Yes Gaddafi is gone. As I wrote earlier, the Western world has taken its revenge for the billions of dollars that OPEC countries under Gaddafi’s leadership transferred from them to the OPEC coffers. Of course, the Western interest in Libya’s destruction is clear – the very high quality oil but obviously that Libya has with itself. The current Libyan situation is unfortunate because it shows the rise of a totally unipolar world where, at will, the Western nations are deciding which government gets to stay, where they have only one focus – where do the oil reserves exist? Libya has been one of the most developed African nations and all its socially relevant parameters – from education to health – were right at the top in Africa. It’s ironic that worse exploitation and destruction have killed millions of lives in most of the other parts of Africa; and in most of those cases, the West has not only watched the game of death and dictatorship in cold blood but also supported those blood-hungry dictators with money and guns.
In fact, Africa has been over the years reduced to a continent where democracy has been a tool in the hands of a few dictators who have been using it for their own convenience. As a result of this, the economic damage caused to Africa, however much horrifying, can be to some extent quantified, but the social damage is beyond comprehension. Around 31 African nations, at some point of time, were (some still are) ruled by ruthless dictators – the ruled area encompasses more than 60 per cent of total land area and population. Most of the dictators of Africa have come to power by military coups, and remained at the top by showcasing their tortuous means, that eventually helped them eliminate rival generals, usurp power and kill any probable protests. Most of the dictators channelized the economies that African resources created to their own personal accounts and left the poor Africans in the lurch for the rest of their lives – that is, if at all the civilians were fortunate enough to survive for long. In order to keep their thrones intact, dictators killed people ruthlessly and went ahead with mass genocide at will.
Dictators like Uganda’s Idi Amin, Zaire’s Mobutu Sese Seko, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir, Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia have been case studies in themselves. Along with executing genocide and mass killings, these dictators created an environment where no human life could thrive. People who escaped genocide and inhuman treatment (rapes, torture and detentions) were left homeless, struggling for safe water and food. Millions of Africans died out of hunger and diseases. Dictators like Mugabe, Obiang, Biya and King Mswati of Swaziland, made fortunes by siphoning off monies that were meant for aid and other social development projects. Today, these dictators have properties (worth hundreds of millions) all across the world. Mass scale corruption, money laundering and pilfering of loans pushed Africa years back in development and today African nations are struggling to reach a point where they could have been two decades ago. Ironically, all the resources that made African investors rich were the very ones which made African civilians poor. Dictators used diamonds, oil and land to fill their coffers rather than using the returns for development of the nation. Rightly said and apt for Africa, their forefathers lived in a better world.
When it comes to flaunting wealth, the Obiang family does it the elite way. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, popularly known as Obiang, president of Equatorial Guinea, managed to accumulate a wealth of $700 million, which is safely kept in the US Banks. Obiang and his family is said to own several private businesses in Equatorial Guinea, along with mansions in Maryland that are valued at multi-million dollar values. Recently, Obiang’s son, president in making, paid a whopping $700,000 as rent to Miscrosoft’s co-founder Paul Allen for his yatch and has expressed his plans to build a super-yacht costing $380 million. He, who also happens to be the agriculture minister of the country fetching a monthly salary of $6,799, also boasts of having a $35 million-dollar mansion in California, a $33 million private jet and scores of luxury sedans. Obiang, who is in power since the bloody 1979 coup, is a seasoned dictator with past records of mass killings and genocide. He has won elections thrice (through bogus votes and booth capturing) with more than 90 per cent margin every time. His 1996 victory was a record in itself as he won with 97.85 per cent votes – something that is practically and democratically impossible. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The point here is that this entire lifestyle that Obiang and his family enjoy is actually at the cost of millions of Africans who are left to die out of hunger every year. In spite of being one of the wealthiest African nations, over 70 per cent of the country’s population live below the globally ($2/day) defined poverty line. The life-expectancy rate is a pathetic 50 years with 20 per cent of children dying before the age of five.
Crony dictatorship and money laundering by the dictators of Equatorial Guinea have affected the economy to such an extent that the real GDP growth slowed down to 1.2 per cent in 2010 from a growth rate of 38 per cent back in 2004. Given the turmoil the nation is going through, Equatorial Guinea is experiencing a fall in World Bank’s Doing Business Index ranking since the last couple of years and ranks 164th as of 2011. Stringent rules, red-tapism, inconsistent policies and prevailing corruption makes it tough for investors to start and sustain a business.
In fact, Africa has been over the years reduced to a continent where democracy has been a tool in the hands of a few dictators who have been using it for their own convenience. As a result of this, the economic damage caused to Africa, however much horrifying, can be to some extent quantified, but the social damage is beyond comprehension. Around 31 African nations, at some point of time, were (some still are) ruled by ruthless dictators – the ruled area encompasses more than 60 per cent of total land area and population. Most of the dictators of Africa have come to power by military coups, and remained at the top by showcasing their tortuous means, that eventually helped them eliminate rival generals, usurp power and kill any probable protests. Most of the dictators channelized the economies that African resources created to their own personal accounts and left the poor Africans in the lurch for the rest of their lives – that is, if at all the civilians were fortunate enough to survive for long. In order to keep their thrones intact, dictators killed people ruthlessly and went ahead with mass genocide at will.
Dictators like Uganda’s Idi Amin, Zaire’s Mobutu Sese Seko, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir, Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia have been case studies in themselves. Along with executing genocide and mass killings, these dictators created an environment where no human life could thrive. People who escaped genocide and inhuman treatment (rapes, torture and detentions) were left homeless, struggling for safe water and food. Millions of Africans died out of hunger and diseases. Dictators like Mugabe, Obiang, Biya and King Mswati of Swaziland, made fortunes by siphoning off monies that were meant for aid and other social development projects. Today, these dictators have properties (worth hundreds of millions) all across the world. Mass scale corruption, money laundering and pilfering of loans pushed Africa years back in development and today African nations are struggling to reach a point where they could have been two decades ago. Ironically, all the resources that made African investors rich were the very ones which made African civilians poor. Dictators used diamonds, oil and land to fill their coffers rather than using the returns for development of the nation. Rightly said and apt for Africa, their forefathers lived in a better world.
When it comes to flaunting wealth, the Obiang family does it the elite way. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, popularly known as Obiang, president of Equatorial Guinea, managed to accumulate a wealth of $700 million, which is safely kept in the US Banks. Obiang and his family is said to own several private businesses in Equatorial Guinea, along with mansions in Maryland that are valued at multi-million dollar values. Recently, Obiang’s son, president in making, paid a whopping $700,000 as rent to Miscrosoft’s co-founder Paul Allen for his yatch and has expressed his plans to build a super-yacht costing $380 million. He, who also happens to be the agriculture minister of the country fetching a monthly salary of $6,799, also boasts of having a $35 million-dollar mansion in California, a $33 million private jet and scores of luxury sedans. Obiang, who is in power since the bloody 1979 coup, is a seasoned dictator with past records of mass killings and genocide. He has won elections thrice (through bogus votes and booth capturing) with more than 90 per cent margin every time. His 1996 victory was a record in itself as he won with 97.85 per cent votes – something that is practically and democratically impossible. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The point here is that this entire lifestyle that Obiang and his family enjoy is actually at the cost of millions of Africans who are left to die out of hunger every year. In spite of being one of the wealthiest African nations, over 70 per cent of the country’s population live below the globally ($2/day) defined poverty line. The life-expectancy rate is a pathetic 50 years with 20 per cent of children dying before the age of five.
Crony dictatorship and money laundering by the dictators of Equatorial Guinea have affected the economy to such an extent that the real GDP growth slowed down to 1.2 per cent in 2010 from a growth rate of 38 per cent back in 2004. Given the turmoil the nation is going through, Equatorial Guinea is experiencing a fall in World Bank’s Doing Business Index ranking since the last couple of years and ranks 164th as of 2011. Stringent rules, red-tapism, inconsistent policies and prevailing corruption makes it tough for investors to start and sustain a business.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
