Over the past week, there were many important stories from around the African continent, and we served you some of the most topical ones.
Here is a rundown of the backstories to some of the biggest news stories in Africa that we covered during the week:
Different takes as African leaders spotlight multilateral loans
The call for a reform in the financial instrument of multilateral bodies like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World was at the front burner in the week as African leaders on Monday called for rich countries to commit to record contributions to a low-interest World Bank facility for developing nations. The leaders stressed that most African countries depend on the fund to sponsor development and combat climate change.
Kenya’s President William Ruto told a meeting of African leaders and the World Bank to discuss IDA funding, “call on our partners to meet us at this historic moment of solidarity and respond effectively by increasing their IDA contributions… to at least $120 billion.”
Ruto has been a notable voice in the call. Last year, during a session at the Paris Climate Summit, he called for a new global financial architecture outside the present creditor system which according to him tilts in favour of lenders like the IMF and the World Bank.
“We need a financial consumption tax at a global level that countries like Kenya pay, we do not want anything for free, we will pay more eventually because we have a bigger economy. We want those resources controlled not by IMF and World Bank because IMF and World Bank have the final say…,” Ruto said.
The World Bank has maintained that IDA lends money to 75 poor countries around the world at low-interest rates. More than half of these countries are in Africa. Governments use the money to improve access to healthcare and energy, put money into farms, and build important things like roads.
But Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, expressed a fresh perspective to the discourse at the same event as he urged African leaders to verify the true intentions of multilateral lending institutions towards the continent. He asked African leaders to “audit the intentions of the World Bank loans to ensure that they are for prosperity rather than profiteering”. He added: “What loans are we getting as Africa? Is the World Bank giving us loans for private sector-led growth or to be more dependent?”
“Our populations are increasing, but our economies are stunted. The International Development Association (IDA) should tell us why they are funding the modern slavery of Africans, and we should address issues like why Africa is producing what it does not consume and consuming what it does not produce”, the Ugandan leader stated.
Interventions by multilateral bodies have remained controversial in some cycles although the bodies have claimed that poverty reduction is one of their objectives, but some studies have shown that IMF borrower countries experience higher rates of poverty. A 2022 research by Glen Biglaiser and Ronald J. McGauvran which investigated the effects of IMF loan conditions on poverty using a sample of 81 developing countries from 1986 to 2016, found that IMF loan arrangements containing structural reforms contribute to more people getting trapped in the poverty cycle, as the reforms involve deep and comprehensive changes that tend to raise unemployment, lower government revenue, increase costs of basic services, and restructure tax collection, pensions, and social security programmes.
Liberia enacts war crimes court; who should follow?
Liberia’s President Joseph Boakai has signed an executive order to establish a war crimes court. Boakai granted his final approval and congratulated the lawmakers for their effort in the legislation. A special court was eventually ordered to be established to try those who were deemed to be at fault by the Truth and Reconciliation Committee.
Many atrocities, such as rape, massacres, and the use of child soldiers, occurred during the wars that lasted from 1989 to 2003. In their fight against rebels affiliated with the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), government forces in Liberia have been accused of war crimes as well as grave violations of human rights, such as the widespread rape of women and girls, the summary execution of numerous civilians, and the looting and burning of entire villages.
Without warning or predetermined protocol, hundreds of civilians were allegedly arbitrarily and forcibly conscripted and deployed to fight on the front lines, frequently with little to no military training. The LURD troops have also been alleged to have committed grave crimes such as rape, forced recruitment of civilians, including child soldiers, and summary killings of suspected government collaborators.
Activists and civil society organizations that have demanded greater justice for crimes committed during the conflicts that claimed the lives of almost 250,000 people have praised the initiative. Some in Liberia are against its development, arguing that it could weaken the amnesty law that was already in place and cause old grievances to resurface. This helped put a stop to the violence.
Most African countries have a shared history of civil wars and internal crises that have made calls for special courts to try war popular in the continent. Nigeria, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Sudan, Congo DR have recorded thousands of deaths of civilians occurring in separate conflicts of armed groups. Some of those killings are also categorized as war crimes and crimes against humanity, with most cases unsolved and consequential agitations in cases for self-determination and secession by aggrieved section of the state, which account for the volatile nature of most African states.
Liberia’s template which has birthed a special war crimes court might be a direction to follow in states with these experiences, first to afford victims closure through justice and likely deterrent for likely war crime offenders but much still lies on the political will of the state to ensure justice despite the special court.
Scrabble for Niger as US accuses Russia over military base incursion
Despite remaining under military reign and retaining consequent pariah status in the international community, West African country, Niger Republic, appears to remain a toast for world powers as the United States and Russia had their latest confrontation over the country during the week. Russian military personnel have reportedly made their way into an American military air base in Niger, according to a senior US defence official cited by Reuters. This move follows the junta in Niger’s decision to expel American personnel.
Until a coup last year, the country had been a vital ally for Washington’s fight against insurgents who had killed hundreds of people and displaced millions more. Mali, Libya, Chad, the Central African Republic, and other nations on the continent have looked to Russia for security cooperation. Russian paramilitary soldiers have now landed in Niger, isolating the United States and compelling its 1,100 military personnel to leave the country for the next few months.
America will lose access to a vital military facility it needs to combat terrorist organizations like ISIS as a result of Russia’s increasing influence in Niger. To strike terrorist bases in the area, intelligence gathered from the U.S. drone base in Niger is crucial. In what global politics observers have labelled a “failed strategy” Cameron Hudson, a former intelligence officer for Africa at the CIA, referring to countries with coup governments in Africa noted that “when all of these countries kicked out the French and turned inward, we then tried to pivot to become the peacemaker in the hopes that we could keep our presence there.” “All of that is not working. We are now out. Russia is now in.”
According to US law, Washington is not allowed to give money to coup regimes like the one in Niger. However, in an attempt to eventually restore military and other financial support, American leaders have made an effort to retain diplomatic ties with those nations, many of which have abundant natural resources.
A few African leaders have praised Moscow’s participation, arguing that in situations where the United States is unable to offer prompt security support, Moscow can. Some have resisted American efforts for reform, arguing that the West has no right to preach democracy in Africa when it ignores comparable problems with its friends elsewhere in the world.
On Africa and long-distance race at the Olympic
Ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France, Athletics Kenya named their six-man team on Wednesday. The team consists of three men and three women, with one reserve on each side. The team is led by Hellen Obiri, Benson Kipruto, and Eliud Kipchoge, the reigning champions. A “killer squad” the team has been called by sports enthusiasts giving the track record of the East African country at long-distance races. Kenyan and regional neighbours Ethiopian athletes have dominated the middle- and long-distance sports since the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. They have also shown a similar level of dominance in international cross-country and road racing competitions.
Benson Kipruto, the winner of the Tokyo Marathon, and Alexander Mutiso, the winner of the London Marathon, are both picked in the final Kenyan Olympic team. Timothy Kiplagat, the runner-up in Tokyo, will be backup in case any of the three chosen athletes are unable to compete. As she travels to Paris in fine form, having set a new women’s only world record last month by winning the London Marathon, Jepchirchir will have an opportunity to defend her championship with the final team list.
Their success has attracted significant attention on a global scale and has been the focus of social, sporting, and even scholarly studies. Genetic predisposition, development of high maximal oxygen consumption as a result of extensive walking and running at an early age, and comparatively high haemoglobin and hematocrit were some of the factors identified by Randall L. Wilber and Yannis Pitsiladis.
Developing a good metabolic “economy/efficiency” based on somatotype and lower limb characteristics, having an advantageous oxidative enzyme profile and skeletal-muscle-fiber composition, living and training at altitude, following a traditional Kenyan/Ethiopian diet, and having the drive to succeed economically are additional factors. However, although the variety of physiological and anatomical explanations appear tenable for the dominance, no definitive advantage has been found through research as athletes from other parts of the world like Asia and North America with little or no features peculiar to East Africa have had considerable success in long-distance also.
East Africa will continue counting its medals with pride while the search continues.
