The South African parliament has voted for a motion to amend the constitution that will allow the government to expropriate private land without compensation. However, a true resolution of the land question must be in accordance with the needs of those who work and live off the land. This means the destruction of all existing tribal and feudal relations in the rural areas and the nationalisation of the land.
Peasants across Africa are intensifying their struggles against land grabs and other harmful policies that promote industrial agriculture. At a recent international conference organized by the world’s largest peasants movement, Via Campesina, African peasants had opportunities to share their experiences of struggle and to learn.
The investigation represents an important opportunity to deepen the debate on the controversial program and allow public reflection on the models of developments that have been imposed in Mozambique.
The book makes a strong call for a critical reading of the meaning of Eurocentrism and the values of knowledge, insisting on the need to interrogate and explain the “organization/order of knowledge” and its “descriptive/prescriptive statements”. It is a vigorous call for urgency in exposing the persistent coloniality present in academia.
The first African People´s Tribunal on Transnational Corporations, that recently took place on 16th and 17th August in Manzini, Swaziland, was perhaps one of the most counter-hegemonic and brave events to bring some hope to mining affected communities in Southern Africa.
The people of Mozambique are resisting the controversial agricultural development programme ProSavana, fearing it will cause environmental degradation and social displacement. Protest is targeting the neoliberal model of development that fails to spread benefits beyond elites and investors and instead deepens poverty and exploitation.
The 2014 elections were a disappointment for those who had hoped for change. Despite strong opposition from Renamo and the newer Mozambique Democratic Movement, Frelimo maintained the grip on power it has had since independence, despite accusations of serious irregularities. Real alternatives, however, are more likely to come out of Mozambique’s social movements.