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IOL News
3 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Africa Month shows that our continent is yet to benefit Africans
Pan-Africanist revolutionary and former Burkinabe President Thomas Sankara once said you cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness. Image: Pascal George REVERED Pan-Africanist revolutionary and former Burkinabe President Thomas Sankara once firmly stated: 'You cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness. It comes from nonconformity, the courage to turn your back on the old formulas, the courage to invent the future.' These sobering words have been significantly indisputable as we swiftly conclude the month of May, Africa Month, marked by Africa Day celebrations on May 25. This is the 62nd anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now known as the African Union (AU). At the 1963 formation of the OAU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the crème-de-la-creme of African leadership came out in throngs in order to advance continental solidarity, and eradicate Western imperialism. In fact, the OAU was formed upon the foundations of Pan-Africanism and self-determination, by leaders who epitomised those values wholeheartedly. As such, this 2025 Africa Month has presented a momentous occasion to not only celebrate the 62nd anniversary of this revolutionary body but also to spotlight the grievous challenges that still plague contemporary Africa. Novelist George Orwell once wrote: 'The war is not meant to be won, it is meant to be continuous… The object of war is not to destroy but to preserve a state of controlled desperation.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading This echoes the state of conflicts that ravage contemporary African societies. Across the continent, wars have been proliferating rapidly since 2010. Today, we see headlines of the wars in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan, Mozambique, and the Horn of Africa make the headlines, often overshadowed by Western media's spotlighting of other conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. Meanwhile, the African continent is experiencing more conflicts than at any point since at least 1946. In fleeting moments, we observe the painful horrors of war unfolding in the Congo, Sudan, and Mozambique emerge into the news cycles, but are quickly — and too often — drowned out by Euro-Western media's dominant, selective spotlighting of Ukraine and Gaza conflicts. According to Statista, today, over 10 million of Sudan's near-50 million inhabitants are internally displaced, and nearly 1.8 million have fled to other countries. According to the UN Refugee Agency, the Eastern DRC has been absolutely devastated and distorted by war, with over 7.3 million people displaced within the country, and more than 86 000 forced to flee to neighbouring countries. These wars are frighteningly only fragments of a much larger reality: Today, more than 35 non-international armed conflicts continue to wreak havoc across Africa — many of them underreported, and many more forgotten. Rampant war, civil conflicts, widespread poverty and forced displacement are certainly the straw that broke the camel's back in the mountain of problems that modern Africans contend with. However, major conflicts are not random, nor senseless. They are often the result of decades of neglect, greed, and failed leadership. They are born from fractured systems that deny people food, education, and dignity. They are fueled by poverty, corruption, and inequality. From dilapidated healthcare systems to mass unemployment to atrocious public service delivery, Africa is cracking under the weight of injustice, and these are the results. We must confront these roots, not just their violent consequences. For far too long, African nations have haphazardly embraced foreign-imposed structures and systems to rule African people. For far too long, these systems have been chastised and criticised, with very little reform. This is what the AU must be taking the reins on. African nations contend with a plethora of challenges. However, the biggest failure of bodies such as the AU is embracing structures that are designed to fail the many, while enriching the few. Contemporary African societies certainly reflect the harsh echoes of a long history of exploitation, instability, and neglect. However, modern day leadership is not effectively or sustainably engaging Africans in shaping a better Africa. Many of Africa's leaders are oftentimes condemned not just for failing to lift people out of poverty, but for actively preserving the inequality and corruption that keep them in power. However, wars and power struggles are not the only challenges faced by Africans or the AU. Outreach International stated that Africa has the highest rates of extreme poverty across the globe. Furthermore, a report by Compassion International revealed that 42 African nations, out of the 54 in the continent, live in severe poverty. This is an outrageous 78% of the continent. Contrarily, Africa is the richest continent by far in minerals and resource wealth. According to the UN Environment Programme, not only does Africa hold a significant chunk of the global oil reserves, it also holds 40% of the world's gold and about 90% of its chromium and platinum — with a significant share of global mining reserves in cobalt, diamonds, uranium, and various other valuable minerals. The contrast between Africa's wealth in mineral resources and its debilitating rates of poverty goes hand-in-hand. Our abundance has not translated into prosperity for the majority because our resources are exceedingly exploited, not only by foreign interests, but also by local elites who profit from backdoor deals, opaque contracts, and exclusionary systems. While billions are made from gold, oil, and cobalt, too many Africans still lack clean water, electricity, and access to basic healthcare. This is not a natural misfortune; it is a manufactured injustice, upheld by corruption, substandard governance, and global complicity. These are the human rights and dignities that are supposed to be upheld not only by governments across Africa, but by the AU itself. What's worse is the state of education across countless African nations. The crisis in Africa's education systems is not just about underfunded schools or overcrowded classrooms; it is rooted in a deeper, more insidious, imperialist legacy. Much of our formal education remains trapped in a colonial framework, designed not to liberate but to condition. In fact, this largely Eurocentric framework has been the foundation of critique in post-colonial African societies. As the late Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o once powerfully stated, 'The domination of a people's language by the languages of the colonising nations was crucial to the domination of the mental universe of the colonised.' To this day, African children are taught to memorize foreign histories while their own are erased, to speak in tongues that deny them access to their cultural identity, and to chase validation through imported curricula that ignore local and lived realities. Indigenous knowledge systems, rich in ecological wisdom, philosophy, communal ethics, and more, are sidelined or dismissed as inferior. This is not just a failure of the education system, it is its weaponisation. Any education system that alienates a child from their land, language, and lineage is not education, it is blatant indoctrination. It is the method employed by colonial rulers that seeks to literally erase the African identity, and discard African knowledge. The AU needs to centre its gaze upon this challenge, as it is one of the most pivotal keys to continental transformation and empowerment. As revered Pan-Africanist and Black Consciousness pioneer Steve Bantu Biko once purposefully wrote: 'The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.' The fact is that Africa would not be so rife with conflict and adversity if it were not something truly special. Africa's challenges are not rooted in its people, but in the persistent failure of systems built to serve the few, or outrightly serve foreign interests. However, these are the minerals and resources that build phones, computers, planes, factories, extensive infrastructure, complex structures, and various types of technologies. These resources are invaluable to the world, and they should be protected with the same ferocity. Collaboration and cooperation is not difficult to achieve, and is certainly not restricted to African continental zones. African nations that have an abundance of critical exports such as oil, foods, medicines, must be working together with all other African nations in establishing trade relations. African nations will go far if they bring serious focus to dependence on one another, above everybody else. The AU must be the driving force of this unification, identifying and connecting common economies and industries across the continent. The work of the AU is much more profound than they may realise. The AU must diligently do the work of imparting the values of Pan-Africanism, unity and the upliftment of human rights. Whether it's evident or not, the spirits of Kwame Nkrumah, Haile Selassie, Leopold Senghor, Sekou Toure, Julius Nyerere, and the other prolific founding members of the OAU remain embedded in the souls of African nations. Esteemed Pan-African revolutionary and founder of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC), Robert Sobukwe, strongly affirmed this truth when he said:'We are fighting for the noblest cause on earth… the liberation of mankind.' This Africa Month, and everyday forth, may we remember the core of pan-Africanism: Africa is for Africans. * Tswelopele Makoe is a gender and social justice activist and the editor at Global South Media Network. She is a researcher, columnist and an Andrew W Mellon scholar at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice, UWC. The views expressed are her own. ** The views expressed here do not reflect those of the Sunday Independent, Independent Media or IOL.
The Hindu
25-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Time for a new India-Africa digital compact
Africa Day (May 25) marks the founding of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963 and symbolises the continent's ongoing journey towards unity, independence, and development. To usher in a new era of growth, the African Union's Digital Transformation Strategy (2020-2030) positions digital innovation at the heart of its agenda. It recognises the need for governments to adopt digital solutions that can accelerate socio-economic progress. This evolving paradigm is also reshaping India's approach to development diplomacy in Africa. For decades, India has blended state-led financing with socially embedded solutions, ranging from capacity-building through technical training to infrastructure projects backed by concessional lines of credit. Increasingly, social enterprises delivering low-cost, high-impact innovations have also become part of New Delhi's engagement, reflecting a shift toward more inclusive and adaptable partnerships. A digital partnership India's development approach is now entering a new phase, marked by more integrated, technology-driven partnerships. This builds on early initiatives such as the Pan-African e-Network, launched in 2009, which provided tele-medicine and tele-education through satellite and fibre-optic infrastructure, implemented by TCIL on behalf of the Indian government. Expanding on this, and building on the success of its Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) systems, such as Aadhaar, UPI, CoWIN, and DIKSHA, India is now focusing on sharing and co-creating digital solutions to tackle fundamental governance and service delivery challenges. This shift comes at a crucial moment for Africa, where many governments are advancing national and continental digital agendas, aligned with initiatives such as the Policy and Regulatory Initiative for Digital Africa and the Smart Africa Alliance, aimed at harnessing technology for inclusive and sustainable development. The contours of a digital partnership between India and Africa are already emerging. In 2021, Togo's National Agency for Identification signed an MoU with the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIT-B) to implement the Modular Open-Source Identification Platform as the foundation for its national digital ID system. In 2023, Zambia signed an MoU with the Centre for Digital Public Infrastructure at IIIT-B to support the implementation and scaling up of the Smart Zambia Initiative, a national effort to advance digital transformation across government services. In 2024, the Bank of Namibia signed a pact with the National Payments Corporation of India for developing a UPI-like instant payment system. Ghana, too, is linking its payment system with India's UPI to enable faster transactions. These partnerships reflect a growing interest in India's DPI model, which offers affordability, scalability, and a public-oriented design. However, these advances of India's digital diplomacy in Africa are not occurring in a vacuum. As research by Folashadé Soulé highlights, African governments typically choose digital partners not based on ideological alignment or geopolitical loyalty, but on the partner's capacity to meet national digital priorities. In this context, China has frequently emerged as a preferred collaborator, thanks to state-backed financial mechanisms that lower the cost of adoption, especially in infrastructure-heavy domains. But it is not alone in shaping Africa's digital future: the European Union, the U.S., and India are competing for influence. What sets India apart is not just its technology, but its framing of DPI as a digital public good, open-source, and adaptable. India's DPI model offers a public-oriented alternative to a more surveillance-driven or proprietary approach. The opportunity lies in adapting these tools to local contexts through genuine state-led collaboration, beyond technology transfer. In this context, the establishment of the first overseas campus of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in Zanzibar represents a strategic intervention. By offering advanced academic programmes in Data Science and AI and integrating with Indian private sector partners to fund scholarships, the initiative aligns technical capacity-building with broader socio-economic goals. If scaled effectively, such models could power Africa's digital infrastructure. Challenges However, challenges persist. Africa is home to the world's largest digital divide. This exclusion is shaped by the high costs of data and devices, stark rural-urban disparities in connectivity, and a persistent gender gap in digital access and literacy. Moreover, the expansion of digital infrastructure hinges on reliable energy supply, a critical bottleneck in many African countries. Meeting the growing energy demands of digital transformation will require coordinated investments in sustainable power generation and grid expansion. Regardless, the groundwork for digital governance is advancing. About 85% of African countries now have national ID systems with digital capabilities, and over 70% collect biometric data for authentication purposes. This presents a strong foundation on which to build inclusive and interoperable public digital platforms. A new India-Africa digital compact, anchored in mutual respect, co-development, and long-term institutional partnerships, could serve as a scalable framework for advancing digital inclusion. Veda Vaidyanathan, Fellow, Foreign Policy and Security Studies, Centre for Social and Economic Progress
eNCA
25-05-2025
- General
- eNCA
62nd anniversary of AU founding
JOHANNESBURG - It's Africa Day and this year's theme is 'Revisiting our history, shaping our future'. The day celebrates the 1963 founding of the Organisation of African Unity which later became the African Union.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Africa Day: celebrating the continent's heritage and future every May 25
The history of Africa Day is deeply rooted in the liberation movements that marked the 20th century. The starting point was in 1958, when the Congress of African States was held for the first time, a historic gathering where representatives from various countries across the continent came together with an unwavering determination: to free themselves once and for all from colonial rule. During this pioneering conference, African leaders proposed the creation of an "African Freedom Day", laying the foundations for what would later become a continental tradition. The meetings continued to take place year after year, strengthening ties between African nations and consolidating a common vision of independence and development. The high point came on 25 May 1963, when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), later transformed into today's African Union, was officially born. This date was marked in history as Africa Day, symbolising not only the continent's political unity, but also its shared commitment to social, economic and cultural progress. The African continent of the 21st century presents a radically different picture from that of previous decades. Economic transformations have been particularly remarkable, with sustained growth that has placed several African nations among the fastest developing economies in the world. Countries such as Ghana, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Côte d'Ivoire have experienced growth rates that exceed the global average, demonstrating the continent's economic potential. Women's participation in the economy represents one of the most significant developments in recent decades. African women have taken leading roles in business development, from small local entrepreneurs to executives of large corporations. In countries such as Rwanda, women hold more than 60% of parliamentary seats, setting a global example in terms of women's political representation. In the area of gender equality, Africa has seen revolutionary advances. African women now occupy leadership positions in politics, science, technology and culture. Figures such as Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia's first female president and Nobel Peace Prize winner, or Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director general of the World Trade Organisation, exemplify the growing role of African women on the international stage. The decolonisation process, significantly supported by the United Nations, culminated in the successful independence of all African nations. This historic achievement not only represented political liberation, but also opened the door for each country to shape its own destiny and develop its natural and human resources according to its own visions and needs. The seventh art has served as an invaluable cultural bridge to bring African realities to the rest of the world. Film productions have captured both the continent's natural beauty and its complex social and historical realities. Remains an iconic film work that transports viewers to the Kenyan landscape through Karen Blixen's experience. This commercially successful adaptation not only showcased the majesty of African landscapes, but also explored universal themes such as love, loss and the search for identity in distant lands. It dealt with the conflicts that ravaged Sierra Leone during the 1990s with rawness and honesty. The film exposed to the world the devastating consequences of the civil war, including the plight of child soldiers and the exploitation of natural resources, contributing significantly to international awareness of these issues. Immortalised as one of the most inspiring moments in modern South African history, the film masterfully recreated how Nelson Mandela used the 1995 Rugby World Cup as a tool for national reconciliation, demonstrating the power of sport to unite a society divided by decades of apartheid. Other notable productions include 'Hotel Rwanda' (2004), which chronicled the Rwandan genocide with extraordinary sensitivity, 'The Last King of Scotland' (2006), which portrayed Idi Amin's regime in Uganda, and 'Beasts of No Nation' (2015), which explored the impact of civil war on African children. More recently, 'Black Panther' (2018) presented a futuristic and hopeful vision of Africa, inspiring millions of people around the world. The commemoration of Africa Day has evolved with the times, adapting to new forms of communication and citizen participation. African countries organise annual cultural events, academic conferences, art exhibitions and food festivals that celebrate the continent's diversity. Citizen participation through social media has democratised this celebration, allowing people from all over the world to come together using hashtags such as #AfricaDay to share experiences, knowledge and reflections on the continent. This digital connectivity has facilitated cultural exchange and has contributed to demystifying stereotypes, presenting a more complete and nuanced image of contemporary African reality.
Al-Ahram Weekly
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
El-Sisi reaffirms Egypt's commitment to the continent's peace on Africa Day - Foreign Affairs
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi reaffirmed on Sunday, on the occasion of Africa Day, Egypt's commitment to fostering constructive cooperation, advancing development efforts, and promoting peace across the African continent. 'On the 25th of May each year, we celebrate Africa Day—a day of unity and solidarity, symbolizing the aspirations of African nations for a bright future and sustainable development,' said the President. El-Sisi affirmed that African nations can build a brighter and more prosperous future for their people. He also expressed hope that Africa will remain strong, united, and steadfast in its pursuit of the progress it envisions. This year's Africa Day marks the 62nd anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) on 25 May 1963. The OAU, established by 32 African nations including Egypt, was transformed on 9 July 2002 into the African Union (AU), which now comprises 55 member states representing the entire African continent. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
