Mother Africa: Rich while poor.
We all know Africa is an incredibly rich continent. Rich not only in culture, foods, languages, diversity, and experiences, but also in resources. Africa is arguably the richest of all the world’s continents to comes to resources. But if our motherland is so rich, then why are the majority of our people so poor? It makes almost no sense... Financial Times investigative journalist Tom Burgis was wondering the same question, and went straight to Africa to find his answer. As a former correspondent in Lagos, Nigeria and Johannesburg, SouthAfrica he was able to find innumerable infractions that easily explained why such resource-rich countries have barely made much progress in this post-Colonialization era. He found that wholesale expropriation of resources during colonial times has barely slowed.
The political powers of European governments (such as the British and Portuguese) would come in and make deals with a select few who would allow them to tap the resources for a period of time. What do these locals do once this political presence is gone? The continue to mine & drill oil fields, padding their pockets with dinero $$. This is where corruption comes from.
And it’s no secret that the leaders of several of our African nations are also engaging in these deals. Though deals are not always political, and are sometimes Made with private business owners Or companies, The fact still remains that post independent African nations are still being subjected to modern-day exploitation.
Because of this reliance on resource revenue, leads corruption and oppression persist. Many leaders of African nations are not accountable to their people. In Angola, a recent audit revealed that $32 billion disappeared from official accounts between 2007 and 2010, a quarter of the country’s entire income. "Governments can behave that way if they doesn't need the consent of its people.”
It’s no wonder the rich keep getting richer, and the poor get poorer.
So! The problem: the exploitation of Africa’s natural resources.
What could be a solution to the problem? Burgis states that our nations should attempt to develop high-skilled industries from natural resources rather than just exporting raw materials, such as our diamonds and precious metals. Manufacturing metallic goods or diamond polishing plants are an example. This author believes that diversifying economies away from a single resource (like ONLY oil drilling or ONLY mining) can alleviate the need to depend on other nations.. not to mention, it provides jobs for your country people!
Another idea: keep resources IN the country and implement high tariffs on exportation, thereby protecting domestic industries. And though this is a GREAT IDEA, many African leaders have been reluctant to adopt these ‘extreme measures’ for fear that it could cut into the money padding their pockets. Smh.
These ideas are nothing short of great.... but with the current state of Affairs in the majority of African countries right now, it maybe darn near Impossible to put natural resources in these countries to work for the common good. Why??
We strive to educate ourselves on a daily basis regarding these issues. They’re not issues of one or a few countries, they are issues that plague the entire continent of Africa. We hope that articles like this might induce us to think more about what’s going on in our motherland. And with that thought, we hope to bring about more discussion. The initiation of a Discussion today, may bring about a change in our world tomorrow.
If You haven’t already, please go pick up Tom Burgis’s book “The Looting Machine”. His book details not only HOW Africa can be so rich and poor at the same time, but also what solutions might help mitigate our problem. Getting rid of corruption is step one. And though he offers solutions to our issues, he also acknowledges that these problems could possibly never be fixed... and as disheartening as that is... it could be reality..
