From Volume 37, Issue 10 of EIR Online, Published Mar. 12, 2010
Africa News Digest

LaRouche Alternative for African Development Reported in UN Circles

March 6 (EIRNS)—Lyndon LaRouche's proposal for a new credit system to replace the International Monetary Fund, as the way to develop infrastructure in Africa, was reported March 4 on the MediaGlobal website. The site has informal ties to the UN Secretariat, and describes itself as an "independent media organization." LaRouche has proposed a Four-Power agreement of China, Russia, India, and the United States, to establish a fixed-exchange-rate credit system, as an alternative to the bankrupt IMF monetary system.

Referring to central and east Africa, author Rachel Pollock explains that "The Northern Corridor is the 'busiest and most important route in central and east Africa,' linking Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda to the Kenyan port of Mombasa, according to the Northern Corridor Transit Transport Coordination Authority (NCTTCA). The route also provides links to southern Sudan, Ethiopia, and northern Tanzania. There are a variety of infrastructure facilities along the route, which include a road network, rail network, rail-lake transport, inland water routes, inland container depots, and an oil pipeline."

Pollock then refers to LaRouche's view: "Lawrence Freeman, director of the African Desk of Executive Intelligence Review at the Schiller Institute [sic] told MediaGlobal, 'We have to situate the usefulness of the Northern Corridor in the larger context of vital infrastructure projects needed for the survival of Africa. The recently proposed rail line from Port Sudan to Dakar is an example of the type of infrastructure projects that will integrate Africa and create new cities and manufacturing centers, which will generate new physical wealth, uplifting Africa out of their abject poverty.' In addition to providing land-locked African countries access to ports and trade routes through high-speed rail transportation, energy production and water management are essential to the transformation of the Northern Corridor. Freeman told MediaGlobal, 'Nuclear power is the most efficient way to provide the energy needed for a productive economy. We should support the Republic of South Africa's production of Modular Pebble Based [sic] nuclear reactors. In addition to water management, nuclear-powered desalination of water would provide billions of new cubic feet of potable water.' "

Pollock continues, "More recently, Lyndon LaRouche, a notable economist, is organizing for a four-power alliance between Russia, China, India, and the United States. The idea is to initiate a new credit system to invest in global infrastructure projects in rail development and nuclear energy, which would greatly benefit the economic development of African countries."

In her article, "East African Community not reaping the economic benefits of the Northern Corridor," Pollock reports that the East African Community-USA Trade and Investment Council held its inaugural meeting in Kampala, Uganda, on Feb. 15, "to discuss challenges of trade-related infrastructure and ways to expand investment and trade opportunities within the region," and blamed "poor access to transportation along the Northern Corridor" for the current slow growth in trade.

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