Prof. PL Lumumba discusses IMF and World Bank Agenda for Africa.

Summary

The transcript discusses the origins of the IMF and World Bank at Bretton Woods in 1944, where African nations were absent, and their subsequent economic enslavement. It highlights the need for Africa to establish independent financial institutions like the African Development Bank, which has been undermined by foreign influence. The speaker calls for African self-financing, referencing examples like Tanzania's hydroelectric power project, and criticizes external NGOs and the dependency on IMF and World Bank loans. The narrative urges a rethink of financial strategies and a move towards self-reliance to escape neocolonial control.

Takeaways

• 🏛️ The IMF and World Bank were established at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference without African participation, and African countries were later integrated into these institutions.
• 🌍 The IMF and World Bank are perceived as tools of economic control, designed to keep African nations in a perpetual state of dependency.
• 💼 Control over a country's economy through these institutions is seen as a means to influence politics and governance.
• 💵 The African Development Bank, intended to finance African affairs, has been compromised by significant non-African shareholding, particularly from the USA, Japan, and the UK.
• 🏦 African Union is largely financed externally, including by NGOs that dictate the agenda in exchange for funding.
• 📚 Greg Mills' book discusses why Africa is poor and suggests ways for Africa to address its economic challenges.
• 📖 The book 'Bad Samaritans' by Ha-Joon Chang criticizes the IMF's influence in Africa and suggests that dependency on it leads to a shadow economy.
• 💪 Efforts to reduce dependency on the IMF and World Bank are highlighted, with examples from Latin American countries like Chile, Argentina, and Brazil.
• 💵 The narrative calls for African millionaires and billionaires to finance African development instead of relying on foreign entities perceived as neocolonialists.
• 🗣️ African leaders are urged to take a stand against external control, with references to figures like Thomas Sankara advocating for debt non-repayment and self-financing.

Q & A

When and where were the IMF and the World Bank created?

The IMF and the World Bank were created in 1944 at the Breton Woods conference in New Hampshire, United States.

Why were African countries not involved in the creation of the IMF and the World Bank?

African countries were not involved because they had not yet gained independence and were thus not present at the Breton Woods conference.

What role do the IMF and World Bank play according to the speaker?

The speaker describes the IMF and World Bank as economic enslavers, designed to keep African countries in a perpetual state of dependence.

How does the speaker suggest that the IMF and World Bank control countries?

The speaker suggests that by controlling a country's economy, these institutions can control its politics, which in turn allows them to influence who governs the country.

What is the African Development Bank and why was it created?

The African Development Bank was created to serve as an engine for financing African affairs independently of external control.

Why has the African Development Bank not been as effective as intended?

The effectiveness of the African Development Bank has been compromised because major shareholders like the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom have significant influence over its operations.

What does the speaker suggest about the financing of the African Union?

The speaker points out that the African Union is largely financed from outside sources, including NGOs, which can dictate the agenda and policies of the Union.

Which book does the speaker recommend for understanding Africa's economic situation?

The speaker recommends 'The Bad Samaritans' by Ha-Joon Chang, which critiques the IMF and its activities in Africa and other continents.

What does the speaker propose as a solution for Africa's financial independence?

The speaker proposes that Africa should finance its affairs through its own institutions and seek funding from African millionaires and billionaires rather than external sources.

How does the speaker view the role of foreign NGOs and philanthropists in Africa?

The speaker views foreign NGOs and philanthropists as neocolonialists with an agenda to control and manipulate African nations.

What historical figure is mentioned by the speaker in relation to Africa's financial independence?

The speaker mentions Thomas Sankara, the former President of Burkina Faso, who advocated for Africa to stop paying debts and seek reparations for slavery and colonization.

Outlines

00:00

🌍 IMF and World Bank's Influence on Africa

The paragraph discusses the origins of the IMF and World Bank at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, where African nations were not involved. It highlights how these institutions were designed to control African economies, perpetuating a state of dependency. The speaker criticizes the IMF and World Bank for their role in economic enslavement and political control, suggesting that they use economic leverage to influence politics and governance. The paragraph also touches on the African Development Bank's inability to serve Africa's interests due to significant foreign influence, particularly from the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The speaker calls for Africa to finance its own affairs and to rethink its reliance on external institutions, advocating for financial independence and the empowerment of African institutions.

05:01

💪 Self-Reliance and Resistance to Neocolonialism

This paragraph emphasizes the need for African nations to finance their own development and resist the control of neocolonial powers. It praises leaders like Thomas Sankara and John Magufuli for their efforts to finance national projects through domestic resources, such as taxes, instead of relying on loans from international institutions. The speaker criticizes the dependency on foreign aid and the influence it has on African politics, suggesting that African leaders should follow the examples of Sankara and Magufuli in asserting financial independence. The paragraph also discusses the potential for Africa to make international financial institutions irrelevant by refusing their funds and focusing on self-financing. The speaker calls for African leaders to respect themselves and their nations to gain respect from others, highlighting the importance of self-reliance and unity in the face of external pressures.

Keywords

💡IMF (International Monetary Fund)

The IMF is an international financial institution created in 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference, primarily by British and American economists. In the video, it is criticized for being an 'economic enslaver,' designed to keep countries, especially in Africa, in perpetual debt and economic dependence. The speaker argues that the IMF's control over economies extends to political and military influence.

💡World Bank

The World Bank is another financial institution established in 1944, at the same conference as the IMF. Like the IMF, it is portrayed in the video as an entity that enforces economic dependence in African countries. The speaker implies that African countries were excluded from its creation and are now subjected to external control through loans and economic aid.

💡Bretton Woods

Bretton Woods refers to the conference held in New Hampshire in 1944, where the IMF and World Bank were established. The video notes that no African countries were part of this process, and these institutions were primarily designed to benefit European nations in their post-war recovery. This exclusion is highlighted as a foundation for continued economic exploitation.

💡Marshall Plan

The Marshall Plan was a U.S.-funded initiative aimed at rebuilding European economies after World War II. In the video, it is mentioned as part of the context in which the IMF and World Bank were created. The speaker contrasts this support for Europe with the economic control imposed on African nations, highlighting a legacy of inequality.

💡Economic Enslavement

The term 'economic enslavement' in the video refers to how African countries are kept in perpetual debt and dependency on international institutions like the IMF and World Bank. The speaker argues that these institutions deliberately control economies to maintain political and military dominance over African nations, effectively limiting their sovereignty.

💡African Development Bank

The African Development Bank was intended to be a financial institution for Africa, aimed at funding African economic initiatives. However, the video suggests that it has been 'paralyzed' and 'captured' by foreign powers, particularly the U.S., Japan, and the UK, which control its operations despite its African name. This is highlighted as a failure to build African self-reliance.

💡Neocolonialism

Neocolonialism refers to the continued influence of former colonial powers over African countries, not through direct political control, but via economic, cultural, and military means. The speaker criticizes institutions like the IMF, World Bank, and even NGOs for perpetuating this form of control over African nations, ensuring their dependency and lack of true independence.

💡Thomas Sankara

Thomas Sankara was a revolutionary leader of Burkina Faso who is praised in the video for rejecting loans and advocating for African self-reliance. The speaker mentions Sankara's stance on halting debt payments and demanding reparations for slavery and colonization, emphasizing his boldness and the risks he took, including his eventual assassination.

💡John Joseph Magufuli

John Joseph Magufuli, the former President of Tanzania, is mentioned as a leader who demonstrated that African nations could finance their own development without external aid. The speaker highlights Magufuli's projects, such as hydroelectric power, funded by Tanzanian resources, as a successful example of rejecting dependence on foreign institutions like the IMF.

💡Self-reliance

Self-reliance is a recurring theme in the video, with the speaker advocating for African countries to stop relying on foreign aid and loans. By raising funds internally and using local resources, African nations can break free from the control of external financial institutions and assert their independence, as exemplified by leaders like Thomas Sankara and John Magufuli.

Highlights

The IMF and World Bank were created in 1944 at Bretton Woods, without African participation.

African countries were later incorporated into the IMF and World Bank systems post-independence.

The IMF and World Bank are accused of being economic enslavers, designed to maintain perpetual dependency.

Control over a country's economy by these institutions is seen as a means to control its politics.

The presence of military bases is linked to the control exerted by foreign powers over African nations.

African armies are often trained by foreign powers, influencing their worldview.

The African Development Bank was intended to finance African affairs independently but has been influenced by non-African shareholders.

The African Union is largely financed by external sources, including NGOs, which can dictate policy.

The narrative calls for Africa to rethink how it finances its affairs to achieve true independence.

Greg Mills' book is recommended for insight into why Africa is poor and potential solutions.

The book 'Bad Samaritans' by Ha-Joon Chang critiques the IMF's role in Africa and other continents.

Dependency on the IMF and World Bank results in economies being mere shadows of larger economies.

Examples of Latin American countries breaking free from the IMF and World Bank are given.

The idea of raising funds from African millionaires and billionaires is proposed to reduce dependency on foreign funding.

Neocolonialists like George Soros and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are criticized for their influence.

Self-financing through domestic resources, as demonstrated by Tanzania's hydroelectric power project, is praised.

Leaders like Thomas Sankara and John Magufuli are commended for their stance against foreign financial control.

The concept of 'methodical madness' is introduced as a necessary step for liberation from financial dependence.

A call for African leaders to treat themselves with respect and not be summoned to Europe and America.

Transcripts

uh when the IMF and the World Bank were

created in Breton Woods in New Hampshire

in the United States it was in 1944.

none of the African countries

participated in this creation it was

British and American economists and it

was specifically designed at that time

during the rebuilding of Europe the

implementation of the Marshall Plan and

when we regained our independence as

African countries were then grafted into

it

IMF and World Bank are economic

enslavers what they are designed to do

is to ensure that we are in a Perpetual

state of that you can never get out of

IMF and Bretton Woods institutions

generally because they want to ensure

that they control your economy and when

they control your economy they control

your politics and when they control your

politics they control you and when they

control you they bring in military bases

and when they bring in military bases

they could determine who governs you

because if you don't play ball they are

going to instigate their armies to

overthrow you because in any event

African armies want to be trained in

Sandhurst they still want to be trained

in the United States of America so they

have their world view is still dictated

by those foreign powers what we must do

as a continent is to use our Institution

for purposes of financing our Affairs

the African Development Bank was going

to be such an engine but you now know

that it has almost 88 here the second

largest shareholders the United States

of America Japan has shareholding the

United Kingdom as shareholders

shareholding they have seized and

captured and paralyzed African

Development Bank it is only African name

and as they say he or she who pays the

piper calls the tune

even this sanction that you see being

deployed against countries such as

Zimbabwe is because we don't have an

African institution and one of the

things that I hope that Africa and Union

will begin to do particularly when we

are going to celebrate 60 years since

the creation of the oau now Au in the

23rd 24th and 25th days of May in Addis

Ababa Ethiopia is to rethink how we

Finance our Affairs Africa in Union

itself is almost 70 percent financed

from outside

financed even by NGO such as giz and rol

vollenberg Institute and European ngos

and what they do is they simply tell you

if their gender is a climate they tell

you to go to climate if the agenda is

human rights now the main agenda is

lgbtqi they tell you if you don't behave

we are going to cut Aid

and

Greg Mills talks about why Africa is

poor and what Africa can do about it I

think that this will should look at

these books and what they have writing

written in terms of research very keenly

there's a good book which has been

written by the Korea Hai Jun Chung

called the bad Samaritans and in the bad

Samaritans the actually specifically

talks about and against the IMF and its

activities in the continent of Africa

and in Latin America and elsewhere and

arrives at the conclusion

that as long as we are dependent on IMF

and World Bank our economies are simply

going to be Shadow economies of the

American economy or the Russian economy

or the Chinese economy of the British

economy or the European Union economy

and the time is now

Latin America at a certain stage Chile

and Argentina actually and Brazil

succeeded in winning themselves of the

breasts of the IMF and World Bank we

must now do it

if we don't you'll be amazed and even at

a small level we can make all these

organizations irrelevant than neither

cedar or this little organization we

tell them we don't want your money they

give you a hundred thousand dollars they

think they own you and own your future

generation they ask you to provide

report every week and they proceed from

the premise that you are Thief you are

stealing from them anyway you have no

Independence your dignity is lost so

today

through my Foundation now we want to

raise funds but only from Africans

it's possible that they are African

Millionaires and billionaires who if we

are able to persuade them that we are

going to do a good job should be the

ones that are going to finance and fund

us

not some not George Soros

or Bill and Melinda Gates or Tony player

Institute these are neocolonialists

whose only agenda is to control us and

to manipulate us and when they sit they

look at us and say oh this God forsaken

people and you can see why they react so

aggressively when individuals like

Sankara said we are not taking we're not

taking loans or even magufuli who I

believe

demonstrate and I had a meeting several

meetings with John Joseph Pompey

magufuli and he said we are going to

finance our activities through the taxes

that we raise and indeed the Joe Julius

camaraderi hydroelectric power was

financed almost exclusively through

Tanzanian resources the gusts from tuara

to ran Salam the same thing the sgr

almost the same thing it can be done and

he demonstrated that it can be done and

John Joseph pompe maguful is one person

who said I'm not even going to attend

these useless meetings and they never

did and he never did he said we have our

embassies in those places what is the

work of our ambassador Thomas

Sankara said in 1987 at the meeting of

the oau at that time he said we should

even stop paying the debts in any event

we deserve reparations for slavery we

deserve reparations for colonization and

if we take a joint decision as Africans

that we are not going to pay debts what

will they do to us will the nuclear bomb

us all of us

so their needs and Thomas Sankara was

right that in order to liberate yourself

from some of these things some element

of methodical Madness is necessary

indeed yeah it is and he understood the

the danger that came with saying that of

course because he told them if they

don't agree they don't join him he won't

be back in the next meeting absolutely

and and he knew Tomah Sankara actually

knew and he said he knew was planning

his murder and he knew it was his best

friend and they said if it is him have

no defense let him betray me but I won't

say that and and you've got to have

something like that not these

individuals now you see the African

leaders saying oh they agree with what

I've been saying all along that they

should not own 54 of them be summoned to

Europe and America but you wait during

the coronation of Charles

they'll once again be trooping to London

and they'll be headed into buses again

then they'll come back and complain so

you must treat yourself with respect if

you want to be respected