Kwa sasa, bara la Afrika linaangaziwa kutokana na maamuzi pacha ya Gambia na Afrika Kusini wa kuzipeleka Myanmar na Israel mbele ya Mahakama ya Kimataifa ya Haki ya Umoja wa Mataifa (ICJ) kwa ukiukaji wa haki za binadamu na mauaji ya kimbari
Hata hivyo, mfano wa Gambia haukutawala vichwa vya habari mpaka Afrika Kusini ilipofikia maamuzi yake.
Baadaye, Afrika Kusini iakungwa mkono na nchi 52, nyingi zikiwa ni za kutoka upande wa kusini mwa dunia, ambazo kwa pamoja zimeonesha wasiwasi wao juu ya uonevu dhidi ya watu Palestina unaofanywa na taifa la Israel.
Wakati machafuko ya Gaza yakiendelea, bara la Afrika limepuuzia watunga sera kutoka mataifa ya Magharibi na vyombo vya habari vya kimataifa.
Hivi karibuni, Rais wa Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva aliuambia mkutano wa AU kuwa uamuzi wa Afrika ni muhimu katika maendeleo na mustakabali wa nchi za kusini. Hii ni ishara nzuri kutoka kwa mtazamaji wa nje.
Hakika, Afrika ina faida ya kuongezeka kwa idadi ya watu wakati ulimwengu wote unapungua. Lakini nchi za Kiafrika lazima kwanza zitengeneze nyumba zao. Afrika kama bara inahitaji kushinda ukosefu wa utulivu wa kisiasa, vita vya wenyewe kwa wenyewe na kukamilisha njia ya maendeleo endelevu ya kiuchumi na kimazingira ili kuwa bara litakaloongoza Kusini mwa Ulimwengu.
Nguvu ya Kiuchumi
Mara nyingi, matumaini kuhusu mustakabali wa Afrika yanatokana na mambo fulani ya kijamii na kiuchumi na "uwezo wake wa kibinadamu."
Wafanyabiashara wa kimataifa wanaoendeshwa na mtaji wametolea macho ubashiri wa ongezeko la watu barani Afrika, wakifikiria tu kuhusu masoko na faida. Wakati huo huo, nchi zenye ushindani mkubwa kiuchumi kama China na India, lakini pia Marekani na Uingereza, zinazitegemea bara la Afrika kama chanzo cha malighafi.
Watunga sera na waangalizi wanazingatia ukubwa wa idadi ya watu na uwezo wa soko katika ulimwengu wa kibepari. Hivi sasa, jumla ya idadi ya watu katika bara la Afrika ni watu bilioni 1.4, takriban asilimia 18 ya idadi ya watu duniani na makadirio ya ukuaji wa asilimia nne mwaka 2024.
Kufikia 2100, Afrika inatarajiwa kuwa na watu bilioni 4.2, ikiwa nyuma ya bara la Asia lenye watu bilioni 4.8. Kanda zenye watu wengi zinafurahia hizi faida ikiwemo tofauti za tamaduni, ukuaji wa uchumi, ongezeko la mahitaji na bidhaa na ufanisi wa gharama.
Uangalizi mkubwa pia umewekwa kwenye pato la kusini mwa Jangwa la Sahara (GDP) ambalo limeshuhudia ukuaji wa kuridhisha katika kipindi cha miaka mitano iliyopita. Takwimu hizo huwapa wachumi na watunga sera tumaini, lakini hiyo ina maana gani?
Hali ya kisiasa na ukosefu wa utulivu
Ingawa takwimu hizo zinatoa mustakabali wenye matumaini kwa Afrika, viashiria vingine vinatoa sababu za kutafakari. Katika mwelekeo wa muongo mzima, vita vya wenyewe kwa wenyewe na mizozo ya kikanda imesababisha zaidi ya watu milioni 40 kulikimbia bara la Afrika.
Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo imeshuhudia vifo vya watu takribani milioni 5.4 toka mwaka 1998 kutokana na vita na sababu zingine ambazo bado hazitafutiwa suluhisho.
Sudan, ambayo zamani ilikuwa na uwezo wa 'kulisha' bara zima kabla ya kugawanywa mwaka 2011, imeshuhudia ukosefu wa utulivu na vita vya wenyewe kwa wenyewe. Kufikia Januari 2024, inakadiriwa kuwa watu 13,000 hadi 15,000 wameuawa karibu na mji mkuu wa Darfur.
Wataalamu wanaonya hatari zaidi. Tayari, watu milioni 5.9 hawana makazi wakati wengine 1.4 wamegeuka kuwa wakimbizi. Kwa kuongezea, watu milioni 25 wanauhitaji mkubwa wa msaada wa kibinadamu, huku kukiwa na "hofu ya baa la chakula na ukame," anasema Alex de Waal, Mkurugenzi Mtendaji wa World Peace Foundation.
Wakato dunia inachukizwa na umwagaji damu wa raia wa Palestina mjini Gaza, suala la Sudan pia linahitaji kuangaziwa macho. Machafuko mengine ya Sahara ya Magharibi, Sudan ya Kusini, Somalia, Msumbiji na Chad pia yanahitaji kuangaziwa macho na wanasiasa wakubwa barani Afrika.
Mbali na vita, maslahi ya unyanyasaji wa kigeni katika utajiri wa madini ya bara hilo yanaelekeza kiasi kikubwa cha rasilimali zinazohitajika kutoka kwa watu wa Afrika na kuingia kwenye hazina za kibinafsi na za kigeni. Katika Ukanda wa Maziwa Makuu ya Afrika, uharibifu unahusisha nchi 10 kwa kiasi kikubwa juu ya rasilimali za madini.
Migogoro inayoendelea kati ya mataifa, matumizi ya mamluki kutoka nje na biashara ya almasi inayohusisha ukiukwaji mkubwa wa haki za binadamu ni sehemu ya mambo yanayohitaji kupatiwa suluhu.
Mabadiliko ya tabia nchi ni janga lingine kwa bara la Afrika, likiwa kati ya changamoto nyingine nyingi kama vile maendeleo, umaskini, maji, mafuriko, na migogoro mikubwa ya kisiasa na uharibifu wa mazingira.
Kuongezeka kwa idadi ya watu barani Afrika kunachochea ukuaji wa haraka wa miji. Kwa kuongezeka kwa miji mipya, na kwa kuongezeka kwa maeneo yasiyo rasmi na ya karibu na miji, vinaibua tishio kwa mazingira na kuweka ustawi wa kibinadamu rehani, iwapo haitashughulikiwa haraka.
Afrika na Uamsho
Kwa kuchagiza matumaini ya Lula, kipaumbele cha juu zaidi ni kupunguza matishio ya majanga yanayosababishwa na binadamu katika bara hili, hasa ya kimazingira.
Hii inahitaji nguvu za pamoja za watu wa Afrika na kupunguza utegemezi wa kigeni, na kusababisha maendeleo endelevu ya binadamu na ukuaji unaokidhi mahitaji ya bara.
Matarajio ya kuzaliwa upya kwa Afrika yamekuwa kwa muda mrefu. Hili si tukio la ghafla. Kwa kiasi kikubwa, hiki inategemea uhamasishaji wa nishati na rasilimali na matokeo yenye tija na mabadiliko. Kurekebisha mapungufu wakati huo huo kutumia uwezo kutasababisha hatua kwa hatua safu ya mageuzi inayohitajika sana katika jamii za Kiafrika.
News
Business
Sport
Opinion
Life
Video
Insight
English
8 Mar 2024
The future of the Global South depends on an African renaissanceBut African countries must first get their house in order before they can lead others into a more sustainable future.South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor addresses the media after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered an order on South Africa's genocide case against Israel on January 26, 2024 in The Hague, Netherlands. (Michel Porro/Getty Images).
Gambia’s case did not initially make headlines, but the case did resurface after South Africa highlighted Israel's atrocities in Gaza.
South Africa was later joined by 52 countries, mostly from the global South who voiced their concerns about the injustice and deprivation of Palestinians under Israeli colonial settler rule.
As Israeli destruction of human life and infrastructure in Gaza continues, Africa as a continent long neglected by Western policymakers and the elite global media has boldly asserted itself.
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (L) attending the opening ceremony of the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa on February 17, 2024 (AFP).
Following the ICJ action, Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva recently told the African Union that the African continent is key to the cohesion and progress of the Global South. This is a good omen voiced by an observer outside of Africa.
Indeed, Africa has the benefit of a growing population while the rest of the world is contracting. But African countries must first get their house in order. Africa as a continent needs to overcome political instability, civil wars and accomplish a path of sustainable economic and environmental development in order to become the continent that will lead the Global South.
Economic strength
Often, optimism about Africa’s future is based on certain socio-economic factors and its "human potential."
Capital-driven global entrepreneurs salivate at predictions about Africa’s growing population, thinking only in terms of markets and profits. Meanwhile globally competitive economies like China and India, but also Europe and the United States, look to Africa as a source of cheap labour and raw materials.
Policymakers and observers pay attention to population size and market potential in the capitalist world. Currently, the cumulative population of the African continent is 1.4 billion people, roughly 18 percent of the world population and a projected four percent growth rate in 2024.
By 2050, the African continent is expected to grow to 2.4 billion people, and will account for more than a quarter of the total world population. Imagine this scenario in less than three decades, if pandemics, famine or catastrophic civil wars can be kept at bay.
By 2100, Africa is slated to have a staggering population of 4.2 billion people, trailing only the projected population of Asia’s 4.8 billion. Regions with dense populations enjoy numerous advantages, including cultural diversity, economic growth, increased demand for goods and services, and cost efficiency.
Much attention has also been paid to sub-Saharan Africa's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, which has seen overall encouraging growth in the past five years. The numbers give economists and policymakers hope, but what does that mean in real terms?
Political conditions and instability
While the numbers may point towards an optimistic future for Africa, other indicators give reason for pause. In a decade-long trend, civil wars and inter-regional conflicts have displaced over 40 million people on the continent.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has seen an estimated 5.4 million deaths since 1998 due to conflict and other factors which have yet to be fully addressed.
Sudan, once the "breadbasket" of Africa and the largest country on the continent before its partition in 2011, has seen consistent instability and civil war. As of January 2024, it is estimated that 13,000 to 15,000 people have been killed around the capital city and in the region of Darfur.
Experts warn the country is at great risk. Already 5.9 million people are internally displaced and 1.4 million have fled as refugees. Additionally, some 25 million people are "in need of humanitarian assistance, with a looming food crisis and risk of famine," said Alex de Waal, Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation.
While the world is rightly outraged by Israel’s slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza, Sudan requires urgent attention. Several other conflicts in Western Sahara, South Sudan, Somalia, Mozambique, and Chad also need immediate attention from African statesmen.
A worker displays a gold bar at the Elikhulu Tailings Retreatment Plant, which extracts traces of gold from old mine waste, in Evander, South Africa, on Friday, Aug. 4, 2023 (Guillem Sartorio/Bloomberg via Getty Images).
In addition to war, foreign predatory interests in the continent’s mining riches are diverting huge amounts of much-needed resources away from the people of Africa and into private and foreign coffers. In the Great Lakes Region of Africa, destabilisation involves 10 countries largely over mineral resources.
Ongoing interstate conflict, the use of continental and foreign mercenary forces, and the trade in blood diamonds for arms involving serious violations of human rights are a set of hydra-like factors that also need redress.
The climate crisis is also a major threat in Africa. The issue sits in between many other challenges - development, poverty, water, flooding, and serious political conflicts - where interconnectivity only contributes to environmental degradation.
Africa’s growing population is fueling rapid urbanisation. With the rise of new cities, and with growing informal as well peri-urban spaces, serious environmental threats are predicted. Human wellbeing and flourishing will be at great risk if these factors are not deliberately and urgently addressed.
African renaissance
To build on Lula’s optimism, the highest priority is to reduce the threats of human-made tragedies on the continent, especially environmental ones.
This will require harnessing the collective energies of African people and reducing foreign dependency, resulting in sustainable human development and growth that meets the continent’s needs.
Aspirations for Africa’s rebirth have long been in the making. A renaissance is not a one-shot occurrence. It largely depends on the mobilisation of energies and resources with productive and transformative outcomes. Redressing shortcomings while simultaneously harnessing potential will gradually give rise to a much-needed transformative arc in African societies.
Unapozungumzia azma hii, majina mawili yanatawala: Cheikh Anta Diop, msomi kutoka Senegal aliyefariki mwaka 1986; na Rais wa zamani wa Afrika Kusini, Thabo Mbeki. Wakati wa utawala wake, Mbeki alipiga chapuo hitaji la uamsho wa bara la Afrika.
Kwa viongozi hawa wote wawili, mwamko wa Afrika ni wito wa kuchukua hatua. Ina hitaji kuimarisha ushirikiano baina ya mataifa ya Kiafrika, uboreshaji wa rasilimali na mtiririko huru wa maarifa, kiteknolojia, rasilimali watu na kisanii katika bara zima ni vipengele muhimu katika utambuzi wa ufufuo huo.
Kupunguza utegemezi kutoka nje kutaruhusu kwa kiasi kikubwa mataifa ya Kiafrika kutanguliza mahitaji yao wenyewe. Mataifa yanapaswa kuwa na uwezo wa kutanguliza mahitaji yao ya ndani kuliko mahitaji ya madola ya kibeberu duniani, na kwa kufanya hivyo, ziwe katika nafasi ya kuhimili maagizo ya wachuuzi wa fedha duniani.
Ujenzi wa taasisi za Kiafrika unapaswa kupewa kipaumbele cha juu. Mbeki amekosoa utawala katika Afrika Kusini mwa Jangwa la Sahara. Alibainisha wazi kuongezeka kwa tabia za unyanyasaji kati ya wasomi watawala wa Afrika ambao wamependelea manufaa ya kibinafsi kwa gharama yoyote kama tatizo kubwa linalostahili kurekebishwa.
Pia ametanguliza suala la uadilifu: malezi ya tabia ili watu waadilifu tu wawe mawakala madhubuti wa mabadiliko katika huduma ya watu, kwa maoni yake. Mjadala mzima wa Mbeki wa uamsho ni dhidi ya wasomi, watawala wa mabavu na madikteta ambao wanaharibu jamii.
Utawala wenye kuwajibika utawezesha kupatikana uamsho wa uchumi endelevu. Sambamba na utulivu wa kisiasa na uwajibikaji kichocheo cha ufufuo wa Mbeki kitaruhusu watu wa bara la Afrika kuchangia ustaarabu wa binadamu na kuwa wanufaika wa mafanikio hayo kama yalivyokuwa matarijio ya Diop.
Ubepari unaendelea kuchafua bara la Afrika huku ukiwa na mawazo kidogo ya njia mbadala. Kuna mwamko wa kuweka makazi sehemu ambazo hazijaguswa barani Afrika na wakati huo huo kutoa fursa za maendeleo ya binadamu zinazohitajika kwa watu wake ndani ya mustakabali endelevu wa mazingira.
Safari ya uamsho wa Afrika inahitaji mabadiliko, kwanza kwa watu wake na kwa dunia nzima. Utajiri wa bara la Afrika, watu wake, tamaduni zake, lugha, imani na vitu vingine ni baadhi ya mitaji ya bara la Afrika.
Mwandishi maarufu wa riwaya wa Nigeria Chinua Achebe alionyesha hili kwa namna ya ushairi wakati wa kupaza hitaji la kuhifadhi na kuthamini "hadhi ya zamani" na sio kupoteza kila kitu kwa mazoea ya kisasa na ya kuridhisha mara moja.
Katika mfululizo wa kazi za Hopes and Impediments, mwandishi kutoka Guinea, Camara Laye aliangazia kuhusu utulivu wa maisha ya kijijini ukilinganisha na kasi za mijini.
Ikiwa mustakabali wa Kiafrika unaweza kuhifadhi masimulizi yake ya kihistoria ya utu, kina chake cha kutafakari na fikra changamano iliyojikita katika tamaduni zake mbalimbali, basi bara hilo tayari limewekeza katika mtaji wa kipekee wa kibinadamu ambao wapinzani wachache wanaweza kuupita.
Akiwatazama wanakijiji Laye alisema, "Katika kila kitu, niliona hadhi ambayo mara nyingi ilikosekana katika maisha ya mjini…mara zote walizungumza tu baada ya kutafakari kwa kina, na kwa sababu hotuba yenyewe ilikuwa ni jambo zito zaidi."
Ikiwa mustakabali wa Kiafrika unaweza kuhifadhi masimulizi yake ya kihistoria ya utu, kina chake cha kutafakari na fikra changamano iliyojikita katika tamaduni zake mbalimbali, basi bara hilo tayari limewekeza katika mtaji wa kipekee wa kibinadamu ambao wapinzani wachache wanaweza kuupita.
Katika muongo uliopita, angalau mataifa mawili ya Kiafrika yametanguliza utu wa binadamu—fundisho muhimu la kimaadili katika mila na ngano za kidini za Kiafrika—ili kuhamasisha ulimwengu kutekeleza jukumu zito la kuhifadhi utu na haki huko Gaza na kwingineko.
Mafaniko ya bara la Afrika yanahitaji zawadi hizi zaidi ili kuendeleza mustakabali wake endelevu.
