Africa Rising 21st Century

             Now that the New Year is upon us, we in the African Diaspora need to plan for joint action to better ensure that emerging markets under Diaspora control really are under the control of the indigenous people and not complain about others using neocolonial methods to maintain their dominance. That happens because we let it happen. The time has come for that to end.             We wait for international financial institutions, international combines of nations such as the United Nations, the African Union and the European Union, as well as donor nations, to solve our problems that we let our leaders get us into. It is said that God helps those who help themselves, but we seem to have preferred others to bear the burden that is ours to bear.             In the 1930s, black people and our supporters in other races staged one of the largest demonstrations ever to protest the Italian invasion of Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). Aside from Ethiopians and a relative few non-Ethiopian

               The Biden Administration pledged to listen at the recent US-Africa Leaders’ Summit, but said it also would demonstrate its interest in a robust partnership with the nations of Africa, as signified by its closing statement on the conference: “Our partnership is based on a conviction that Africa’s governments and peoples will help define the future of the international order to address our world’s most pressing challenges.  The United States, for its part, will support and work to realize greater – and long overdue – African representation in international institutions, including those that shape global governance,” the White House statement read.  “The United States has announced a plan to reform the United Nations Security Council, including support for permanent seats for countries in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, and voiced support for the African Union to join the G20 as a permanent member.”  To that end, the Biden Administration announced several progra

             Being left out of industrialization for so long has been an obstacle for emerging markets in Africa and Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC). However, Japan and Germany had their infrastructures destroyed in World War II, allowing them to adopt newer technology in the reconstruction. Japan today the world’s second largest steel exporter due to this modern technology. Similarly, industrialization-deprived emerging markets, starting in some instances from almost nothing in terms of homegrown technology, have adopted modern technology that puts them ahead of more developed countries in some cases. For example, the lack of wired telephone lines has led to greater adoption and usage of cell phones, often advanced cell phones, which are used to facilitate business transactions. So, the question now is: will the development of the cryptocurrency industry help emerging markets or not? The answer at this point is mixed. Thus far, four African countries – Kenya, Nigeria, South

             For two decades, the United States has held a trio of conferences that used to be considered summits: the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Ministerial, Private Sector Forum and Civil Society Forum. They have comprised the American part of the international competition to win the hearts and minds of Africans. The US-Africa Leaders’ Summit and the US-Africa Business Summit  (December 13-15, 2022)  are being touted as stand-ins for the AGOA forums, but, while some positive developments are possible, that really isn’t the case.             AGOA is a longstanding trade process that has defined American commercial interactions with African countries since the turn of this century. The three forums are intended to get all three sectors – government, private sector and civil society – in line on how the United States and qualifying African beneficiary countries do business. Unfortunately, so much turnover in African countries and incomplete dissemination of AGOA trade i

               I have worked on analyzing Africa issues for more than 40 years, and during that time, I have constantly heard appeals for humanitarian food assistance to African countries lest its citizens starve. No reasonable person would want that, and in cases of war, civil strife or sudden natural disasters, such humanitarian assistance is certainly warranted. But when will we get to the place where aid is aimed at enabling African countries to become self-reliant? No nation on earth is fully self-sufficient, but when a country can’t feed itself, it becomes beholden to those who do provide its sustenance. That makes such a nation a vassal to its benefactors. Jonathan Said of the Tony Blair Institute, writing on the AGRA website, echoed the view that developing countries must be enabled to fend for themselves rather than perpetually be aid recipients: "The key insight from agricultural development in developing countries in recent years is that in order to build resilience