Your article on the wise use of resources (Pambazuka News 167) reminds me of what is happening in East Africa.

The British have continued to mine soda ash in Kenya without certification. Now the local community is advocating for revision of the agreements to ensure that their interests are taken care of but government is going against the community. A similar thing is happening in Tanzania where mining of several minerals is now in the hands of South Africans with no agreements with the people who have sacrificed to keep the minerals. Now they are relocated with poorly negotiated agreements that favour multinationals at the expense of local community.

I would like to commend you for the article and advocate for NEPAD to ensure that we do not encourage taking advantage of the local communities because of their lack of negotiation power.

I am a natural resource manager in Kenya and I am worried with the trends taking shape in Africa. There is a need to build the capacities of the local communities for them to be able to renegotiate and come up with resource use arrangements that are morally right and that can contribute to the development of the rural populations and African countries at large.

Enock Kanyanya, Kenya

I read the article written by Joel Bisina (Pambazuka News 167) and it is an interesting and thought provoking insight on the very ugly, sad and degenerating condition of the Nigeria's Niger Delta Region.

There is a marriage of convenience between the Nigerian state and multinational oil companies operating in the Delta areas of the country. This relationship is unhealthy and inimical to the well being of the Delta people and the entire Nigerian people. It is a case of conspiracy with the majority ethnic power elites and a few Niger Delta elites in league with these oil companies to continue to accumulate petrol dollars from the region to the detriment of the people.

Much as this is the pathetic situation of the Niger Delta, several social and economic contradictions are arising which will slow the processes of positive change in the area. The Niger Delta people seem to be very hostile to people from other parts of the country especially other minorities residing and trying to eke a living in the Niger Delta. Niger Deltans need the support of these people and their peers across Nigeria to achieve social justice. It is not a struggle the Deltans can fight to win alone. They must proactively engage other minority groups in the country to push the agenda further.

The conflict in the Niger Delta is not different from those of the Middle Belt region as they both have to do with so called majority ethnic hegemony dominance of minority groups. While majority ethnic groups in Nigeria have aggressively closed their space against the minorities, they are increasingly encroaching on the space of the minority groups. Central to these problems is the law that gives the Federal government complete ownership of the land of Nigeria. With Federal power being controlled by majority ethnic groups, the struggle will be difficult. However, concerted efforts from the minority groups can change the tide. The problem is land ownership; if we can constitutionally wrestle it from the government, nearly all the conflicts in Nigeria would be solved.

The British ambassador has no right to abuse an elected Kenyan government whatsoever (Pambazuka News 167). Britain as a former colonial master continues to exploit Kenyans unprecedently. The purported UK foreign aid to Kenya is less than ten per cent of UK profits repatriated from Kenya every year. No sane journalist will dare to expose these statistics. Instead a lie is perpetuated about a caring and benevolent master at the expense of African dignity.

If UK is such a caring development partner why have the atrocities committed against the people in the war of independence not been acknowledged and reparations made? Are Jews special human beings to have been compensated for the Nazi genocide as Africans wallow in self-hating indignities? Does Kay thinks Kenyans have forgotten about the Hola massacre? Where was Kay when Moi looted the nation's coffers clean? Where was Kay when Moi closed Kikuyu ran banks so that UK banks could flourish?

When Kibaki tries to return the economy to the people, the exploiters jump with 'clean shovels' to the amusement of the 'fickle minded African journalists'. It takes only the courage of a few to change the world. Without the sacrifice of Mau Mau, many of Kay supporters would still be licking the boots of their masters. Thank God Kenyans no longer need to read what their journalists write to be informed. Lets learn to access and analyse information on our own initiative. Politics of ethnic divide and rule will continue to be used to divide 'less informed' Africans. Remember the British propped up KADU at independence so that they could have their way in Kenya.