Business Daily (Nairobi)
Owen Mukamana
13 November 2007
opinion
Nairobi — I was deeply shocked and saddened to read the article by Allan Odhiambo in your online edition headlined: EU boss to Kituyi: Take our deal or hit the highway.
The matter of EPAs and whether or not to sign them, is of fundamental importance to the wellbeing of the Kenyan economy. I have followed the debate with the keenest interest, seeing how important it is. That is why I am more than surprised at Mr Odhiambo's article.
We live in a different world from the days when the West exploited others by the power of guns and by the domination of high seas. In the information age, colonisation is by economic strangulation.
It is in the interest of the EU that Africa must never develop. In the outgoing world order, the power equation between the two has been to the EU's advantage.
Why should they want to change that by giving Africa a fighting chance to develop? Did your writer pause to consider that before writing his article?
The EU being as powerful as it is, is arm twisting poor countries to gain advantage, and throw them deeper into the deepest levels of poverty. It is not interested in the development of Africa.
It is, in many ways, fighting to secure its place in a new world order in which new emerging powers are gaining ground by the day.
The choices our ministers face are stark. Do they protect our horticultural markets and throw away jobs to Europe? Whatever decision they take will lead to job losses.
But let us take a realistic view of our horticultural exports. The truth is that this is a fragile market that can be blocked at any time using excuses such as global warming.
Indeed, most analysts familiar with European way of operations believe that this industry is living on borrowed time.
Times have changed but European trickery towards Africans remains the same. The principle that was in play when Africans were given a mirror in exchange for land still remains in play.
Only in this case, we are being offered horticultural markets in exchange for economic independence. Have we not learnt any lessons from our history.
If your readers are aware of Peter Mandelson's reputation as the Prince of Darkness in his native Britain (a title well and truly earned due to his fluency in lies -read spin), then they would be embarrassed about such brazen cheerleading. Notice how Mandelson never mentions job losses in Africa that will follow the signing of the EPAs,
For Africa to develop, it must develop its own economic institutions and industries. Europe knows that Africa is ripe for economic take off. But Europe wants 80 per cent of that economic growth exported from Africa. It is anyone's guess where to.
It is time to put a stop to the principle of "take a mirror and give me your future". Africa has been drawn into an economic war with Europe. It has no choice but to protect itself.
This will be painful. But not as painful as the war for independence, when lives were lost and blood was shed. We have to make painful sacrifices to secure our future.
A farmer may decide not to eat all his maize, to preserve some as seed maize. His family may suffer hunger in the mean time, but the consequences of eating the seed maize will be hunger throughout the next year. One tin of seed maize gives yield to a whole plot of harvest.
Let us open our eyes, and weigh what comes from foreigners carefully. We all have a responsibility to our selves and our children.
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