14 African Countries Forced by France to Pay Colonial Tax For the Benefits of Slavery and Colonization
By:
Mawuna Remarque KOUTONIN
Tuesday,
January 28th, 2014 at 3:41 pm.
Africa-France-relationship.
Did you know many African countries continue to pay colonial tax to France
since their independence till today!
When
Sékou Touré of Guinea decided in 1958 to get out of french colonial empire, and
opted for the country independence, the french colonial elite in Paris got so
furious, and in a historic act of fury the french administration in Guinea
destroyed everything in the country which represented what they called the
benefits from french colonization.
Three
thousand French left the country, taking all their property and destroying
anything that which could not be moved: schools, nurseries, public
administration buildings were crumbled; cars, books, medicine, research
institute instruments, tractors were crushed and sabotaged; horses, cows in the
farms were killed, and food in warehouses were burned or poisoned.
The
purpose of this outrageous act was to send a clear message to all other
colonies that the consequences for rejecting France would be very high.
Slowly
fear spread trough the african elite, and none after the Guinea events ever
found the courage to follow the example of Sékou Touré, whose slogan was “We
prefer freedom in poverty to opulence in slavery.”
Sylvanus
Olympio, the first president of the Republic of Togo, a tiny country in west
Africa, found a middle ground solution with the French.
He
didn’t want his country to continue to be a french dominion, therefore he
refused to sign the colonisation continuation pact De Gaule proposed, but agree
to pay an annual debt to France for the so called benefits Togo got from french
colonization.
It was
the only conditions for the French not to destroy the country before leaving.
However, the amount estimated by France was so big that the reimbursement of
the so called “colonial debt” was close to 40% of the country budget in 1963.
The
financial situation of the newly independent Togo was very unstable, so in
order to get out the situation, Olympio decided to get out the french colonial
money FCFA (the franc for french african colonies), and issue the country own
currency.
On
January 13, 1963, three days after he started printing his country own
currency, a squad of illiterate soldiers backed by France killed the first
elected president of newly independent Africa. Olympio was killed by an ex
French Foreign Legionnaire army sergeant called Etienne Gnassingbe who
supposedly received a bounty of $612 from the local French embassy for the hit
man job.
Olympio’s
dream was to build an independent and self-sufficient and self-reliant country.
But the French didn’t like the idea.
On June
30, 1962, Modiba Keita , the first president of the Republic of Mali, decided
to withdraw from the french colonial currency FCFA which was imposed on 12
newly independent African countries. For the Malian president, who was leaning
more to a socialist economy, it was clear that colonisation continuation pact
with France was a trap, a burden for the country development.
On
November 19, 1968, like, Olympio, Keita will be the victim of a coup carried
out by another ex French Foreign legionnaire, the Lieutenant Moussa Traoré.
In fact
during that turbulent period of African fighting to liberate themselves from
European colonization, France would repeatedly use many ex Foreign legionnaires
to carry out coups against elected presidents:
– On
January 1st, 1966, Jean-Bédel Bokassa, an ex french foreign legionnaire,
carried a coup against David Dacko, the first President of the Central African
Republic.
– On
January 3, 1966, Maurice Yaméogo, the first President of the Republic of Upper
Volta, now called Burkina Faso, was victim of a coup carried by Aboubacar
Sangoulé Lamizana, an ex French legionnaire who fought with french troops in
Indonesia and Algeria against these countries independence.
– on 26
October 1972, Mathieu Kérékou who was a security guard to President Hubert
Maga, the first President of the Republic of Benin, carried a coup against the
president, after he attended French military schools from 1968 to 1970.
In fact,
during the last 50 years, a total of 67 coups happened in 26 countries in
Africa, 16 of those countries are french ex-colonies, which means 61% of the
coups happened in Francophone Africa.
Number
of Coups in Africa by country
Ex
French colonies Other African countries
Country
Number of coup Country number of coup
Togo 1
Egypte 1
Tunisia
1 Libye 1
Cote
d’Ivoire 1 Equatorial Guinea 1
Madagascar
1 Guinea Bissau 2
Rwanda 1
Liberia 2
Algeria
2 Nigeria 3
Congo –
RDC 2 Ethiopia 3
Mali 2
Ouganda 4
Guinea
Conakry 2 Soudan 5
SUB-TOTAL
1 13
Congo 3
Tchad 3
Burundi
4
Central
Africa 4
Niger 4
Mauritania
4
Burkina
Faso 5
Comores
5
SUB-TOTAL
2 32
TOTAL (1
+ 2) 45 TOTAL 22
As these
numbers demonstrate, France is quite desperate but active to keep a strong hold
on his colonies what ever the cost, no matter what.
In March
2008, former French President Jacques Chirac said:
“Without
Africa, France will slide down into the rank of a third [world] power”
Chirac’s
predecessor François Mitterand already prophesied in 1957 that:
“Without
Africa, France will have no history in the 21st century”
At this
very moment I’m writing this article, 14 african countries are obliged by
France, trough a colonial pact, to put 85% of their foreign reserve into France
central bank under French minister of Finance control. Until now, 2014, Togo
and about 13 other african countries still have to pay colonial debt to France.
African leaders who refuse are killed or victim of coup. Those who obey are
supported and rewarded by France with lavish lifestyle while their people
endure extreme poverty, and desperation.
It’s
such an evil system even denounced by the European Union, but France is not
ready to move from that colonial system which puts about 500 billions dollars
from Africa to its treasury year in year out.
We often
accuse African leaders of corruption and serving western nations interests
instead, but there is a clear explanation for that behavior. They behave so
because they are afraid the be killed or victim of a coup. They want a powerful
nation to back them in case of aggression or trouble. But, contrary to a
friendly nation protection, the western protection is often offered in exchange
of these leaders renouncing to serve their own people or nations’ interests.
African
leaders would work in the interest of their people if they were not constantly
stalked and bullied by colonial countries.
In 1958,
scared about the consequence of choosing independence from France, Leopold
Sédar Senghor declared: “The choice of the Senegalese people is independence;
they want it to take place only in friendship with France, not in dispute.”
From
then on France accepted only an “independence on paper” for his colonies, but
signed binding “Cooperation Accords”, detailing the nature of their relations
with France, in particular ties to France colonial currency (the Franc), France
educational system, military and commercial preferences.
Below
are the 11 main components of the Colonisation continuation pact since 1950s:
#1. Colonial Debt for the benefits of France colonization
The
newly “independent” countries should pay for the infrastructure built by France
in the country during colonization.
I still
have to find out the complete details about the amounts, the evaluation of the
colonial benefits and the terms of payment imposed on the african countries,
but we are working on that (help us with info).
#2. Automatic confiscation of national reserves
The
African countries should deposit their national monetary reserves into France
Central bank.
France
has been holding the national reserves of fourteen african countries since
1961: Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal,
Togo, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial
Guinea and Gabon.
“The
monetary policy governing such a diverse aggregation of countries is
uncomplicated because it is, in fact, operated by the French Treasury, without
reference to the central fiscal authorities of any of the WAEMU or the CEMAC.
Under the terms of the agreement which set up these banks and the CFA the
Central Bank of each African country is obliged to keep at least 65% of its
foreign exchange reserves in an “operations account” held at the French
Treasury, as well as another 20% to cover financial liabilities.
The CFA
central banks also impose a cap on credit extended to each member country
equivalent to 20% of that country’s public revenue in the preceding year. Even
though the BEAC and the BCEAO have an overdraft facility with the French
Treasury, the drawdowns on those overdraft facilities are subject to the
consent of the French Treasury. The final say is that of the French Treasury
which has invested the foreign reserves of the African countries in its own
name on the Paris Bourse.
In
short, more than 80% of the foreign reserves of these African countries are
deposited in the “operations accounts” controlled by the French Treasury. The
two CFA banks are African in name, but have no monetary policies of their own.
The countries themselves do not know, nor are they told, how much of the pool
of foreign reserves held by the French Treasury belongs to them as a group or
individually.
The
earnings of the investment of these funds in the French Treasury pool are
supposed to be added to the pool but no accounting is given to either the banks
or the countries of the details of any such changes. The limited group of high
officials in the French Treasury who have knowledge of the amounts in the
“operations accounts”, where these funds are invested; whether there is a
profit on these investments; are prohibited from disclosing any of this
information to the CFA banks or the central banks of the African states .”
Wrote Dr. Gary K. Busch
It’s now
estimated that France is holding close to 500 billions African countries money
in its treasury, and would do anything to fight anyone who want to shed a light
on this dark side of the old empire.
The
African countries don’t have access to that money.
France
allows them to access only 15% of the money in any given year. If they need
more than that, they have to borrow the extra money from their own 65% from the
French Treasury at commercial rates.
To make
things more tragic, France impose a cap on the amount of money the countries
could borrow from the reserve. The cap is fixed at 20% of their public revenue
in the preceding year. If the countries need to borrow more than 20% of their
own money, France has a veto.
Former
French President Jacques Chirac recently spoke about the African nations money
in France banks. Here is a video of him speaking about the french exploitation
scheme. He is speaking in French, but here is a short excerpt transcript: “We
have to be honest, and acknowledge that a big part of the money in our banks
come precisely from the exploitation of the African continent.”
#3. Right of first refusal on any raw or natural resource
discovered in the country
France
has the first right to buy any natural resources found in the land of its
ex-colonies. It’s only after France would say, “I’m not interested”, that the
African countries are allowed to seek other partners.......Continued click the link below.
Please take a moment and go to this link to read the article in its entirety! http://mereja.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=106735#p619879
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President Ahmed Sékou Touré
of the Republic of Guinea arrives at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland during a
visit to Washington
DC. (June 1982)
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AFRICANGLOBE – The West
African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) is an organization of eight West
African states. It was established to promote economic integration among
countries that share the Communauté Financière d’Afrique (CFA) franc as a
common currency. The currency is issued by the Banque Centrale des États de
l’Afrique de l’Ouest (BCEAO), located in Dakar, Senegal, for the members of
the UEMOA. The union administers the West African CFA franc, now a
Euro-pegged currency that is used in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire,
Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. Read More…
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Sylvanus Epiphanio Olympio (6 September
1902 – 13 January 1963) was a Togolese politician who
served as Prime Minister, and then President, of Togo from 1958 until his
assassination in 1963. . He was assassinated during the 1963
Togolese coup d'état.
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A great
illustration on how corporations take control of countries, and how
capitalism drives the expansion of the Military Industrial Complex. Made by
Studio Joho who have allowed me to upload their video.
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Laurent Gbagbo[1][2] (Gagnoa Bété: Gbagbo [ɡ͡baɡ͡bo]; French pronunciation: [loʁɑ̃ baɡbo];
born 31 May 1945) was thePresident
of Côte d'Ivoire from 2000 until his arrest in April 2011. Source
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In
March 2008, former French President Jacques Chirac said:
“Without Africa,
France will slide down into the rank of a third [world] power” and that
Chirac’s predecessor François Mitterand already prophesied in 1957
that: “Without Africa, France will have no history in the 21st century”.
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A
hoard of cash sits in the Bank of France: $20 billion in African money
held in trust by the French government and earning just 0.75 percent
interest. Now economists and politicians from 14 Central and West African
countries say they want their funds returned and an arrangement dating back
to the days of France’s colonial empire ended.
France
holds the money to guarantee that the CFA franc, the currency used in the 14
nations, stays convertible into euros at a fixed exchange rate of 655.957.
The compulsory deposits started more than half a century ago, when the
then-colonies had to place all their financial reserves in the French
Treasury. The deposit requirement has dropped over the decades: Today the
African members entrust 50 percent of their reserves to Paris. Source..
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Three weeks ago, a
rumour emerged that the CFA franc - two closely-related currencies used by 14
countries in western and central Africa - would be devalued by 35 per cent on
January 1, 2012.
As a result,
anxiety is taking hold of the 140 million citizens of francophone Africa. The
devaluation could create a liquidity crisis and cause inflation rates to
soar. Although the two governors of the central banks of Western and Central
Africa have dismissed the rumour, the fact that French authorities and
African heads of state failed to comment fuels peoples' fears and could
result in a massive financial outflow.
The eurozone
crisis and France's struggle to maintain its credit rating deepened fears
that devaluing the CFA franc could be indirectly used as. Source
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French Complicity in the Crisis in Central African Republic
By the end of
2013, “the White man’s burden” was proving too heavy to bear for France.
Feeling militarily and materially outstretched, Paris cried for help from
other European powers to help it shoulder “its responsibility” to quell
violence, restore peace, order and political legitimacy in its backyards of
Mali and Central African Republic, both in turmoil: the Islamists terrorists
linked to Al-Qaïda in Maghreb (Aqmi), Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria and so
on, are wreaking havoc in northern Mali and Christians and Muslims are
hacking each other to death in Central African Republic (CAR). Both Belgium
and the United States responded positively by providing logistics and
transport for the French and African troops.
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by Antoine Roger Lokongo
“Without Africa, France will slide down into the
rank of a third [world] power.”
By
the end of 2013, “the White man’s burden” was proving too heavy to bear for
France. Feeling militarily and materially outstretched, Paris cried for help
from other European powers to help it shoulder “its responsibility” to quell
violence, restore peace, order and political legitimacy in its backyards of
Mali and Central African Republic, both in turmoil: the Islamists terrorists
linked to Al-Qaïda in Maghreb (Aqmi), Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria and so
on, are wreaking havoc in northern Mali and Christians and Muslims are
hacking each other to death in Central African Republic (CAR). Both Belgium
and the United States responded positively by providing logistics and
transport for the French and African troops.
"
Chirac’s
predecessor François Mitterand already prophesied in 1957 that ‘Without
Africa, France will have no history in the 21st century’ (François
Mitterrand, Présence française et abandon, 1957, Paris: Plon)."
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61%
of the coups happened in Francophone Africa.
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African
Countries whose Official Language is
French
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In short, the
Colonial Pact has created a legal mechanism under which
France obtains a special place in the political and economic life of its former colonies. Source: |
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Thanks for your comment. Peace, NB