Online Reporter
Stephen Mpofu, Perspective
ONE of the key pathways to achieving complete liberation for our continent is democracy, defined as “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” This principle is already being applied to a significant extent. However, unrepentant imperialists from across the seas continue to undermine democratic African governments by deploying paid agents to destabilise them, ensuring their masters maintain a stranglehold on our continent.
Land ownership by indigenous Africans is another crucial pillar for total African liberation. Yet, as is widely known across the global village, land remains a source of deep contention between African governments and the former colonisers of our continent.
A case in point is the illegal Western sanctions imposed on our country following the implementation of land reforms aimed at restoring land to its rightful indigenous owners — land that had been seized by white settlers long before independence. These sanctions, which remain in place, have significantly hindered our country’s economic development.
Next door in South Africa, more than 70 percent of land remains in the hands of the Boers. Efforts by the South African government to reclaim this land have sparked tensions with the American government, which has even facilitated the resettlement of some Afrikaners from our sister SADC nation.
Still on the subject of land as a vital asset for African liberation, it is worth noting that the mines — sources of mineral wealth generating millions, if not billions, in export revenue — are not owned by the indigenous people who extract these resources. The majority of the foreign currency earned ends up in the accounts of foreigners.
Moreover, many major buildings in African cities are owned by non-indigenous individuals, with rental income flowing out of the continent rather than contributing to its development.
This situation makes it increasingly difficult to achieve total liberation in line with the mantra: “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo / ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo/a country is built by its owners,” a principle our current government is actively pursuing as part of its broader liberation agenda.
Therefore, Africans who pander to imperialists as paid stooges are betraying the continent. They must be condemned by all progressives who are committed to witnessing a fully liberated Africa in their lifetime.
