Africa Day apparently is a day to celebrate the Organisation of African Unity 25th may 1963 is when the OAU was founded. Fighting against colonialism and apartheid is listed as an achievement yet they are being slowly colonised by the Chinese!!!!
Today is Africa Day and had I not read an article I would have no clue there was such a day lol. It just comes across as a bit meaningless really as what is there to celebrate? Personally the continent has got so much going for it yet everything is squandered for peanuts by the few who are in control. Countries normally have their own day which is normally independence or something that can be acknowledged. Africa is far from independent as deep down they are reliant on everyone else for aid. I would say China is the king of Africa right now as when they say jump the leaders ask how high.
What surprises me more than anything is these countries all wanted their independence yet they are selling themselves to the Chinese. By the time China are finished with Africa I expect they will own most of it as Africa is falling into a massive debt trap. Africa has over half the worlds stock of manganese which is a huge component of making steel. It is not surprising why China is so involved in the continent. At the end of 2018 there were more than 28 000 Chinese companies operating in Africa. In East Africa everywhere you turn there is construction and each new build is being done by the Chinese. No wonder their is now work for the locals as everything is being done by China as they don't employ anyone as they need it to keep their own population happy and busy.
If Africa really wanted to be a powerhouse and taken seriously then they need to change their ways. Every time a government takes over it is like a train. The agenda and destination remains the same and it is only the passengers who change but all have the same ideals of how much they can enrich themselves. Look at what Robert Mugabe did as a prime example. When he became Prime Minister of Zimbabwe he never had 5 cents to rub together and died one of the richest men in the world. The sad thing is his country paid the price for allowing him to stay in power.
If one just has to think with the raw materials alone that the continent has there should be no starvation or communities who don't have running water. What hit home the other day was a tweet from a gentleman in the UK.
In the 1950s, we all took 6p to school each month so 'little babies in Africa' could have clean water.
2020 - TV commercial asking for money so 'little babies in Africa' can have clean water.
70 years on - where did our money go?
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A very good question as nothing has changed and never will either. The sad thing is the rest of the world has dug deep into their pockets far too often and are only helping the rich get richer. Charities have no clue half the time whether their money is going to the rightful place as the people running the charities are also living off the proceeds themselves. I often wondered how a charity makes money if everything is being donated until I realised the ones running it are not doing it out of good will. They are some of the highest paid people around and in a sense a bunch of con artists. They are very good at getting people to part with their money. People with money like to feel good by giving something back and are way too gullible and trusting. America even has tax grants for companies giving foreign aid.
Just Google Africa and Charity and the lists are endless. It is obviously a good business to be in as many are making money on both sides. At home managing the charity and those handing out the diluted funds or aid. We have seen government ministers taking food parcels from the poor during the lock down. The reason is they can make serious money from peoples hardships and the rest of the world can't see it.
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Maybe I have lived in Africa too long to understand how everything works.
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Maybe they are genuinely non profit but what does that really mean?
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Another prime example is World Vision who are big in Africa.
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On average each year World Vision receives more than $1.1 Billion and over 6% goes to management. That is nearly $70 Million per year skimmed off the top.
The crazy thing is we can be having this conversation in 20 or 30 years time and nothing would have changed except we have got older. The truth is Africa kind of expects donations to help them out as they have become so used to it. Charity begins at home and believe the rest of the world should be fixing what they have as in theory they are making Africa worse off by giving the money. Africa needs to fix its own problems and the handouts are not helping. If you keep giving a beggar something he will always remain a beggar and this is what is happening here.
Ghadaffi ruled Africa as he understood what made the continent tick. he would whistle and everyone would come running as he had loads of Dollars and would pay for certain favors to be done. In order for Ghadaffi to be of relevance he would create conflict and in country fighting as that is how you divide and conquer. He came clean on an interview a few years before his death and he saw this as a game dominating simple, greedy people. Africa was a giant chessboard and this amused him to be able to have the power to change things.
The sad thing is with the right people in charge Africa could be a power house in the world. There is no need for poverty and starvation and they need to just kick the Chinese out and do everything themselves. Do not sell raw material and force the manufacturers to them giving the people jobs.Educate the people as now you have nothing to hide from them. Hiding their ill doings by not educating the masses is not helping the continent move forward.