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GHANA,
THE BEGGING MILLIONAIRE – AFRICA, THE BEGGING TRILLIONAIRE
Recently, I witnessed in dismay a tirade
by a white man in the first class cabin of a mid-size
airplane, admonishing another first class passenger, a
Ghanaian male, for “begging” for his seat. What is wrong
with you Africans? All you do is beg, beg, beg for
everything!! You can beg all you want; I am not going to
give you my seat. Tempers finally cooled down, and the
aircraft took off. Unfortunately, I was sitting next to this
white man who, a few minutes ago, had insulted my whole
race. With nothing else to do, I turned and asked him “what
was all that about”? Apparently, the Ghanaian man was
travelling with his “wife”; they had been seated in 1st
class on separate rows, and apart. The man had asked this
white man to exchange his seat, so the couple could be
close. The white man had refused, but the Ghanaian man had
persisted with numerous “I beg you”; which eventually took
the white man to his boiling point. “So what would it have
cost you to exchange your seat?” I asked. His response, the
essence of this article was this.
“I booked my flight the last minute, and got the last 1st
class seat available, this one. This means it was also
available to this man, if only he had asked to be seated
close to his wife. He did not, but now comes “begging” for
what WAS DUE HIM in the first place.” “That still shouldn't
get your collar up”, I said. “You may be right;
unfortunately, I have just finished a month long
negotiations with your Ministers and Government officials
over your god given mineral rights, and what my gold mining
company should pay.
I come to your country, see all this poverty everywhere,
with wealth right under your feet. Your own government gives
only foreign companies the rights and privileges to rape and
steal your country blind. For a few thousand dollars, your
government officials allow these foreign companies to walk
away with: (a) Perpetual tax holidays, (b) Duty free
imports, (c) Bloated capital and operational investment
costs,
(d) under-declared mineral output, (e) minimum wages for
local employees doing all the work, but FAT salaries and
expense accounts for foreigners who do almost nothing; (f)
exaggerated cost of shoddy school blocks and boreholes
instead of meaningful royalty to local land owners and
communities;
(g) destruction of local farm lands with pitiful
resettlement payments; (h) pollution of local drinking
water; (i) destruction of local infrastructure, etc.
My bosses had counseled me at a briefing before my
departure. I was asked to read your Osageyefo's
“Neo-Colonialism”. Then I was told: “be prepared, and the
first, to offer the negotiating team, (a) a few thousand
dollars each; (b) a center, or a 6-room school block, or a
few bore holes for the community; and there will be no
mention of the usual above 10% royalties, or an actual
government oversight of our operations, or adequate
resettlement compensations, etc.”
I did not believe my bosses since I, a mere high school
graduate, was coming to deal with officials with Masters and
Doctorate degrees. Imagine my shock and disappointment when
these officials, instead of demanding what is
INTERNATIONALLY ACCEPTABLE COMPENSATIONS AND ROYALTIES for
their country and communities, only accepted the 3%
royalties, and with ALL KINDS OF GIVEAWAYS, and then came to
me later BEGGING me to deposit “something” in their foreign
accounts (numbers written on pieces of paper). I do not want
to hear the phrase “I beg you” again.
The irony here is that these so called Educated people,
after negotiating away the countries wealth, and depositing
their “something”s into foreign banks, turn round to go and
BORROW their own money from the IMF, World Bank, or “Donor”
countries/ “Development Partners”. Do you remember the
number of PhD beneficiaries, and the destinations of the
Mabey & Johnson kickbacks? It amazes me that your
intelligentsia, Ministers and Presidents, who have studied,
or have travelled oversea, still don't get the idea that
“THERE IS NO FREE LUNCH”. THERE ARE NO “DONOR COUNTRIES” OR
“DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS”. THE FOREIGN MINING COMPANIES TAKE
YOUR MINERALS FOR NEXT TO NOTHING, DEPOSIT THEIR HAUL INTO
THEIR BANKS, AND THEN TURN ROUND TO LOAN THE SAME TO OUR
GOVERNMENTS, AGAIN WITH REDICULOUS CONDITIONS.SUCH AS “NO
SUBSIDIZED” BASIC EDUCATION.
Surely, companies like Anglogold and Newmont are
contributing to our economy, I offered.
“At what price? Have you been to Obuasi recently to see the
devastation and destruction of once a beautiful city?
Newmont has over 740 sq. km concession in Ahafo; what did
the Ahafo's get in return for Newmont's ANNUAL revenues of
over $750,000,000? Almost NOTHING!!
This is exactly what your first President was talking about
in “Neo-Colonialism“. Have you read that book? He asked me.
I was ashamed to answer “No”. “I don't blame you; none of
your “Educated” officials at the negotiating table had read
it. That book ought to be a must-read textbook in your
schools and colleges, so that you can understand how foreign
companies and governments strive to rob you blind, just as
before. Only this time, their methods are cloaked in
one-sided “agreements” with the connivance of your
“Educated” Managing Directors, Ministers, and Presidents.
“How can you accuse our officials of complicity?” I asked
defensively. Has your media asked why the MD's of the Ghana
Chamber of mines keep defending the mining companies, or how
a Ghanaian, working for a Ghanaian/British joint company in
Ghana earned the “Order of the British Empire (Sir)”? Can
you imagine these foreign companies, under the watchful eyes
of your govt. officials, paying the indigene 5 pesewa (GhC
0.05) ground rent for their acre of concessional land after
they have hauled away GhC 1,000,000 from the same acre?
THE BIG COMPANIES, NEWMONT AND ANGLOGOLD ARE NOT EVEN
ASHAMED TO CONNIVE WITH YOUR GOVT OFFICIALS TO SIDESTEP
PAYING THE INCREASED 5% ROYALTY. THEY ARE PAYING THE 5%
BASED ON ANCIENT GOLD PRICE OF $300.00/OZ INSTEAD OF THE
CURRENT WORLDWIDE PRICE OF $1500.00/OZ., SHORTCHANGING YOUR
PEOPLE $75,000,000 in the process. Unfortunately, your
negotiating officials are happy to giggle to the foreign
banks with their thousands, accompanied in some cases by
“Dr”s and “Sir”s.
Even the Chinese are getting in on the act, albeit
ILLEGALLY. They are threatening communities with guns and
firepower, AND YOUR MILITARY LOOKS ON UNCONCERNED. Your
media is just as bad. With buffet lunches or dinners and a
few Cedis in their pockets, your print media become the
propaganda machines of these mining companies. They tout the
few boreholes and the 6-room schools, but leave out the
callous treatment of local employees and residents, and the
destruction of the environment. The airwaves are SILENT on
all this. WACAM IS THE LONE VOICE FOR THE PEOPLE. Why don't
your media SUPPORT WACAM by broadcasting and educating the
masses, especially the officials that (a) THE UNITED NATIONS
DOES NOT APPROVE OF FOREIGN COMPANIES ROBBING THE INDEGENES
FULL BENEFITS OF THEIR GOD GIVEN MINERAL AND OIL DEPOSITS.
(b) Before Rawlings, foreign mining companies in Ghana could
not hold more than 40% interest in their partnership with
the government; now the Ghana govt. holds ZERO percent,
while they hold 100%,; and therefore do not account to any
authority.
A 50% annual return on investment (ROI) for the first 7
years, is generally considered EXCELLENT. Foreign mining/
oil companies in Ghana and the rest of Africa, are
PERPETUALLY hauling away over 400% return on their
investments, without any regard to the plight of the
indigenes.
I feigned sleep, so he stopped talking. I was actually
reflecting on all that he had said. I realized that YES, we
had become too “give me, give me”; “I beg”, “I beg you”; “My
Christmas box”; “Give us something for water”.
I am reminded by this my brother's analogy. His cat will
“meow” for some food, usually crumbs, in his bowl outside.
The bowl of food will attract the resident mice. One would
think the cat would opt for the juicy mice, NOO. He would
lay there and watch the mouse eat all his food, and then
come back “Meowing” for more crumbs.
WE WATCH OUR OFFICIALS GIVE AWAY OUR GOLD, OIL, BAUXITE,
DIAMOND, ETC FOR THEIR MEAGRE KICKBACKS, WHILE WE WALLOW IN
POVERTY. IT IS TIME WE WAKE UP FROM OUR SLUMBER, AND TAKE
WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY OURS AT THE NEGOTIATING TABLE. AT THAT
TIME, WE CAN TELL OBAMA AND CAMERON TO TAKE BACK THEIR GAYS
AND AID.
Nana Kofi
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