Justice for Africa is not merely a slogan; it is a call to action that echoed powerfully in Addis Ababa during the 46th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union (AU). At the heart of this gathering was a defining message: reparations for Africans and people of African descent are both a moral imperative and an economic necessity. This session on reparative justice highlighted Africa’s enduring colonial scars and the pressing need to address historical and systemic injustices.

Mr. Claver Gatete, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), delivered a compelling address on the structural inequalities that continue to hinder Africa’s economic growth. From the transatlantic slave trade to colonial-era resource extraction, Africa has suffered relentless economic dispossession. Yet, paradoxically, it remains one of the world’s most resource-rich continents. It holds 30% of the world’s mineral reserves, 40% of its gold, and up to 90% of its chromium and platinum. Additionally, 65% of the world’s arable land lies within its borders. Despite these vast resources, Africa accounts for less than 3% of global trade and only 1% of global manufacturing output—an economic imbalance that calls for urgent redress.

The historical context of this economic injustice is deeply rooted in Africa’s past. The Berlin Conference of 1884–85, orchestrated by European powers, led to the arbitrary partitioning of the continent, disregarding existing ethnic and political boundaries. This facilitated a system of forced labour and ruthless exploitation of Africa’s wealth. Under King Leopold II’s rule, for example, an estimated 10 million Congolese perished between 1885 and 1908 due to brutal colonial policies in the Congo Free State.

Similarly, the transatlantic slave trade, spanning the 16th to 19th centuries, forcibly removed millions of Africans from their homeland, stripping the continent of its human capital and leaving a legacy of suffering. The effects of these atrocities persist today in the form of systemic racism and global economic disparities.

The injustice extends beyond historical exploitation. Africa remains significantly under-represented in international financial institutions. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), for instance, allots the entire African continent the same voting share as Germany, despite its 54 sovereign nations. Additionally, biased credit rating systems label most African economies as high-risk, increasing borrowing costs and deepening cycles of debt.

One of the most striking economic paradoxes discussed during the session was Africa’s disproportionate burden in the fight against climate change. Despite contributing the least to global carbon emissions, Africa bears the brunt of climate disasters, losing up to 5% of its GDP to climate-related damages annually. Yet, from the US$10 trillion invested globally in clean energy between 2015 and 2022, Africa received just 2%. This glaring disparity underscores the need for equitable climate financing mechanisms that recognise Africa’s vulnerabilities and provide substantial funding for adaptation and mitigation.

To address these injustices, Mr. Gatete outlined five crucial pathways:

1. Reforming the Global Financial System—Advocating for debt restructuring, fair credit assessments, and greater African representation in global financial decision-making.
2. Harnessing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)—Strengthening intra-African trade, industrialisation, and regional value chains in a market of 1.5 billion people with a combined GDP of over US$3 trillion.
3. Maximising Resource Value Addition—Shifting from raw material exports to local processing industries that create jobs and economic growth for Africans.
4. Engaging the African Diaspora—Mobilising the global African community for economic investment, cultural partnerships, and heritage-based initiatives.
5. Fostering Free Movement and Regional Integration—Implementing the AU Protocol on Free Movement of Persons to unlock economic opportunities and unity.

Justice for Africa is not just about historical reparations—it is about reclaiming economic sovereignty, securing fair access to global markets, and dismantling structures that sustain African dependency. As Africa asserts its rightful place on the world stage, the AU’s commitment to reparative justice serves as both a rallying cry and a strategic blueprint. The time for action is now, and the world must listen.

King Richard Igimoh is an award-winning communication strategist with over two decades of experience in the field. He excels in Diplomacy, Journalism, Economic and International Affairs. As the Group Editor and a key member of the management team at the African Leadership Organisation, he continues to contribute significantly to promoting Africa’s dignity and opportunities globally

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Prime Minister Meloni has taken a step further in her administration’s foreign policy with her shift of focus to Africa. The Prime Minister, since the beginning of the 2024, has visited Egypt and Tunisia, the first of many trips to the continent. Italian government have declared their desire to explore deeper African ties with the advent of their new African foreign policy, ‘Mattei Plan’.

The Mattei Plan, named after Enrico Mattei, business mogul and founder of petroleum giant, ENI, marks a significant shift in the Italian foreign policy a strategic move in improving Italian interests. The policy adopts the ideology of leveraging partnerships and diplomatic maneuvers to strengthen mutual development and influence between the host nations and the Italian government.

The Mattei Plan was first announced on October 25, 2022 at Meloni’s investiture speech to the Chamber of Deputies, as a collaboration between the European Union and the African continent. The policy was initially aimed at containing Islamic radicalism in sub-Saharan Africa. But the need to follow in Enrico Mattei’s legacy in advocating energy independence and geopolitical influence was imbibed within the framework of the plan. With this, the Italian government aims to utilize the influence of ENI within the continent to accentuate its plans.

The Mattei Plan is predominantly an economic plan by the Italians to improve its infrastructure, energy and industrial investments across Africa. The policy is expected to focus on sustainable development projects to promote employment, technology transfer rather than the common resource extraction. This strategy is meant to enhance the host countries economic resilience and also cultivate a long-term bilateral relationship between Italy and the host country.

In today’s geopolitics, alliances between nations are crucial as they not only provide economic support between partnering nations, but also protects their interests in global politics. A good example of this is the USA-Israel alliance. With the Mattei Plan, Italy seeks to bolster its global political influence with the support from its African partners. Italy seeks to secure its position with other international players; USA, China and Russia. Deeper ties with Africa also improves Italy’s position in international forums and as a mediator in regional conflicts.

With the exit of the French from African countries like Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, the Mattei plan can deepen Italy’s military presence in the continent and go a long way in resolving the varying conflicts within the Sub-Saharan Africa. Italy has over 250 military personnel in Niger, training local forces and combating jihadi violence.

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The Mattei Plan has proposed ambitions plans and goals to accomplish within the African continent. But the stigma of neocolonialism still hovers in the air of the continent and as such the Mattei Plan has not been met with open arms. The depose of the French by Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso was an awakening for African nations and since then, there has been wariness of Western presence. This is going to be a hindrance to the actualization of the Mattei Plan by Giorgia Meloni’s administration.

The diverse landscape of the continent is also going to proffer a tough task ahead for the Italians. Africa is a multi-lingual and multi-tribal continent with diverse political orientation. Navigating through the political landscape and ensuring equitable distribution of economic benefits is going to prove difficult for the Italian government and will be influential in the long-term success of the policy.

The success of the Mattei Plan is going to depend greatly on Italy’s ability to ensure a sustainable partnership based on mutual respect and benefit.

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Tunisian Foreign Affairs Minister, Othman Jerandi recently held a phone conversation with Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani to discuss bilateral ties and some Issues bordering on immigration.
This was made known in a statement released by Tunisian ministry of Foreign Affairs to the media in which Jerandi confirmed that the dynamism of Tunisian-Italian relations is within the framework of supporting the strategic partnership between the two countries.
“Since 2021, Italy has become Tunisia’s top investor in energy and the second-largest foreign investor, with 901 Italian companies operating in Tunisia with high capacity”, Jerandi said.

The two countries’ cooperation was strengthened by the announcement of an electricity interconnection project by sea between Tunisia and Italy, known as the ELMED Mediterranean power interconnector project, whose funding amounts to 307.6 million euros (around $331 million).

The two ministers also discussed opportunities for closer cooperation against illegal immigration and setting up mechanisms to encourage legal migration.

Italy and Tunisia have earlier agreed on a cooperation framework that respects Tunisia’s sovereignty to counter immigrations that may not be legal.

The Northern most country in African, Tunisia, is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east, at the opposite side of the Mediterranean Sea across the Atlantic Ocean is Italy, hence the common usage of Tunisian’s coast to migrate to Italy in ways considered to be risky.

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The deal is expected to be signed on Tuesday between US firm Occidental Petroleum, Italian energy giant, Eni and a French company, Total.

Tebboune and Italian Prime Minister, Mario Draghi revealed details of the deal in a joint press conference held in Algiers.

Italy is winning to reduce its dependence on Russian natural gas after its invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.

The leaders met in Algiers on the fourth edition of the Italy-Algerian summit, a partnership Rome describes as privileged.

Algeria has been Italy’s main source of gas since the Russian tension and has supplied at least 14 billion cubic meters to the European nation since the invasion of Ukraine.

Algiers will add a further 4 billion cubic meters of natural gas to its supplies to Italy in what’s considered an acceleration of the reached arrangement.

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“The main objective is to contribute to the implementation of the United Nations action plan and to consolidate the political, legislative and security conditions that support it,” Sayala said in a statement to the Italian news agency Aki.

For his part, Milanesi reiterated his country’s support for an open and democratic election, stressing Italy’s commitment to conduct a regular dialogue with all credible interlocutors in order to facilitate national reconciliation as soon as possible.

Relations between both countries and ways of enhancing them were also discussed.

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Italy is sending its ambassador back to Libya, its foreign ministry said on Monday, making it the first Western diplomatic mission to reopen in the divided country.

Italy closed its embassy in Libya in 2015 as rival factions descended into a conflict which has let people smugglers operate with impunity and Islamic State establish a firm foothold.

The foreign ministry said in a statement the ambassador would present his credentials to the local government on Tuesday. A ministry spokeswoman said he would then starts work in Tripoli almost immediately, having received the approval of U.N.-backed Prime Minister Fayez Seraj’s government in December.

“The Italian ambassador is returning to Tripoli after two years. A great gesture of friendship to the Libyan people. Now more controls on migrant departures,” Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano wrote on Twitter.

More than half a million migrants have arrived on Italy’s southern shores in the past three years, many packed into boats by traffickers based in Libya.

Italy, which once counted Libya as a colony, has set up a military hospital near the western city of Misrata and leads the European Union’s Mediterranean mission which began training the Libyan coastguard in October.

The foreign ministry also said it would work to improve trade links and promote investments in infrastructure and energy.

At a meeting in Tripoli on Monday, Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti and Seraj agreed to reinforce cooperation on security, the fight against terrorism and human trafficking.

The pair pledged to tackle all forms of smuggling and protect Libya’s southern borders, an Interior Ministry statement said, adding, “The Italian embassy that operates from Tripoli will be the principal coordination centre for all these projects.”

Other Western diplomatic staff were evacuated from Libya in 2014 as lawlessness worsened three years after rebels toppled Muammar Gaddafi. While several countries have said they plan to reopen embassies, none have yet done so.

British and French ambassadors who presented credentials late last year are now based in Tunisia.

By Reuters

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A strong earthquake shook central Italy early Wednesday causing extensive damage to areas near the epicenter and killing at least 37 people.

The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude at 6.2 with an epicenter about 10 kilometers southeast of the town of Norcia. The shaking was felt across a large part of the region, including the capital, Rome, 150 kilometers away.

The quake struck just after 3:30 a.m. and was followed by multiple aftershocks. Italy’s civil protection agency said several hundred people were injured and many people are in need of temporary housing.

“Quakes of this magnitude at this depth in our territory in general create building collapses, which can result in deaths,” said the agency’s head Fabrizio Curcio.

The hardest-hit areas included the towns of Amatrice and Accumoli. Amatrice Mayor Sergio Pirozzi told state-run broadcaster RAI a large portion of the town was destroyed.

“The whole ceiling fell but did not hit me,” said Amatrice resident Maria Gianni. “I just managed to put a pillow on my head and I wasn’t hit luckily, just slightly injured my leg.”

Rescuers worked after daybreak to try to reach those trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings.

People stand by a road following a quake in Amatrice, central Italy, August 24, 2016.

“We need chain saws, shears to cut iron bars, and jacks to remove beams: everything, we need everything,” civil protection worker Andrea Gentili told the Associated Press.

The Rev. Savino D’Amelio, a parish priest in Amatrice, called the situation an “immense tragedy.”

“We are only hoping there will be the least number of victims possible and that we all have the courage to move on,” D’Amelio said.

Wednesday’s quake was not far from the the city of L’Aquila, hit by a 2009 quake that killed at least 300 people.

By Voice of America

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