The Honorable Minister for Education in his remarks also distilled Africa’s economic dilemmas into sharp and unforgettable paradoxes. Addressing dignitaries, including former South African President Jacob Zuma, the Minister framed his reflections within the broader theme: The Geopolitics and Geo-economics of De-dollarization: BRICS Currency Strategy, Lessons for Africa’s Common Currency, and Beyond.
He began with pressing questions about Africa’s dependence on external currencies, unfinished economic liberation, and the structural contradictions that define the continent’s trade and resource economies.
… Africa exports raw materials at low value, only to import finished goods at much higher prices. The result is a cycle of dependency, limited industrialization, and missed opportunities to build robust local value chains.
Africa’s Economic Contradictions
The Minister’s speech captured Africa’s economic struggles not through abstract theory but through concrete, relatable paradoxes. He asked:
- How come cocoa producers import expensive chocolates?
- How come cobalt producers import expensive batteries?
- How come sugar cane producers import expensive sugar?
- How come tomato producers import expensive tomato paste?
- How come uranium producers pay heavily for electricity?
- How come coal producers import expensive coal products?
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These rhetorical questions laid bare the continent’s enduring problem: Africa exports raw materials at low value, only to import finished goods at much higher prices. The result is a cycle of dependency, limited industrialization, and missed opportunities to build robust local value chains.
“How come cocoa producers import expensive chocolates? How come cobalt producers import expensive batteries?”
The Dollar’s Volatility and Its Costs
The Minister further highlighted the instability of relying heavily on the U.S. dollar. He described the dollar as experiencing “epileptic falls,” with each fluctuation rippling into the African economy. For businesses, this volatility translates into higher costs, uncertainty in trade, and vulnerability to external shocks.
By anchoring his critique on dollar volatility, the Minister underscored the need for Africa to explore alternative trading and settlement systems. The argument was not only about rejecting the dollar’s dominance but also about designing a monetary strategy that shields African economies from external turbulence.
AfCFTA can only deliver its promise if backed by supportive financial systems — including a payments infrastructure and, ultimately, a shared or harmonized currency framework.
Can Africa Trade in Other Currencies?
The Minister posed another critical question: why should Africa remain tied exclusively to the U.S. dollar when other currencies — such as the Chinese Yuan, Japanese Yen, or Korean Won — could be used in trade?
“Can Africa trade in currencies that are acceptable to us?” he asked.
The implication was clear: Africa must diversify its monetary tools, broaden its currency partnerships, and eventually prepare the groundwork for its own unified currency system. While not dismissing the dollar entirely, the Minister suggested that Africa must no longer accept a single currency as the default gateway to global trade.
Intra-African Trade: The Missing Link
A recurring theme in his address was the importance of intra-African trade. The Minister argued that if African countries traded more with each other, trade volumes would be “significant” and the continent could take meaningful steps toward sustainable development.
This view aligns with the ambitions of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to create the world’s largest free trade zone by connecting over 1.3 billion people. Yet, as the Minister implied, the AfCFTA can only deliver its promise if backed by supportive financial systems — including a payments infrastructure and, ultimately, a shared or harmonized currency framework.
The Unfinished Business of Economic Liberation
Beyond the technicalities of currency choices, the Minister placed his remarks in the context of Africa’s unfinished liberation. Political sovereignty was achieved decades ago, but economic independence — particularly monetary sovereignty — remains incomplete.
The contradictions he outlined symbolize a broader truth: Africa cannot truly control its destiny while its currencies, trade flows, and financial systems are dictated by forces outside the continent.
Questions as Calls to Action
By framing Africa’s economic paradoxes as questions, he turned them into challenges for leaders, policymakers, and institutions to resolve. The Minister also underscored the urgency of building new monetary architectures — whether through currency diversification, strengthened intra-African trade, or the longer-term pursuit of a common African currency.
The questions remain, but they are not rhetorical. They are calls to action.
