South Africa’s Malema Calls for a United States of Africa, Warns Against Foreign “Debt Traps”

South African opposition leader Julius Malema has issued a forceful call for African unity and sovereignty, advocating for a continent with one president, one currency, and one military, while simultaneously warning against the dangers of foreign loans.

Speaking as a keynote speaker at the Nigerian Bar Association’s Annual General Conference in Enugu, the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) declared that Africa’s “salvation” will not come from foreign capitals but from within. He positioned Nigeria and South Africa as the critical engines for this future, urging them to industrialize together and process the continent’s vast resources on African soil.

A central pillar of his address was a stark warning against loans from international financial institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which he described as a “debt trap” that mortgages Africa’s future.

He revealed that his party has introduced a bill in the South African parliament, the Public Finance Management Amendment Bill, to require parliamentary approval for foreign loans, a move he suggested should be a model for the entire continent.

Malema’s vision for a unified Africa includes: A single president, currency, parliament, and military command; the removal of all colonial borders and the establishment of a borderless continent; and visa-free movement for all Africans.

He also directly addressed the issue of xenophobia in South Africa, calling it a “betrayal of African unity.”

He stated that Nigerians and other foreigners are not the cause of South Africa’s problems, which he attributed to poverty, inequality, and government failure.

The speech combined a celebration of Africa’s potential wealth and self-sufficiency with a critique of current leadership and foreign economic influence, framing unity and financial self-regulation as the only path to true liberation.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

See author's posts