CONVERSATIONS WITH MAWERE
"Invest in the change you want to see"
- Mutumwa Mawere -
African mines remain theatres for external operators
Posted on April 28th 2008
AFRICA is and for a long time will remain one of the major mining areas of the world and its position in the geography of global mining in terms of resources, production and trade appears quite strong. However, this apparent strong position fails to adequately reflect the underlying reality.
Africa is the birthplace of mining activity with the oldest ever discovered mine that was operated more than 45,000 years ago located on an iron site in Swaziland.
Even at the beginning of European adventures into Africa, there was evidence of fairly developed iron metallurgy.
Notwithstanding Africa's undisputed pioneering mining and metallurgical tradition, its modern mineral story commenced with the diamond rush in Southern Africa at the end of the 19th century.
The decolonization of Africa was partly motivated by a shared vision to democratize access to the continent's vast resources by all its peoples and yet after more than 50 years of uhuru, attempts to challenge the hegemony of Western capital's dominance of Africa's resources have not succeeded.
The mining industry we see today in Africa is not a consequence of an accident of history but a direct result of the interplay between European state and non-state actors who in their wisdom decided to appropriate to themselves and their successors the continent's rich heritage to the extent that we still have no significant indigenous challenge to the colonially-inherited positions and interests of international mining capital.
Unlike European colonization of South America which was from the beginning linked to the exploitation of precious metals, gold and silver, Africa's mercantilist capitalism was for centuries based on plundering human resources through the slave trade and mineral wealth was largely neglected.
Early in the 20th century, the whole continent of Africa with the exception of Ethiopia, was under colonial domination and, therefore, its mineral resources were franchised to private companies based on banking and industrial monopolies underpinned by capital conquests and in some instances on violent conquest by the European powers.
The independent adventurers who participated in the diamond rush of the 1870s in Southern Africa were supported and manipulated by British imperialism. At this time, the main mining companies which were to dominate the African mining scene for the last 120 years were established - mainly Rio Tinto-Zinc, De Beers, Consolidated Gold Fields -- with people like Rhodes playing a leading role as one of the founding fathers of African mining.Rhodes, as his fellow Rand Lords, made huge profits from Africa's rich mineral resources and there is no evidence of either any indigenous person ever being allowed by the colonial state to acquire wealth from mineral resources or such class of individuals fairing any better in the post-colonial state.
In post-colonial Africa, the competition for exploiting Africa's mineral wealth is now between European / American/ Canadian / Australian and Chinese / Indian capital with indigenous Africans continually playing a marginal role.
Although cronyism is often frowned upon in post-colonial Africa, the colonial experience was characterized by close ties between Britain and European financial centers and the Rand Lords who gained power and prestige that has been seamlessly transmitted to their successors at the exclusion of indigenous people.
By the end of the 19th century, Rhodes who owned both De Beers and Gold Fields had founded British South African Company (BSAC), a company that was to play a leading role in the colonisation of central Africa. Until the mid-1920s when the British administration took over, BSAC ruled the territories of Zimbabwe and Zambia.
De Beers Directors - 1896 (Rhodes seated in the centre)
Truncated agreements with the local chiefs granted mining concessions to the BSAC in all the territories it ruled and such arrangements were readily confirmed by the British government. Later, BSAC granted an exclusive licence to two mining enterprises owned by British, American and South African interests.It was only in 1964 that the post-colonial Zambian government acquired the concession rights of BSAC against a compensation of £2 million. However, the government of Zambia had nothing to show for its ownership of the copper mines suggesting a faulty line in the construction of a post-colonial mining strategy.
The pattern of granting mining rights whereby colonialism was organized by private mining companies with the support and on behalf of the imperial state was not limited to British Central and Southern Africa but was also applied to the Belgian Congo where the Katanga Mining Company was the ruler.
As we negotiate Africa's future, it is important that we attempt to locate the role of indigenous monopolies in the quest to broaden and deepen empowerment. Would it be harmful to Africa's future if we created our own New Rand Lords to take the lead? What should be the role of the post-colonial state? What should also be the role of the African citizens in the reconfiguration of the politics of African mining?
The political balkanization of the continent inherited from the colonial state presents one of the major challenges that post-colonial Africa faces especially in the contemporary era marked by the setting up of great politico-economic entities like the EU and the modernization of China and India.
The fortunes of African geology and history located the main deposits in countries of limited economic and demographic size raising the question of the significance of a fragmented Africa on the global stage in the face of homogenous consuming zones such as India, Brazil, EU, China, USA, Canada or Australia.
It must and should be accepted that for the foreseeable future, Africa will probably remain a strategic theatre for external operators and many conditions must be realized before it can become an autonomous actor with its own strategies.
A large share of African mineral resources are located in South Africa which was a colonial and racist regional power block prior to 1994 and, therefore, any meaningful change to the character and content of an inclusive mineral development strategy will necessarily have to start by creating new Rand Lords supported by the new republic just as colonial capital was supported by imperialism.
It can be argued that as long there are no serious internal political and economic changes in Africa towards homogenization, the prospect of any attempt to challenge the historically acquired hegemony over African mineral resources by a few South Africa-based oligopolies and the newly industrializing countries like China succeeding is remote.
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Comments by laz (2008-05-01 05:43:08) from USA
Let's examine historical homogenization forces. Religion, language, and war. Today one can consider the propagation of popular culture (aka consumerism) as the preeminent method of homogenization, as it appeals to base human instincts and is a palatable alternative to restrictive religion and traditionalist culture particularly to the youth.
I'm uncertain, but I've heard this quote attributed to George Bush in regards to the war in Iraq: "Our boys are in there as an initial push so we can get things like MTV in there to finish them off." I'm paraphrasing.
I think history is accurate in the sense that skin color alone does not homogenize an otherwise disparate cultural mass.
There is the CENTRAL ISSUE: I cannot readily identify the INTERNAL HOMOGENIZING FORCE in Africa. India's rise is fueled by an internal homogenizing force - despite the litany of disparate cultures on the subcontinent. China is similarly fueled by internal homogenizing forces. What is Africa's overarching homogenizing force? If it doesn't exist are we prepared to use an external force? If we use one such force doesn't it defeat the purpose of hegemony?
In my opinion this force, this movement needs to be internal for the psychology of the continent and the diaspora. What are your thoughts in theory and in practice?
Comments by BetterZim (2008-05-12 04:08:34) from botswana
Post Comments:As a correction Munakandafa, rather Africa needs more citizens who are informed and who have a bias towards action and deeds rather than armchair critics and cowards.A leader is supposed to be just a represantation of the people anywhere
Mutumwa Dziva Mawere (born January 11, 1960 in Bindura, Zimbabwe), is an African business executive, pioneer, financier, banker and entrepreneur best known as the founder and Chairman of Africa Resources Limited ("ARL"). He is known for having built one of the most powerful and influential corporations in Zimbabwe's history
If Africa is to become a powerful continent, it needs more leaders like Mugabe who lack dictatorial and selfish tendendances but have capitalistic minds like the former colonial powers.