Africa, African Peoples and ending our slavery

[RWalker]

If one is actually centered or focused on Africa, he or she is by definition concerned with the state of historic and contemporary Africa; he or she is by definition concerned with the historic and contemporary status of African people. Such an individual would study and work hard to understand and improve the status and condition of the land, and the people. To do this we must understand the system that holds us in the modern day slavery and what is required to break the chains of this modern day slavery.


In order to create a context and pretext for the overthrow of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah one of the things the western powers did was manipulated the price of cocoa to create an economic crisis in Ghana. They attacked the Nkrumah government’s effort to put control of the sale of cocoa in the hands of the Ghanaians themselves and all its effort to create socialism in Ghana as a model for the rest of Africa. They told the world that it was the Nkrumah government’s socialist orientation, its attempts to control the cocoa market in the interest of the people that caused the economic problems. They spread the lie that his government engaged in “expensive� and “lavish� projects, which led to the decay of the Ghanaian economy. But in reality the cocoa markets, just as all the commodities markets, are totally controlled by these very same western power that were pointed the finger at Nkrumah. This is the reality even today.

Africa as you know is rich in natural resources. Precious and strategic metals; gems; valuable minerals, energy sources such as gas, oil, coal, hydro electrical capacity; agro forestry; foodstuffs and so on. Conversely, we know that Africa’s people are the poorest in the world. We are poor because we are weak; we are weak because we are disunited. Africans at home do not control the commodities that are so valuable to current economic systems. They do not determine the price, the amount that will be sold, how it will be shipped, who will determine the nature and parameters of the various value added and other functions associated with the marketing of commodities. Commodities as diverse as coal, uranium, diamonds, gold, platinum, palladium, lumber, fish, petroleum, natural gas, cocoa, edible oils, grains, cotton and various others. In short we do not control any aspect of the process we are still in essence slaves that hew and dig for our masters. This keeps Africans at home poor; and keeps Africa weak.

And as we in the Diaspora know, well, at least those of us who are reasonably conscious, if Africa is weak, then we are weak. We can be no stronger than Africa is. Let us look at one aspect of this process the monetary angle. The trade in commodity is essentially based in the use of the US dollar.

When I look at companies from a global perspective, the revenue line in invariably dollar-denominated because commodities are priced in dollar, but the cost are mostly expressed in the local currency... page 13
“In Pursuit of Global Opportunities,� Advance, Fall, 2005 TIAA-CREF quarterly

In discussing commodity prices, one is dealing with commodity prices in currencies; so it may be expected that monetary variables are among the explanations of real change. International commodity prices are mostly expressed in dollars, for example, in the IMF International Financial Statistics, or in terms of indices based on dollar prices. Such commodity prices are obviously affected by inflation as well as real developments, and also by the value of the dollar exchange rate. There is a definite link between monetary policies, exchange rates and commodity prices, and this is the subject which I wish to discuss today.
“Commodity Prices, Exchange Rates and the International Monetary System�, Dr Robert Mundell, http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cd...44E/y4344e04.h

That means in practice that the people who kill Africans routinely in the streets and jails of this country and their subordinate allies in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Israel and elsewhere, are the very same people who control the price Africa gets for her valuable natural assets.

Any manipulation of the US dollar can be disastrous for Africans at home. If the US changes the value of the dollar, if they use their power to change the foreign exchange rate, these can have catastrophic impact on the abilities of the individual governments to provide for their people, and the impact on the people themselves is nothing short of deadly. Again I emphasize that weakness in Africa engenders commiserate weakness among Africans all over the world, no matter where we are. Conversely, the strength of Africa would be the strength of Africa’s world population.

Commodity manipulation doesn’t stop with the monetary stranglehold. The actual mechanics of the trading are determined by the big futures trading establishments in the US, they determine the real price by manipulating the future contracts, as a Nigerian oil minister said back in 1974, they determine the price of real assets by setting the pricing levels set for non-existence commodities. They also control or collaborate in the control of things such as insurance, grading, financing and shipping.

The west also control commodities in other ways. For example in cocoa they construct obstacles to African interests who might want to engage in the manufacture and marketing of chocolate and other cocoa-based products. These same interests control the technical research and support in the industry. This pattern, in one form or another, is seen in all the commodities markets. For example cotton, petroleum, natural gas, gold, platinum, palladium and other commodities that are plentiful in Africa are all traded in futures markets. It is well known that the diamond industry is controlled by a tiny cartel of individuals based in areas such as Israel, New York, Belgium and London.

Now all of this is camouflaged as a multilateral controlled enterprise. Under the auspices of the World Trade Organization, WTO, the successor to the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs GATT there is an effort to convince the world that the unfairness and amorality of the contemporary trading structures and processes in the world can be remedied. The major instrument set up by WTO to perform this miracle is the Doha Works Programme, a formula agreed on by the participating countries in WTO in the 2001 Doha Quatar meeting of the WTO. In theory the Doha Works Programme is supposed to give “underdeveloped� countries, such as the majority of African states, immediate systemic relief in critical areas and the mechanism to negotiate all other problem areas. So we see that the Doha Works Programme is in theory supposed to enhance the benefits the so-called underdeveloped countries of the world derived through global commerce through negotiation on one hand and immediate policy actions, including special dispensations and rights for the "developing" and "least-developed" countries, on the other hand. In point of fact as soon as the Doha Works Programme was developed the powers in the western countries were saying that the terms agreed too did not in fact carry the force of a legal obligation. As in most things that the racist powers foster upon the world, these powers have turned the Doha process into a sham: there is no negotiation; no efforts to accommodate the dire need of the majority of the world, nothing but just another trick of our exploiters and oppressors. Nothing more than the same old duplicity and double-dealing -- in other words "business as usual."

( For those who are unfamiliar with Doha Works Programme you can go to this url http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/.../mindecl_e.htm
and read the ministerial statement which essentially explains what Doha Works Programme is supposed to be about. There are other Doha documents on the WTO site that would be helpful but the ministerial document is probably the best one to start with. )

Below are three examples of how Africans view the overall situation. The first is an extract from a recent African Union Commission's meeting on Africa's commodity dependence and its impact on the African economy and financial status. The excerpt is taken from the AU Commissioner for Trade and Industry, Mrs. Tankeu opening remarks. The second is a full version of the release of a STATEMENT BY AFRICAN MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT at the Hong Kong meeting of the WTO, targeting the racist states efforts to turn Africa’s parliamentary representatives into mere rubber stamps endorsing whatever the racist decide in their undemocratic closed sessions with hand picked African delegates to the WTO meeting; and the third is the full text of a Press Release on the “African Women say WTO Draft ministerial text negates development “


1.
"As you are all aware, the greatest challenge facing Africa remains the achievement of rapid and sustainable economic growth and development, the eradication of poverty, and the integration of the continent into the global economy as a strong and respected partner. The recent review of the implementation of the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicate how far we are from meeting this challenge. While other developing regions of the world are making good progress towards reducing poverty and achieving the other MDGs, the situation in Africa is one of little or no progress. Poverty in our continent is on the increase and many other key socio-economic indicators point to increasing misery and worsening of living conditions for our people."

"The deepening of poverty and worsening of socio-economic conditions in Africa should be a source of great concern to all of us and should strengthen our resolve to address all the root causes of underdevelopment in the continent. It is in this context that the holding of this continental seminar on commodities is of critical importance."

"Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,"
"Poverty and underdevelopment in Africa are multi-dimensional and due to several
causes: internal and external, economic, political and social. The establishment of the African Union and the adoption of the NEPAD as its strategic progamme constitute the response of African leaders to the crisis of poverty and underdevelopment, one of whose major causal factors is the structure of the African economy and the nature of the participation of the continent in global economy and trade."

"African countries, as we all know, are heavily dependent on commodities for income and employment generation as well as for foreign exchange earnings. There are many countries in the continent whose participation in the global economy and trade is anchored on the production and export of a few commodities. Africa’s heavy commodity-dependence has accounted largely for the continued marginalisation of the continent in the global economy and trade and for its limited gains from the process of globalization..."


"Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,"
"As President Chirac of France has rightly pointed out, the commodity issue has for long been characterized by a conspiracy of silence. Such conspiracy has persisted because many of the developed industrial countries, which see the role of African countries in the international division of labour as that of providers of cheap raw materials for their industries, have been the main beneficiaries of the unfairness of the operations of commodity markets. If Africa is to achieve rapid and sustainable development and improve the living conditions of its people, the conspiracy of silence on commodities has to be broken. This requires that African countries and all stake holders in African commodities should speak with one voice on the issues of commodities and adopt policies and strategies for resolving the problems of commodities. In line with its mandate, the Commission of the African Union is determined to lead the process of finding a just solution to the African commodity problematique."

"The link between commodity dependence, rising poverty and increasing marginalisation of Africa derives from the two major features of commodity markets: (i) the fluctuations and instability of commodity prices in the short-run and (ii) the decline in real prices and the deterioration in the terms of trade for commodities over the long –term. The consequence of the fluctuations of commodity prices has been the wide swings in incomes, savings and government revenues. The uncertainty about the levels of these critical macro-economic variables has made the management of commodity-dependent African economies more difficult and has adversely affected investment and growth. The prolonged depression of the real prices of commodity exports has, in the face of escalating prices of industrial goods from the developed countries, led to persistent deterioration of the terms of trade and sharp declines in foreign exchange earnings for commodity exporting countries. Weak external viability, heavy indebtedness and poor growth performance of Africa’s commodity-dependent economies have been due largely to the problems encountered in the commodity markets."

"Distinguished Participants"
"Ladies and Gentlemen"

"The broad conclusion to be drawn from this brief analysis is that effective remedies have to be found to the problems of commodity markets if commodity-dependent African countries are to achieve rapid and sustainable development and extricate themselves from the vicious cycle of poverty. Over the years, the international community has adopted a number of measures to stabilize commodity prices and strengthen commodity markets. These include the adoption by UNCTAD in 1976 of a resolution on the Integrated Programme for Commodities (IPC), the establishment of the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), the provisions for STABEX and SYSMIN in the ACP-EU Lome Conventions and the establishment of a
Compensatory Financing Facility (CFF) by the International Monetary Fund. A core element of the IPC was to be the financing of buffer stocks of International Commodity Agreements (ICAs)"

"The greater reliance on free play of market forces since the 1980s and the increasing
opposition by the developed countries to the principle of intervention in commodity markets has led to the abandonment or under funding of international commodity market support initiatives. It is a reflection of this trend that in the ongoing negotiations on the Doha Work Programme, the issue of commodities has not been accorded the priority it deserves."

"Given the heavy dependence of our economies on commodities, African countries must play a leading role in the process of finding solutions to the African commodity problematique. It is in the realization of this that the African Ministers of Trade, at their third Ordinary Conference held in Cairo, Egypt in May 2005, decided to hold an Extra-Ordinary Session on the theme of African Commodities.. The Extra-Ordinary Session will provide an opportunity for reflections and elaboration of coherent and viable policies and action plans on all aspects of the commodity issue as they relate to African countries: management of production and supply of commodities, the diversification and processing of African commodities, the marketing of African commodities, the promotion of intra-African and South-South trade in commodities and processed goods, the financing of commodity production, processing and marketing, and the development of a strategy for according priority in the international development agenda to the resolution of commodity problems."

"Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,"
"This historic continental Seminar, involving experts, key stakeholders and development partners in the field of African commodities has been convened to assist the Commission of the African Union in the preparations for the Extra-Ordinary Session of the Conference of African Trade Ministers, scheduled for 21-24 November 2005 in Arusha, Tanzania. For your deliberations and consideration, the Commission has developed some proposals for the establishment of a continental institutional framework for the promotion and protection of the interests of African countries in commodities. One of the major components of the continental commodity institutional architecture which we are proposing for your consideration is a Task
Force on Commodities, which will be composed of the representatives of major stakeholders in African commodities and will serve as a high-level think thank for the development of African common policy on commodities and implementation of a continental strategy for the achievement of African objectives in commodities. The other component is the creation of regional and commodity exchanges which should assist in redressing some of the imbalances against Africa in the exiting international commodity markets Some background technical documents have also been prepared for your Seminar."

"The expectation of the Commission is that the proposals and the recommendations you will make at the end of your deliberations will enable African Ministers of Trade and the AU Heads of State and Government to take appropriate decisions that will enable commodities to serve as effective instruments for the achievement of rapid and sustainable economic growth in Africa, and cease to be as a source of external imbalance and indebtedness, and worsening poverty and increasing marginalisation of our continent in the global economy. Having regard to the caliber of the experts participating in this Seminar, I have no doubt that this objective will be realised."

... I wish to recall the following statement made on 26 August 2002 by the Japanese Foreign Minister, Ms Yoriko Kawaguchi, during a visit to Addis Ababa:
“There will be no stability and prosperity in the world in the 21st Century unless
the problems of Africa are solved. The problems Africa is facing are great challenges for not only the region itself but also for the international community as
a whole�

"Commodity problems constitute a major challenge to Africa …�
from
SEMINAR ON AFRICAN COMMODITIES: PROBLEMS AND STRATEGIC OPTIONS
16 - 18 November 2005, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,
STATEMENT BY H. E. MRS. ELIZABETH TANKEU, COMMISSIONER FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY AT THE OPENING SESSION
http://www.africa-union.org/trade%20...8_November.pdf

2.

NEWS RELEASE
For immediate release: 18.12.2005

Contact:
Liepollo Lebohang Pheko – 098526093 5143
Or -092782-670-2505

African Women say WTO Draft ministerial text negates development

While a quick reading of the revised text would lead one to believe that the demands of the Grouping of 110 developing, least developing, African, ACP and small economy countries have been integrated – the truth is that these concessions are consistently linked with expanded developed country market access to developing country markets. The current draft text will have significant and adverse implications for women and marginalized groups.

Economic globalization and market liberalization has and will continue to exacerbate inequalities. It has led to the feminization of employment, intensified the exploitation of women’s unpaid work in the care economy and has undermined the livelihood strategies of poor women, including migrant and farming women. The draft text, as currently written, will continue this devastating trend. A real development round must have women’s rights and development central to the drafting, implementation, and outcomes.

We believe the current draft text negates development, including women’s development. Specifically:

· Services – Though bracketed, Annex C on services remains despite strong resistance from developing countries (para 25). Additionally para 24 does not allow advanced developing countries with significant poverty levels and development needs the policy space to give priority to development needs by rejecting or limiting services liberalization.

· Agriculture

Cotton - We acknowledge the concessions given, but are concerned that they are being considered within the context of the overall agricultural negotiations (para 11);
Special Products - We acknowledge the recognition of SPs, but demand that their treatment be defined (para 8);
Agricultural Export Subsidies – The commitment on the elimination of all forms of export subsidies is a crucial step for development. However, paragraph 6 allows that the specific date for the elimination of all forms of export subsidies in Agriculture be confirmed only upon the completion of the modalities.
Domestic Support in Agriculture – The current three bands are insufficient and fail to account for the special and differential treatment required for developing countries. The band formula must allow for a clear distinction in the treatment afforded to developed, advanced developing, developing, and least-developed countries.
· NAMA – The draft text explicitly adopts the SWISS formula for NAMA (para 14), thereby locking in the formula, despite leaving open the possibilities for multiple coefficients.

· Level of Ambition in NAMA and Agriculture – Seeking a balanced and commensurately HIGH level of ambition between Agriculture and NAMA undermines the development objectives of this round (para 22).

· Duty Free Quota Free Market Access - Para 45 still provides a loophole for developed countries to declare themselves not in a position to implement duty free and quota free market access for LDC products. This is unacceptable.

“Developing countries, can no longer lay our futures on the altar of the free market excesses of the North� – Liepollo Lebohang Pheko, Gender and Trade Network Africa, December 17, 2005.

3.


STATEMENT BY AFRICAN MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT

For Immediate Release

Contact: Hon. Sheila Kawamara (Tel 91027151)
Hon. Abdi Rahim (Tel. 61884354)
Hon. Irene Ovonji-Odida (Tel 91027464)

HONG KONG, Tuesday, 13 December 2005: We, Parliamentarians from Africa attending the Sixth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), being elected representatives of the people of Africa, and faithful to our oversight role, have keenly followed the process of multilateral trade negotiations since the failed fifth MC in Cancun in 2003.

We have noted with concern that while the Doha Ministerial Declaration’s Paragraph 4 explicitly calls for the needs and interests of developing countries to be at the heart of the Doha Work Programme (DWP), vested interests in powerful countries of the North have hijacked the process and content of the DWP and is determined to deliver a “Round for Free� to developed Members of the WTO. We insist that the development concerns in all aspects of negotiations that have been raised by African Members and other developing countries must addressed and explicitly agreed upon (with clear targets, indicators and timelines) as an integral part of the negotiations.

We particularly note with concern that industrialised countries, led by the European Union and the United States of America, have continued to exert undue pressure, inducement and outright blackmail in their drive to secure a favourable outcome for agriculture, non-agricultural market access (NAMA) and services.

Agriculture, providing livelihoods to more than 70 per cent of our people is of utmost importance to us. However, both in process and substance, there is a great deal left to desire. On the process, whereas African countries as a group and through such fora as the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) have demanded an inclusive negotiating process, the so-called “Green Rooms� and “Informal Consultations� .continue to be used to the exclusion of the majority of Members We are concerned that that other WTO Members are expected to wait for the outcome of these illegal, untransparent and exclusive processes and then rubber-stamp. We call upon our ministers to reject outright a Blair House-type of deal in agriculture.

On substance, we note the attempts at duplicity in various “offers’ by different countries. While Africa and other developing countries want to see real progress in elimination of export subsidies, deeper cuts in domestic agriculture support by industrialised countries, these developed Members continue to play bad politics. For instance, the US recently announced that it would cut its AMS by 60%, which appeared as a lot. However, credible estimates show that this would actually raise its real or applied Amber Box subsidy from US$ 23 billion to US$ 25 billion. Independent researchers have likewise estimated that the EU would not have to reduce its real levels of subsidies with its October 28 proposal. In reality, the proposal allows the EU to have domestic support beyond what it had planned in CAP. To add insult to injury, the EU is conditioning this offer on our agreeing to extreme liberalisation commitments in services and NAMA. We urge African ministers to dismiss these manoeuvres with the disdain they deserve.

We insist that approach to agricultural tariff cuts must be consistent with Africa’s needs and sensitive to its tariff structures. Further, for Africa, unless the demand for Special Products and Special Safeguard Measures (SSM) are addressed with the same specificity as other aspects of agriculture in accordance with the G33 proposals; and the Cotton issue comprehensively and conclusively addressed, there can be no deal and we call upon our ministers to uphold this position. In this regard, we support the proposals on market access put forward by the ACP Group.

In Services and NAMA, we cannot fail to notice the contrast between the aggressiveness of developed countries in demanding far-reaching liberalisation with the leniency with which they want to be treated in agriculture, where they have defensive interests. The proposals so far on the table in these two areas are anti-development, will take away African governments’ policy space and have serious revenue and industrialisation implications. They should and must be rejected <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">in toto by our ministers.

Finally, we are perturbed at the behind-the-scenes manoeuvres to compromise, disorient and divide the African Group through selective and unilateral invitations to “informal consultations�. We urge African ministers to withhold consensus for any deal struck in dark corridors without their express mandate and input. To this end, we demand:
· An end to the undemocratic, non transparent process referred to as the Green Room’ process,
· Without prejudice to the foregoing, African ministers that go to the discredited Green Room must be elected or otherwise appointed by the African Group, and
· That African ministers in the Green Room do not commit the rest of the Group Members unless and until all African Heads of Delegation are consulted and unqualified mandate given for such commitment.


If Africa's and African peoples central problems are to be remedied the we will have to take Nkrumah's oft-stated admonition that only a full-fledged all-African government, unconditionally devoted, dedicated, and answerable to the totality of the African people can solve our problems, to heart. As he consistently reminded us there are exceedingly valuable natural resources in Africa in great abundance. As he tirelessly pointed out the African people have demonstrated great intelligence and talent in our leading role in the construction of human civilization. He tried to teach and demonstrate the truth that the only thing missing is the proper political structures and systems needed to rationalize the overall production process, facilitate the planning, required to bring the assets, goods, talents and other input into the service of the African people. The only thing missing is an African People's government, that is a government that is universally inclusive (i.e., a government of and for all the African people at home and abroad) and completely controlled by the organized mass of African people, and not an elite, even if the elite has beneficent goals and ideas.

Our commodity dependence is a real problem. A problem as the AU Madame Commissioner points out, is a problem that is fostered on Africa by those outside elements who wish to maintain an inequitable and frankly amoral division of global labor. We will never be able to end these circumstances by mere resolutions alone, nor will we be able to end such relationships by appeals to the "developed" countries; this can only be rectified by, in Nkrumah's words, "taking the bull by the horns" and setting up a proper government to pursue and defend Africa's interest in the field of economics, and commercial, financial, monetary matters; in essence, a government with the military, diplomatic, cultural, technological, academic and other means to pursue these interests. This would be the fulfillment of all of our people who have fought and in far too many instances, died, for our freedom.