The picture of an Africa that wants to decide on its own, without rhetoric, that wants to count in the global world, freed from welfarism, from games of influence and power and from neocolonialism is becoming increasingly clear. This trend is part of a context of huge transition, which could mark the end of the model of domination of the Western world. Will it be good? Should it push the West to renew itself? How is this trend perceived from the ‘Western’ side and from the local point of view?
Providing food for thought during the Africa 2024 conference organized by Africa e Affari yesterday, 25 January, at the headquarters of the Italian Geographical Society in Rome, is Jean Leonard Touadi, journalist and professor of Geography of Development in Africa at the University Wisdom of Rome.
Based on a recent ISPI report, edited by Giovanni Carbone – to which the first issue of the year of Africa and Business dedicates an in-depth analysis – Touadi underlines the importance of the multifaceted transition that is outlining important changes in our world.
An ecological transaction, close to the latest Cop, from which the need to heal the economic fracture between the production system, an open system capable of producing almost infinite wealth, and the availability of natural resources, which are exhaustible and constitute a closed system.
A digital transaction, in which technologies can improve human capabilities, including through artificial intelligence, which is increasingly widespread.
An economic transaction, with a return of the State to the Economy. The consensus around the unilateral model dictated by Washington of structural adjustment programs is ending.
2023 has given us the opportunity to witness the multi-alignment of the African continent. The end of the year was marked by the entry of the African Union as a permanent member of the G20, a key milestone towards Africa’s goals in the 21st century.
Another significant step was the entry of two countries into the Brics, Egypt and Ethiopia, “a strong expression of the desire to be themselves”, underlined Touadi, who however deplores a move that did not involve the united continent , as the African Union, which would have given greater weight to the initiative.
“Africa is moving towards a united effort, a new pan-Africanism, a different post-colonial economic model, an Afro-capitalism, towards the end of aid. Towards the end of a predatory model, to be broken down, and which has existed since the 16th century, and much loved by offshore elites who act as intermediaries,” Touadi underlined in conclusion.
To succeed in this undertaking, “Africa also needs a substantial democracy, not just a procedural one. It must give up institutional mimicry for a new national construction, which brings attention to the needs, well-being and wealth of populations and countries”. We need to find leadership that rewards the sweat of people and translate these aspirations into well-being. [Da Redazione InfoAfrica]
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