Western leaders’ hypocrisy on uranium investment scandals in Africa

Malawi gov’t and Paladin: Act on Kayelekera uranium raw deal now! By Veronica Maele-Magombe Nyasa Times, By Veronica Maele-Magombe July 30, 2013 “……one cannot underestimate the ‘politicking’
surrounding foreign investment. There is the brainwashing and fear
that African leaders endure in their struggle to appease donors who
are sometimes capable of clamping on aid or trade deals if a poor
country like Malawi is ‘hostile’ to western investors. In the un-coded
diplomatic language of foreign investment it means, treat business
clients from the west well and we will handle your aid and loan
cheques accordingly.

Western leaders have continued to hypocritically talk about fair trade
and dealings with Africa whilst winking an eye to their investors.
And, tightening the shackles of neo-colonialism on their behalf has
been IMF – convincing poor countries to lure foreign investor with a
portfolio of incentives. Just last year, IMF advised poor Gambia to
reform its tax system so that the country avoids discouraging foreign
investors with many taxes. Resident Representative, Meshack Tunee,
noted:

‘Our assessment through the technical assistance of IMF in The Gambia
[has] indicated that the tax system is a little bit outdated. There
are so many taxes that don’t even yield enough revenue to warrant
collecting them’.

In De Schutter’s observation, customs and excise duty exemptions,
value added tax on mining equipment and special deals on the rate of
royalty owed to government have proved to be fiscally absurd. With
growing ridicule over western-imposed economic policies, some poor
countries have started to abandon incentives to foreign investment. It
has been an inevitable shift with the entrance of the aggressive
Chinese dragon into global trade. Equally exploitative but offering a
new approach to trade and investment China might, however, like the
west be wantonly reaping off Africa.

On his recent African tour, US President Barack Obama tried to dampen
suspicion that his country is threatened by China’s growing trade and
investments on the continent and instead advised that Africa should
strive to get a fair deal, of course, as if his government would have
said the same 20 years ago.

Interestingly, with increasing mobility of investors and fading
barriers to global capital flows rich countries are assertively
reforming their tax infrastructure to ensure maximum collection of
revenue from foreign companies. Speaking on 15th June this year at the
pre G8-Summit, British Prime Minister David Cameron openly advocated
for ‘proper companies, proper taxes and proper global rules’ that
guarantee transparency so that both rich and poor countries equally
benefit.

In his ‘Open for Growth – Trade, Tax and Transparency’ speech attended
by some African leaders, Cameron emphasised that the issue of tax
matters because when companies don’t pay their taxes we all suffer as
a result. But lacking similar seriousness are poor African countries
like Malawi……..http://www.nyasatimes.com/2013/07/30/malawi-govt-and-paladin-act-on-kayelekera-uranium-raw-deal-now/