My understanding on the matter (DOUBLE STANDARDS: THE WAR ON IRAQ AND AFRICA, http://www.pambazuka.org/newsletter.php?issuedate=2003-04-10&admin=1#1) is very simple. Africans together with their governments should just stop putting their hopes on the so-called international community for their survival.

All we need to do is to spend as much money as we can afford on the production of our own food. That money should be made available by our governments; after all it is the people's money, their own taxes.

The so-called international community should know that in Africa, most governments do not provide the Dole, old age pensions, free medical services, free education etc, etc. Under such circumstances, subsidizing farmers for the production of staple food would therefore be the most honourable thing to do.

As for the concept of accepting food rations from anywhere in the world, I am totally against it. It is the most humiliating thing I have ever seen in my 50 years of existence on this planet. I for instance live in a country that is endowed with water resources that can never be matched in Africa, yet the people cannot afford a cup of drinking water, both in towns, cities and the villages.

This is the country that should be supplying the FAO and the WFP with the food for the Iraqis, and other poor Europeans, Asians and Americans, but because we have the food dependency mentality, we are the ones that pray for food aid.

Rather than improve her agricultural produce, Lesotho is increasing the number of textile factories that are being erected on scarce arable land. These factories are known and proven to be causing a lot of physical, psychological and emotional sufferings, as well as environmental degradation, to the once peaceful and clean air Lesotho.