When Africa hits puberty

There is talk in these parts about the skill often associated with our female colleagues in managing to milk the resources of their male counterparts. 

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The idea springs from our campuses and basically describes a situation in which the average gal can fund her challenging school days from the meager resources of an unknowing suitor or group of suitors. 

You will often hear of a list of chaps whose job function ranges from airtime guy, to meal guy, to upkeep guy and many more. 

Which brings me the article title...in which I suggest that Africa has hit puberty. Finally she realizes that she has goods that are attractive to the market (resources) and suitors. Who would have know that she is in a position to play them all and receive the benefits of her 'attractiveness'. 

The Americans seem to play from a different line. They will not overtly use American workers to to work the roads or to manage their projects but back home a healthy chunk of the cash sent here will be harvested at home and benefit the home front. The Chinese are more overt in their declaration of love interest. But they are making their play from a backwards position. They have the disadvantage of having a language that is yet to be adopted by the rest of the world. Fortunately though we cannot say the same about the possibility of having their currency take center stage in place of he dollar. In addition to this, the Chinese have not always felt the urge to play he game fairly when it comes to trade. 

In addition to this, their use of labor is less restricted and more obvious. 

Perhaps a late comer in this battle is India but there is a likelihood that her resources can still be utilized. What China is to the U.S in terms of development and labor especially in the 20th century, India is to Africa. How India manages to put her foreign populations into the system will determine how much progress she makes. 

So what the the rules and who are the major players. The countries with the largest populations are obvious players. Then there are those nations whose history gives them an edge as colonial 'masters'. Then there are the teeming populations striving to make a change and move from previous positions of supposed inferiority. 

The rules are important because they determine how the changes we need happen and who the true beneficiaries of this change are. The rules also help protect the 'gals' from manipulation and abuse and guarantee a level of fairness ( fairness assumes this to be some kind of game with rules). In a previous post I borrowed heavily from the work of certain practitioners who approach centered on the law and viewed the major players as cats and mice involved in a complex battle for space and a shifting of platforms or fora. Nations that were still fighting for a space and struggling to find a uniting front for themselves were found wanting as sudden shifts were made to regional agreements and rules that were still being understood changed.