Why Some Countries Still Pay Colonial Taxes

history and geopolitics

Transcript

00:00Some African countries are still paying colonial taxes decades after independence.

00:07After France gave independence to 14 African nations, it didn't just walk away.

00:14It made them sign agreements, saying if they wanted to be free,

00:18they had to keep paying France for the so-called benefits of colonization.

00:23Even today, these countries must deposit up to 50% of their national reserves into the French central bank,

00:33money they can't fully access without permission.

00:37That's billions locked away.

00:39And it doesn't stop there.

00:41The currency they use is still controlled by France through a system called the CFA franc.

00:48So the question is, who really controls these countries?

00:53Is it their people or their past?

00:56It's called independence, but it doesn't feel like freedom.