Bard College Berlin News
Left Panafricanism: Prof. Dr. Kai Koddenbrock publishes article on Senegal election and the CFA franc in The Conversation
Koddenbrock is a professor of political economy at Bard College Berlin specializing in economic sovereignty and self-determination in the Global South, and is a co-founder of the African Monetary and Economic Sovereignty conferences.
In the article, Koddenbrock outlines Senegal’s election of a new leftwing president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who promotes the idea of “Left Panafricanism” with vows to increase Senegal’s sovereignty in food, energy, and finance. In addition to Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have also expressed interest in leaving the CFA franc.
The road to leaving the franc zone will likely be difficult. “Historically, as shown by Fanny Pigeaud and Ndongo Sylla in their book Africa’s Last Colonial Currency: The CFA Franc Story, serious attempts at leaving the CFA franc since its inception in 1948 have been sabotaged by France,” Koddenbrock explains.
Outlining Senegal’s roadmap to leaving the CFA franc and analyzing the make or break factors, Koddenbrock concludes, “[Leaving the franc zone] will not be the end of the long road towards food, energy and overall economic sovereignty to the benefit of the people. But it will be an important symbolic and material victory against postcolonial interference and meddling. The colonial CFA franc has outlived its usefulness for today’s ‘Left Panafricanism.’”
Read the full article here.
Post Date: 04-19-2024