By Ndumiso from South Africa Published 9 January 2025
This is the transcript of the introduction by Ndumiso to the discussion on the global situation held during the meeting of the PRMI on 14 December 2024. It has been slightly edited for stylistic reasons.
I want to focus my introduction on developments in Africa. Generally, we are in a period that is marked by war, genocide, The fallout from the climate catastrophe is growing. This year has been the hottest this year on record due to capitalist activity which thrives off of destruction of the natural environment.
The new cold war is still a factor in the situation alongside competition from and between the different regional powers. Economic growth across the world is still quite slow following the pandemic. Many economies in Europe, for example, have not grown at previously expected rates. And the same can be said for China and the US. So, the imperialist powers are looking to squeeze more out of the global sound.
40 years ago, a play was published by Zakes Mda. The play was titled “We shall sing for the fatherland” and described how inequality and injustice continue in post-colonial countries. It described how the leaders of liberation movements turn their backs on even their own freedom fighters once they get into power. In 2024, the same processes are still being played out.
Inequality is quite visible across Africa, and it’s a reminder that under capitalism, wealth is concentrated in fewer hands. For example, in 2023, the richest 1% in South Africa controlled 55% of the wealth in the country. This made the country the most unequal society in the world. But there is a similar trend visible in other countries in sub–Saharan Africa. Statistics suggest that last year, across Sub Saharan Africa, the highest 10% received 56% of the total income.
This means that people living in extreme poverty are confronted with lavish displays of wealth. This obviously sustains anger within the working class. Furthermore, the poly crisis that the capitalist system is in at the moment means that the ruling class has been adding pressure on the working class. Basically, they have been offloading their responsibility for fixing the system onto the most oppressed in society. So as in other parts of the world, the elites have been relying on using brutal violence to maintain control. And, also, they have been manoeuvring so that they can remain in power in the face of countless waves of mass action.
The manoeuvrings of imperialists such as those in Russia have also had an impact on other regions, for example, in Syria. While the Russian imperialists have tried to replace France as the dominant power in parts of Africa, their defeat in Syria has now opened up new questions. It still remains to be seen what impact the toppling of Assad will have on other regions. But the message is so far that it is possible for regimes that seem too big to fail to be overthrown.
This year, significant protests took place in many countries, including Kenya, that show how unsatisfied young people are with the current old leadership. In addition to femicide, the youth took to the streets to condemn proposed tax increases in Kenya. Their struggles are no different from the hardships that have been felt by people in a place like Bangladesh, where they’re suffering the effects of the debt crisis.
More than half of the 1,4 billion people living in Africa are around or under 20 years of age. And predictions suggest that there will be more than 2,4 billion people living in Africa by 2050. But despite the youthfulness of the population, many countries on the continent are ruled by old leaders. For example, the dictator in Cameroon Paul Biya is 91 years old. Inevitably, it is difficult for many young people to trust the former liberation movements that are still in power today.
The government in South Africa, the ruling party has been in power for 30 years. And the ruling party in Zimbabwe has been in power for 44 years. Many young people feel that the leaders from these sort of movements are too old to care about the challenges such as gender equality or climate change. This is because they will most likely not live long enough to suffer the full consequences from these catastrophes. And, secondly, they have been shown to be power hungry and corrupt, just focusing on personal gain.
Thirdly, they have failed to improve the living conditions of the populations in general. This year, there have been public demonstrations led by thousands of people outraged by the political elites’ attitude to the disastrous conditions that women face in Kenya, for example.
Attempts to vote out these leaders out of power this year have been met by election rigging in many countries. This includes through the buying of votes and creating ghost voters.
In Mozambique there were places that had 105% voter turnouts, as an example. And this has been met by protests, which have been escalating. They were kicked off after 2 members of the opposition were murdered. And today, more than 100 people have lost their lives in those protests.
So, the message from the regime is clear. They are willing to use violence to maintain their decades-long rule. The protests have led to the closing of borders, with other countries such as South Africa. This has impacted countries like South Africa and Zambia since the protest began. There is a long history of these governments protecting one another after allegations of illegitimate elections come out.
This is part of the reason why there has been such a determination from the people to continue with the protests. People have called out that the ruling party in South Africa has often protected these governments in other countries. Instead, they focus on scapegoating poor migrants who are just trying to make a living in South Africa, from countries like Nigeria. Between January 2022 and August 2024, about 90,000 people were deported from South Africa to other countries in Africa.
The South African “Government of National Unity” is referred to as a “Government of No Understanding” made up of corrupt individuals, careerists, even a convicted, gangster.
Although the South African government was able to obtain an ICC decision on the crisis in Gaza, people see this as being hypocritical because they are silent on the crisis that people are facing within their own borders. South Africa is seen as attempting a form of imperialist domination or power within the region. That is why they try to maintain friendly ties with other, older leaders.
The UN refugee agency estimates that 11 million people, of whom 5 million are children, have been displaced since April last year in Sudan. In this crisis, there are other countries that have shown that they’re willing to play a destructive role such as Russia, which has tried to fund both sides that are fighting in this conflict.
This conflict, of course, began a few years after the Sudanese people rose up to fight against the long-time dictator al Bashir. The people’s revolution was met by violent counterrevolution that has just continued to deteriorate over the years.
In Uganda, one of the most repressive laws against same sex relationships was passed last year. It faced muchcriticism, but many people felt afraid to speak out because that law also came with the possibility of facing the death penalty.
In another Eastern African country, Kenya, there have been demonstrations against the high rates of femicides that take place. Unfortunately, these protests were met by police repression with protesters hit with tear gas and so on. But these protests are very significant because they’ve added inspiration to other parts of the continent such as in Mauritania.
In Mauritania, sexual violence and rape are not considered a crime. But this year, thousands of people have gone out to demonstrate, especially after reports surfaced of a gruesome assault that took place in the home of a young student, carried out by a group of men while her father was also in the house. These protests have brought back discussions about putting a law in place. There was a law that was suggested in 2016, but that process had stopped previously.
We have seen young people playing important roles in fighting against some of the injustices and the inequalities in the continent. And I think it is encouraging that it is highly likely that the old men in office are going to face a serious fight agaainst them in the coming years.