Botswana’s President Duma Boko has now spoken at the United Nations General Assembly. Same begging pattern I have been observing.
1. Fund our technology and skills development: “Botswana calls upon the United Nations Development Programme, the International Labour Organization and all relevant multilateral institutions to make technology transfer, skills development and capacity building funded priorities.”
3. Give developing countries cheaper financing: Botswana called for “fair and predictable access to concessional finance.”
4. Mobilize private capital for us: “We call upon the United Nations and its financial partners to mobilise private capital… that de-risk productive investment in developing economies.”
5. Help us deal with expensive debt: He complained that developing countries face borrowing costs “several times higher than those of wealthier nations,” leaving less money for education, healthcare and job creation.
6. Preserve international health assistance: Botswana specifically called for the preservation of UNAIDS, describing it as “an indispensable partner” that provides technical assistance, resource mobilization and global advocacy.
7. Give us technical and security assistance: Botswana pledged deeper cooperation with the UN counterterrorism system through “capacity building, technical assistance, knowledge sharing and the exchange of good practices.”
8. Give Africa a permanent seat at the table: Boko argued that a Security Council excluding Africa and Latin America from permanent membership “cannot credibly claim to reflect contemporary geopolitical realities.”
9. Give developing countries a voice in AI governance: “Developing countries must have a meaningful voice in setting the standards and safeguards that will govern these technologies.”
This is the pattern I have been talking about while listening to these UN speeches. The language may be sophisticated, but many African speeches eventually arrive at the same destination: funding, concessional finance, technology transfer, capacity building, technical assistance, investment and greater representation.
To Boko’s credit, Botswana also presented itself as having something to offer. On its successful HIV response, he said: “We stand ready to share the lessons of this experience.” And perhaps his strongest line was: “Rules that bind only the weak are not rules.”
But my broader question remains: When will African leaders come to the UN primarily to announce what Africa is building, financing and offering the world, rather than repeatedly explaining what the international system should provide to Africa?
Prof.
-Tapang Ivo Tanku