Chagos islanders hope to return after UK cedes last African colony
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00:00Thanks very much for staying with us, time now for Eye on Africa with me, Georgia Calvin
00:06Smith. Tonight Britain says it will cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in an historic
00:12deal which could pave the way for the return of residents displaced by colonial strong-arming
00:18decades ago. Also, not enough is being done to safeguard, share and unpick Africa's vast,
00:25complex and fascinating history. I heard more about this from the founder of a Ghanian
00:30organisation working throughout the continent and diaspora, deepening understanding in order
00:36to better prepare Africa to grasp its future. And Ethiopian motorists face a tough drive
00:43after the government's ban of petrol and diesel vehicles. The intention was to force a change
00:48of lane and encourage a green shift, difficult to do in a country where about half of the
00:54population still can't count on regular electricity. But first, Mauritius says that Britain's handing
01:04over of the long-contested Chagos Islands draws an important line under the Indian archipelago's
01:10colonial history. The UK's last African colony is at the heart of a decades-long bitter dispute
01:16and long-running human tragedy. Laurent Berchteke talks us through.
01:24After decades of international pressure, Mauritius was handed back control of the
01:29Chagos Islands by the UK. A symbolic victory hailed by the country's prime minister
01:34as proof that smaller nations can obtain justice.
01:39Some thought it was impossible because a small country like ours would never be able to make
01:45their case against such great powers. Located at the centre of the Indian Ocean,
01:53the Chagos archipelago used to be part of Mauritius when it was still a British colony.
01:59In 1965, Britain decided to separate the two territories in order to build a military base
02:05on the largest island in the Chagos, Diego Garcia. The base was then leased to the US
02:12and was used in several conflicts, including wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
02:17Central to Thursday's agreement, Mauritius agreed to let the UK retain control of Diego
02:22Garcia for the foreseeable future. A move hailed by Joe Biden, who said the base still played a
02:28vital role in national and global security, but that will for now prevent the return of
02:33Chagossians to the island. In the early 70s, Britain evicted over 1,500 Chagossians from
02:52their homes. Many have since mounted a series of legal claims for compensation
02:57and are now hoping to return. In a joint statement on Thursday,
03:01the British and Mauritian governments said they would strive to address the wrongs of the past
03:06and support the welfare of the Chagossians.
03:10Now, leaders from around the world, including many from across Africa,
03:13have been arriving in Paris this week for a summit that France hopes will boost its
03:18influence around the world. It's the first time the summit's been held here in 33 years
03:23and comes after the Elysee's sway in Africa has recently taken a series of hits.
03:28But the Secretary General of the International Organization of Francophonie,
03:33who's also Rwanda's former foreign minister, on Thursday made clear that the gathering is not
03:39just a celebration of France as such, but of French-speaking cultures, many of which are African.
03:48In international organizations and in European organizations, the French language is in decline,
03:55but the number of speakers is increasing, not least because of African demographics,
04:00because more than half of African countries are members of this organization,
04:04and these are countries with extremely young populations.
04:11The Francophonie organization is not France.
04:16If the Francophonie were today as it has been in the past, an organization that was manipulated
04:22or led by France, I don't think I would be here.
04:28Now, that link between understanding of the past and the construction of a better future
04:33is crucial to the continent's development. Language, culture, history, all essential
04:38components to both diplomatic soft power and the forming of a nation or a region's sense of
04:44identity and ambitions. Earlier, I spoke to the founder of a Ghanaian NGO working to foster
04:50better understanding of the continent's vast, complex and varied backstory.
04:57The symbol in the AXA Foundation logo is the Sankofa bird, which means literally go back and
05:05get. And for us, learning from our past informs our future. When I was ambassador of Ghana to
05:14UNESCO, I realized that there were many people who didn't know, including, I have to say myself,
05:21that we had 28 forts and castles in Ghana registered and listed as UNESCO World Heritage
05:27Sites. And I made it a very urgent ambition to make sure that people knew more about this
05:37and that the sites were labeled as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
05:43The AXA Foundation has also done tours in partnership with Google Arts and Culture,
05:49virtual tours, which you can find on the Google Arts and Culture website, highlighting very
05:54important and significant sites to do with the transatlantic slave trade, colonialism
06:02and the independence struggle. Ghana has come full circle from being the country where Europeans
06:11first arrived in search of gold and subsequently the transatlantic slave trade developing to
06:20being the country, first colonized country to be independent in Africa. And so Kwame Nkrumah
06:28and Ghana really initiated the liberation of Africa from colonialism. Martin Luther King
06:40was at our independent celebration and was inspired to go back home and fight for civil
06:46rights in the U.S. All this history needs to be told. And I think the progress of Africa
06:55is very much tied to the past experiences that Africa has had.
07:00So how do you go about telling this history? And what do you focus on? It is an endless,
07:09enormous task. How do you package up what your goals are when it comes to trying to make
07:17the world, not just Africans, more familiar with the backstory of the continent?
07:23Yes. So we put in the framework of the past, the present and the future, and we try and create
07:29a bridge between our past and our future. So for us, one of our very important programs
07:36is Tech for Girls. And Tech for Girls, which I initiated when I was first at UNESCO,
07:44is a program where we teach young girls coding skills, which will inform, change their lives
07:55really, and give them those skills. As a 15-year-old, I came to England and in sixth form,
08:02I was able to study computer science from a very pioneering lady. I did an O-level in computer
08:09science when I was in sixth form, and that I found changed my life because I embraced technology.
08:16I really enjoyed coding. Unfortunately, I didn't go on to study coding or computers. I studied law.
08:25However, I made sure that my family, my children, my husband, even my mother had computer skills,
08:33which they could use in a life-changing way. And I feel that this is something which can actually
08:40change and transform the future of Africa if we teach girls computer skills and to code.
08:49Well, this year, Ethiopia banned the import of petrol and diesel vehicles, forcing divers to
08:55convert to electric cars. And despite the environmental considerations behind the shift,
09:00the step is a pretty radical one in a country where only around half the
09:04population has access to reliable electricity. Our correspondents tell us more.
09:11Nati no longer has to wait in line at gas stations in Addis Ababa. In January,
09:16the government banned the import of petrol and diesel vehicles, so he bought an electric car.
09:21I just saved a lot of money for fuel, and it's a brand new car. I like it, that's why I buy it.
09:33He now spends 14 euros a month on electricity, compared to 160 euros on fuel.
09:39But charging stations haven't opened up yet, so he powers his car at home, which isn't always easy.
09:46Sometimes there's no power, so we don't go out to work. We just wait for you.
09:55Nati chose a Chinese electric car, which on average costs 10,000 euros less than European
10:01models. This dealer saw this as an opportunity and now specialises in selling and repairing
10:06electric vehicles. He partnered with a Chinese manufacturer who provides an on-site technician.
10:13The team is helping us to fix the cars and to communicate with the factory
10:20and train our staff for the future.
10:23While electric cars are cheaper to operate, they're still expensive, starting at 25,000 euros.
10:29If you are buying a car, it means that you are almost joining the middle-income curve,
10:35because cars are very expensive in Ethiopia because of many reasons. Among them,
10:41the major one is the tax is somehow higher than other countries. When it comes to electric cars,
10:47the government has made a lot of adjustments. But the thing is, the logistic cost is very high.
10:52Since 2019, Ethiopia has imported 100,000 vehicles, with plans to reach 400,000 by 2030.
11:00Well, that's it for Ion Africa for now. Thanks for joining us. Do so again if you can. Take care.