MBOKA NA BISO
JF-Expert Member
- Jan 31, 2025
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Under pressure, all other East African Countries backed out of the joint decision of stopping Africa to be a dumping site! Instead they kept taking used clothes to keep AGOA benefits.
Some Presidents have backbones and straight pan-Africans who act and not give empty speeches.
When Rwanda was chairing the East African Community (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, South Sudan, Rwanda), they saw tons of used second-hand clothes flooding the region.
President Kagame's argument in the EAC meeting was this;
Many EAC countries grow a lot of cotton but export it raw, without adding any value.
At the same time, they import tons of used clothes
He asked: "When are we going to build our textile industries?"
All leaders agreed to make it very expensive to import used clothes, to force development of local textile industries.
But this is what happened next:
1. Weeks later, the US lobby that exports used clothes went to those EAC leaders and warned them.
2. The warning: "You cannot stop importing used clothes. If you do, you will be struck off AGOA [African Growth and Opportunity Act] beneficiaries."
3. Under pressure, all other EAC countries backed out of the joint decision and kept taking used clothes to keep AGOA benefits.
4. Rwanda was left alone - they didn't even know others had backed out.
5. Rwanda was struck off the AGOA list. The others remained.
But Rwanda tried to fight it.
Rwanda sent messages to the Africa desk in Washington saying it wasn't fair - you are forcing us to take used clothes that hurt our industry, or we lose the good part of AGOA. The US position was: "Take this one (used clothes) or lose the good one too."
Rwanda says it was ignored.
PresidentPaulKagame said "That's the story about aid. It's about dependence."
The journalist from BBC also backed President Paul Kagame on this.
"What President Kagame is saying here aligns exactly with what I learned from the interviews I conducted." BBC
Some Presidents have backbones and straight pan-Africans who act and not give empty speeches.
When Rwanda was chairing the East African Community (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, South Sudan, Rwanda), they saw tons of used second-hand clothes flooding the region.
President Kagame's argument in the EAC meeting was this;
Many EAC countries grow a lot of cotton but export it raw, without adding any value.
At the same time, they import tons of used clothes
He asked: "When are we going to build our textile industries?"
All leaders agreed to make it very expensive to import used clothes, to force development of local textile industries.
But this is what happened next:
1. Weeks later, the US lobby that exports used clothes went to those EAC leaders and warned them.
2. The warning: "You cannot stop importing used clothes. If you do, you will be struck off AGOA [African Growth and Opportunity Act] beneficiaries."
3. Under pressure, all other EAC countries backed out of the joint decision and kept taking used clothes to keep AGOA benefits.
4. Rwanda was left alone - they didn't even know others had backed out.
5. Rwanda was struck off the AGOA list. The others remained.
But Rwanda tried to fight it.
Rwanda sent messages to the Africa desk in Washington saying it wasn't fair - you are forcing us to take used clothes that hurt our industry, or we lose the good part of AGOA. The US position was: "Take this one (used clothes) or lose the good one too."
Rwanda says it was ignored.
PresidentPaulKagame said "That's the story about aid. It's about dependence."
The journalist from BBC also backed President Paul Kagame on this.
"What President Kagame is saying here aligns exactly with what I learned from the interviews I conducted." BBC