West shouldn’t tell us who our other friends should be, says Haabazoka
By Kombe Chimpinde Mataka
AFRICA should decide its own destiny, says economist Lubinda Haabazoka.
He argues that some African leaders are
even scared of getting cheap fertiliser and fuel from Russia because they will never be invited to a cocktail at the White House.
Haabazoka, a University of Zambia lecturer, says
Africa needs to first learn how to trade with itself.
“Africa has the market and it has the mineral resources. The Chinese move production here. You can send agriculture produce to China and Russia but it is banned in the USA and Europe. They say our vegetables and meat have
diseases. If the West wants to have genuine relations with Africa, they should not tell us who our other friends should be!” he argued in a statement. “We want to be friends with everyone. Imagine there are some African leaders
even scared of getting cheap fertiliser and fuel from Russia because they will never be invited to a cocktail at the White House. This is at the
expense of the African starving population.”
Haabazoka said Africans should take a leaf from Ukraine and the US relationship.
“African needs to first learn how to trade with itself. We take lessons from
Ukraine. Ukraine has no autonomy anymore. It’s doing everything that it’s being told to do. It will take years for Ukraine to recover. But those
suppliers of weapons are safe. Their people are not dying and their countries are not being bombed. If [Ukraine President Vladimir] Zelensky was clever, he would have avoided all this. Imagine your friends forcing you into a fight but they are unwilling to put on gloves themselves!” Haabazoka said. “If Africa is not careful, then we shall also be like Ukraine. The West never builds roads anywhere anymore! It’s only China with that capability and willingness. Of all debt Africa owes, 45 per cent is to the West and only 15 per cent from China! So the China debt trap analysis is fake! Africa should decide its own destiny! We are not puppets! We shall never be puppets! We support only those that want to treat us like equals! We didn’t go to school to be puppets!”
He suggested that the US was scared of losing global economic dominance and “therefore felt it should fight Russia and China”.
“In order to win the battle, the West is trying to enlist African countries. The problem with Africa is that we probably watch too many western movies. If we shun China and Russia, who will easily transfer technology to us? Sell us cheap oil and fertiliser? Give us plenty of free scholarships? If it’s true they want Africa to develop, let’s then ditch the petro dollar system that gives USA and advantage by allowing it to print money to repay debt when others can’t afford to do so,” said Haabazoka.