Sources
Introduction
Prologue
Chapter 01
Chapter 02
Chapter 03
Chapter 04
Chapter 05
Chapter 06
Chapter 07
Chapter 08
Chapter 09
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88

 
TAZARA ... a journey by rail through world-history © KJS / 2009
Bill Gates www.gatesfoundation.org
CHAPTER 63



— rüteli — rüteli — rüteli ...

Mr. Gates, could a computer-game — whose method and goal would be to achieve PEACE — become a best-seller?

„Where am I? I was invited as a special guest of the WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM in Davos, Switzerland in order to present my idea of a ‚CREATIVE CAPITALISM‘.“

Well, in principle, we are on the way to Davos. But, you see, the resort is not really accessible; a lot of uninvited people are on the roads. We thought it a splendid idea to get you on this train. No forum-opponent will have a hunch that you travel on this historic dinner-carriage of the Rhätische Bahn, Mr. Gates. And as railway-fans we know, of course, that an early example of „creative capitalism“ is rolling here in Davos over narrow-gauge tracks.

— rüteli — rüteli — rüteli ...

REGIE! Weblink zur Rhätischen Bahn bitte!

Jan Willem Holsboer, an immigrant from Holland, called in 1872 for an initiative to build a railway line between Landquart and Davos. The first draft of his project suggested a standard gauge; it was skipped because of the tremendous cost. Holsboer’s next proposal suggested a narrow gauge; the budget was five million Franken. On 22nd April, 1887, the concession was given; on 7th February, 1888 the joint-stock company „Schmalspurbahn Landquart-Davos“ was founded in Basel. Construction was finalized in 1890; service started on 21st July, 1890. With a length of 375 kilometres, the Rhätische Bahn touches all major valleys of the canton of Graubünden.

— rüteli — rüteli — rüteli ...

„Is this a licensed Windows-Version that your controller is using?“

Please, Mr Gates, no small-time capitalism! You have on your mind something much bigger, isn’t it? What is your CREATIVE CAPITALISM all about? Give us a hint!

„Well, creative capitalism is an approach where governments, businesses, and nonprofits work together to stretch the reach of market forces so that more people can make a profit, or gain recognition, doing work that eases the world’s inequities.
Capitalism as we knew it does not work well for the poor because there were no international market incentives to fight poverty or hunger.“


Leaving aside for a moment the hunch international markets might have produced poverty and hunger … What do you mean by recognition, Mr. Gates?

„Recognition enhances a company’s reputation and appeals to customers; above all, it attracts good people to the organization. As such, recognition triggers a market-based reward for good behaviour. In markets where profits are not possible, recognition is a proxy; where profits are possible, recognition is an added incentive. Recognition of the good deeds done by capitalists will build the markets necessary to bring the poor the benefits of capitalism, thus ushering in a new system that I call CREATIVE CAPITALISM. And to support my conviction I am going to pledge, here in Davos, another three hundred and six million dollar to AGRA.“

Wow! That’s a lot of recognition, by anyone’s standards, or — as on would say in your circles: „You put your money where your mouth is!“
But, perhaps, it would be wise to wait for a little moment? …


— raison — raison — raison ...

Do you know Sélingué? … Not? … Just listen …

— raison — raison — raison ...

„I don‘t believe it! I mean, in my mansion at the lake I got a lot of virtual toys implemented. For example, if you would be my guest there, music that you chose would follow you individually wherever you walk, without headphones, of course, but controlled by intelligent invisible speakers everywhere … But this here? How are you doing it? It’s not only a different track-noise … It isn’t chilly anymore … no snow, no mountains … instead the heat of the savannah!“

In addition, it is also a different conference waiting for you, Mr. Gates:

THE WORLD FORUM FOR FOOD SOVEREIGNTY

Sélingué is a village less than two hours away from Mali’s capital Bamako. This choice was made to allow the debate on food and agriculture to take place in a rural and agricultural context. It is a political choice, which aims to show the coherence between the proposals for food sovereignty and the means necessary to achieve it. This is an opportunity to show the daily realities of Mali. Sélingué is situated near a hydroelectric dam on the river Sankarani, an affluent of the Niger, close to the border with Guinea. The dam offers guaranteed uninterrupted electricity supply year round which is good since there will be enough power for this conference of some six hundred participants who come from different parts of the world, of course, with their notebooks …

Please, don‘t ask again whether all of their Windows-Programs are licensed …
The organisations in Mali wanted to give the World Forum for Food Sovereignty a name that would have a meaning to the farmers of their country. They chose:

NYÉLÉNI 2007

Please, welcome Ibrahim and Oussama, Mr. Gates. Both are Griots, storytellers and keepers of traditional wisdom. They are going to tell us something about the meaning of the name …


I, Ibrahim say ...
In Mali, there is a powerful symbol which could serve as the symbol of food sovereignty. It’s a woman who left her mark in the history of Mali, as a woman and as a great farmer. When you mention her name, everyone knows what this name represents. She is the mother who brings food, the mother who farms, who fought for her recognition as a woman in an environment that wasn’t favourable to her. This woman was called Nyéléni. If we use this symbol, everyone in Mali will know that it’s a struggle for food, a struggle for food sovereignty.

I, Oussama, say ...
Nyéléni was an only child, which in Africa was considered a curse. Nyéléni, as a girl and only child of her parents, suffered in her youth from all the mocking her parents were subjected to. She secretly resolved to remove this slur that men had cast on her by defeating them on their own ground, that is to say agriculture and working of the land.
To every suitor she repeated endlessly that marriage could wait, that first she had a mission to accomplish as a homage to her family, to women, to all women. This was her priority. Nyéléni took part in farming competitions and defeated all the champions with the best reputation in her village and in the surrounding region. Her reputation grew. The more arrogant men would challenge her, day after day, and to their disgrace, they were all defeated.
Nyéléni’s reputation grew beyond the limits of her region, she became a living legend. This is the time when her renown was established and she earned respect. And so the legend says that it was at the beginning of winter, which is the rainy season here, that she domesticated fonio/angry rice, that cereal you ate today. It’s also thanks to Nyéléni that we have a variety of millet called samio, that is ’small millet’. Nyéléni’s father was called Nianso, her mother was called Saucra, she came from Siracoro. Unfortunately, history does not tell us whether one of her suitors ever married her, and therefore whether she ever had children. This is the story of Nyéléni. ...


Thanks to Ibrahim and Oussama for this tale of Nyéléni …

As we understand it, Mr. Gates, you are the owner of CORBIS, the biggest picture-agency in the world. Unfortunately, a portrait of Nyéléni won’t be available at COBRIS but perhaps one of this woman-activist: Mariam Mayet. The Mali-hero was no ancestor to her, but she matches her spirit. PAMBAZUKA NEWS asks her on our behalf.


MARIAM MAYET: We are based in Jo’burg and we have four main programs. We campaign against genetic engineering in food and agriculture. We campaign against bio-piracy particularly the theft of indigenous knowledge in the context of medicinal plants and new areas around marine bio prospecting. We also work on the green revolution in Africa — and Agro-fuels. Basically, we do a lot of cutting edge research, exposes of what multi-national companies are doing in Africa, and on the bio-tech industry. We look at the seed industry and where the GM-Agro fuels push is coming from. We work with a large network of other groups and communities.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: Let’s turn our attention to philanthropy, which Cecil Rhodes once called, philanthropy plus five-percent — which is to say that philanthropy paves way for profit making, or what others call the philanthropy-industrial complex. Can you talk a little about the role of Western philanthropy in Africa?

MARIAM MAYET: Philanthropy in Africa has some history especially in relation to the Rockefeller family. The Rockefeller foundation has a much longer history than the Gates Foundation for example. Gordon Conway who became one of the presidents of the Rockefeller Foundation published a book called the New Green Revolution in 1999. The Green Revolution push we are seeing in Africa is really his brainchild. Their philanthropy has come in the context of pushing a very distinct corporate agenda — to open markets for US corporations. For example in Kenya the Rockefeller Foundation has been involved in sponsoring Florence Wambugu’s sweet potato project because they want to open Africa up to GMOs. So if you give the impression that a genetically modified sweet potato can work because it is the poor person’s crop, there will be more willingness to accept GMO’s. So it is not philanthropy. It’s a form of investment, a corporatized agenda for resource extraction from Africa.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: There was an expose in the LA Times on the Bill Gates Foundation where it was found that the foundation invests money in companies
and corporations that cause the very same problems it is trying to solve, companies such as Shell. So the philanthropy arm is trying to save the environment, while the investment arm is making profit from its destruction …

MARIAM MAYET: Exactly, the Rockefellers made their money from Exon, which later became Chevron — so they have old oil money — this wrecked a whole lot of havoc environmentally and in terms of human rights.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: And also the idea of telescopic philanthropy, a telescopic philanthropy that sees far but not what is under its feet — for example there are a lot problems in the United States amongst minority communities…

MARIAM MAYET: Yes, why didn’t they give money to Hurricane Katrina victims? Why do they feel they have to come and rescue Africa? We say that the Green Revolution is a white man’s dream for a black continent. And this dream… this saviour mentality is very missionary, very colonial, and imperialistic — and yes they should leave us alone. If they take away all the developmental aid, if they take all the food aid, and the military aid — we would be like Cuba. We would struggle for a while but eventually we would find our way. We would build our own local economies and vibrancy because all these development aid is also an industry unto itself, and it feeds off itself.
Who are the world’s biggest agri-business players? Take Cargil, which owns shares in seed companies, buys the harvest from farmers and transports it all over the world — they are more powerful than some governments because they are in charge of the
international prices of grains and trade in grains. You have to really understand this whole capitalist agri-business system in order to understand the logic of the green revolution.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: AGRA, according to its website, is and “African-led partnership working across the African continent to help millions of small-scale farmers and their families lift themselves out of poverty and hunger. AGRA programs develop practical solutions to significantly boost farm productivity and incomes for the poor while safeguarding the environment. AGRA advocates for policies that support its work across all key aspects of the African agricultural “value chain”— from seeds, soil health, and water to markets and agricultural education. AGRA is chaired by Kofi A. Annan, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations. They say that they are African led and now they have Kofi Annan who is serving as the chairman of AGRA — your response?

MARIAM MAYET: I think they are African followed because the vision was put in place by Gordon Conway from the Rockefeller Foundation. The Rockefeller Foundation brought in the Bill-Melinda Gates foundation, then started to recruit willing and compliant Africans – the coup de grace was Kofi Annan. If it was African led we would not be asking for consultation and transparency. It would be coming from our farmers, coming from the ground-up. What is African led, are the local struggles, where people are clearly saying this is what we want. Go to speak to the
people affected and they will tell you what they want — that would be African led.

PAMBAZUKA NEWS: Can you talk a little bit about the packaging of AGRA? You have Kofi Annan, who has UN credentials, gentle spoken yet charismatic and Bill Gates who appears harmless. There is a lot of star power and money…

MARIAM MAYET: The things is the Green Revolution is a very a violent package because it puts powerful toxic chemicals into Africa. It displaces and destroys local knowledge and seeds. It favours those farmers who will be able to access the system, the more powerful farmers. This will divide the African peasantry. AGRA also creates a lot of dependency and debt. It is violent. But the geeky sexy richest man who brought us wonderful technology, and gentle Kofi Annan — this is the saviour face, our last hope. It is a very strategic move to push a very agri-business, corporatized market driven package — but it will fail in Africa because they do not understand Africa.


— tazara — tazara — tazara ...

Can we, please, have also our say? …

I mean, since we are forced to follow all moves of this train …

The one or the other may want to express an opinion …

How much do they want to deal out? One hundred and fifty million dollar?

Plus three hundred and six million from the privy purse of this nice Mr. Gates!

Altogether four hundred and fifty-six million dollar ...

No small business anymore! Where can I get such mini-packs with improved seeds and fertilizer for re-sale, Mr. Rockefeller?

— tazara — tazara — tazara ...

CREATIVE CAPITALISM?
Mr. Moon likes it. How did one of his predecessors put it?

NO MATTER
WHETHER A CAT IS BLACK OR WHITE
THE MAIN THING IS
IT CATCHES MICE!


Mr. Moon’s third brief for me is: to find out the direction of this AGRA-Express. For that, it may be helpful to distinguish the MISSION from the JOB.

AGRA’s Mission, as far as I understood:

To work in partnership
across the African continent
to help millions of small-scale farmers
and their families
lift themselves out of poverty and hunger.

AGRA’s Job, as far as I understood:

To bring Africa’s poor
into the international market.
Here, they will consume both
Hybrid and genetically-modified seeds,
fertilizers and agrochemicals.
They will also consume
the products of these seeds,
making their diet dependent on the companies
driving the Green Revolution.

AGRA’s final goal, as far as I now understand:

Whoever can establish
these seed markets in Africa
will control
not only the markets,
but the food,
and ultimately
the ground
of the vast continent ...


Mr. Moon won’t like that! For him it does not matter whether a cat is black or white either, but the mice he wants to catch by himself!

— tazara — tazara — tazara ...


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