South Africa: Mining Corruption Essay
Throughout history, Africa has been taken advantage of without even realizing it. Resources were stolen from the natives, leaving them wondering these strange people were even there. The worst part? The Africans didn’t value the items, and they were confused why the British, and other European countries, took such interest in them.
Some people blame colonization for Africa’s problems. The British came in, developed the Africans way too fast, and then took control of the land as well as use the rich resources that were there.
One thing that Africa did have was minerals. Diamonds, gold, silver, luxuries. Substances that are hard to find, but pay off if you can get your hands on them.
So what did the British do?
They of course tapped into the minerals with technology that the Africans didn’t have, the main reason why they didn’t take advantage of the gold mine they already had. Literally.
Now you may be wondering, well why didn’t the Africans have the technology needed to mine the minerals? Thats where another theory comes in. Guns, germs, and steel.
Africa and Europe are two very different places. Europe was lucky enough to have good farmland, animals, and food already there. Which let them focus on other things. Weapons, technology, medicine, construction, even developing diseases that later killed off their enemies. These are subjects that you can focus on without realizing it, once you have a basic foundation of the elements you need to live.
Now Africa on the other hand, is a whole different story.
They were almost opposite. They are rich in goods you can obtain once you have your basic foundation.
But how could they do that without food, water, and shelter? The basic elements of life?
So while the British were ready to head out and find new land to conquer, the Africans were still trying to find new things to eat.
So when the British showed up, they immediately started taking advantage of all the valuable resources, things that the Africans didn’t value because you can’t use them in everyday life. They weren’t at a point where they could even think about extra things that you didn’t absolutely need.
So there are two big theories, colonization and Guns, Germs, and Steel, that may have contributed to my main focus; The corrupt mining industry in South Africa.
Lonmin. A British mining company. Their main office headquarters in London, and their operational office in Johannesburg, South Africa.
This already gets my attention. The connection between colonization and this is pretty visible. British came in, figured out how rich in minerals South Africa has, and utilized it.
Seems harmless, right?
Well, thats what it looks like. But in reality, Lonmin has been taking advantage of Africa’s cheap labor.
Paying them only 4,000 to 5,000 rand a month, which equals to about 460 to 570 US dollars. (BBC News)
Definitely not enough to support a family, let alone what they are working for. Now do you think this is the work of colonization and Guns, Germs, and Steel hand in hand?
So, how do the African miners show that they want change? In the only way they can get their attention.
Protest.
For about six weeks, thousands of employees refused to go back to work until their standards were met. Some held signs demanding a better salary, others going as far as to sabotage Lonmin's property in an effort to get their attention.
This is where it started getting bad. Police were now involved. One of the biggest and most lethal uses of weapons on unarmed people was the Marikana massacre.
Several police officers opened fire on some protesting miners on August 16th, 2012, killing 34 people and injuring about 78. Many others were arrested for honking their horns at the police in anger.
This was the marking point for South Africa, being one of the deadliest shooting in their history. This is also the point where everyone realized how big of a deal this really was.
Lonmin then tried reasoning with the protesting miners, trying to offer them a 12,500 Rand pay raise. The miners took this as an insult, making them more angry.
But after all the protesting and shootings and sabotage, the miners and Lonmin came to an agreement of a 22% pay rise and 2000 rand up front. (BBC News)
This just shows how much Africa is actually worth, if only they were able to tap into their resources sooner than later. It also shows how Africa is slowly starting to gap away from Europe, becoming more and more independent and self reliant.