Zainab Usman Profile picture
Apr 29, 2023 9 tweets 4 min read Read on X
The fireside chat between Mo Ibrahim & Pres. Ruto is the most riveting session of #IGW.

The candid convo was wide-ranging: global financial architecture, climate justice, African Union reforms, Africa’s external relations, etc. Some highlights 🧵1/ youtube.com/live/ny2jgGMMt…
“The current international financial architecture is, to put it bluntly, rigged against those of us in the global south because we cannot meaningfully address our development needs with the financial resources from this architecture” - @WilliamsRuto 5.50min 2/
Ruto urges African countries to be at the forefront of green industrialization.

Mo Ibrahim proposes that a fund be set up in which high emitters pay for consuming more than their fair share of the carbon budget.

They both agree on using market incentives i.e carbon pricing 3/
Ruto stresses the imperative of developing a strong common Africa position on climate change at the upcoming Africa Climate Week in Sept. This common Africa position should inform African countries’ negotiations at #COP28 in December at the UAE 11.30min 4/ youtube.com/live/ny2jgGMMt…
“We have the wrong architecture in the management of the African Union. Today we cant even support Somalia (with $85m) we are waiting for the EU” - @WilliamsRuto 🎯

He explains how the reluctance to relinquish some national sovereignty, like the EU, undermines the AU. 39min 5/
Both Ruto and Mo agree that the AU must take charge of the affairs of African countries: domestic funding, setting up its own standby force drawing on the continent’s youthful population etc… an objective recognized by all, but still not realised after years of handwringing… 6/
On Africa+1 Summits abroad, @WilliamsRuto says “sometimes we are mistreated. We are loaded into buses like school children. And it’s not right.”

Ruto says they’ve decided that African countries should be represented at these summits by the leadership of the AU & RECs 44min 7/
On African CSOs, “all I ask of our good friends in the CSO space… is always to look out for the interests of the people of our continent and not… to play to the gallery of the people who pay your cheque” **we all gasp** 54min 8/
Lots of interesting nuggets in this wide ranging chat between Mo Ibrahim @Mo_IbrahimFdn and President @WilliamsRuto Worth watching the entire video here. Lots of genuinely hilarious banter (like when Ruto described Museveni as “that old man” 🫢) END/ youtube.com/live/ny2jgGMMt…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Zainab Usman

Zainab Usman Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @MssZeeUsman

Jan 2
In the new year, we should leave old baggage behind.

But the specious argument in this article with its offensive title, “The world economy’s biggest problem is Africa” reminiscent of The Economist’s “the Hopeless Continent”, needs to be tackled 🧵 1/
ft.com/content/178bdc…
Image
“The biggest problem for global growth is Africa”.

According to the IMF, "Sub-Saharan" Africa grew by 3.3% in 2023 (higher than the global avg of 3%, as the world’s 2nd fastest growing region) and is projected to grow at 4% in 2024 (higher than the global avg of 2.9%). 2/ Image
“Africa has not capitalized on population growth… as South Korea and Taiwan”

Too much to unpack here. First, should we really be comparing 54 countries to South Korea & Taiwan which even within East Asian economies are outliers in many respects (compared to Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Laos, the Philippines and Thailand, which haven’t done as well and are still mostly lower middle income)? 3/
Read 6 tweets
May 6, 2023
The U.S. just gave the death blow to 30+ years of Washington Consensus of free markets & small govt

A new American Industrial strategy unveiled by NSA Jake Sullivan will profoundly shape the global economy and prevailing theories of int’l development🧵1/ brookings.edu/events/the-bid…
In laying the old Washington Consensus to rest, NSA Jake Sullivan identified 4 challenges associated with the previous approach:
1- hollowed out US industrial base
2- geopolitical risks from competitors
3- the climate challenge
4-Rising inequalities within & btw countries. 2/
If the Washington Consensus that informed 30+ yrs of development theory + practice is dead, what’s the replacement?

Sullivan unveiled a “foreign policy for the middle class” (FOPMIC my abbrev.)

How could FOPMIC affect low & middle income countries(LMICs) esp. in Africa? 3/
Read 9 tweets
Apr 12, 2020
The global discussion around debt relief for low-income and fragile countries during #COVID19 is gathering momentum. There are various dimensions to the current debt situation, especially for #Africa. Here’s a short thread for those interested to follow the discussions 1/n
The World Bank and IMF recently issued a joint call to the G20 for temporary suspension of debt service payments by IDA countries (low-income and fragile countries) to help provide liquidity in these countries to tackle #COVID19 2/n imf.org/en/News/Articl…
A group of high-profile Africans (incl. Okonjo-Iweala, Thiam, Songwe) are calling for debt relief for African countries. Specifically, they are calling for a "two-year standstill on all external debt repayments, both interest & principal." 3/n

brookings.edu/opinions/afric…
Read 28 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(