Monday 13 June 2011

Hands off, Harvard.....

Africa and her peoples give comedians and ex-colonialists enough material to make her the butt of many jokes. 'The trouble with Africa is it's full of Africans..... etc. ad nauseum'. Corruption, poverty, crumbling-infrastructure, disease, illiteracy, political instability and poor service delivery are just a few of many seemingly insurmountable problems that Africa has to endure.

There's a fine line between capitalism and exploitation. Taking unfair advantage of corruption or illiteracy doesn't justify the capitalistic nature of the transaction, even if legal. Plato said 'One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors'. He could also have said 'Capitalism benefits from inferior governance' and that is exactly what some US 'Institutions of higher learning' are exploiting.

Profit-driven institutions including Harvard, Vanderbilt and Iowa Universities, some of which, perversely, find the need to front their land ('grab') purchases through agents in London, have acquired extensive tracts of land in Africa for pittance. 49-year leases for £25000, 25-year tax waivers and the displacement of thousands of Africans reliant on subsistence for survival, are just a few of these 'deals' which require international scrutiny.

...and you call us corrupt..!




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