By Desmond Milya
A few friends and i were in awe while watching Inside Africa this past week. After over 3 days of deliberations The International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) and the World Federation of Diamond Bourses made a resolution calling for legislation by all countries importing rough diamonds, requiring all imports to be polished and officially parceled by the exporting countries, in a bid to stop the multibillion dollar sale of conflict diamonds worldwide. Wonderful!!! Definitely a step in the right direction and these are efforts the whole world should applaud. The story went on to tell about a Senator in the U.S trying to push a bill through congress to this effect. Now here we were thinking 'this is great! Somebody’s finally noticing the urgency of the situation!’, until, the Senator in question appeared on TV and when asked by Isha Sesay what the bill was all about, he said, that the legislation was geared at determining who controls these mines... need I say more?!!
My friends and I looked at each other and shook our heads in disgust! Because this is the typical African story; Africa has something we need, so let’s go to the diamond-laden villages with little goodie bags feed a few starving kids, pave a few roads in the jungle, give people clean water, throw in a few electric generators while we’re at it and decide for them what happens to their natural resources! It’s ridiculous! That just means a decision made in the U.S congress could lead to America deciding exactly who mines where, when and how.
Don’t even know why I’m surprised this is so typical, because there’s no other way to explain how a continent which lacks absolutely nothing SEEMS to have... absolutely nothing! The British enjoy a 99 year leasehold control over salt mining in my country, Kenya. They grow coffee on our land process the beans in the U.K and sell refined branded coffee back to us at absurd prices. Now the U.S wants to 'decide' who controls mines in Congo huh?
And Isha Sesay didn’t ask the Senator what gives the U.S the right to do this. The bill probably won’t make it through the committee stage because, let’s face it; Africa may be important but not really worth anyone’s time in Congress. What’s startling is the imperialistic mindset that even drew up the bill to begin with. They probably did it just because they could huh? Isha Sesay should have taken the Senator to task over this issue. You know, We like to believe it did but colonialism never really ended, did it?
4 comments:
Related to economics in Africa, I'd be interested in your research and synopsis on the topic of gray market activity in Africa. It happens on a massive scale and influences international business throughout this continent. It raises many yet unsolved problems.
well i cant wait for when we'll have intelligent leaders who can say we can do without your aid and we wont sign any treaties with you!
I do believe that the answer isn't so much the need for intelligent leaders, but daring and courageous citizens. They make the leaders. It's for each one of us to stand up and say no there is a better way out.
I do believe that the answer isn't so much the need for intelligent leaders, but daring and courageous citizens. They make the leaders. It's for each one of us to stand up and say no there is a better way out.
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