The Dreams Of King Hassan
;Ey Laura Parks
NNPA United Nations
Correspondent ;
sat..a,j:,jsti5.i::i
Botswana
A Much-Needed Census
International
jf k. Western Sahara's
Polisario Front have laun-
died a well coordinated ,
wopaganda campaign to
User edit the Front ' and
nake the Moroccan in- v:
aiders of King Hassan
eera certain of victory. -,The
campaign got under
ay several f weeks ago "
rtien King Hassan of
Morocco met with King
Chalid of Saudi Arabia to ,
irrange for a reconcilia
ion between Mauritania
ind Morocco, both r
:laimants to .Western V
Jaharan lands and riches. '
Having achieved ; . a
legree of unity between
Mauritania and Morocco, .'
inspired by Saudi wealth I
and discreet United States "r
.assurances of . aid, ; the ,
guerrilla , armies of the
Polisario; Front knocked
ow Mauritanian ambi
tions and forced that im
poverished nation to sue
for. peace. Thereafter the
Polisario Front concen
trated all its efforts
against the Moroccans.
The Polisario-guerrilla , x
operations against the
soldiers of King Hassan
have proven to be most ef
fective and extremely cost
ly for Morocco. ! Today,
the Kingdom of Morocco
is beset i with severe
economic problems, in-
eluding deep seated labor
unrest and , food riots,
which threaten the very
existence of the Hassan
' dynasty.
Saudi , Arabia and the
United States do not relish
the idea that yet another
feudal monarch in the
rapidly evolving third
world may be on its last
legs.
When former Spanish
dictator Franco died the
Polisario Front and its
soldiers forced the
Spanish colonialists to
surrender their claims to
Rio de Oro, which was
then renamed the Arab
. Peoples Democratic
Republic of Western
Sahara.
As the Polisario Front
waged its war of national
' liberation against Spain
the King of Morocco, stag
ed massive, theatrical in-,
vasion of Western Sahara
which soon bogged down
in the desert sands. Poor
Mauritania, initially in
spired by the early glories
of King Hassan struck at
enemies- Western Sahara from the ;
9VUU ' HUU attf.M.j .
discovered that the costs
. far outweighed any and all -benefits
it may have hoped
to gain from the invasion. ,
' Today all international ; ,
organizations - recognize
the Polisario Front as the
legitimate; representative ;
of the peoples of the
Western Saharan desert. '
Why then the sudden camr
paign against the Polisario
Front? Primarily the cost
ly war waged by fthe
Moroccan King has now.
reached its , maximum ef-' '
fort. If i victory not
achieved soon the
' Kingdom will be seriously1
threatened from within by
a disenchanted populace. -.
Then again both Saudi
Arabia and the United
States do hot wish to see
another Arab Democratic
Republic appear on the;
African continent,
especially at the crucially
important and sensitive
time,, when Israel's.
MenachemV Begin and
.Egypt's Sadat arei
desperately trying to
establish a conservative
military alliance at the
juncture of Africa and
Arabia which it is hoped
could be supported by the
Saudis against the evolv
ing, non-feudal govern
ments of northern Africa.
The United States for its .
part hopes to coordinate
these developments in nor-"
them Africa with its plans
for South Africa.
Washington strategists see
South Africa working
with the Israeli-Egyptian
alliance to contain the raw
material producing
populations of the African
continent, now ill-fed, ill
housed, sick and mostly il
literate, from massive
rebellion.
Ahti-Polisario pro
pagandists, often posing
as respectable and objec
tive observers now claim
. that Morocco can win its
war because it has built a
six foot high, 280 mile
long barrier against the
Polisario troops. Polisario
officers ridicule this claim.
They assert that since the
end of the Second World
War the forces of colonial
'and national WS&Sim art
mies have always and
without exception
demolished , the most
sophisticated fortifications.
' ANJ After fifteen years
of ' ' v independence, ,
Botswana has transform-,
ed its agrarian, cattle-
based 1 economy - s into'
diamond-studded :;'' pro
sperity, Yet serious ,
economic .imbalances re-
main. To better assess the
situation :, and V assist ,
development planning,
preparations .. are advanc-:
if g for the ; largest and
most scientific census in
Botswana 's history. ;
t Following independence
in 1966, the former colony
of Bechuanaland was an
arid, dusty, impoverished
territory, depending large-1
ly on meagre returns from
cattle-rearing to sustain
some 700,000 people. All
but completely dependent
on South Africa for its
survival, the country even
used the South African
rand as its national cur
renncy until 1976.
Today, Botswana is one
of Africa's richest coun
tries, proudly sporting the
twelfth highest GNP in
Africa. Diamond mining
has made all the dif
ference. Production stan
nds at more than $320
million yearly and ac
counts for more than 60o
of export earnings.
Yet 80 of Botswana's
850,000 people still de
pend on agriculture and
cattle-raising, with the
bast majority only manag
ing a basre subsistence liv
ing. And even with an im
pressive 12 increase in
the Gross Domestic Pro-1
duct over the last year,,
massive unemployment re
mains an embarrasing
problemm. The situation
has not improved much
since 1978, when a pro
fessor's study showed that
40 of the wage-labor
force was out of work.
Not surprisingly,
Botswana's Fifth National
Development Plan is em-.
.: phasizing the creation of
t new jobs and - rural
developmment. Yet the
. vital statistics needed to
: effect the ' plan, ? which
" covers ' the ' period
. 1979-1985,. are not readily
; available. With ; this V in
. . mind, the country is emv
barking on the second na
tional census r since . in-t
, '. dependence, to be con-,
, ducted later this year.
'f , This first post- -,
independence census in
, 1971 showed that about ;
. 80 of the , population;.;
lived in the southeast, ,
close to the rail line that
still links South Africa's "i
northern reaches 'with;;
Bulawayo in western Zim
babwe. Besides being the '
economic life-line of the v
country, the area is also ;
well-watered by the Lim-i
popo River. With much of.
the country covered by the
arid Kalahari Desert,
water has been "the
primary determinant in
the pattern of human set
tlement," according to a
recent government
publication.
But that appears to be
changing. The thriving
, economy is also making its
mark on demographic pat
terns. The massive
economic returns from
mining have been concen
trated in the country's few
urban centers, Gaborone,.
Francistown and Lobatse.
This has in turn ac
celerated the migration of
the unemployed and
underemployed from the ?
countryside.
In addition, new set
tlements are growing up
around the rich mining -centers
of Selebi-Pikwe
and Orapa in the central
province, Jwaneng, 80
miles west of Gaborone
(the capital city) and
presently under construe-,
tion, is expected to
become Botswana's
j
1
i
lit a K ' V- f
I "H
fi Tr4 -
Black Scientist Honored
Dr. W. Montegue Cobb (left), medical educator and president of the NAACP, and Or. Jane Wright, noted cancer researcher,
talk with artist Ernest Crichlow and Dr. Otto Sturzenegger, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of CIBA-GEIGY Cor
poration, Ardsley, N.Y., at a special reception held prior to the annual convention of the National Urban League in Washington,
D.C. Dr. Cobb and Dr. Wright are honored in the CIBA-GEIGY Exceptional Black Scientists Poster Series for which Crichlow
painted the scientists' portraits.
largest and richest dia
mond mine; it also will
likely affect population
patterns. While mining in
Botswana is fabulously
lucrative, it is also capital
intensive, producing few
jobs while attracting
numerous job-seekers.
Observers agree that the
"major demographic pro
blems relate to employ
ment. With a population
growth rate of at least 3,
the size of the work force
is exploding. It is expected
to increase from 887,000
in 1979 to 515,000 in 1985
a six-fold increase. And
while the South African
mines used to employ up
wards of 40,000 Botswana
workers yearly, recruit
ment has already fallen to
less than 20,000 as of
1979. ''
Presently the labor
force is growing at about
18,000 per year whereas
the plan aims at formal
employment growth of
some 10,000 jobs annual
ly, with the accent on
''achieving increased pro
ductivity in the rural
economy."
- "When we come to
rural development, we
find that it is skill
intensive. You need plann
ing in minute detail
because every community
has its own
characteristics," said
Botswana's president, Dr.
Quett Masire.
If it goes as planned,
this'vear's census will eive
the government the
"minute details" it so
urgently needs to effec
tively manage national
development. Partly
financed and assisted by
the United Nations Fund
for Population Activities,
there are no less than three
government-appointed
committees running the
census operation.
The National Com
munications Committee is
presently coordinating the
pre-census publicity cam
paign. All major media
are taking part, producing
special programs and
stories as well as carrying
exhortations and news to
heighten public interest.
Special lessons have been
; Dreoared to inform
Donald King Gives
NNPA Archives $10,000
V .. .
Cleveland. Ohio: The Archives
Committee of the National News
paper Publishers Association,
through its chairman. William O
Walker, has received a contribution
of $10,000 from fight promoter
Donald King
In making his gift. Mr. King
expressed his interest in the
Archives project which was estab
lished in 1973 at Howard
University.
The Archives is expected to
become the primary facility in the
world for research related to the
history Of the Black press
As a part of the joint project
between Howard University and
NNPA, a Gallery of Distinguished
Newspaper publishers has been
established in the Mooreland
Spingarn Research Center, where
portraits of Black publishers are
enshrined and can be viewed by
the public. Copies of Black news
papers are sent to the Archives
center each week for microfilming
and for research reference Dr.
Michael R Winsont is director of
the Mooreland-Spingarn Research
Center.. v
students about the census,
its purpose and its work
ings in the hope that the
youngsters will re-enforce
media messages aimed at
their parents.
Even the widespread
popular theatre move
ment, used throughout the
country to promote
development messages,
has incorporated the cen
sus theme into its ac
tivities. A special film has
been prepared about the
census and is currently
touring the country.
; . During the census,
everyone 12 years and
older will be required by
law to provide informa
tion. But even younger
children (to the age of
(Continued on P i
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