Kae Matundu-Tjiparuro
Since the discovery of oil in Namibia, the country, for better or worse, has been of particular interest to many developed countries and their so-called investors or explorers – you can call them what you wish.
Only then do they know what and who they are and what their interests in Namibia are. But does Namibia actually know what the various interests of these countries and their citizens, foremost the so-called explorers and investors and what-have-you, are with regard to Namibia other than what they are pretending to be and which we as a country have been tempted to take on at face value?
But most critically, does Namibia actually know what her particular interest(s) is/are? How does the final analysis define her interest(s)? Because unless, from the onset, Namibia defines her interest(s), needless to say, she cannot allow foreign interest(s), let alone any interest pertaining to the country’s natural resources, one of the latest crazes as far as international entities, countries and nations and their citizenries, particularly their investors and/or businesspeople.
It is no secret that there is currently a scramble for African natural resources. Or rather, one should say an intensification of the scramble, for the scramble for the continent’s natural resources has all along been there. Being the very reason that led to the partitioning of Africa by Western European countries at the Berlin Conference of 1884-5.
That essentially unilaterally proclaimed a carte blanche syphoning off of African natural resources. Without impunity and without any pretence of ploughing back anything from the windfalls so derived in the indigenous economies. Then came African liberation when African nations presumably took charge of the control of their resources. Truth be told, there’s been no point since African liberation that the Africans have been truly sovereignly and autonomously in charge of their natural resources.
With the former colonisers coming up with devious mechanisms to continue the plundering of the continent’s natural resources. Not only these but even African countries, who have not been part of some so-called economic blocks between the former colonies and former colonial powers, have become part of these blocks under the belief of development partnerships. Namibia is a typical former colony joining post-colonial, so-called partnerships and development cooperation blocks like the Commonwealth, the European Union (EU) and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries’ association.
Yours Truly Ideologically is cautious to refer to this as a partnership, as it is far from being partnership cooperation. But for all intents and purposes, it was created by the former colonial powers, with the former colonies unwittingly falling for it to continue with the colonial umbilical cord between the ACP countries as former colonies and the European countries as former colonial powers. The essence thereof is that the European nations continue to plunder the natural resources.
As much as African countries and their leaders would wish to brush the reality of this so-called partnership aside, and are and have been apologetic about it, its real essence, which is very much still the scramble for African resources, cannot be denied or dismissed.
The European powers have since, in this scramble, been joined by new players. The new players in this neo-colonial scheming and thievery are China, Russia and the United States of America (USA). But old or new players or not, the intent is the same. The grabbing of critical minerals in this day, by any means necessary, has currently been shown by the USA’s war against Iran.
Preceded by its gunboat diplomacy, if not outright invasion of Venezuela and the kidnapping of its President, Nicolas Maduro, to apparently stand drug trafficking charges in the USA. While it is very well known and has been known that the issue is getting access to Venezuelan oil resources. Ironically, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been indicted the world over for his genocidal acts against the Palestinians, is today the USA’s best and most trusted ally.
Namibia post-independence is one of the countries that have either been sending overtures and/or flirting with her. Thereby becoming part of the Francophone African block. Which was again born out of France’s need to continue to maintain its hold over its former colonies. Why? The reason is one other than in the economic interest of France. Which is notorious for having, even after the so-called independence of the former French colonies, milked these countries dry economically.
It is a known fact that France has been maintaining control over these countries through what is known as Francafrique. Through which, among others, through its monetary domination via the CFA franc. But come 1990 or shortly thereafter, Namibia joins.
Today, literally, France has lost its political and economic stranglehold over its former French-speaking African colonies. Hence, it’s now turning to other former colonies not necessarily French, including Namibia, especially given her newly found oil resources, and South Africa.
Likewise, the USA, although it was not part of the colonial scramble for African resources, has joined the current and reinvigorated one. With a focus, understandably in view of her oil finds, also on Namibia.
“NNN pushes win-win oil partnerships”, screamed a headline just in a local English daily. Regarding the Namibian President meeting a Shell delegation, during which she has been quoted as putting it to the Shell delegation. The question is what her “win-win” stance practically means in the absence of a clear ideological delineation.
