Multi-National Corporations play it ‘dirty’ in Africa

Corruption is a worldwide problem. For convenience sake, it has been widely associated with developing countries  for the most part. It would be dishonest on my part to defend the developing world against charges of corruption. But the story is never complete when we only call the developing country like Ghana or Nigeria corrupt. That means we are only looking at one side of the coin.

Multi-national Corporations (MNCs) with roots in the developing world have a dominating role in propagating this disease in the developing world.

Last week, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of Nigeria announced plans to charge Dick Cheney, former Vice President (VP) of the US, with corruption. Mr. Cheney acted as the CEO of Halliburton from 1995 to 2000. Documents coming to light reveal that during that time, the company participated in corrupt and fraudulent activities in Nigeria. One source states that about $180 million was used by Halliburton to bride its way to acquire lucrative natural gas contacts in Nigeria.
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This is just one example of large companies who have the resources to hire experts who can cope with the bureaucratic hurdles normally characteristic of most African countries and obscure rules of play.

I’m very much aware of the situation in Ghana. Local entrepreneurs fight and give up in securing land and other licenses to start operating businesses while International Corporation can work around the system overnight and be in business the next morning. They have the means to “oil” the administrative machinery and speed up long drawn-out decision-making processes.

These corporations are not only infecting our system with the disease that we’ve been fighting for decades, in fact, some of them are directly or indirectly responsible for civil unrest and wars.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), it is estimated that nearly five million people have died in wars, the primary drive of which is the fulfillment of the Western economies and people’s unquenchable craving for high-quality jewels and precious minerals such as diamond. Where do the rebels get their arms from? They’re surely not locally made.

The educated elite in Africa benefit from this serfdom. This has become a war of attrition. The system of corruption propagated by MNCs in collaboration with African politicians has become a type of civil war in which the man or woman on the street cannot distinguish between a friend and a foe. They know that these corporations and their local leaders are making fortunes but they see none of the benefits in their everyday lives. Gold and diamonds from Ghana, diamond from the DRC, oil from Nigeria, cocoa from Ivory Coast and the list goes on,  but a tin of milk is a luxury to most families.

It is easy for richer countries to attribute African development problems to corruption by African leaders. That is just part of the story. The role multi-national Corporations  play should be addressed by their respective governments if these governments really care about Africa.  The Western media needs to do a better job covering their corporations doing business in Africa.

I trust that the Nigerian EFCC hold Halliburton according to the very letter of the laws of the land. I’ll also have my ears widely open with regard to what steps the US Department of State takes. If I find something that I think will  interest you, I’ll report it as usual. After all, that’s the very purpose this website was built to serve. Please check back