Colonization has been blamed for most if not all of Africa’s problems. By doing so, corrupt and greedy African leaders get absolved of any crimes. Colonization was blamed for exploitation of Africa’s resources, social fragmentation, economic underdevelopment and political instability. From our research, we found that systemic corruption and greed has done more harm to Africa than colonization.
Modern Day Slavery.
March 25th is known as Remember Slavery Day. This is the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave trade. As we ‘remember’ what history taught us, it is important to address modern day slavery in Africa. According to our research, 46 percent of employees in eight African countries reported that they had worked for at least three months without getting a paycheck from their employer. While some reported to have not had a paycheck for close to ten months, even with the rising cost of living in Africa. This is a clear definition of modern day slavery. These employees continue to show up to work because they feel ‘privileged’ to have a job, and an obligation to their employer. Many governments are complicit in this abuse, we found that some government officials were perpetrators of this modern day slavery. They own the businesses that don’t pay their workers in time, and these workers are helpless as these government officials are supposed to be the custodians of the law. These issues are always ignored, even as some activists demand reparations from their former colonizers for African’s suffering during colonization. Neocolonialism is made possible by government officials and leaders who only look out for their own interests and not for the welfare of their citizens.
Slave Trade
Colonization made slavery possible and this agreeably was a crime against humanity. However, an expose by CNN showed African migrants being auctioned and sold for as little as $400 by other African smugglers. The constant luring of workers from African countries to go abroad to the Middle East and abroad has been facilitated by some government officials. One government official in Kenya had an ‘employment agency’ that was reported as a human trafficking hub for transporting Kenyans to work in the Middle East. Most of these domestic workers reported abuse and torture at the hands of their employers in the Middle East, and some have been killed and died while working abroad. The governments have been very slow at addressing the human rights violations and abuses taking place in Africa, and the African Union has not helped stop this situation. One of our previous articles addressed the problem of the humanitarian crisis in Africa leading to the desperation to flee the continent and the migrant crisis that the African Union has overlooked for so long. Domestic workers in Africa work for long hours with very little pay. The very high taxes imposed on Africans is punitive for all the funds to be embezzled and misappropriated by their respective governments. Côte d’Ivoire is the highest taxed country in the world, with citizens paying 60% income tax rates. Kenya’s government announced taxation for all and is planning on eliminating tax waivers, as well as introducing a punitive ‘pollution tax’ for motorists to help curb carbon emissions and ‘fight climate change’. An expose by the BBC showed the sexual slavery in Kenya’s tea plantations, and the abusers were Kenyan managers.
Exploitation of Resources.
Countries in Africa remain in poverty as a result of corruption and greed from their leaders. African leaders have amassed vast amounts of wealth and is mostly stashed offshore. International investigative journalists have exposed African leaders hiding their wealth that was in acquired illegally. The exploitation of minerals in Congo has been by political leaders, the blood diamonds in Sierra Leone Botswana has been by government officials colluding with Western companies and governments and so many other cases. An expose by Aljazeera has uncovered a gold smuggling syndicate that almost bankrupted Kenya and Zimbabwe. This expose showed corrupt government officials including Presidents and ambassadors working with local businessmen to exploit gold reserves in Africa and smuggle precious metals abroad while they enriched themselves. Oil has also been overexploited by politicians in oil-rich countries in Africa. This creates the economic imbalance in these natural-resource rich countries, and they end up with starving and impoverished citizens.
Bad Governance and weak institutions
African countries are plagued by bad governance, because leaders are rarely held accountable. They tend to get away with almost everything they do, and this is why Africa is a rich breeding ground for dictators. Corrupt institutions such as the judiciary make a mockery of the law as politicians can easily buy their freedom. African leaders are known to use intimidation, tribalism and nepotism meaning that some groups will remain marginalized for decades. Government officials make decisions and agreements with foreign governments and corporations that end up being unbeneficial to Africans. For instance, Kenya’s government has revoked title deeds for farmers that had been resettled near the Galana Kulalu irrigation scheme. These farmers have been rendered squatters, yet the same government offers 300,000 acres of land to an Italian energy firm Eni Spa. Many Kenyans have been displaced internally and are not receiving much help from their government
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