Africa can’t rely on others for development – son of first Tanzanian president
Africa must come together as a continent and stop relying on foreign countries for its development, insists writer Madaraka Nyerere – the son of independent Tanzania’s first president, Julius Nyerere.
Speaking to RT ahead of the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg, Nyerere said he believed it was unfortunate that some African countries were “distracted by the supposed assistance” that was meant to come from other nations, as well as the IMF and World Bank.
“I have the opinion that if a country has a leading position economically, it will rarely give up that position willingly,” Nyerere said, adding that it is “unrealistic” to expect others to voluntarily yield their hold on the global economy.
The only “realistic” way for the African continent to develop, according to Nyerere, is for it to unite and use its resources for the benefit of the African people, without becoming an agent for foreign powers that only wish to exploit the continent for its resources.
He also said that, aside from working with each other, African states must also cooperate with countries such as India, Brazil, China, and Russia.
“The barriers that are placed by the Northern countries on development cannot be surmounted without having a strong base of countries that begin to create some economic muscle,” Nyerere explained, insisting “that is the only way to go.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Nyerere also claimed Africa had become the victim of demands by Western agencies to change its policies to fit with those of the IMF and the World bank and suggested that there were alternative ways in which societies could function aside from the market-driven model, which “doesn’t always make sure that everybody is take care of.”
The writer suggested African leaders must engage in dialogue with the continent’s youth, which has become “overwhelmed by values and information from other societies, from outside of Africa.”
“We risk losing our own humanitarian values and values of justice that we had in the past if we don’t make a big effort to show that there is an alternative way to how we organize our societies,” he said.
Nyerere believes part of that legacy is the result of the work of his father, Julius Nyerere, who was a renowned anti-colonial activist and political theorist who paved the way for Tanzania’s independence from Britain and served as the country’s first president from 1964 to 1985. He was also a major force behind the Organization of African Unity, which later went on to become the modern-day African Union.
The second Russia-Africa Summit will take place on July 27-28 and is set to feature a total of 49 delegations from Africa. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he places “great importance” on the event and announced that a comprehensive declaration, several joint statements, and a Russia-Africa Partnership Forum Action Plan to 2026 will be adopted at the summit.
