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Whenever I take part in meetings of this kind, I marvel at how good the general population, whom usually nobody listens to, is at analysing facts, making suggestions, giving evidence, reporting experiences, once given an opportunity to speak. All this proves that they themselves know what is good for them. All along these encounters, contributions become more focused and the hope arises: “another world is really possible”. - a world in which Africa will fully liberate itself from its unfair and unsustainable debt and open up investment opportunities with the Banque du Sud, that are less predatory and top down oriented than in today’s international financial institutions, dominated by the interests of Western powers solely; - a world in which Africa will free itself from famine and food dependence, to maintain food sovereignty “by means of support and protection for its agriculture against unfair trade and against multinational seed companies, which threaten bio-diversity and create new forms of dependence;
- a world in which Africa will break away from its corrupt leaders, who are bowing more to Northern profits than to the well-being of their own people, more concerned with accumulating personal wealth than with the happiness of their citizens; - a world in which Africa will stay free from all the violence against women, so that they can achieve full status in areas where they already carry more than their share of the burden of production and day-to-day livelihood;
- a world where Africa, just as Latin America does today, will liberate itself from the multinationals and regain control over its assets, by re-nationalising profitable industries, public services and strategic sectors and no longer be “beggars sitting on a heap of diamonds” - in which Africa will cast off its old and unacceptable protectorates and take its rightful place, speak its mind and have a say in the international institutions.
Below are some of the highlights picked up during the lectures and debates that I attended. They give us food for thought and help us analyse our own situation in Burkina Faso. - “We will only succeed in the development of our agriculture through the combined success of all the micro-farming ventures” Family farming remains the back-bone of West African agricultural production. Supporting it is an absolute priority, if we are to come out of misery and under-development.
- “I am a settler here. I was born in the Niger river valley. That Mali has to suffer from famine is intolerable. “Let us work to make sure we can feed ourselves” . The development of the lowlands must be followed up to make sure that we can provide food for the population at large. If farmers are offered a better price for their products, a rapid increase in production should be possible; - Land is sold off. Agri-business is privileged. Farmers are left destitute … The principle of “land to the farmers” has not won the day. Women do not have access to land, neither do the young …Agrarian reform, property legislation, secure tenure for farmers on the land they till, are all urgent issues. If these matters are not resolved, they could trigger violent disputes between those who take control of the most fertile soils and those who are left behind.” - The Strategic Framework for the Fight against Poverty (CSLP – Cadre stratégique de lutte contre la pauvreté) is yet another vision imposed by external agencies. It embodies the neo-liberal version which in no way helps resolve the problem of poverty, on the contrary it aggravates it further.” A bitter statement of facts, which applies to Burkina Faso just as much. The Strategic Framework policy, commissioned by external institutions, should be revisited from top to bottom: How is it possible to fight poverty without tackling its causes? - The fact that the CFA franc is linked to the Euro keeps us and our economies in chains. “Do we need a “strong” currency, or do we need a currency that enables us to export our production?” Would the important monetary reserves that we hold not be better invested here on the spot than on frozen accounts in Paris? - Micro-finance is hard to come by and, at any rate, insufficient. Often lending conditions are too stringent and the interest rates are exceedingly high. If no credit is available to those who want to start a business, women, families, young people often wait desperately for a small amount of money, that could get them going in something that brings in an income … but they do not find it. - The world is sick and the doctors at its bedside are incompetent … We have been brainwashed by advertising … What is the use of laying our misery open before the world without ever finding a solution … We must break free from the domination of language, of currencies, of the neo-liberal system … We must urgently set up local markets and “buy Malian” … The people must discipline its leaders” (Amina Traoré). - Free trade has been a source of misery for populations, who live in a context of globalisation and domination by the Western world, which has accumulated assets at home on a scale larger than ever before in history. - “We must open doors where others build fortresses” At Koulikoro the young called for the right to cross frontiers - a right already granted to capital and goods - to travel and look for a better future than they are able to find at home. Why is it that the leaders do not hear the outcry of their people and of the young? “Our lives are worth more than your profits” Koudougou, July 18th 2008 Jacques LACOUR (
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Click here to read the final declaration on the official site of the forum.
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