Op-Ed
Beyond the Rhetoric: Propelling African Development
By Harry C. Alford
NNPA Columnist
We have spent a lot of time trying to figure out this enigma about African development. We traveled to Ghana, Kenya, Botswana, South Africa, Tanzania and Ethiopia again and again. It was a blur but now it is starting to emerge as a solid vision. Africa, a continent of 53 nations, multiple religions; many languages and races and political incohesiveness is a very tough puzzle. On the positive side, it is a virtual basket of wealth and natural resources. No other continent on earth has the precious minerals, lakes, forests and 80 percent of earth’s arable land.
Like North America, the real wealth of Africa will not be realized until proper infrastructure is in place. The equivalent of the interstate highway system, Tennessee Valley Authority, East to West railway systems, Hoover Dam, etc. must be in place. Once established, great industries and economies will flourish. At long last it is beginning to take form. Africa is on the move and, unfortunately, America is a minor player.
There are 600 million citizens of Africa without the use of electricity. That’s 59 percent of the entire population. No major interstate transportation system and no major harnessing of potable water and irrigation exists. Fortunately, this is now being addressed.
Here are some of the major projects that will propel Africa into the 21stcentury.
BRICS Cable: BRICS is an economic alliance among Brazil, Russia, India, China and most recently South Africa. It is to compete with Europe and the United States in regards to economic growth and innovation. This project will connect these nations via cable and also mainline them with all corners of the world. The fiber optic cables will start in Vladivostok, Russia and go through Shantou in China and onto Singapore. From there, the cable will go to Chennai, India to Mauritius in the Indian Ocean and then to South Africa. From there it will go to Fortaleza in Brazil and then on up to Jacksonville, Fla. Thus, with South Africa as the receiving base, all of Africa will be connected via high technology with the entire world. Business at the speed of “thought” will be realized in Africa.
Lagos Metro Blue Line: This is a New York City-style rail line for the 18 million inhabitants of Lagos, Nigeria.
Ethiopia Djibouti Railway: The port of Djibouti will serve as a virtual seaport for land locked Ethiopia. Trade in Ethiopia will jumpstart exponentially.
O3b Networks: A $1billion satellite and fiber network providing Internet backbone to developing nations with limited access to broadband. This will connect several billion users within 177 nations.
Durban Waste to Energy Project: This model can be emulated. It will take methane gas derived from household waste and convert it to electricity serving the needs of the citizens of Durban, South Africa.
Abidjan-Lagos Motorway: This highway system will connect the nations of Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria along the western coastline. It’s an $8 billion project.
Mombasa – Kigali Rail Link: This major railway system will connect the capitals of Kigali, Rwanda and Kampala, Uganda with the major Kenyan seaport of Mombasa.
Grand Inga Dam: This hydroelectric project in the heart of the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be double the size of the massive China Three Georges Dam. This will certainly be a game changer for the center of Africa.
Rusumo Falls Hydroelectric Project: This will produce energy to markets in Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda.
Lake Turkana Wind Power Project: This is Africa’s largest wind farm scheme. It will supply northeast Kenya with 300 megawatts of clean power.
Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: This dam will work the Blue Nile River close to the Sudan border. The dam will flood 1,680 square kilometers, twice the size of Ethiopia’s largest lake, Lake Tana, and will supply precious water for farming and human consumption.
Mtwara Corridor Development Project: This is a series of over 300 infrastructure projects dealing in sea ports, railways, roads, bridges, airports, ferries and pipelines throughout the nations of Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia.
Jasper Power Project: This is a major solar project that will supply 96 megawatts to the Northern Cape of South Africa. The major funding, $12 billion, is coming from Google.
North South Corridor (NSC): This is a combination of 157 projects dealing in mining, airports, roads, rail and energy output. Eight nations including Tanzania, DRC, Zambia and South Africa will be connected in this industrial scheme.
Trans-Kalahari Railway: This will link the coal fields of Botswana to the seaport of Walvis Bay, Namibia. A game changer for land locked Botswana.
The above is just a sampling of what is going on in the continent of Africa. It is a transformation from rural, jungle in fact, to modern industrial might. The continent is arriving step by step and relatively fast.
Harry C. Alford is the co-founder, President/CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce®. Website: www.nationalbcc.org Email: halford@nationalbcc.org.
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Activism
Actor, Philanthropist Blair Underwood Visits Bay Area, Kicks Off Literacy Program in ‘New Oakland’ Initiative
These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.

By Paul Cobb
New Oakland Series
Opinion Part 3
The Post mentioned three weeks ago that a number of our local luminaries were coming together to support the “New Oakland” movement. As this current national administration continues to eliminate our “legacy” institutional policies and programs left and right, most communities find themselves beyond “frozen” in fear.
Well, esteemed actor, long-time Bay Area supporter, and philanthropist Blair Underwood returned to Oakland this week to speak with city leaders, community trust agents, students, the Oakland Post, and local celebrities alike to continue his “New Oakland” initiative.
This week, he kicked off his “Guess Who’s Coming to Read” literacy program in some of Oakland’s middle schools. Clifford Ray, who played the center position of the 1975 World Champion Golden State Warriors, donated close to 1,000 books. Ray’s fellow teammate Charles “The Hopper” Dudley also gave Converse sneakers to students.
These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.
Underwood also spent quality time with the Oakland Ballers ownership group and visited the amazing Raimondi Park West Oakland community revitalization site. In the 1996 TV film Soul of the Game, Underwood played the role of the legendary first Black Major League Baseball player Jackie Robinson and commended the Ballers owners.
“This group of sports enthusiasts/ philanthropists needs to be applauded for their human capital investment and their financial capital investment,” Underwood said. “Truly putting their money and passion to work,” Underwood said.
Underwood was also inspired by mayoral candidate Barbara Lee’s open-minded invitation to bring public-private partnership opportunities to Oakland.
Underwood said he wants to “reinforce the importance of ‘collaborative activism’ among those most marginalized by non-empathic leadership. We must ‘act out’ our discomfort with passionate intentions to create healthy change.”
Activism
Councilmembers Ramachandran, Kaplan, Unger Identify Funds to Save Oakland Fire Stations
Our budget crisis – one of the worst in Oakland’s history – is compounded by the fact that people do not feel safe coming to Oakland due to our public safety crisis. By investing in our fundamental public safety resources today, we can send a signal to the world that Oakland is open for business. We have such a rich and vibrant culture, arts, and food scene that is worth celebrating – but we can only showcase this if we are able to keep our neighborhoods safe. Having fully functioning fire stations are absolutely essential to these efforts.

By Janani Ramachandran
There is no greater concern to the people of Oakland today than public safety. Fire stations are the bread and butter of essential city services – and every day that we have stations shuttered, we imperil the lives of our community members. In response to widespread outcry over the current and planned closure of stations, myself, along with Councilmembers Kaplan and Unger, have painstakingly worked to identify millions of dollars of new funding to save our stations. The legislation we introduced on Thursday, February 13th, will amend our budget to prevent the closure of four fire stations that are currently on the chopping block due to our budget crisis and will re-open two closed stations that have already been closed – Station 25 and 28 – in the near future. The resolution that will provide the funding to keep our stations open will go before the full City Council for a vote at our meeting on Tuesday, March 4th at 3:30 PM – and we invite you to join us at City Hall to share your perspective on the topic.
Our budget crisis – one of the worst in Oakland’s history – is compounded by the fact that people do not feel safe coming to Oakland due to our public safety crisis. By investing in our fundamental public safety resources today, we can send a signal to the world that Oakland is open for business. We have such a rich and vibrant culture, arts, and food scene that is worth celebrating – but we can only showcase this if we are able to keep our neighborhoods safe. Having fully functioning fire stations are absolutely essential to these efforts.
With the devastating Los Angeles fire at the top of people’s minds, terrible memories of Oakland’s own wildfires are re-surfacing from the 1991 Oakland Hills Firestorm to the Keller fire just a few months ago – and how essential fire stations are to mitigating these catastrophes. But in Oakland, our fire stations don’t just fight wildfires – they also provide emergency medical services to our most vulnerable constituents, put out structural fires and encampment fires, and much more.
We recognize that there are a number of competing interests and important initiatives fighting for sparse City resources. But from my perspective, core safety services are the most pivotal functions that a City must spend its resources on – especially given the outcry we have heard around fire stations.
The fight to save our stations is not over. The resolution we introduced is a critical first step, and there are hurdles to overcome. If you support keeping our fire stations open, we invite you to be a part of the solution by making your voice heard at the March 4th City Council meeting at 3:30 pm.
Activism
NNPA Launches National Public Education and Selective Buying Campaign
“We are the trusted voice of Black America, and we will not be silent or nonresponsive to the rapid rise of renewed Jim Crow racist policies in corporate America,” stated NNPA Chairman Bobby R. Henry Sr. “The Black Press of America continues to remain on the frontline keeping our families and communities informed and engaged on all the issues that impact our quality of life.”

Washington, DC: The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), representing the Black Press of America, has announced the planning and implementation of a national public education and selective buying campaign across the nation in direct response to those corporate entities that have dismantled their respective Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) commitments, programs and staffing. NNPA Chairman Emeritus Danny Bakewell Sr. explained, “Now is the time for the Black Press of America once again to emphatically speak and publish truth to power.”
“We are the trusted voice of Black America, and we will not be silent or nonresponsive to the rapid rise of renewed Jim Crow racist policies in corporate America,” stated NNPA Chairman Bobby R. Henry Sr. “The Black Press of America continues to remain on the frontline keeping our families and communities informed and engaged on all the issues that impact our quality of life.”
At a recent convening of NNPA member publishers and editors, a united resolve was reached that each member publication of the NNPA will begin a national public education campaign coupled with the release of research data on those American companies that are engaging in efforts to sanction racial injustice, inequitable polices, divisive leadership, and economic apartheid in America.
“We note forthrightly that Black Americans spend $2 trillion dollars annually as consumers of products and services throughout the United States,” NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. emphasized. “We now must evaluate and realign to question why we continue to spend our money with companies that do not respect us,” Chavis continued. “This now must come to an end. These contradictions will not go unchallenged by 50 million Black Americans who have struggled for centuries to ensure equality, fairness and inclusion in our nation’s democracy.”
A selective buying campaign involves exercising the right to select what we spend our money on and who we spend our money with. We are starting with targeting TARGET.
The following are some of the major American companies that have publicly retreated from Diversity, Equity and Inclusion:
- TARGET
- Lowe’s
- John Deer
- Walmart
- Meta
- Tractor Supply
- Amazon
- McDonald’s
- Ford
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