Back when I first started going to Africa, I was annoyed to discover that the practice of charging foreigners (the only time I have ever been lumped together with the white men) higher prices (often much higher prices) for pretty much everything. Initially I tried to take this in good humour and the various assistants that I had travelling with me from time to time were inconsistent in the efforts they expended to ensure that I paid the same price for things as any African.
One stands out in particular--Kofi the Lion, drunken con artist though he was, fought hard on my behalf. I remember once being held up taking a boat across a river because the ferryman wanted to charge me double the trivial price that everyone else had to pay. Now this river was so narrow you could almost run and jump across it, and it probably took about 10 s to cross it (plus another minute or so getting into the docking space). Kofi fought with him, holding up the boat for at least 20 minutes until finally winning his point.
Another time when I was buying some carvings from a local artist, he spent a good bit of time in a lengthy argument over pricing with the artist. And when an agreement was reached, he suddenly demanded a commission from the artist. He pointed out that he had brought me to this man's store, but we could have gone to any other. Reluctantly, the artist agreed. As soon as we left the store, Kofi gave me his commission. I gathered that he was still unhappy with the price, but did his best to reduce my costs at every turn. And that is how shopping is in Ghana--you need to be prepared to fight for every advantage.
With time, our staffing situation improved, and a consistent group of characters coalesced around us and our nascent project. And my thinking on the subject of higher prices for foreigners changed as well. Instead of having our local staff resist this policy as an act of altruism, I realized that it was in their interest as well.
They used to complain that if they helped me too much, they were criticized by the various shopkeepers I understand the impulse of sticking together and helping your fellow Ghanaians prosper by taking advantage of foreigners. But I pointed out that if they allow us to pay a higher price, that is the price that they and all other Ghanaians will soon pay as well.
The reason was that more and more foreigners were coming to Ghana because of varied business opportunities. Vendors will soon realize they could sell all of their product to foreigners. If the foreigners are paying a higher price than the locals, why sell anything to the locals? So my mantra became "whatever you allow to happen to others will eventually happen to you."
Tailings and troubles
Canadian mining companies do not have the best reputation overseas, especially in impoverished areas of the world (Latin America in particular). Human rights violations have resulted from conflict between mining companies and local inhabitants throughout Latin America over potential environmental impacts, and the economic problem of wealth extraction from impoverished areas without economic compensation.
These problems are poorly reported in Canada, so Canadians may have some excuse for largely being unaware of these issues. But one issue that is harder to claim ignorance about is the multiple examples of tailings dam failures. Tailings pond failures in Canada have a long history, and Canadian companies have been implicated in a few overseas collapses as well. So it isn't unlikely to find the local population very interested in the parameters of a tailings pond that will soon appear in their locale.
And here we come to the nub of it. Canada has allowed its mining companies to abuse protesters at overseas mining (and potential mining sites) for generations. So it is inevitable that such behaviour would eventually come home, as may have begun recently in Nova Scotia. Use of local/national police forces against such protesters - check. Government deciding not to investigate use of force - check.
One stands out in particular--Kofi the Lion, drunken con artist though he was, fought hard on my behalf. I remember once being held up taking a boat across a river because the ferryman wanted to charge me double the trivial price that everyone else had to pay. Now this river was so narrow you could almost run and jump across it, and it probably took about 10 s to cross it (plus another minute or so getting into the docking space). Kofi fought with him, holding up the boat for at least 20 minutes until finally winning his point.
Another time when I was buying some carvings from a local artist, he spent a good bit of time in a lengthy argument over pricing with the artist. And when an agreement was reached, he suddenly demanded a commission from the artist. He pointed out that he had brought me to this man's store, but we could have gone to any other. Reluctantly, the artist agreed. As soon as we left the store, Kofi gave me his commission. I gathered that he was still unhappy with the price, but did his best to reduce my costs at every turn. And that is how shopping is in Ghana--you need to be prepared to fight for every advantage.
A rare photo of Kofi Jatah, at left.
With time, our staffing situation improved, and a consistent group of characters coalesced around us and our nascent project. And my thinking on the subject of higher prices for foreigners changed as well. Instead of having our local staff resist this policy as an act of altruism, I realized that it was in their interest as well.
They used to complain that if they helped me too much, they were criticized by the various shopkeepers I understand the impulse of sticking together and helping your fellow Ghanaians prosper by taking advantage of foreigners. But I pointed out that if they allow us to pay a higher price, that is the price that they and all other Ghanaians will soon pay as well.
The reason was that more and more foreigners were coming to Ghana because of varied business opportunities. Vendors will soon realize they could sell all of their product to foreigners. If the foreigners are paying a higher price than the locals, why sell anything to the locals? So my mantra became "whatever you allow to happen to others will eventually happen to you."
Tailings and troubles
Canadian mining companies do not have the best reputation overseas, especially in impoverished areas of the world (Latin America in particular). Human rights violations have resulted from conflict between mining companies and local inhabitants throughout Latin America over potential environmental impacts, and the economic problem of wealth extraction from impoverished areas without economic compensation.
These problems are poorly reported in Canada, so Canadians may have some excuse for largely being unaware of these issues. But one issue that is harder to claim ignorance about is the multiple examples of tailings dam failures. Tailings pond failures in Canada have a long history, and Canadian companies have been implicated in a few overseas collapses as well. So it isn't unlikely to find the local population very interested in the parameters of a tailings pond that will soon appear in their locale.
And here we come to the nub of it. Canada has allowed its mining companies to abuse protesters at overseas mining (and potential mining sites) for generations. So it is inevitable that such behaviour would eventually come home, as may have begun recently in Nova Scotia. Use of local/national police forces against such protesters - check. Government deciding not to investigate use of force - check.
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