Africa is a huge continent and blessed with abundant natural resources. Why then is Africa so poor and has to go around begging for charity, for aids, for infrastructure to be built for free? Or worse, to beg western countries, IMF and World Bank for loans at high interest rates with strings attached to tie them for good, to be poor for centuries? Has Africa learn anything after being looted and deprived of development for ages while depending on western so called aids and loans? Why are these aids and loans not turning Africa into more developed states, economically viable nation states? Why are the western countries, with the natural resources of Africa, getting richer and richer, but Africa getting poorer and poorer despite all the natural resources...loaded to taken to western countries?
The centuries of colonialism, a 4 letter word, have impoverished Africa till today, taking all the resources for free and moving them to Europe and America, and still with many African heads of states and even the population blindly allowing themselves to be controlled by the West and still grateful to the West, and still believing in their lies that China and Russia are the enemies of Africa and the West are the good guys, the caregivers and protectors of Africa and Africans. Fortunately, the Africans have removed their blinkers and know who have been robbing them and making them poor and keeping them poor with so called aids and loans.
For centuries, the West have monopolised and controlled the trade of natural resources in Africa. They were the sole buyers and dictate the prices of the raw materials. If the West refused to buy from African states, the raw material and resources would be laid to waste, like dirt. No takers and no buyers. And the Africans have to beg the West to buy their natural resources at dirt low prices. It is all about supply and demand after the end of free goodies with the end of colonialism. Still, the West determine the demand and the Africans did not have any option.
The picture has changed. China is now a big buyer, not a colonial master. China is in Africa to buy African resources and produce at a mutually agreed price, as an alternative buyer to the West. The West has to compete to buy the resources and material. The law of supply and demand comes into play and a more decent price can be negotiated on an equal terms, with seller and buyer making the best of the deal.
The nationalist leaders of Africa have been thumping their chests that they are not beggars. This is true and real. But they must be practical businessmen, to put up their resources to sell to the highest bidders. All the natural resources of Africa are money, if they can find the buyers. There is thus no need to beg for freebies. This leads to the next narrative, Africa has pride and would not want to beg or need to beg. The simple solution, convert the natural resources to money.
The whole African continent is money. The Africans must be smart to manage and to trade or exchange their resources for money for the good of their countries and people. Do not go begging for alms or for freebies and not to return anything in kind. Nobody owes Africa a living. Be proud, barter trade is honest trade. Trading natural resources for money or infrastructure is fair game, fair trading practices, not the same as looting under the colonial masters. Africa can afford to pay for all the infrastructure with African money, ie natural resources. Do not be conned by the West that China is stealing African resources. China is buying African resources with tangible assets, infrastructure or just money. The ones that stole from Africa were the colonial masters. They stole everything without paying a single cent. The Africans must be clear in what is fair trade and what is robbery by the West.
The West is spreading the lie that African leaders are stupid and cannot negotiate fair trade deals with China and China is stealing natural resources from Africa. Is this true? Ask the West how much they have stolen from Africa over the centuries during colonial conquest and rules? Ask the West to repay their debt to Africa, to return the loot they plundered from Africa. China does not take anything from Africa for free. China is not a colonial master in Africa cheating and stealing from Africa. The African leaders would not allow it. The world would not allow it. Colonialism is not China's cup of tea. It is free trade and free exchange.
The West can keep on telling their white men's lies. The Africans are smart enough to know the truth. All the raw material and natural resources are money, the wealth of Africa. Trade and use them wisely to benefit the people of Africa. It is not a shame to sell natural resources. They are money if there are buyers, but dirt if no buyers. Australia is selling millions of tonnes of its iron ore, coal, oil etc etc to China. Why is is wrong for Africa to sell its resources to China? The West would want Africa to keep all its natural resources in Africa, as dirt, not to be converted to money. Maybe they would return to take them for free under Neo Colonialism.
