The Power of African Progression: The Recap of 2019

2019 The Year Africa took its rightful place

Written By: Sipho Sebele

The African continent had an eventful year in 2019. Through it, all, significant progress was made in democracy and the economy. Multiple elections were held across the continent, including in two of its largest economies Nigeria and South Africa. A beacon of hope won the Nobel Peace Prize, a dictator fell at the hands of protesters, and the continent made the world’s largest economic pact. Here are some of Africa’s top political events of 2019 in no particular order.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Nobel Peace Prize win

The Prime Minister’s Nobel Prize win was a recognition of his peace efforts between Ethiopia and Eritrea. His policies brought peace and stability to the two bordering nations after decades of war and strife. He has also been instrumental in mediations in regional disputes particularly between Sudan and South Sudan along with bringing Kenya and Somalia closer to a resolution over a marine area dispute.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has also brought bold democratic reforms in Ethiopia. He has released political prisoners, strengthened the electoral process and…

Despite all the political progress he has made, he still has to contend with a security problem in Ethiopia. The nation is plagued with ethnic tensions that can boil over at any minute. The economy is another matter that he has to resolve, right now Ethiopia is struggling with low growth, high unemployment, and poverty.

AfCFTA

2019 was the year in which African integration took a bold step forward, with the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA ). The agreement is a realization of a decade’s old dream to increase trade within the African nation. Spearheaded by the African Union (AU), 54 nations signed up to the deal. It is an ambitious trade agreement that will lower trade barriers for 90% of goods and services. It will create a $3.4 trillion market, with 1.2 billion consumers.

South Africa wins the world cup

South Africa has been a premiere rugby nation for decades and has won multiple world cups, all its world cup wins came after apartheid ended. Their first win was in 1996 and became a rallying point for the new nation to unify.

It’s the latest win on the world stage was hard-fought, particularly as South Africa is still struggling with the issue of race. Having the rugby team be led to victory by its first black captain, Siya Kolisi.

Sudanese protest

Sudanese protests have always been present, but when they began once again in late 2018 few could guess it’s a monumental outcome. Protests about the high prices of food evolved into a revolution demanding change. Sudan’s dictator Omar al Bashir resorted to using force to squash the protests, but it did not work. Ultimately, his forces put him under arrest.

After the effective couple, the army wanted to take over the government but the Sudanese protesters would not allow them. This led to even more bloodshed, but the protesters would not give in. The army and civic leaders finally agreed to manage Susan’s transition to democracy.

Tunisian elections

The North African Muslim nation is rarely a subject of a talk in African and middle eastern political talk, and that’s a good thing. Tunisia was just like every other nation in the region, it was run by a dictator with no freedoms and economic malaise. The demonstrations against Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali were the spark that ignited the Arab spring.

The Arab Spring changed the face of the middle east for better and for worse. Tunisia is now a peaceful, more democratic nation. The recently elected Kais Saied will be the nation’s second democratically elected leader.

The passing of Robert Mugabe

When former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe passed away on September 6, the nation was in shock. Not because a 96-year-old man died but because his rule was what most Zimbabweans knew. Not only that, but rumors of his death were a quarterly event since the 2000s.

Many politicians around Africa lionized him, but Zimbabweans celebrated more than they mourned. The nation is currently struggling to lift itself from his legacy of a broken government and a collapsed economy.

Xenophobic attacks in South Africa

At the beginning of September violence erupted on the streets of Johannesburg and Pretoria in South Africa. Black South Africans took out their frustrations and anger on foreign Africans. They were blamed for a range of problems like drug crimes, prostitution young South African girls, overburdening social services along with taking away jobs and business opportunities from locals.

There are inherent problems with immigration, crime and social breakdown in South African communities that require serious debate and solutions. Sadly, that has never really taken place in South Africa and it still hasn’t. The anger and frustrations were inflamed by politicians and high profile South Africans and other Africans.

When the violence died down;

• 12 people were dead, mostly South Africans
• The business property was destroyed, mostly belonging to South Africans
• Diplomatic relationships were frayed between South Africa and Nigeria, Africa’s largest economies and
• Africans in Zambia, Nigeria, and Malawi attacked South African businesses in their respective nations in retaliation.

The Russia-Africa Summit

The Russia-Africa Summit was seen as a re-ignition of old ties. Africa had been one of the many battlegrounds between the Soviet Union and western nations during the cold war. African leaders were attracted to Leninism and Marxism…because they were closer to their cultural systems. Russia was key in the liberation struggles of Africa and was pivotal in the development of newly established nations.

All of this faded right after the fall of the Soviet Empire, and since then western nations and more recently China has built solid networks in Africa. Although it might be late to the party, Russia is keen to build economic, military and political ties with African nations with no conditions attached. The summit was keenly attended by 43 African heads of state and over 3000 African businessmen in Sochi.

Ghana’s The Year of Return

Ghana’s first president Kwame Nkrumah was a firm believer in Pan-Africanism. Motivated by his experiences in America he sought to create a home for all Africans in the motherland. The black star in Ghana’s national flag was inspired by Marcus Garvey’s Black Star shipping company that took African Americans back to Africa.

In 2001, Ghana passed the Right of Abode Law which enables any person of African descent in the Americas the right to stay in Ghana indefinitely. This was followed by the Joseph Project in 2007, which sought to actively encourage African descendants to visit Ghana.

The Year of Return commemorates 400 years since the first slave ship landed in Jamestown, Virginia. It is part of Ghana’s concerted effort to encourage Africans in the Americas to visit, live or invest in Ghana. In 2019, the government gave citizenship to 126 African-Americans and Afro-Caribbeans.

8 West African nations ditch the CFA franc for their currency

The CFA franc is the currency used in 14 Western and Central African nations. It was created by the French for its colonies and has been in operation to this day. The conditions for using the CFA franc are onerous on the African nation. France backs the CFA franc using Euros and keeping rates at a fixed rate with the Euro, in exchange the African nations must hold 50% of their foreign exchange reserves in France’s treasury. For that reason monetary policies set by the European Central Bank for Europe, end up affecting African nations who are on a different economic path but have to follow suit nonetheless.

The 8 nations (Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Niger, and Guinea Bissau) want to stop using the CFA franc and use a new currency which will be launched by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) called the ECO. The move is fraught with huge political and economic implications for France so it won’t be easy.