Thursday, October 30, 2008

AAA-Problem today


Since Mandela came to power, many steps have been taken to make the races in South Africa more equal, but there is still more to do. In effort to not antagonize the race tensions, immediate re-distributions of wealth and land did not occur. Rather, time lines and plans were created to give black Africans economic empowerment, and those transfers are soon to happen.


According to The BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/country_profiles/1071886.stm) Black Africans are scheduled to take control of 30% of South Africa's farm lands by 2014. In theory this transfer will provide jobs and empower a new generation of black South Africans, but if transfer of the lands is not smooth, South Africa could face problems with food shortages. We don't need to look far for an example, South Africa's neighbor Zimbabwe recently forced out all European farms and farmers, which has resulted in brain drain and widespread food shortages. Historically Zimbabwe was a major exporter of food to the rest of Africa, but under current conditions the country is facing widespread shortages. If this occurs in South Africa, many people could perish.


Since I live in a community that values agriculture and farming, this might be the problem for me to address! I need to establish a training program to teach impoverished South Africans the skills of agriculture in effort for them to become self sufficient!

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