In this week's episode of African News Review, Adesoji Iginla in conversation with Milton Allimadi discuss various news stories related to Africa in the Western Media
In this conversation, Adesoji Iginla and Milton Allimadi discussed recent events in Kenya, Congo, Sudan, and South Africa.
They cover topics such as protests against tax increases in Kenya, they looked controversial deals in Congo involving Israeli tycoon Dan Gertler, touched on accusations of UAE fuelling the war in Sudan, and deconstructed an article in The Economist praising the coalition government in South Africa.
The conversation highlights issues of taxation, resource exploitation, racism, and political alliances.
Chapters
00:00 Protests against Tax Increases in Kenya
10:01 Controversial Deals in Congo
38:56 The Economist's Article on South Africa's Coalition Government
52:57 Importance of Historical and Geopolitical Context in Analyzing Media Narratives
In this week's episode of African News Review, Adesoji Iginla in conversation with Milton Allimadi discuss various news stories related to Africa in the Western Media
In this conversation, Adesoji Iginla and Milton Allimadi discussed recent events in Kenya, Congo, Sudan, and South Africa.
They cover topics such as protests against tax increases in Kenya, they looked controversial deals in Congo involving Israeli tycoon Dan Gertler, touched on accusations of UAE fuelling the war in Sudan, and deconstructed an article in The Economist praising the coalition government in South Africa.
The conversation highlights issues of taxation, resource exploitation, racism, and political alliances.
Chapters
00:00 Protests against Tax Increases in Kenya
10:01 Controversial Deals in Congo
38:56 The Economist's Article on South Africa's Coalition Government
52:57 Importance of Historical and Geopolitical Context in Analyzing Media Narratives
Adesoji Iginla (00:01.145)
Yes, good evening and welcome again to Adesuji Speaks and African News Review. As usual, I have my guest with me. He's none other than comrade Milton Alimadi. He is our regular in -house host. He needs no further introduction. And yes, quick, we should go into it. Kenya.
Milton Allimadi (00:30.112)
Yes.
Adesoji Iginla (00:30.201)
Kenya has been in the news. And for those who are unaware, there's been some upheaval in Kenya, largely due to the fact that people were out in the streets questioning why they shouldn't pay three times the price of what they normally would do for their staples. And as a result, matters have gone awry. As at
going to coming on air, 22 people have lost their lives and the bill in itself has now been withdrawn. But in order to understand what led to this, we will go to an article I found in the AP. Allow me share my screen. And it's the debt rises to 22 a day after Kenyan protesters storm parliament over plans to raise taxes.
Kenya faced the lingering smell of tear gas and military in the streets Wednesday, a day after protesters stormed parliament over a tax plan that would have increased the cost of living, an act of defiance that President William Ruto called an existential threat. At least 22 people were killed, a human rights group said. The capital Nairobi has seen protests in the past, but activists and others warned the stakes were much more dangerous after the biggest assault on Kenya's government in decades.
Ruto called the events treasonous and vowed to squash unrest at whatever cost. Soldiers patrolled along police who have been accused of shooting several people dead on Tuesday. Your thoughts, comrade.
Milton Allimadi (02:12.364)
Okay, well, first of all, obviously, we feel bad for our sisters and brothers who were killed by security forces in Kenya. And I very much doubt that the 22 people killed, those who were wounded were, as President Ruto put it, people that were committing an act of treason.
Adesoji Iginla (02:37.849)
Mm -hmm.
Milton Allimadi (02:39.148)
He also said that the protests had been infiltrated by criminals. I also very much doubt that those 22 people were criminals or that the wounded were criminals as well. I think this was clearly an overreaction by the state, by the elite who live in fear, by virtue of knowing that there's a vast
a gap in the standard of living by the ruling elite and by the people whom they wanted to impose additional taxes on. And the taxes included items that you need to sustain your life, such as food, such as cooking oil. So it's unfortunate that it came to this. Obviously,
They could see by the size of the protests that had been going on for quite a bit now, the protests that had been peaceful but very widespread, that this was a very serious issue. So at the end of the day, they realized how serious it was by shelving this bill, this law that had been passed by parliament. Members of parliament are the highest paid elite in Kenya.
Right? So obviously they don't feel the pain of these taxes that they wanted to impose. So now finally, Ruto, President Ruto said he was not going to sign it, but it took 22 deaths, scores of people wounded, a destruction to parts of the city, part of the parliament itself, for them to do the right thing. But this is a temporary situation. And why do I say it's temporary?
It's simply because at the end of the day, Kenya needs revenue to create jobs for its citizens and to quit overtaxing the people that are already overtaxed. But here's the dilemma. Kenya, like any other typical African neocolonial state, does not have the power to tax people that are much more powerful. So for example, the multinational corporations.
Milton Allimadi (05:04.105)
Kenya, as you know, is like the headquarters of all those major global corporations. They have resources, obviously, otherwise they would not be operating in Kenya. So why not direct your taxation at these multinational corporations? Why not direct more taxation at the Kenyan elite who are already doing pretty well? That's what needs to be done.
So I think, as typically happens, when something like this happens, obviously the elite who live in fear of the people whom they rule, they wake up for a little bit. They wait for things to die down, and they may try to reintroduce some other forms of taxation. But here's what's already been said by President Ruto, that there will have to be some belt
tightening. And what does that mean? That means since right now it's quite clear that you're not going to be able to raise taxes from people that are already being overtaxed. You're going to lay off people that are currently employed by the government. And obviously that goes back to the prescription that the World Bank and IMF always gives to these African countries. They call it austerity program.
Adesoji Iginla (06:05.529)
Hmm.
Adesoji Iginla (06:32.505)
measures.
Milton Allimadi (06:33.992)
or in the past they called it structural adjustment. And that is already what Ruto has said that he's going to do. So guess what? Those people that are going to be newly unemployed are going to join with the ranks of the people that are overtaxed. So what he's doing is merely punting the ball for down the line. So that's my assessment of what is transpiring in Kenya as we speak. I can also add one observation.
Typically, when the state wants to change policy, there are consequences. But typically what we hear are consequences coming from external sources, right? They make you pay the price because they believe that they're the only ones that can exert pressure on African governments. Well, the youth of Kenya...
has not exploded that myth, they've shown that they too can exert pressure on their government. So this may actually be an opportunity for government to learn something, that as you're formulating your policy, don't only take into consideration what the IMF and World Bank are telling you. What has to take priority are what your own citizens.
And in this case, the citizens of Kenya are telling you, they're showing you that you can no longer ignore their needs and their aspirations.
Adesoji Iginla (08:14.969)
Could you also speak quickly to the aspect of the police getting involved knowing fully well they're then expected to play a similar type role in Haiti?
Milton Allimadi (08:28.39)
Well, actually that's ironic because of two reasons. The very day before the turmoil we saw yesterday in Kenya, President Ruto had seen off at the airport the advanced contingent of the 1 ,000 or so Kenya police forces that are to be sent in Haiti. So 400 have been sent already.
Adesoji Iginla (08:30.777)
You
Milton Allimadi (08:56.486)
I believe they landed either yesterday or today. And at the same time, it turns out that you are also applying police and actually military operations within Kenya itself because the armed forces joined the police after it appeared that the police were, well, they were saying overwhelmed, but in my estimation, overreacting. And that's what happened in Kenya. So it's ironic that it's coming at...
at that contradiction. You're going to stabilize Haiti while it seems like you need a lot of stabilization within Kenya as well. And also the day before the incident was also when Kenya was formally introduced or assigned that category as being a non -NATO major ally.
of the United States, but it seems that the overtaxed people of Kenya were not very impressed by that designation.
Adesoji Iginla (10:01.785)
Okay. Now, speaking of taxation, Congo is also in the eye of the storm at the moment. For some reason, Biden administration is seeking to water down the influence of the Chinese and every other person that is in Congo because they go to guy who was helping them to, you know.
get access to minerals has been sanctioned. But in order not to sort of stop themselves on the toll, they are going to ease sanctions on Dan Gatler. I believe you're well aware of that name. The story making the rounds on the Financial Times is that billionaire under sanctions could get $300 million in controversial US Congo deal. Washington.
proposal would ease restrictions on Israeli tycoon Dan Gatler imposed over alleged corruption dealing. Dan Gatler, a billionaire under sanction, is set to receive hundreds of millions of dollars as part of a controversial US plan to lift restrictions on the Israeli tycoon if he sells his remaining mining interest in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Under the proposal,
the treasury will provide Getla with special licenses to sell three royalty streams back to the Congolese government and would eventually grant him a general license to regain access to US financial system. Now, this is the crux. The Biden administration had placed access to such critical minerals at the heart of his policies on Central Africa and has sought to deepen ties in Congo since the election of
Felix, President Felix Tishikedi in a rigged election in 2018. Congo is the world's largest source of cobalt, Africa's largest producer of copper, but the country's mining sector is dominated by Chinese companies. Does that ring any bells?
Milton Allimadi (12:14.502)
Yes. Well, this story, I'm not impressed at all with this story. It's pure propaganda. And obviously, it's many of the stories, once you have a deeper understanding of the premise and the context, you realize how racist it really is. So this Israeli criminal who even the US itself says in the first place, why did you sanction him? Because you said he bribed Congolese officials, right?
Adesoji Iginla (12:21.977)
Okay.
Adesoji Iginla (12:41.529)
Yep. Yep.
Milton Allimadi (12:44.646)
And because of his action of bribing Congolese officials, he deprived the people of Congo and the government of Congo of $1 .3 billion in revenue had the resources that Congo had, its mineral resources been sold at a competitive price into the international market. But because he bribed, he got concessions, Congo already lost $1 .3 billion. Okay? So this guy...
Adesoji Iginla (12:55.769)
$1 ,000 ,000.
Milton Allimadi (13:14.726)
I don't know how many hundreds of millions of dollars he's already made or billions of dollars. And now he has, even though they place the U .S. place sanctions on him, he still has royalty stream from two concessions that he previously had shares in in Congo. And in order for the U .S. to negotiate its way,
negotiate him, this criminal, Gertler, out of the Congolese mining operations, they will allow him to retain $300 million. So in other words, that's his payoff. That's his golden parachute. To get rid of him, he's going to get a golden parachute. And then after that, they're going to ease the sanctions.
on him that would allow him once again to have access to U .S. financial markets. So my question is this, if the U .S. was dealing with a mafia don, would this guy is operating like a mafia don, would the U .S. allow the mafia don to keep proceeds worth $300 million?
Come on, think about it. That's number one. Number two, the U .S. is actively involved in assisting some African countries in recovering resources that were diverted or stolen by former African leaders or former African senior officials. So you're going after these African leaders, misrulers, who stole from their people.
Adesoji Iginla (15:05.529)
Correct. Correct.
Milton Allimadi (15:12.326)
to help these countries recover the money that has been stolen. But instead of helping the Congo recover the $1 .3 billion that it's lost because this guy had been bribing senior Congolese officials, no, you're rewarding him with another $300 million and rewarding him with access to the U .S. financial markets by lifting the sanctions.
It's completely preposterous and it's outrageous. And the explanation is not satisfactory. The explanation does not fly. It's nonsensical. The explanation provided by the Biden administration is that by allowing him to get this payoff, it will force him to exit the Congo mining industry. And that will then allow
Adesoji Iginla (16:09.497)
yet.
Milton Allimadi (16:12.678)
players with so -called clean hands, including US companies, to become involved. Just look at the logic behind it. You are telling us that you're going to assist a criminal. And that's called aiding and abetting, right? You're going to commit another crime in conjunction with somebody who you really said has been bribing. It doesn't fly, it does not meet the smell test.
Adesoji Iginla (16:16.473)
You
Adesoji Iginla (16:26.905)
get out of the way. Yeah, yeah.
Milton Allimadi (16:41.67)
It's completely preposterous and it shows you the level of contempt that they really have for African sovereignty.
Adesoji Iginla (16:46.649)
they have a yeah.
Hmm.
Milton Allimadi (16:51.846)
It's outrageous.
Adesoji Iginla (16:53.113)
Hmm. I mean, what immediately jumped out of me when I read the article was not only is it going to be rewarded with obviously the amount in cash, the access to the financial situation in the U .S., he is effectively being paid to get out of the way so that someone else can come in and plunder. Was to stop
Milton Allimadi (17:22.118)
It doesn't have to be paid to get out of the way. Let me put it this way. So that our comrades listening and watching can also understand what I'm saying.
Adesoji Iginla (17:23.865)
Hahaha
Adesoji Iginla (17:29.593)
Yeah. Good.
Milton Allimadi (17:33.254)
If this was an Arab Muslim businessman, billionaire, do you think the treatment would be the same? Very good. End of case right there. It's very sad, you know? It's very sad. There's double standard.
Adesoji Iginla (17:42.201)
highly unlikely.
Adesoji Iginla (17:51.705)
Highly unlikely. Yes, yes it is. Highly unlikely.
Milton Allimadi (17:55.526)
It's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's
Adesoji Iginla (18:03.481)
Do you think?
Adesoji Iginla (18:14.777)
Speaking of normalized behavior, the French are at it again, this time in Niger. Since last year that the French army has been asked to take leave of Niger, according to the ruling junta, it seems as if now the business side of things is asked to follow suit.
But unfortunately, they're not going quietly. By that, I'm speaking of Francis Orano Mining Group, who has concessions to mine uranium within Niger. And the story goes that...
We have been asked to leave, but we're not going to go quietly. Why are we not going quietly? Niger has removed the mining permit of French nuclear fuel producer, Orano, at one of the largest, biggest uranium mines, the world's biggest uranium mines. The company said Thursday, highlighting tensions between France and the African country really, state owned Orano said it's been excluded.
from the Imarinio mine in northern Niger, which sits on an estimated 200 ,000 tons of the metal, widely used for nuclear energy and weapons. Orano said the decision would have negative impact on the economic, social, and societal development of the region. Niger is the world's seventh largest producer of uranium and has the highest grade ores on the African continent.
This is Orano now speaking. It reserves the right to take legal measures to challenge the decision in the national or international courts. The French firm, Formalia Riva, had been present in Niger since 1971, extracting raw materials intended mainly for France's nuclear industry. What say you, sir?
Milton Allimadi (20:27.931)
Okay, very good. Actually, I think a Niger should let them sue, which I think would actually be brilliant. Let them sue, and I'll tell you why it's good to let them sue. Because, you know, when you read an article like this, you almost have to like look at the opposite of what is being said, right? So, for example, the article is presenting as if Niger are the...
bad guys in this situation. Right? Here are a couple of interesting points.
Adesoji Iginla (20:59.961)
Thank you.
Milton Allimadi (21:08.282)
They say this company has been operating since 1971. Right?
Adesoji Iginla (21:12.057)
21. Yeah.
Milton Allimadi (21:16.442)
benefiting from uranium since 1971. And as you know, France uses nuclear energy to power 75 % of its energy needs. And without the uranium from Niger, it's going to have major problems. And that's why it's talking about suing. But the question is this. You've been operating and digging and exporting these very valuable resources since 1971.
So you're telling us that you've basically been exploiting Niger for 53 years because the country has become even much more impoverished than it was when you started operating 53 years ago. So I would, if I'm Niger, I would invite them to sue because when you're sued, then you get to depose. You do discovery, right? So you're going to the...
Adesoji Iginla (22:12.665)
Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm.
Milton Allimadi (22:15.225)
to depose their officials, you're going to discover all these documents and deals and agreements. And number one, you're going to prove through those documents that there was a lot of shady deals that occurred, number one. Number two, you're going to be able to prove to the world how unconscionable those contracts were in the first place. And I have the proof already that they were unconscionable.
just by looking at the per capita income of Niger and look at the region from where those resources are being dug. One of the most impoverished regions in a country, that is one of the most impoverished in Africa. So I think the ball is actually in Niger's court. They're sitting very well. I would tell them, bring it on. Bring on that lawsuit.
Adesoji Iginla (22:59.929)
You
In Niche's court. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Adesoji Iginla (23:11.833)
I mean, you said the way the article has been framed is to make Niger out to be the bad guy. The opening statement there where he says they've been excluded. It's almost as if you're saying, why are you not letting us access to it? I mean.
Milton Allimadi (23:30.521)
No, why are you not letting us continue to steal? That's the translation, you see? Yeah, and it doesn't stop there.
Milton Allimadi (23:45.144)
France has been exploiting Niger's uranium since before independence. So Niger should actually say, let's open the books and go even before 1960, before independence. And then they will be begging for, they will withdraw this lawsuit in a quick minute. And then they will start negotiating if Niger is interested in the terms of the new relationship.
Adesoji Iginla (23:50.393)
Mm -hmm.
Milton Allimadi (24:14.488)
which should involve repayment of some of the money stolen during the life of the existing and previous contracts. And if Nijad does that, it will set a very good example for other African countries as well. That we really mean serious business, you see.
Adesoji Iginla (24:33.593)
That's yeah.
And it's about time that such a line is taken because you, when I say you, for the West, they refer to Africa as a rich resource continent. But yet, you look on the face of the whole thing, it's almost as if we are talking about something completely off.
It's almost like there's no basis for that statement. And yet stuff comes out of mineral resources. Now even human beings are coming out of the continent, taking away brain drain, material drain, mineral resources, everything follows. And yet the continent is still derided. You're not pulling... Good.
Milton Allimadi (25:30.551)
Yeah, but we have to twist our own words back at them. So when they say mineral resource rich countries, when we read it, we have to explain to our viewers that they're admitting that they're stealing from Africa because they don't complete the sentence. It should be mineral rich resource countries who are forced to sell their resources.
Adesoji Iginla (25:38.201)
Mm -hmm.
Adesoji Iginla (25:46.873)
You
Milton Allimadi (26:00.535)
at well below the market price because they set the artificial market, right? So they're undervaluing our resources and that explains it. So we should...
Adesoji Iginla (26:06.073)
Hmm. Hmm.
Milton Allimadi (26:17.911)
latch on to those words and point out that, aha, you're actually admitting that you're stealing from us. And why? You're admitting it by acknowledging that we're mineral rich. So now what you're not addressing in these articles is, if they're mineral rich, why are they impoverished? And that's the story you don't want to deal with, you see? So the clue, the evidence, everything is out there.
Adesoji Iginla (26:19.545)
Hmm.
Adesoji Iginla (26:38.521)
Good question.
Ha ha ha.
Milton Allimadi (26:45.334)
But the way it's written is disjointed. And our ability on this platform, our challenge rather, is to show our viewers and listeners how to connect all the pieces together. So you go to a murder scene, right? But the evidence is scattered all over the place, right? But it's there. So we need to become good detectives in reading these stories. Everything is there for us to piece together.
Adesoji Iginla (26:58.905)
Mm. Mm.
Milton Allimadi (27:16.119)
And after a while, you know, people that join us on this platform, they will become individually better in piecing all these evidence together.
Adesoji Iginla (27:28.281)
Speaking of piecing evidence together, Sudan recently accused the United Arab Emirates of fueling the ongoing war in Sudan, most especially in the Darfur region. And it's come to a head that even the UN Secretary General and also the US representative at
The UN also acknowledged the fact that, yes, the UAE is playing a role. But obviously, the UAE pushes back on the accusations saying, everything's are forced allegations. But, owing from the story in the...
Adesoji Iginla (28:21.913)
AP, according to AP, Sudan accuses the United Arab Emirates of whaling the war with weapons to paramilitary rivals. UAE calls claim ludicrous. We read further. The United Nations, the Sudanese government accused United Arab Emirates on Tuesday of whaling the 14 -month war in the African country.
Milton Allimadi (28:37.46)
you
Adesoji Iginla (28:51.609)
by providing weapons to paramilitary force. The UAE dismissed the allegations as ludicrous, calling a shameful abuse by one of the warning parties. But Sudanese ambassador Al Harith Mohammed accused the paramilitary rapid support force of destructively launching its war with the Sudanese military and attacking civilians aided by weapons from the UAE. He said that Sudan has
evidence of the UAE supplying weapons and the government will supply a file on UAE's actions to the International Criminal Court. The UAE Ambassador Mohammed Abdu -Shabab said these are forced allegations and demanded to know why Sudan refuses to return to peace talks. Now, these last two parts are very poignant.
UN experts monitoring an arms embargo in Darfur reported credible evidence in January that the UAE sent weapons to the rapid support forces several times a week from Northern Chad. US Ambassador Linda Thompson -Greenfield on Tuesday reiterated a US appeal to all external actors to stop fueling and prolonging this conflict and enabling these atrocities.
by sending weapons to Sudan. So what do you think? Why is everybody pointing at the elephant but not calling the elephant for what it is?
Milton Allimadi (30:30.515)
Well, because it has oil.
Adesoji Iginla (30:33.529)
Hmm.
Milton Allimadi (30:34.067)
You know, UAE has oil, so you can't burn the hand that feeds your rapacious appetite for oil. You see? But the story has many contradictions also. And that's when the more history you know, right, the more of the geopolitics that you understand.
Adesoji Iginla (30:43.737)
Incessible.
Adesoji Iginla (30:57.657)
Mm -hmm.
Milton Allimadi (31:01.394)
the better you are in a position to place the article in context. So the article, first of all, the premise is telling us that the government of Sudan is complaining that the United Arab Emirates is supplying weapons to the RSF, Rapid Support Forces, one faction in this ongoing carnage.
in Sudan. But we who know the total context, we must reject this article from the get -go. So when they talk about the Sudanese ambassador to the United Nations, they should make it clear that this is the Sudanese ambassador of the illegitimate military regime that controls parts of the capital of Khartoum. You see?
The only reason why this propagandist article is trying to sort of rehabilitate a little bit is because obviously the US cannot align itself with the RSF, which is actually a continuation in a different form of the Janjaweed, who are accused, of course, of carrying out the original massacres in Darfur a few decades ago.
Adesoji Iginla (32:26.233)
And I fool.
Milton Allimadi (32:32.306)
And then, on the other hand...
The other side, which is a military regime in Khartoum, is being backed by Egypt and other countries. And obviously Egypt is a strong U .S. ally. It's been a strong U .S. ally, or U .S. I can't say ally because they're an equal power, you know? A U .S. enforcer in the region since the peace agreement.
Adesoji Iginla (32:43.417)
Mmm.
Adesoji Iginla (32:56.505)
You
Adesoji Iginla (33:01.913)
local sheriff.
Milton Allimadi (33:05.776)
with between Israel and Egypt, correct? They are fighting now, the RSF and the military regime in Khartoum, because both of them disrupted a peace process that had been negotiated with the civilians who helped depose General Bashia through their uprising.
Adesoji Iginla (33:10.681)
Yeah, all right.
Milton Allimadi (33:36.015)
By shedding blood, they came out to the streets. At one time, more than 100 or 150 were shot and killed, and they kept coming until they deposed the military regime of Omar Hassan al -Bashir, who, by the way, had groomed and developed the RSF, thinking that by having two armed forces, it would ensure his longevity and power, because each one would counterbalance the other, right?
And now these two armed forces are burning down the entire country. So I have no sympathy for this article because both of these actors are very malign. They should all be held accountable to what they're doing to the Sudan and what they did by hijacking the peace process that was about to end up with a civilian administration, a civilian -conducted election.
in the Sudan and yet they chose to take this country on this war path. So all these elements are left out of this important article. So in fact, ironically, the UAE, which of course is playing a malign role, just like everybody else that are supplying arms to any one of the factions, including Egypt, ironically is correct by saying, you know, you are just
one of the factions in this conflict.
Milton Allimadi (35:11.599)
So that much is true. Both of them, at some point in history, should be held accountable for the crimes that they have unleashed on the innocent civilians in the Sudan.
Milton Allimadi (36:02.511)
Yeah, but my comeback would be, because this is the mentality I want our listeners and viewers to adopt, at the end of the day, the culprit is not the United Arab Emirates. The culprit is our incompetent misrulers who allow this to happen. And by setting this, because it's very difficult for our people to impact the United Arab Emirates, us, we can have some.
some measure of causing them some annoyance by exposing them on this type of platform. But at the end of the day, what Kenya has proven to all Africans is that our people can actually impact the direction that our governments take. Because now we have the social media platform to mobilize. So we must demand that our governments
take care of the interests of the citizens. Otherwise, we remove them. We remove them by protests and demonstrations. And in Kenya, you see Ruto is now backing off a little bit, but as I said, for now, absolutely, there's going to be more exchange down the line. And we have to keep these type of exchanges and pressure until we have
the government that we believe is doing its best in fulfilling the interests of African citizens.
Milton Allimadi (37:59.343)
Yes, yes that, yeah, let's go through that. That is one of the most racist of all the racist articles that I've read recently from The Economist, you know.
you know, it's a racist nougat and I want our people to learn how to read through sugar -coated racism and call them out. We want as many Africans as possible calling them out by tweeting and using their Twitter handle in your tweets, you know.
Milton Allimadi (38:39.467)
Yes, yes, absolutely.
Milton Allimadi (38:56.203)
Okay.
Milton Allimadi (41:52.139)
Okay, very good. How long is this article again? How many pages? Four pages. So four pages of an apology for apartheid, for reactionary politics, for racism. First of all, in the four pages,
Milton Allimadi (42:20.043)
It does not even pretend what its agenda is. It does not mention once, not even one time, that unemployment of Black South Africans ranges from 37 % to 40%. Number one. Number two, it does not mention the word land reform or land redistribution.
Instead, there's a reference to Zuma being South Africa's Mugabe. And of course, Mugabe is hated by almost every European who knows, who heard of Zimbabwe, because he dared to return the lands to the Africans, when in fact, he had been promised that the money to buy the land would come from Britain and the United States.
Britain reneged on that promise and then the United States said Britain is not a part of it. There's nothing for us to match because we were going to match whatever Britain was going to provide. So that part is always missing in the narrative of how the land was given back to Africans in Zimbabwe. Completely disingenuous and dishonest, but that's what they always do.
So in this article, you're hailing that this is a moment of remarkable achievement. Why? Because a party, the Democratic Alliance, which rejects the notion of land reform, which believes that it's fine for Europeans and Africans that make up 7 .3 % of the population should continue to control
72 % of the land while Africans who make up 80 % should continue to control 4 % of the land because the balance of the land is controlled by Indian South Africans and what are called colored South Africans as mixed race population of South Africa referred to. So you're celebrating
Milton Allimadi (44:46.507)
coalition government between the A and C and this party that is actually yearning for the good old days of apartheid. And you call that remarkable. This is a moment to be celebrated. You're even using Bishop Desmond Tutu's name in vain. Of course, Bishop Tutu would not like this. Bishop Tutu risked his life during the era of fighting against apartheid.
He led marches on the streets. He was in dangerous situations many times. They were not fighting for cosmetic change. They were fighting apartheid because they wanted the land and the resources of South Africa to be accessed by the majority population, which is the Africans, and not to be the exclusive domain.
of European South Africa, which it still is today, 30 years after apartheid. So instead of doing a serious story about how can we really get rid of structural apartheid, you're celebrating something which is temporary, because anyone with common sense and just an average level of intelligence can see that this arrangement will not last.
You have a party which is your key ally in the government of national unity and it's already drawn the line on the soil. There will be no land reform. We're going to continue holding on to the land. There will be no black economic empowerment.
You know, I don't know what kind of universe that this alliance, this coalition lives in. And obviously we know that the economist lives in a different universe altogether. Not our universe. Does not share any of the African aspirations. And it's telling us clearly that their feeling toward Africans is the same way
Milton Allimadi (47:02.091)
that the Democratic Alliance political party feels toward Africans. That's what the economist is telling us.
Milton Allimadi (47:14.283)
And there's a very interesting part.
Milton Allimadi (47:19.819)
First of all, it dismisses MK. It dismisses the economic freedom fighters. And then it has to celebrate the ANC. It's only celebrating the ANC because the ANC is in partnership with the European control party, the Democratic Alliance. The MK and the economic freedom fighters both sprung from
the ANC. So how can you demonize parts of the ANC, which simply now has a different name? As far as I know, the ANC has not yet officially abandoned the fight against apartheid, which is to recover the resources for the majority of the population. So on the one hand, you can't celebrate the ANC by condemning other parts of ANC.
which has now taken different names, which is the MK and the economic freedom fighters. And then two other points. It makes reference to what Julius Malema, or his deputy, I believe, of the economic freedom fighters said the ANC is now in a partnership with a party, which is the Democratic Alliance, which is a puppet of the white capitalist establishment.
So it says that without any elaboration, because it knows that it's true, you see? It's 100 % true. It's opposing economic empowerment for Africans, it's opposing land reform. That is exactly what the white capitalist establishment wants. And then my final point.
Milton Allimadi (49:17.953)
The friend of my friend is my friend. That's the philosophy of the economist.
So just a few months ago it was tearing up the African National Congress, but now that it's in partnership with the white -controlled party, now they're saying that sober, pragmatic politics, they're not dangerous or crazy like the MK and economic freedom fighters. There's another elephant in the room.
the Inkata Freedom Party. So it even celebrates the Inkata Freedom Party and that it wants to even apologize and said it may improve relations with the ANC for the war that they fought in 1990 after Mandela was released. Why did they fight? Because the Inkata Freedom Party was a stooge, a stooge and weapon of the racist apartheid government.
which armed them and trained them to create havoc, to kill Africans who supported the African National Congress. And they had the incentive because the leadership at that time, including the late Gachabu Telesi, knew that Mandela was about to end up being president as soon as elections were held after he was released in 1990. So obviously he had some envy and resentment.
so he could be easily persuaded, which he was, into fighting fellow Africans. But now, the role of the white minority racist government in fueling that conflict is washed away. This just becomes like, those were just Africans fighting each other, and now one of them has become responsible, the Nkata Freedom Party, and that is the reason why it's also in this coalition government.
Milton Allimadi (51:19.807)
utter nonsense. And by the way, it says Malema's party got 9 .5 % of the vote. It says that MK Zuma's party got 14 .6%. You notice it does not mention that in Qatar got 1 .7%.
But they cannot pull a fast one on us because we know them like the back of our hand. And that is why we translate their deception on a weekly basis so that our people can be intellectually armed and equipped to know how to deal with the danger. And the only danger they refer to the economic freedom fighters and MK as dangerous parties. The only dangerous party in this
discussion is the Economist magazine and the article that they wrote. Very dangerous and we just went through explaining to our viewers why it is very dangerous.
Milton Allimadi (52:57.276)
No we won't. This is a war of survival for our people.
Milton Allimadi (53:05.884)
Thank you, comrade, as always. My pleasure.