A young learner at one of the many lush gardens cared for by students at Mwandege Secondary School, Dar es Salaam, 2009. Pic by F Macha
Africa is filled with eternal wonders.
The
rich continent is a sweet, giggling giant. Most things about it are magical,
generating millions of cash from tourism and business. Her wealthy ground has
enriched millionaires with mineral deposits. South Africa and Congo – the two
countries that have had most bleeding histories are like pregnant mothers. They
contribute most of the world’s 75 per cent of global platinum, chromium and diamonds.
Congo has seen no peace for over hundred years. The brutal murder of democratically
elected Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba in January 1961 was a climax of non-stop,
theatre of mass abuse. South Africa has
seen most bloodshed. So many other Patrice Lumumbas have been buried here
...Mangaliso Sobukwe, Steve Biko, Sharpeville massacre and Soweto uprising
victims; not forgetting the unfair imprisonment of Nelson Mandela for a quarter of a century.
Many
mouths have been feeding on Africa’s resources for 500 years. Like pangolin,
the anteater (Kakakuona in Swahili); giant mining companies love our minerals. Last
year, The East African paper claimed 40 foreign mining companies made 150
percent profit in 2010 while governments only got 40.
But the continent’s resources are not just
stones and chemicals.
