Julio Godoy
20 April 2009
analysis
Berlin — Sub-Saharan African countries have of late become the target of a new form of investment that is strongly reminiscent of colonialism: investors from both industrialised and emerging economies buy or lease large tracts of farm land across the continent, either to guarantee their own food provisions or simply as yet another business.
In doing so, investors even deal with warlords who claim property rights, as in Sudan.
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and activists in Europe are denouncing this land grab in Egypt, Sudan, Cameroon, Senegal, Mozambique and elsewhere in Africa as a new form of colonialism.
Uwe Hoering, a German researcher on development policy for several European NGOs, including the news letter Weltwirtschaft und Entwicklung (World Economy and Development), called these investments "a new form of agrarian colonialism".
In an interview with IPS, Hoering said that the land grab in Africa became evident in 2008 as a consequence of the recent run to so-called bio fuels and the price inflation and scarcity of food.
Although the investments are also targeting fertile land in other areas of the world, sub-Saharan Africa appears to be these investors' main destination. The reasons are multiple.
On the one hand, "Africa possesses enormous land reserves," Hoering stated. "According to the United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organisation, only about 14 percent of the suited land in the continent is presently cultivated."
In addition, he said, many African governments are willing to allow this land grab to happen in their territories.
A list of the land grab investments of 2008 have been put together by the Barcelona-based NGO GRAIN, based on corporate reports.
It confirms that several industrialised countries, like Japan and Sweden, rapidly growing developing nations, like China and India, and oil-rich countries, especially from the Arab Gulf, and even Libya, are buying large estates in Africa.
GRAIN is an international NGO committed to promoting sustainable management and use of agricultural biodiversity based on people's control over genetic resources and local knowledge.
GRAIN also lists multinational private investors, like the Blackstone Group, Deutsche Bank, Goldman & Sachs and Dexion Capital, as participating in the creation of these new agrarian enclaves in the heartlands of Africa.
Even private industrial conglomerates, such as the South Korean Daewoo, are also investing in land in Africa.
"In July 2008, Daewoo leased 1.3 million hectare in Madagascar, about the half of the island's territory, to cultivate maize and palm oil," Hoering said. "Daewoo paid a symbolic price for the land. Allegedly, as compensation for the land lease, it is going to invest in public infrastructure."
Unsurprisingly, the investors include the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the commercial investment arm of the World Bank.
In Sept 2008, the IFC announced that it would greatly increase investments in "agribusiness development" in Africa, and South American states and in Russia because of new private sector interest in generating profits from the food crisis.
Part of its spending will be to bring "under-utilised" lands into production. In 2008, the IFC spent 1.4 billion dollars in the agribusiness supply chain, of which 900 million dollars went directly to agribusiness firms.
GRAIN also reports that the Blackstone Group, one of the world's largest private equity firms in which China has recently bought a stake, "has already invested several hundred million dollars in the agricultural sector, mainly in buying farmland in areas like south of the Sahara".
For Hoering, the land grab in Africa by countries such as Japan, South Korea, China, and Libya serve to guarantee their own national food security. "After the recent speculation on the cereal and other food markets and the spectacular price hikes, these countries have lost confidence in the world market," Hoering explained.
"They now want to be independent from speculators and be able tot control production and secure food imports."
The recent spike in global commodity food prices has also encouraged foreign investors to scramble for control of arable land in Africa.
Obviously, private investors see in the land grab a business with likely high returns. For instance, the Cru Investment Management, a British, Cardiff-based private investor, forecasts earnings of 30 percent for its agricultural fund investing in Malawi.
Duncan Parker, a Cru spokesperson, has said that Africa offers many incentives to investments, such as a strong workforce and the potential to be a top world food producer thanks to its fertile soil and abundant water and sunshine.
However, whether Africans will profit from these investments is another matter altogether. The wave of investments in foreign agricultural enclaves has led to new abuses.
"The most scandalous case yet is that of the U.S. investment banker Philippe Heilberg, who closed a deal with Paulino Matip, a warlord in South Sudan, to lease 4,000 square kilometres," Hoering argued.
Matip is a notorious warlord who fought on both sides in Sudan's lengthy civil war. He is one of the profiteers of a dubious 2005 peace agreement, after which he became deputy commander of the army in the autonomous southern region.
Heilberg, now CEO of the New York-based investment fund Jarch Capital, previously worked for the now battered insurance company American International Group (AIG).
Heilberg has been quoted as saying that, in his view, several African states are likely to break apart in the coming years, and that the political and legal risks he is taking will be amply rewarded.
"If you bet right on the shifting of sovereignty then you are on the ground floor. I am constantly looking at the map and looking if there is any value," he told U.S. media.
While denouncing the scramble for land, human rights groups have called attention to the vagueness and imprecision of laws on land ownership in south Sudan. They cast doubt on foreign investors such as Heilberg being able to claim legal rights over such estates.
The deal, which became public last January but was closed last July, has prompted human rights groups to denounce Heilberg's venture in South Sudan as a cynical, neocolonial enterprise.
"This is a case that recalls the worse colonial land grabs in Africa," Hoering added.
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Inventor ofthe helicpoter was Sikorski not one of my brothers. Check the facts. Another fact.. the rightful owners of Southern Africa are a minority of bushmen living mostly in Botswana. The Nguni were invaders from the north, the Ndebel or Zulu from Northern Africa down the east coast, the Batswana from Central Africa and so on. So lets be correct and give Southern Africa back to the bushmen so they can stuff it up like Mugabe,and the rest. Why doesnt Africa realise that Africa is part of the big world. So lets take back our lands. Then on the same argument let the europeans take back their money, cars, electricity etc. Its a one sided illogical African argument. The west doesnt want to take back Africa, its really sick of wars, crime, corruption, requests for handouts, medicines (another thing we should give back to the west when we take back our land) etc etc. The real problem we African need to resolve is ourselves, our tollerance of greed, bad management, dictators , mass murder etc. Then we will be able to develop our countries for our children, and sell our minerals at top dollar to the west. But with idiots like Mugabe and Gono around we are the laughing stock of the "demonitic" west. We should throw stones untill our own houses are in order.
TRUTH IS PERENNIAL AND IS NOW SHOWING UP. IT IS NOW OBVIOUS THAT THE ICC HAS BEEN TRYING TO REMOVE THE PRESIDENT OF SUDAN TO ACCEERATE THE BRAKE-UP OF SUDAN SO THAT IT CAN BE RECOLONIZED BY THE US. This is only one of the cases mentioned above.
The truth of the matter is the world is running out of resources to support and feed the profligate and insatiable lifestyles and appetites as the populations explode and the world economies go belly up. So Africa is one of the few remaining places to expand to; that is why the wars such as those going on in the Congo and the Sudan have THE subtext. They are really wars over resources - oil in Sudan and metals in the Congo, all of which are on land - underground. Most of these countries in Africa have been sold off as large tracks of land, unbeknownst to many Africans, are now really owned by world conglomorates, and the Africans are now merely squattters on their lands.
The future looks so bleak shooting wars over land resources will only increase and intensify, not decrease or abate.
The sad thing is that this time around it is corrupt regimes run by African dictators - not Berliners - that are selling Africa off.
That is why Africa, for their on interests and future, needs accountable governments that are elected and accountable to the people. Now the illegimate regimes are merely sub-colonialist agents doing the bidding for global interests and partners. These criminal, illegimate, and selfish regimes have no interests for the future of the Africans and Africa.
Nice article! At least it deserves the attention of African leaders in those countries!
The old colonial boys are still at it playing their exploitative games, along with their surrogate spawns Colonialism is not dead it has morphed into a shape shifter, and is being plaid with deadly efficiency and with far more guile than before Any one with a small amount of colonial history will see their evil Machiavellian hands on all their past colonies. The Colonialists have only shifted from physical control to psychological control through their surrogates. These surrogates are selected, trained, and reinstalled in the Target Countries . Their leaders to be replaced by the surrogates at the behest of the Puppet masters
We,as Africans,have the resources but cannot exploit them to the benefit of our own people or if there is a chance,only the elite benefit from them.That is why the west will always interfere with African affairs coz our govts r just as corrupt as them.Feed the people and steal from them whilst they r sleeping(belly full and hit).
The blame lies squarely on the shoulders of african leaders, leaders did not take advantage of independence to build a just society, the leaders have largely enrich themselves instead of wellbeing of the continent at large. Nothing is wrong with investiment, but lands should be rented out to the investors and the people whose land will be used be employed on the land to work and payed well with good infractructures such as schools, hospitals and housing provided to their family, this is where african government can cooperate with investors coming to African, nothing stops african leaders from giving conditions for investiments.
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* 16 European Nations Met And Plotted On How They Would Rob Africa Of Its Riches.
* They met during two(2) Periods of time in two(2) places
* The General Act Of Berlin Conference (Nov, 1884 to February, 1885)
* Brussels Belgium to finalize SECRET agreements ( Nov, 1889 to July 1890)
* The Book “King Leopold’s Ghost (1998) by Adam Hochschild documents some of This information.
The following Nations (Households) - Planned how they would divide among themselves our AFRICAN Riches.
1) Austria-Hungary - Francis Joseph I Charles - August 18, 1830 -
2) Belgium - King Leopold II – April 9, 1835
3) Denmark - Frederik VIII -June 3, 1843
4) France - Marie François Sadi Carnot – August 11, 1837 -
5) Germany - Wilhelm II -– January 27, 1859
6) Great Britain - Queen Victoria (Hanover) – May 24, 1819 – British Ruler – 2nd
7) Holland –William III – February 19, 1817
8) Italy - Umberto I - March 14, 1844 -
9) Norway - Oscar II [Oscar Frederik] – January 21, 1829 (Also Sweden)
10) Portugal - Carlos I – September 28, 1863
11) Russia - Alexander III Alexandrovich – March 10, 1845
12) Spain - Alfonso XIII – May 17, 1886
13) Sweden - Oscar II – January 21, 1829 (Also Norway)
14) Turkey - Abdülhamid II, - September 2 or September 22 - 1842 -
15) United States - Benjamin Harrison – August 20, 1833 -
16) Persia (Iran) - Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar – July 16, 1831 –
For centuries Black Africans have been exploited and exploited in the name of Islam. Then with the coming of the Portueses (so-called Christians) to Ghana around the 1440s , the so-called Christians started their exploitation.
We Black Africans are puzzling. We have a bounty of riches around us, yet we persist in allowing outsiders to steal them; while we fight each other over trivial matters.
Just in case you're wondering, here's some Black Africans who have done wondrous things to change the way we live in the world.
For example : Garrett-Augustus Morgan invented the Traffic Signal to CURB (no pun intended) TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS !!!
* Buridge & Marshman - TYPEWRITER
* George Carruthers - X-RAY MACHINE
* George Washington Carver - PEANUT BUTTER - PAINTS – PAINT STAINS – ETC
* W.A. Dietz - SHOE
* Charles R. Drew - BLOOD PLASMA STORAGE SYSTEM
* Michael Harney - LANTERN
* Augustus Jackson - ICE CREAM
* H.A. Jackson - KITCHEN TABLE
* Isaac R. Johnson - BICYCLE FRAME
* John A. Johnson - WRENCH
* Frederick M. Jones - DEFROSTER - REFRIGERATION CONTROLS – AIR CONDITIONER
* Jones & Long - BOTTLE CAPS
* Lewis Latimer & Nichols - ELECTIC LAMP
* John L. Love - PENCIL SHARPENER
* Tony J. Marshall - FIRE EXTINGUISHER
* Alexander Miles - ELEVATOR
* W.A. Martin - LOCK
* Garrett A. Morgan - GAS MASK - Traffic Signal
* Lydia Newman - HAIR BRUSH - Nov 15, 1898
* W.B. Purvis - FOUNTAIN PEN
* L.P. Ray - DUST PAN
* W.H. Richardson - BABY BUGGY
* G.T. Sampson - CLOTHES DRYER
* .W. Smith - LAWN SPRINKLER
* J. Standard - REFRIGERATOR
* T.W. Stewart - MOP
* Maxine Snowden - RAIN HAT - 1983
* Paul E. Williams - HELICOPTER
* Granville T. Woods - Roller Coaster
* Granville T. Woods - Telegraph Transmission Devices - Dec 2, 1884 Patents # - 308, 816 (7)
Thanks to The Black Inventors Museum P.O. Box 76128 Los Angeles , Calif. (90076) Phone (310) 859-4602)
Director : Ghanaian Mr. Hamza Salifa
Contributor of Information : SEESTAH Imahkus Nzinga Okofo
[This inspiring poem was featuring in the movie “Coach Carter ”]
Our Deepest Fear Is Not That We Are Inadequate,
Our Deepest Fear Is That We Are Powerful Beyond Measure.
It Is Our Light , Not Our Darkness That Most Frightens Us.
We Ask Ourselves, Who Am I To Be Brilliant, Gorgeous, Talented, And Fabulous ?
Actually Who Are We Not To Be ? You Are A Child Of God.
Your Playing Small Doesn’t Serve The World.
There Is Nothing Enlightened About Shrinking So That Other People Won’t Feel Insecure Around You.
We Are All Meant To Shine, As Children Do.
We Were Born To Make Manifest The Glory Of God That Is Within Us.
It’s Not Just In Some Of Us; It’s In Everyone.
And When We Let Our Own Light Shine We Unconsciously Give Other People Permission To Do The Same.
And As We Are Liberated From Our Own Fear, Our Presence Automatically Liberates Others
- Marianne Williamson -
(Nkosi Sikeleli Africa )
God bless Africa May her glory be lifted high Hear our petitions .
God bless us, Your children God we ask You to protect our nation Intervene and end all conflicts Protect us, protect our nation, our nation.
From the blue of our heaven, From the depths of our sea, Over our eternal mountain ranges, Where the cliffs give answer.
Sounds the call to come together, And united we shall stand, Let us live and strive for freedom, In South Africa our land.
[Enoch Mankayi Sontonga]
WAKE UP !!! STAY UP !!!
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