESIDENT KABORE

The former President in his meeting with President Kabore on Saturday October 1, said the institution of a memorial monument for Sankara was not restricted to the people of Burkina Faso or West Africa, but also for a global audience who respected the late revolutionary leader.

“There are those of us who believe in empowering people and Sankara was a believer in empowering the people,” the former Ghanaian President said.

Flt Lt Rawlings urged President Kabore and the people of Burkina Faso not to squander the opportunity to rectify the mistakes of the past. He said investment in education and information on the state of the country’s economy will ensure that the masses understand that it will take a considerable period to turn the socio-economic situation around.

The former President counselled President Kabore and his team to show modesty in their lifestyle and decried how some others had become swayed by the desire to stay in power that they were ready to kill to perpetuate their tenure.

President Kabore expressed his country’s gratitude to Flt Lt Rawlings for accepting to chair the Sankara Memorial Project.

“You and Sankara were a model for African youth hence your nomination and Burkina Faso will always be grateful and proud of your support,” President Kabore said.

President Rawlings also held meetings with the President of the Burkinabe National Assembly, Salif Diallo and Francois Yameogo, the military prosecutor appointed to investigate circumstances surrounding the demise of Captain Thomas Sankara in 1987.

Please find below the full text of President Rawlings address at the formal launch of the Thomas Sankara Memorial Project.

ADDRESS BY H.E. JERRY JOHN RAWLINGS, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA AT THE LAUNCH OF THE THOMAS SANKARA MEMORIAL PROJECT OUAGADOUGOU, BURKINA FASO – SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 2016

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen;

It is a great honour to join the bold people of Burkina Faso today to lay the foundation stone of a lasting memorial for our late leader, brother, compatriot and comrade, Captain Thomas Sankara.

Burkina Faso has seen some momentous developments involving popular public uprisings and the unfortunate loss of lives which eventually culminated in the inauguration of a new government in December 2015.

When I was invited by the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism a couple of months ago to be the honorary chair of the International Committee for the Implementation of the Thomas Sankara Project I did not hesitate because Sankara was a true Pan Africanist, patriot and a charismatic leader who impacted not only on Burkina Faso but also the rest of the continent. A country that honours its heroes offers the opportunity to its youth to aspire to even greater ambitions and achievements.

Sankara’s goal of combating corruption and taking the destiny of his country into his people’s hands, in contrast to the overbearing dominance of the French colonial power, may have seen a significant setback very much like in my own country. But as Sankara himself said: “While revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill the ideas.” Thomas Sankara lives!

The efforts that led to the popular people’s uprising of 2014 and more significantly the daring standoff against the Presidential Guards in 2015 was a manifestation of the ideals that Thomas Sankara stood for. No matter how long a people feel oppressed, the strength of courage and defiance is more powerful than any force in the world. The actions of ordinary unarmed patriots of Burkina Faso charging into the streets and refusing to go back home in 2014 and 2015 was an image that astounded the world and proved that real people’s power still existed in our part of the world.

The journey of emancipation must continue! There is no easy road ahead. The power of imperialist control is almost like a noose round Africa’s neck. The stark inequalities of globalization, and the force-feeding of economic partnership agreements with the attendant imbalance in trade, mean we have to fight a new political battle against neo-colonialist tendencies.

We owe Thomas Sankara what is due him in our drive to revive Burkina Faso. The move to perpetuate his memory through a fitting memorial similar to what we have for Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana is a very commendable idea. But what can we do beyond that to perpetuate Sankara’s legacy?

Captain Sankara’s legacy included a drive to boost your country’s economic development through an ambitious self-sufficiency drive that focused on education, nationwide literacy, decentralization, promotion of public health through the vaccination of millions of children against the major childhood killer diseases, reforestation, multiplying agricultural produce and ensuring equitable distribution of land.

We cannot forget Thomas Sankara’s anti-corruption credentials and his conscious and significant efforts at women emancipation.

The people of Burkina Faso have their work clearly cut out. Sankara has already laid a clear framework and developmental blueprint for sustainable development in Burkina Faso. So as we celebrate Captain Sankara through several events today, let us focus on building on the strong foundation blocks he laid. I believe President Roch Marc Christian Kabore will give us the leadership we deserve to attain our national goals.

Let us be focused as a people, let us be focused as a government; let us work hand-in-hand as people and government to develop our country. If we allow arrogance, corruption, high-handedness of elected authority, greed, selfishness and impunity to take over, it will derail all that has been fought for with the blood and toil of all who laid down their lives to get Burkina Faso to where it is today.

Even as we gather to exchange ideas about a monument befitting what he lived and died for, the best monument Captain Sankara left behind is the courage and the spirit of defiance to fight for freedom and Justice.

Even as the world continues to fight and condemn terrorism, our inability to improve upon socio-economic justice coupled with the impunity of power and the growing arrogance and abuse of that power is only creating more fertile grounds for serious social unrest culminating in terrorist activity.

It is important that Burkina Faso re-engages the Pan-Africanism ideals Thomas Sankara embodied. Do not consider yourself as an island in the struggle for self-realisation.

I will offer the support I can to ensure that this project to perpetuate the memory of our beloved Captain Thomas Sankara comes to a successful conclusion. I wish you all the best.

Thank you and God Bless.
Guard against corruption, political arrogance – Rawlings to Burkina Faso

 

[Poitier]