AGOA in perspective

 

By Mike Smith

19 February 2025

  

Imagine you are a small subsistence farmer, barely surviving and eking out a living on a small holding and around you are huge commercial farms, subsidised by the government…

Or maybe you are a small pottery manufacture surrounded by huge ceramic factories with rich shareholders…or a small tailor or a small cobbler surrounded by clothing factories and shoe manufacturers like Nike, Reebok, Addidas, etc…

Let’s be honest, there is no way you are ever going to make it, is there?

Now imagine far away in the city are some big markets, but you can never compete against these big commercial farms or factories, because to put your products on the market you have to pay a fee so high that you cannot afford it.

But one day, by a stroke of luck, the owner of the biggest market in the city comes by your little pozzy and sees that you have some nice and cute products at a very good price. The two of you strike up a conversation and you explain to him that you can never bring your products to his market, because of his high fees.

Now, let’s say the OU takes pity on you and tells you that from tomorrow onwards you are free to bring any and all products to his HUGE market…no fee.

It is a chance of a lifetime that you would grab with both hands, won’t you? You ask him if there was a catch…?

He responds, “Well, not really…just don’t be a Doos.” 

You ask him to clarify and he says, “Well, treat your people fairly, don’t exploit them, don’t use slave labour, don’t make corrupt deals with your sub-contractors and don’t be corrupt. Not so difficult is it?”

So you agree and you can now sell your stuff on the big market and make huge profits. You can now increase the wages of your workers, send them on courses and invest in new technology, electricity generation, etc. You grow and in no time you are on equal footing with those big players. It is what any normal person would do…but not the useless, corrupt ANC.

Now let’s take the bad option. You take full advantage of the generous offer of your benefactor, the Market Owner, but at the same time you are conniving with other market owners to stab your benefactor in the back and destroy his Big Market so that they can be the biggest. On top of it you gang up with cowardly bullies and start beating up on his best friend.

Some of your discontented workers go and talk to him and he finds out you have been whipping your workers, stealing from them, killing the ones who complain and making rules and regulation to steal their personal property.

What do you think the OU will do? Let’s just say he suspends your access to his market. You show him a middle finger, because by now, you have access to the other markets, and you tell him that “you won’t be bullied”.

But now he sees that you have made some bad friends. You and your maaitjies are secretly plotting to destroy him. On top of it he sees that you and your buddies were beating up his best friend. Now what do you think he is going to do about that?

Let us say that he likes your products. You have some unique products, cheaply that he cannot get somewhere else…at least not for that price. 

Now the OU has been speaking to some of the people on the ground in your pozzy…the ones who actually make the products. He sees that they are good honourable people who would deliver the same products more efficiently, without corruption and kickbacks. Don’t you think he will start to support those discontented workers in your factory? He and his best friend will organise them to kick you out and in no time you will be a beggar on the street and the world will be a better place.

  

Now, that is what happened with the ANC and America.

In 2000 the Americans gave African countries a chance to improve themselves through the African Growth and Opportunity Act. Duty-Free, no tariffs access to the biggest market in the world. Trust the ANC to fuck it up.

25 years of Racist Kaffirmative Action, Racist BBBEE, Racist quotas in sport, Racist quotas in university entry, racist expropriation laws, farm attacks…and on top of it, they took Israel, America’s biggest friend and ally in the Middle East to the ICJ in The Hague. To top it all, they are showing America the middle finger and telling them they won’t be bullied. Tough guys, hey! We’ll see.