Global Policy Forum

By David Bwanika

THE US government recently approved 35 sub-Saharan African countries as eligible for tariff preferences under the AGOA scheme claiming to promote greater economic self reliance.

The Bill was effected to increase access to US markets for African products by removing quotas on such products. The package to assist African countries has, however, produced different views as far as this US-Africa partnership is concerned, especially with respect to poverty alleviation and employment creation.

Let us pose a question, how many Africans will benefit out of this program? However, If the government talks about creating employment through private means what do the state imply? That Africans will survive on such sectors alone? That Africans will cumulatively improve on their living standards through wage labor? Yes, we have seen figures showing dollar value of exports and gross tax revenues, but who is exporting what, is it the general African citizenry or owners of the private entities? How many are employed in the coffee and mining sectors over the past 40 years, which sectors are privatized today, and over the years has seen increased volumes of total sales. How Africa does actually survive on coffee and mining income alone? Has the coffee and mining sector seen increased income to coffee, cocoa farmers and mine workers, if not why?

The same question goes to the flower, meat and fish sector, which has seen exponential growth over the years. African citizens employed into these same sectors are licking leftovers by the middlemen and owners of the fish processing plants and flower exporting ventures- the middle class capitalist.

There are organizational and political structures, which are missing in several African countries for the workers to benefit from their labor. I wonder if there are any politicians in Africa who actually have first hand information, as to how much in wage benefits the people employed in the coffee, flower, sugar, mining and fishing industry earn?

If wages are the measure of prosperity, thus an indicator on which poverty is being calculated then African citizens are going to remain in perpetual poverty in the foreseeable future, despite the rosy figures reflected in export income, which are now running in million dollars and increasing hereto.

Africa political leadership, where some call themselves, capitalist and others are socialist Marxist seems can get the facts under, which the logic of capitalism and free market works. Under the present status of our Africa socio-economic organisation, the US backed Africa Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) will fall on its back flat, leaving the African probably poorer than they previously were. Their soils and waters might possibly never give the citizen, the same fruits as they did before.

AGOA is old wine in new bottles. Mohamood Mamdan in his book fascism and imperialism writes about Amina coffee export to the united state which prompted the US to even give him cargo planes, which export by the way, went on right up 1977-8. Further still pre-independent Africa saw the growth of export of raw materials like cash crops, metals under state supported institutions like coffee marketing board, albeit all detached from the common citizenry, the state so much seems to be helping.

Change must start here in the ownership of state enterprises, were there should be no state enterprise but rather cooperative unions owned by public interest and run by the public on a popular vote principles alike.

Indeed in Africa, there is nothing to show of the profits from copper, and yes cash crops like coffee, cotton which over the years has brought in much need funds to pay politicians hefty sums of money and propel the most crude political structures ever happened in this country, while the majority citizens go for a dip in poverty. Structures lacking as opposed to importing countries from Africa are viewed differently. Here are some of the suggested measures.

*Africa has got no standard measurement in income terms, i.e. basic wage benefits required for Africa citizens under their present family structures. It implies they can work to the benefit of the employer (master "slave relationship) while the worker works to his/her detriment.

*Most of the entities (enterprises), which are involved in export, are wholly owned by private enterprises and not Africa's general public. Private enterprises are not salvation armies and will never return as much profits from their export businesses remittances, to the workers and producers in Africa. It means they can export as much as they can under the prevailing circumstances and Africans producers and workers squeezed under the business acrimonious like efficiency, labor productivity and competition, which will look on as even the present wages are forced down further etc. Do employer consider commodity prices when paying wages to their slaves? What is the state response to this economic fact?

* Basically all workers are not unionized thus have no powers at all to demand for basic facilitation like increased wages, better working conditions, insurance, pensions, health/medical care, school children and women pregnancy facilitation etc. At the same time monthly inflation figures and yearly taxation increments still come from the state, which is a classical mathematical mismatch.

*The state taxes more than five times, the meager workers income through value added tax, transportation fees, graduated and land tax etc, hence compounding poverty while exporters have tax holidays. The government has a choice either to force farmers and producers start cooperative unions, or to invest people's taxes into viable poverty potential export ventures along cooperative structures where ownership is entirely or partially African citizenry, which then will share the profits of whatever they export or produce to themselves.

I would like to emphasize that private business leadership and management to run such organizations (cooperative unions) where the African lack extensive experience doesn't mean ownership of such entities. Let Africa government stop its arrogance and know-it all position and re-create, rejuvenate all public enterprise along cooperative entities and let those cooperative entities be run along commercial economic lines if the state want, but headed by private competent organizational leadership and management under a relative affordable remuneration.

In the same vein all management and organizational structure should be socialized to the fine lines of a majority popular vote, where the states should not have any vote or say apart from the legislated civil, business and commercial laws ruling into such circumstances.

No cooperative union should be registered on the stock exchange unless its member's ownership has reached 2.5 million African adults over 18 years and entirely has the majority share up to 70-75 %. The share thus must reflect a given cooperative unions' real annual income and should be revised downwards as per real assets acquisition investment to about less than two third of the original share prices unit it reaches a steady state or otherwise those cooperative unions, which do not agree to such precondition, should not register at all.

Management remuneration should not exceed 1.5% - 2% of total employees' yearly wage and their bonuses and fringe benefits should fall in line within regulated state pension blankets of such directorship levels. Such leadership must be entitled with several duties.

The suggestions to make AGOA useful for Africans might include improving cooperative, micro-economic variables, profitability, labor productivity, and efficiency. Aggressively seeking export markets for finished and by-products, is very crucial. Unionizing every single member i.e. workers and non-workers along socio-economic variables like medical care, housing provisions, insurance, and countrywide connectivity.

Also required include equitable distribution of a given cooperative profits to all members, to increase in monetary terms and real value of given cooperative real and nominal assets, like investing in real estates, to publish on quarterly and yearly basis all cooperative income and real asset reports for distributing to all members.

To cater for tax payment and to the state for all members of such cooperative unions privately or collectively is also very important as well as to seek professional management for all cooperative assets, like housing estates, factories, warehouses, transportation facilities, schools and medical Centres. Seeking tax rebates for their commercialized activities along the same line provided to foreign investors is also recommendable. Otherwise, for AGOA to deal with poverty issue In Africa or change in present economic structures to eradicate poverty, is illusive. Unless they're in place inherent supportive structures, AGOA may not help African countries in their battle against poverty.

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