Are you aware that many African countries still pay colonial taxes to France to this day? You could say that Africa is still being exploited to this day. It leads us to the conclusion that Europeans don’t want us to be taller than them. This act was discussed in an article by Mawuna Remarque Koutonin, peace activist and editor of SiliconAfrica.com. The author drew attention to the bad influence of the French on the African continent and how they are still obliged to pay colonial taxes for the benefits of slavery. Even more worryingly, French is still thriving and thriving in this action, earning around $400 billion from a continent that is about to become as developed as his. So,
African countries that still pay colonial tax to France
Guinea was formerly a French colonial possession in West Africa until 1958 during the fall of the Fourth French Republic as a result of its political instability and failure in dealing with colonies, particularly Indochina and Algeria. The country’s independence was the result of the good decision by Sékou Touré of Guinea to withdraw from the French colonial empire that year and seek independence for Guinea. Nevertheless, a lot of damage was done because of the decision Sékou Touré made when the French colonial members in Paris did not find his decision comfortable. Out of sheer displeasure, as in the past, the French government in Guinea destroyed everything and everyone in the country, symbolic of what they call “
According to Mawuna Remarque Koutonin, the author of the article, more than two thousand French people moved out of the country, collecting practically everything they had set up and demolishing immovable things such as schools, kindergartens and public offices. They even ruined the administrative buildings, cars, books, medicines, research institute instruments and tractors, and slaughtered the horses and cows on the farms. The food was not excluded from mass destruction as it set fire to both poisoned food and food stored in camps. Although the reason for the shocking action has not been openly stated, the truth lies in telling other French colonies that France’s decline is tantamount to dire consequences.
As expected, the atmosphere of fear was createdWhen the superior selected African groups gradually become scared, and the bad smell is easy to spread, the scare will spread to other African countries as well. As a result, no one was willing to copy the action of Sékou Touré, whose motto was “We prefer freedom in poverty to opulence in slavery.”
More so, the amount that became approximately France as the so-called colonial debt was so large that in 1963 it represented almost 40% of the state budget. Meanwhile, just independent Togo’s financial situation was not entirely stable.
Because of this, Olympio decided to switch to the money they used to build a nation that does not depend on others for growth. He then dropped the French colonial currency FCFA (Franc for French African Colonies) and introduced the national currency, which left him dead barely three days after the national currency began printing. His death was caused by a small group of ignorant and uneducated soldiers, backed by France, whose only ambition was to squander Olympio’s life. the first elected President of the newly independent Togo.
Likewise, Keita Modiba, who was the first President of the Republic of Mali, also decided on June 30, 1962 to withdraw from the French colonial currency FCFA, which by then had been imposed on 12 newly independent African countries.
The Malian President knew that if he allowed the country to continue to be a French colony, it would not only be a burden or burden, but an inevitable trap for Mali. Unfortunately, on November 19, 1968, there was another prominent coup that destabilized his plans and landed him in prison in the northern Malian city of Kidal. The coup was supported by another member of the French Foreign Legion, whose name is Lieutenant Moussa Traoré. Keita Modiba, who gave his life for African unity, was imprisoned. The most annoying thing of all is that he was taken back to the capital, Bamako, in February 1977. On May 16, 1977, Modibo Keïta, still imprisoned, died to be released.
He was a great supporter of socialism and tried relentlessly and indeed the Republic of Mali took towards a progressive socialization of the economy. Indeed, during this period of instability resulting from African countries’ quest for independence, France continually used many ex-members of the French Foreign Legion to seize power in the name of a coup against elected presidents. If you doubt this, the following analysis will surely remove your doubts.
Convince yourself now!
- on January 1, 1966, David Dacko, the first President of the Central African Republic, was overthrown as a result of a coup supported by Jean-Bédel Bokassa, an ex-member of the French Foreign Legion.
- Aboubacar Sangoulé Lamizana, a former member of the French Legion, supported a coup on January 3, 1966 against Maurice Yaméogo, the first president of the Republic of Upper Volta, now referred to as Burkina Faso. Not only did he support the coup, he also campaigned with French troops in a number of countries, including Indonesia and Algeria, against the independence of those countries.
Olympio, who is known today as the first president to be assassinated during a military coup in Africa, and his wife were asleep when many members of the military broke into their home and woke them from their sleep. Before dawn, the body of Olympio was found by US Ambassador Leon B. Poullada three feet from the US Embassy door. This sent shocking and frightening messages to other African leaders, who became even more shocked and afraid of being trapped in the same situation.
He was reportedly killed on January 13, 1963, by a former member of the French Foreign Legion Army, a sergeant named Etienne Gnassingbe, who claimed to have personally fired the shot that took Olympio’s life while Olympio was trying to escape and allegedly receiving a $612 reward from the local French embassy for the murder job. Olympio’s ideas, sufficient to make his nation independent, a self-sufficient and self-reliant country, cost him his life. After all, he is not supposed to build an independent nation unless the French have given them permission to do so.
To substantiate the above facts, in the last 50 years, 67 coups d’état took place in 26 countries in Africa and 16 of these countries in Africa were colonized by France. So this shows that almost 61% of the coups took place in the French-speaking countries of Africa. Don’t you think that France is certainly in despair, relentlessly striving to maintain strong contact with its colonies, no matter what the cost? Of course you are right to say yes.
Former French President Jacques Chirac announced in March 2008 that without Africa, France would slip smoothly into the rank of third (world) power. Former French President François Mitterand, who left the seat for Chirac, also said that if there was nothing like Africa, France would have had no history in the 21st century.
Did you know that 14 countries in Africa are required by the colonial pact to pay nearly 85% of their foreign exchange reserves to the French central bank under the control of the French finance minister as we speak? It is really disturbing that Togo and other 13 countries have to pay a colonial debt to France. For the stubborn African leaders who refused this offer, they were either killed or overthrown in a coup, but the docile were supported and rewarded with extravagant lifestyles while their subjects endured abject poverty and hardship.
Read: African Empires That Have Been So Easily Forgotten
My anger gets worse when I know that they are not willing to condemn or cancel the act since these countries paid back in 2014. It seems our leaders are genuinely afraid of being killed and therefore need a powerful nation to support them. If you are wondering why most leaders send their earnings abroad, it is because they are oppressed by the colonial countries. Is that so hard to believe?
Check out the content of the Continuation Pact for Colonization Almighty:
- Colonial debt in favor of colonizing France:
The newly “independent” countries were to pay for the infrastructure built by France during colonization.
- Automatic confiscation of national reserves:
This simply means that France holds the national reserve of fourteen African countries, which are; Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Therefore, they pay their national currency reserves to the French central bank.
- The right of first refusal for raw or mineral resources discovered in the country:
- Priority of French interests and companies in public contracts and public tenders:
- The exclusive right to provide military equipment and train the country’s military officers:
- Right for France to prepare troops and intervene in the country to defend its interests:
- The obligation to make French the official language of the country and the language of instruction:
- The obligation to use the French colonial money FCFA:
- The obligation to send the annual balance sheet and provision report for France:
- Refraining from entering into a military alliance with another country unless authorized by France
- Obligation to ally with France in a situation of war or global crisis
Isn’t that plunder and a very obvious exploitation? Looking at the contents of the document signed by our leaders, one could say that some African countries are still slaves to French colonialists. But the truth remains that we are the only ones who can really help ourselves. We can wait as we might, and help will never come our way. If we don’t stand up for Africa, we could pay off this debt forever.
Take what France did to Haiti, for example. In case you didn’t know, from 1804 to 1947 France bequeathed Haiti a sum of $21 billion (nearly a century and a half) for the losses French slave traders suffered from the abolition of slavery and the freeing of Haitian slaves. The African countries involved have only paid 50 years, so we may have a century to finish this payment. Those colonizers may not be here, but they’re still in charge.
Adapted from: Siliconafrica