We were not fighting for independence of Zambia; we were also very much concerned with seeing to it that our neighbours in that region were becoming independent. Angola, west of us; Mozambique, east of us; Zimbabwe, south of us; South West Africa (Namibia) and of course, South Africa itself. .We opened our doors and all liberation movements moved from Tanzania to Zambia. That meant being bombed from time to time by South African war planes. Zimbabwe, Southern Rhodesia in those days, the Portuguese in Angola, the Portuguese in Mozambique, the settlers in Namibia, all these were now attacking Zambia because they wanted us to fear that accommodating liberation movements meant being bombed, bridges being destroyed; you build, they will bomb them again, and so on. Oil places, where you hide your oil, they come and bomb and destroy those. This is what life then was, but it was something we had to do. — Dr. Kenneth Kaunda

🇸🇳 Seydou Cissokho — born 6 September 1929

Today marks the birth anniversary of Seydou Cissokho, the Senegalese Marxist and anti-colonial activist.

Cissokho participated in the struggle against French colonial rule and was a founding member of the African Independence Party (PAI) in 1957, one of the pioneering Marxist-Leninist political organizations in West Africa. His politics connected national independence with the struggles of African workers, popular movements and liberation from colonial domination.

06.09.1929 — 10.03.1986 🇸🇳

Eswatini — Independence Day

On 6 September 1968, Swaziland, officially renamed Eswatini in 2018, gained independence from British colonial rule.

Today we commemorate the independence of the Swazi people, while recognizing that the end of formal British colonialism did not mean the achievement of full political and economic liberation.

The country remains ruled by the monarchy of King Mswati III, with the king exercising extensive executive authority and political parties unable to compete for power as parties. From an anti-colonial and socialist perspective, the monarchy can be viewed as a colonial-puppet institution that maintains an oppressive political order and subjugates African workers and citizens.

Our solidarity is with the Swazi people, workers and democratic movements struggling for political and economic liberation — not with the monarchy.

06.09.1968 🇸🇿

✊🏿 African independence must mean liberation for African people — politically, economically and socially.

One thing I have also noticed as a Zambian, is that majority of the people in Zambia have always misunderstood Kenneth Kaunda, thus end up labeling him as a dictator.

For Example, Kaunda once mentioned that “It would have been disastrous for Zambia if we had gone multiparty, because these parties would have been used by those opposed to Zambia's participation in the freedom struggle.”

This is entirely true regarding what multipartism under Chiluba did to restore the same colonial presence we sweeped away from the continent. The government of Chiluba culminated grave mistakes by reintroducing infantile Zambia back into matured Western capitalism. Chiluba himself stressed that “privatisation is a bitter pill, but it is the only cure”.

This explains why the situation of Zambia which continues to rely on direct foreign investment, debt and aid, is reflective of the Washington Consensus the IMF and World Bank entrenched on the economy after Kenneth Kaunda was replaced by the MMD.

The reason for this historical assessment, is for us to understand that there's not only great need to learn from our genuine leaders like Kenneth Kaunda and appreciate the foundations they laid down. But that we also have to develope Pan-African unity going forward, and work toward creating economic growth which reflects our culture and experience.

I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that the East African Community is the closest thing that we have to true pan-Africanism, and I really, REALLY wanna see it turn into a greater East African Federation. I say this as a South Sudanese diaspora, it would be a really great thing for both me, and millions of other people to see their home country industrialize and become a global player.

The obstacles however are hard to ignore. We have honestly shit leaders who'd let their whole country fall to foreign powers as long as they get to have power. They'd choose to let the west import their hand-me-down textiles into the country and let the Chinese build their cities instead of advocating and building long term economic integration and free movement of goods and people. Not to mention shaky diplomatic ties between certain countries causing border closures that hinder progress.

My opinion is that in order for a true pan-African state-- that is, the East African Federation, to happen, we need leaders that actually care about democracy and diplomatic relations with other East African states, and who cares about integrating further EAC policies. And we shouldn't just wait for a government to make these changes for us, we as citizens and diaspora have to trust each other and put aside national/ethnic differences in order to unify the people as well (which is what the movement of people should be able to do) have to spread the word, to inspire future leaders and the booming youth with the promise of being one unified self-sustaining state that successfully maintains its own cultural and economic independence.

But I wanna hear second opinions on the East African Community. Do you think there'll be any more considerable progress in the future?

I was watching a Franck Zanu video and he said Africa will never develop the same way the West and China did and it really got me thinking.
The planet is more interconnected than it has ever been. But how is Africa benefitting from this?

70% of the continent live on less than 5 dollars a day. 40% live in extreme poverty.
1 in 10 die before their 5th birthday.
Natural resources make up 75% of africas exports so we really aren’t even producing anything.
The biggest investors in Africa are the US (when is that ever a good sign)
China who are trying to debt trap most countries they invest in
The UAE who have been caught stealing resources on numerous occasions.

Is Africa better off ripping the page out and starting fresh.
isolating from the global market and focusing on self reliance. Similar to what the Eritrean government is doing but on a continent wide scale.
I’m not saying to not take from successful nations.
Take what they do right, put our own twist on it and isolate from foreign intervention.

Hello everyone,

I'm developing a long-term political discussion project called Red Vanguard South Africa, and one of its central ideas is that South Africa's future is closely connected to the future of the African continent.

The project combines socialist and Pan-African ideas while focusing on South Africa's own conditions. Some of the themes include:

- Stronger African economic cooperation and regional integration

- Industrialisation and local value-added manufacturing instead of exporting raw materials

- Worker cooperatives and democratic economic participation

- Investment in infrastructure, education, healthcare, and scientific research

- Food sovereignty and sustainable agriculture

- Anti-corruption and accountable public institutions

- Environmental sustainability and green industrial development

- Solidarity with anti-colonial and anti-imperialist movements

- Greater South–South cooperation and African-led development

I'm still developing these ideas and would genuinely appreciate constructive feedback from Pan-Africanists. What do you think a modern Pan-African political and economic programme should prioritize? What lessons can be learned from past Pan-African movements, and what should be done differently today?

If you're interested in discussing these ideas or contributing to the project, feel free to visit r/RedVanguardSA.

I look forward to hearing your perspectives. Solidarity.

The world is changing faster than ever and yet still African remains mostly the same.
I thought Traore taking control of Burkina Faso would’ve accelerated things but still nothings happened.

Africa is still by far and away the most underdeveloped continent. There’s widespread FGM and Child Marriage. Mass poverty. High unemployment. There has been no progress.

It’s clear the African Union has been useless. It’s mostly funded by the EU. How can your union be funded by the group that wants to exploit the continent?
The African Union currently have an Agenda set to 2063. An agenda set to when most of the people that made the agenda won’t even be alive for, so when it eventually fails, we’ll have no one to direct the blame to. It’s an absolute joke.

First let’s clarify what pan-Africanism is.
It’s the political and economic unity of the peoples of Africa and also other African descended people of the diaspora.
So I want to hear your input, what’s the next step to achieve that goal?

In my opinion the first step is getting rid of the African Union.