The Neo-Colonial Land Grab in Africa

[marmar]

from OnTheCommons.org:




The Neo-Colonial Land Grab in Africa
Outside nations are once again dividing up Africa-- this time for biofuels and mineral rights

By Nikhil Aziz


It is the tradition at World Social Forums (WSF) to focus a considerable amount of time, energy, resources and attention on issues faced by people in the host region and country. The 2011 World Social Forum in Dakar, Senegal that I had the privilege of attending was no different.

Africa and African issues suffused the WSF throughout the week the forum took place.

One of these issues was the massive land grabs that are taking place all across the continent. Appropriately called the New Scramble for Africa, it is eerily similar to the mad rush by European colonial powers during the last quarter of the 19th century to divide Africa up among them. This time, however, actors include both multinational corporations and nations such as China, India, South Korea and various Gulf Arab states such as Saudi Arabia among others.

The African network for social progress FAHAMU estimates somewhere between 20 and 50 million hectares of African land is already part of this grab. To put it in perspective, 50 million hectares is twice the size of the United Kingdom. And it likely won’t stop there. 



At stake once again are Africa’s resources – its minerals (like in the Democratic Republic of Congo) and its land (from Madagascar and Ethiopia to Senegal and Namibia). African land is being sought in 90-year leases either to grow food crops for export to those countries with scarce arable land or to grow fuel crops like jatropha and palm oil for ethanol, even as almost 300 million Africans are hungry. Or, the land is sometimes being snapped up simply for speculative purposes. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://onthecommons.org/neo-colonial-land-grab-africa

[P. Galore]

1. China has upped the ante on this big time. And the African leaders are showing

that they are truly the descendants of those who sold their brethern into slavery and are now selling their own countries out from under themselves.

Really sad.

And it's happening all over the globe, not just in Africa. Now that the arctic is melting, the rush is on there, too.

[classysassy]

2. Solomon

said it first," There is nothing new under the sun,what has happened will happen again",once again greed raises it's ugly head and devours a land and its people.