What Burkina Faso’s State-owned bank means for South Africa

Political analyst Lunga Mrhetjha says the establishment of the Burkindlim – Burkina Faso’s first State bank – is a step in the right direction “as the three Sahel giants seek to free themselves from French occupation and colonial dominance.”

“In an era where Africa is heavily colonized through financial instruments, it is good to see an African nation that understands the importance from the bondage of monetary system, especially the debt mechanisms that have been created by the IMF, The World Bank and the broader Washington Consensus,” Mrhetjha told Vulankungu in an exclusive interview.

The leader of Burkina Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, officially launched the West African nation’s first State-owned bank in a ceremony that took place on Friday, 2 August 2024.

Traoré invited the Burkinabè, public and private development organizations and economic operators to use the Burkindlim bank to participate in the work of collective construction of a sovereign economy that will serve the development of the country.

“With integrity as its compass, this bank is a tool and a symbol of economic and financial sovereignty of Burkina Faso. It will be closer to the populations and will contribute to the socio-economic development of our country through a more adapted method of financing structuring projects and programs,” the president of Burkina Faso said.

READ MORE: Political analyst Mrhetjha says social grants are here to stay.

Coming closer to home, Mrhetjha said the lesson that South African citizens can learn from the Burkinabe is to reject the coloniser and their ideas of what a good society resembles.

In his view, the coloniser’s version of a good society runs contrary to the best interests of the natives, adding that there’s plenty of evidence to prove this point.

Moreover, Mrhetjha believes that South Africans in general have a great problem when it comes to political illiteracy, “which is heavily compounded by the corrupt fourth estate that serves the interest of white minority capital and the global capitalist establishment.”

To back his point, the analyst highlighted the lack of quality in leaders in South Africa as testament to the issue of political illiteracy.

“A lot of these people that we call ‘leaders’ have been socialized to have a Eurocentric outlook on life, in virtually every aspect. Even those who look to the East as a way to revolt against the West are suffering from this mentality.

“I don’t think we are capable, at least at this moment in time, to produce leaders like Traore. But then again, I’m fine with that. I don’t like it when people look for leaders out there. They must realize that the leader lies within. If you can’t lead yourself and your family, how can you possibly lead in your community and the broader society? It starts by finding the leader within,” he said.

Thirty years into SA’s so-called democracy, the country has failed to establish its own State bank. Mrhetjha explains that the reason for this failure is that the country has a government that “talks left but walks right.”

“Treasury is busy implementing austerity right now and SARB [South African Reserve Bank] is obsessed with monetary policy tightening. We need a bank that is commercially chartered to serve the banking needs of the population. The current banking trajectory in South Africa allows for the financial sector to cannibalize both the state and its people for gluttonous profits.

“As it is, the big 5 banks have a combined balance sheet of over R7 trillion, while adding very little value in the productive sectors like agriculture and manufacturing. We need a government that is firm, that will not allow capital to rise above political authority,” Mrhetjha asserted.