Views on Stealing Africa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Views on Stealing Africa - Essay Example e is owned by Glencore International Plc, a public company listed in London and Hongkong, registered in Jersey and head quartered in Switzerland (Stealing Africa). The company has consistently evaded corporate tax in Zambia by claiming losses in business. This has been through artificial inflation of operational costs and even under valuing the mined copper. The copper is sold to Switzerland at below market price. Therefore, the company has managed to pay minimal taxes while reaping huge benefits. Despite Zambia having a third of the world’s copper supply, she is still among the poorest countries in the world. Between 60-70% of Zambians live on less than $1 a day and the unemployment rate is staggering 80%. The money from copper bypasses the needy Zambians and only helps Switzerland, home of the company. The situation obtaining here can only be described as catastrophic and dire. The organizations that are mentioned here are the ‘World Bank’ (WB) and the ‘International Monetary Fund’ (IMF). It was as because of the recommendations of the structural adjustment programme that the Zambian government embarked on privatization lending to sale of the mine to Glencore (Stealing Africa). What they did was simply a disservice to Zambian. Privatization opened the door for flow of cash out from Zambia. This being a private company its bottom line is profit and making money. Politics and business are intertwined hence frequent interactions. The government is responsible for the economic policies that will guide how trade and business is conducted. Business cannot thrive in a vacuum where there is no regulation or order (Stealing Africa). In the Zambian situation, the policy of privatization did not at all help the citizens. There is still abject poverty since unemployment rate is unbelievable. Why all this? It is because the fund for empowering the citizens is whisked away to the mother country. Even the tax paid is not low one since the product has been