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Hypocrisy of mining companies

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A Great Deal of Nonsense
By John Hollaway
Published by Capricorn Books (2003)
ISBN 0-7974 -2734-1

IN his theory of world systems, sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein discusses the world economic system in which some countries benefit while others are exploited.
Wallerstein further explains the theory by presenting its three-level hierarchy which includes the core, periphery and semi-periphery.
Core countries are dominant capitalist countries that exploit peripheral countries for labour and raw materials.
The theory reflects the predicament of Africa whose countries are at the developing stage.
For centuries, developing countries have continued to supply cheap labour and raw materials to developed nations while they (developing countries) remain poor.
The book under review this week by John Hollaway, A Great Deal of Nonsense, tackles the issue of poverty in Africa and offers possible solutions in dealing with the numerous challenges that have hamstrung Africa.
Hollaway cites corruption as one of the reasons for retarded growth in Africa.
“When institutions are corrupted, terrible things happen,” says the author.
While the book has some misrepresentations, or omissions, depending on one’s point of view, it rightfully highlights the evils of the international system which ensures that the so-called developed and ‘strong’ nations thrive at the expense of the ‘weaker’ nations that continue to suffer despite possessing the resources enriching the West.
The exploitation of Africa is fuelled by aid money, which instead of reducing poverty, increases it.
“One reason is that ‘wealth’ is a somewhat dirty word,” says Hollaway.
“This is why the call from the aid agencies is not to create opportunities for individual prosperity, which is achievable.”
According to Hollaway, foreign aid dependency instills in the minds of the recipients the message that they cannot survive any future economic hardships without the support of handouts from rich Western countries.
Such a warped way of thinking has been deliberately cultivated and has become a powerful tool used by Western governments to keep Africa a begging continent.
Africa has therefore found itself at the mercy of NGOs whose duty is to ensure Africa never rises.
“There is one difficulty with all this ducking and diving to get aid money into places where its performance is difficult to quantify,” writes Hollaway.
“For a while, the projects might be conveniently judged to have a high success rate by the institutions that run them, it is not possible to escape the fact that the countries involved are getting poorer.”
Wealthy nations, therefore, have remained the owners of mining companies exploiting the raw materials that countries from the periphery possess.
The book highlights the hypocrisy of these mining companies that pretend to assist poor governments financially while they use those countries’ gemstones to finance civil wars.
Hollaway give examples of financed wars in Angola, Sierra Leone and Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“Mining companies want the largest possible area to mine in, arguing that the ore body might extend for miles,” he says.
“Governments tend to be generous about this. After all, somebody who is going to put millions into the country should not be deterred from being allowed to explore nearby.
The trouble is, the mining company sees this area as its property, and, if it is sensitive, will start ordering about any people living there.”
According to the author, the biggest problem in Africa is poverty and it must be addressed soonest rather than focusing on mundane things such as propagation of ‘human rights’ that include forcing Africa to accept homosexuality.
Instead, the international system is urged to put more effort in solutions that will close the gap between the rich and the poor.
The spread of HIV and AIDS in Africa is one of the challenges that Hollaway pushes developed nations to address.
But in typical white liberalism, he insists that to stem the spread of the virus, Africa must do away with some of its traditions.
“To thwart AIDS and conquer poverty in Africa, the developed world must support moves to discredit the idea of women and children as negotiable assets and in their place it must promote monogamy and the spread of private fixed property,” says Hollaway.
“These drugs are produced by the major (Western) drug companies, so they promote the thesis (not the fact) that HIV causes AIDS in order to sell their pills.”

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