Post by OtishOtish on Dec 12, 2015 8:16:11 GMT 3
Ms. Mohamed stressing the "great" aspects:
www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/What-is-at-stake-for-Africa-World-Trade-Organization-in-Nairobi/-/440808/2993234/-/15cl4bxz/-/index.html
Africa is a very large place, and that adds greatly to its potential. It accounts for one-fifth of the earth’s land surface. China, India, the United States, Japan and large parts of Western Europe can all fit into the 55 states that make up the African continent.
Ms. Mohamed: Size matters only in private; or so it is claimed. In the wide public world, the only things that really matter are money and military muscle that can be projected. Sadly, people cannot eat potential.
If physical size is all that important, then why is Africa so far behind (and continually begging from) all those places that can "fit into ... the African continent."? The very least one could do with a lot of land is feed oneself, and we hardly shine in that regard. Endless famines, endless begging for food, endless prayers for salvation from starvation .... We need not here get concerned with yellow-maize beneficiaries who are now living high on the hog, but this seemed worth mentioning, if for no other reason that some sort of irony or something. Which is this:
You were recently at the Rome-Statute session of the Assembly of States Parties, and your presence---a matter we'll return to shortly---won't be forgotten in a hurry. I bring it up at this point because of your Ethiopian sidekick. Ethiopia. That's where the AU HQ resides. Your buddy gave one heck of a speech, supposedly presenting a "whole-Africa position". We won't get into the fact that a couple of African countries had, before the ASP session---and unbeknownst to the rest of their African brethren and sistren and African united position!---sneaked to the ASP Bureau explicit indications that they wanted no part of the funny "whole-Africa position" in support of GoK. We'll also skip the awkward bit of other African folks who were there not saying much and instead just whistling into the wind during a "do-or-die" session for Africa. We'll get right to the interesting part, which is this: Right after your buddy's fire-and-brimstone, don't-f**k-with-us-Africans performance, he rushed home to ... I think this requires a new paragraph.
He had to rush home to help launch an urgent appeal for the 10 million of his compatriots who will otherwise starve to death next year. Storm's actually been brewing for something like a year now. Ethiopia and famine? How long can so many people, in the same place, starve to death decade after decade ... and apparently nobody ever asks "where's our Plan B?". I think that's an interesting question that we'll have to save for another day; our main interest today is that this is the HOME OF THE AU, the place where Africa prepares to face the world. Rising continent asserts itself, dares the world. Or something like that.
Before I move on, though, this one really is funny: As part of its food-security plan, South Korea (which barely has any land for serious agriculture) has companies that lease land elsewhere in the world (from the desperate and clueless) and then send the produce back. Believe it or not ... !!!! Ethiopia has in the past---and probably will again, given the impending disaster---received food-aid from South Korea, consisting of produce from leased Ethiopian land! (I suppose there's a "positive" in reduced transportation costs and freshness.)
Yes, ma'am, that's something of a long digression. Let's move on to another of your "gems" ....
Africa’s population today is a bit over one billion, or 16 per cent of world population. It is projected to more than quadruple by the end of the century, by which time Africa will be home to 40 per cent of the world’s population.
Yes, indeed. And projections are that by the end of that period other places in the world will have greatly improved their lot, leaving Africa with a "cornering the market" on the poor, the desperate, the diseased, the ignorant. Why would that be so? Because projected economic growth will not be able to "keep up" with the population growth, even if you don't take into account the large-scale pilfering by African "leaders" and their sort, the mindless destructive mayhem that makes impossible any kind of real forward step, ....
Ms. Mohamed: It's not how many people you have that really counts. It's what you can get them to do. There are some European countries that are smaller than my village, but which ... And that brings us to this:
Nearly half of Arica’s population today is under the age of 18, which means there will be a massive working age population in years to come.
No arguing with that. And they are employed how? The major issue is not whether or not there is a "massive working age population". It is: (a) whether there is any work for them to do, and (b) whether they work effectively in whatever work there is. Having them routinely drown in seas, as they try to flee the Rising Africa, does not immediately suggest that we should be focusing on even-larger-numbers we have "in the works". I'd suggest that we first do something positive with the current lot. Quality vs. Quantity. Same as with land.
Our youth today have expectations that are higher than ever. Thanks to the internet, TV, etc., their horizons have expanded to way past Kenya or even Africa. Thanks to the easy availability of "higher education"---"universities" on the 2nd and 3rd floors of every other shopping centre----their expectations are growing even faster. Jua kali won't do with degrees flying around like insects. And without the "traditional" alternative of the Rebel Army as an absorber of idle, energetic youth? Perhaps urban crime will be a temporary fix ....
Let's do right by the people we have today. Then we can happily move to all those we will have by the end of the century. And doing right means real, positive action. Not mouth motor-work and other colorful performances.
There is an economic dynamism that since 2000 has translated into an annual average growth rate of 5 per cent.
Largely meaningless given: (a) the rapidly growing population, and (b) the endless theft and grabbing by a few who take the most of the cake.
Because Africa’s shares of global income, trade and investment are rather small today – all less than 5 per cent ...
Let's be specific: less than the 3% it has always been. For the whole continent. The one that is rising, can swallow up most of the world, has strong and employable youth growing like wild weeds, potential like you never saw. Plus stuff in the ground that you never dreamt of. When you have all that, but have never been able do more than 3%, you won't be taken seriously. (Do our "leaders", e.g. you boss, understand that?) And that is why Africa will, yet again, get nothing from another WTO Talkfest. Never mind that it's in Africa.
The WTO’s relevance depends increasingly on Africa.
Relevance to whom? Depends increasingly on Africa with its less than 3%? HALLO! The world rest of the world has consistently shown---how long has this "Doha Round" been going on?---that it can do just fine. All those countries that can "fit into the African continent", with room few tiny late-comers, have been very busy concocting free-trade and whatever deals amongst themselves. And in all these, Africa is increasingly cut out---except for footnotes on "raw materials". The WTO is just another place where they can squeeze out a little more juice. And increasingly it's not worth the bother. So they don't bother.
And Africa? Africa for its part remains no more than a source of cheap things from the ground (sent over for "value adding" and sold back at exorbitant rates), atrocities and other mayhem, begging and borrowing, large-scale theft from public coffers, etc. Even Kenya---which used to be known only for tea, running, and wild animals--- is now also known as a place led by two "world-class" criminals, who have been saved from the gallows only because of: (a) a hue-and-cry from their fellow gallows-deserving "leaders", and (b) their "personal initiative" in dealing with witnesses. Fix all that, and we'll really be going places. But just saying we have all this land, and we are f**king like nobody's business and producing all these young people, ... I don't think that will cut it.)
The world---the one that Ms. Mohamed says can all fit into the African continent and other bits too---might be prepared to "give" slightly when it comes to one or two criminals; after all, based on history, the continent will surely continue to be a leading producer of "world-class" criminals. But when serious money is involved? "Success" in getting to keep African criminals in Africa must not be extrapolated too far.
Which brings us to this "delicate" matter:
Ms. Mohamed: The matter of your personal involvement is also .... "interesting", given your recent performance at the Rome Statute ASP session. A performance in which you went out of your way to alienate people; below is a little reminder, by way of Gathara's summary. An on-the-scene commentator with a bit more room to spare had this to say:
Despite its efforts and the millions of taxpayers’ shillings spent on its efforts, Kenya won nothing and likely did damage to its reputation in the realm of international diplomacy. This could cost the country, at least in the short term, in other political, diplomatic, and economic spheres. And for what?
justiceinconflict.org/2015/12/04/kenya-gambled-and-lost-at-the-iccs-yearly-conference-but-its-not-game-over-yet/
(And that view has been repeated in places that ought to make people sit back and think for a minute.)
Well, here we are now. In the here-and-now. So to speak. Or something. Trade, money, etc. And to much of the world these are actually important things; more important that the salvation of yet another African who has committed crimes against humanity---on his own people. So what do you, the AU, and other noisemakers plan to do o this one? Threaten to pull out of the WTO? Who will speak for the AU on this one? The hungry Ethiopian guy who's busy begging for food for his 10 million compatriots?
Now, I'm not just being "mindlessly negative", as some might be inclined to think. Far from it.
None of that should be taken to mean that Africa won't benefit from WTO Conference in Nairobi. Nairobi is in Kenya, which is in Africa. There will be something from having all those foreigners around to fill up hotel rooms, pay to see wild animals, drink, enjoy local meat, ... there will be some money left around. Will it make any difference to African Trade (let alone World Trade)? Absolutely not. But we can still have a good time.
Are there solutions to the problems we face? Absolutely, and we can look at that "post-WTO". But they all involve fundamental changes that go well beyond tantrums at international forums, endlessly begging and borrowing, dot dot dot. Etc etc etc. In particular, they require: (a) critical self-examination, (b) the realization that we can actually do for ourselves, if we get serious, (c) the understanding that the rest of the world neither give a f**k nor considers that it has any obligations in whatever ... and that will not change.
To close: I think you will like this one. It's a bit of a drunken joke, but it shows that somebody means well. It could be honey+sugar style, but that's not the point here. Positive is what matters.
www.the-star.co.ke/news/kenya-lobbies-cs-amina-be-un-secretary-general
And then there's Gathara:
pbs.twimg.com/media/CUZ3BNUWUAAByNC.jpg
www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/What-is-at-stake-for-Africa-World-Trade-Organization-in-Nairobi/-/440808/2993234/-/15cl4bxz/-/index.html
Africa is a very large place, and that adds greatly to its potential. It accounts for one-fifth of the earth’s land surface. China, India, the United States, Japan and large parts of Western Europe can all fit into the 55 states that make up the African continent.
Ms. Mohamed: Size matters only in private; or so it is claimed. In the wide public world, the only things that really matter are money and military muscle that can be projected. Sadly, people cannot eat potential.
If physical size is all that important, then why is Africa so far behind (and continually begging from) all those places that can "fit into ... the African continent."? The very least one could do with a lot of land is feed oneself, and we hardly shine in that regard. Endless famines, endless begging for food, endless prayers for salvation from starvation .... We need not here get concerned with yellow-maize beneficiaries who are now living high on the hog, but this seemed worth mentioning, if for no other reason that some sort of irony or something. Which is this:
You were recently at the Rome-Statute session of the Assembly of States Parties, and your presence---a matter we'll return to shortly---won't be forgotten in a hurry. I bring it up at this point because of your Ethiopian sidekick. Ethiopia. That's where the AU HQ resides. Your buddy gave one heck of a speech, supposedly presenting a "whole-Africa position". We won't get into the fact that a couple of African countries had, before the ASP session---and unbeknownst to the rest of their African brethren and sistren and African united position!---sneaked to the ASP Bureau explicit indications that they wanted no part of the funny "whole-Africa position" in support of GoK. We'll also skip the awkward bit of other African folks who were there not saying much and instead just whistling into the wind during a "do-or-die" session for Africa. We'll get right to the interesting part, which is this: Right after your buddy's fire-and-brimstone, don't-f**k-with-us-Africans performance, he rushed home to ... I think this requires a new paragraph.
He had to rush home to help launch an urgent appeal for the 10 million of his compatriots who will otherwise starve to death next year. Storm's actually been brewing for something like a year now. Ethiopia and famine? How long can so many people, in the same place, starve to death decade after decade ... and apparently nobody ever asks "where's our Plan B?". I think that's an interesting question that we'll have to save for another day; our main interest today is that this is the HOME OF THE AU, the place where Africa prepares to face the world. Rising continent asserts itself, dares the world. Or something like that.
Before I move on, though, this one really is funny: As part of its food-security plan, South Korea (which barely has any land for serious agriculture) has companies that lease land elsewhere in the world (from the desperate and clueless) and then send the produce back. Believe it or not ... !!!! Ethiopia has in the past---and probably will again, given the impending disaster---received food-aid from South Korea, consisting of produce from leased Ethiopian land! (I suppose there's a "positive" in reduced transportation costs and freshness.)
Yes, ma'am, that's something of a long digression. Let's move on to another of your "gems" ....
Africa’s population today is a bit over one billion, or 16 per cent of world population. It is projected to more than quadruple by the end of the century, by which time Africa will be home to 40 per cent of the world’s population.
Yes, indeed. And projections are that by the end of that period other places in the world will have greatly improved their lot, leaving Africa with a "cornering the market" on the poor, the desperate, the diseased, the ignorant. Why would that be so? Because projected economic growth will not be able to "keep up" with the population growth, even if you don't take into account the large-scale pilfering by African "leaders" and their sort, the mindless destructive mayhem that makes impossible any kind of real forward step, ....
Ms. Mohamed: It's not how many people you have that really counts. It's what you can get them to do. There are some European countries that are smaller than my village, but which ... And that brings us to this:
Nearly half of Arica’s population today is under the age of 18, which means there will be a massive working age population in years to come.
No arguing with that. And they are employed how? The major issue is not whether or not there is a "massive working age population". It is: (a) whether there is any work for them to do, and (b) whether they work effectively in whatever work there is. Having them routinely drown in seas, as they try to flee the Rising Africa, does not immediately suggest that we should be focusing on even-larger-numbers we have "in the works". I'd suggest that we first do something positive with the current lot. Quality vs. Quantity. Same as with land.
Our youth today have expectations that are higher than ever. Thanks to the internet, TV, etc., their horizons have expanded to way past Kenya or even Africa. Thanks to the easy availability of "higher education"---"universities" on the 2nd and 3rd floors of every other shopping centre----their expectations are growing even faster. Jua kali won't do with degrees flying around like insects. And without the "traditional" alternative of the Rebel Army as an absorber of idle, energetic youth? Perhaps urban crime will be a temporary fix ....
Let's do right by the people we have today. Then we can happily move to all those we will have by the end of the century. And doing right means real, positive action. Not mouth motor-work and other colorful performances.
There is an economic dynamism that since 2000 has translated into an annual average growth rate of 5 per cent.
Largely meaningless given: (a) the rapidly growing population, and (b) the endless theft and grabbing by a few who take the most of the cake.
Because Africa’s shares of global income, trade and investment are rather small today – all less than 5 per cent ...
Let's be specific: less than the 3% it has always been. For the whole continent. The one that is rising, can swallow up most of the world, has strong and employable youth growing like wild weeds, potential like you never saw. Plus stuff in the ground that you never dreamt of. When you have all that, but have never been able do more than 3%, you won't be taken seriously. (Do our "leaders", e.g. you boss, understand that?) And that is why Africa will, yet again, get nothing from another WTO Talkfest. Never mind that it's in Africa.
The WTO’s relevance depends increasingly on Africa.
Relevance to whom? Depends increasingly on Africa with its less than 3%? HALLO! The world rest of the world has consistently shown---how long has this "Doha Round" been going on?---that it can do just fine. All those countries that can "fit into the African continent", with room few tiny late-comers, have been very busy concocting free-trade and whatever deals amongst themselves. And in all these, Africa is increasingly cut out---except for footnotes on "raw materials". The WTO is just another place where they can squeeze out a little more juice. And increasingly it's not worth the bother. So they don't bother.
And Africa? Africa for its part remains no more than a source of cheap things from the ground (sent over for "value adding" and sold back at exorbitant rates), atrocities and other mayhem, begging and borrowing, large-scale theft from public coffers, etc. Even Kenya---which used to be known only for tea, running, and wild animals--- is now also known as a place led by two "world-class" criminals, who have been saved from the gallows only because of: (a) a hue-and-cry from their fellow gallows-deserving "leaders", and (b) their "personal initiative" in dealing with witnesses. Fix all that, and we'll really be going places. But just saying we have all this land, and we are f**king like nobody's business and producing all these young people, ... I don't think that will cut it.)
The world---the one that Ms. Mohamed says can all fit into the African continent and other bits too---might be prepared to "give" slightly when it comes to one or two criminals; after all, based on history, the continent will surely continue to be a leading producer of "world-class" criminals. But when serious money is involved? "Success" in getting to keep African criminals in Africa must not be extrapolated too far.
Which brings us to this "delicate" matter:
Ms. Mohamed: The matter of your personal involvement is also .... "interesting", given your recent performance at the Rome Statute ASP session. A performance in which you went out of your way to alienate people; below is a little reminder, by way of Gathara's summary. An on-the-scene commentator with a bit more room to spare had this to say:
Despite its efforts and the millions of taxpayers’ shillings spent on its efforts, Kenya won nothing and likely did damage to its reputation in the realm of international diplomacy. This could cost the country, at least in the short term, in other political, diplomatic, and economic spheres. And for what?
justiceinconflict.org/2015/12/04/kenya-gambled-and-lost-at-the-iccs-yearly-conference-but-its-not-game-over-yet/
(And that view has been repeated in places that ought to make people sit back and think for a minute.)
Well, here we are now. In the here-and-now. So to speak. Or something. Trade, money, etc. And to much of the world these are actually important things; more important that the salvation of yet another African who has committed crimes against humanity---on his own people. So what do you, the AU, and other noisemakers plan to do o this one? Threaten to pull out of the WTO? Who will speak for the AU on this one? The hungry Ethiopian guy who's busy begging for food for his 10 million compatriots?
Now, I'm not just being "mindlessly negative", as some might be inclined to think. Far from it.
None of that should be taken to mean that Africa won't benefit from WTO Conference in Nairobi. Nairobi is in Kenya, which is in Africa. There will be something from having all those foreigners around to fill up hotel rooms, pay to see wild animals, drink, enjoy local meat, ... there will be some money left around. Will it make any difference to African Trade (let alone World Trade)? Absolutely not. But we can still have a good time.
Are there solutions to the problems we face? Absolutely, and we can look at that "post-WTO". But they all involve fundamental changes that go well beyond tantrums at international forums, endlessly begging and borrowing, dot dot dot. Etc etc etc. In particular, they require: (a) critical self-examination, (b) the realization that we can actually do for ourselves, if we get serious, (c) the understanding that the rest of the world neither give a f**k nor considers that it has any obligations in whatever ... and that will not change.
To close: I think you will like this one. It's a bit of a drunken joke, but it shows that somebody means well. It could be honey+sugar style, but that's not the point here. Positive is what matters.
www.the-star.co.ke/news/kenya-lobbies-cs-amina-be-un-secretary-general
And then there's Gathara:
pbs.twimg.com/media/CUZ3BNUWUAAByNC.jpg
to China’s growing dominance in the Pacific region. China had been invited to join the trade group but balked at restrictions that the deal would have placed on its financial sector and other areas.
