We are told:
Zambia signed a landmark Joint Venture (JV) with India's Akums Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited on August 22, 2025, to establish a manufacturing plant in the Lusaka South Multi-Facility Economic Zone. This partnership aims to locally produce around 150 essential medicines, reducing import reliance and improving drug security.
Key details of the partnership include:
Structure: A Joint Venture where Akums holds a 51% stake and the Zambian government holds 49%, according to Pharma.economictimes.indiatimes.com.
Production: The facility will produce oral solids, liquids, injectables, and beta-lactam products.
Capacity: It aims to enable self-sufficiency in essential medicines and potentially export to neighboring countries.
Timeline: Construction was set to begin in late 2025, with operations commencing around 2028, PharmaSource reported.
This initiative is a major step in bolstering Zambia's pharmaceutical sector, aimed at lowering costs and reducing chronic stockouts of medicines.
Understanding the US - Again
Re: Understanding the US - Again
“ Beyond physical mineral extraction, the sweeping American proposal includes a highly controversial provision regarding sovereign national medical records. Washington negotiators have demanded 10 years of access to Zambian health and genetic data.
In contrast, the US is only offering five years of funding in return. This disparity has raised alarms about the exploitation of sensitive information, which is highly valuable for pharmaceutical companies developing new drugs.”
“ Any potential medications or vaccines developed using this data would not guarantee Zambia a share of the resulting profit. Similar data clauses previously prompted activists in Kenya to launch legal action against their government, and neighbouring Zimbabwe also abandoned talks with the US over identical privacy concerns.”
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/zambia-diplom ... id-1794390
In contrast, the US is only offering five years of funding in return. This disparity has raised alarms about the exploitation of sensitive information, which is highly valuable for pharmaceutical companies developing new drugs.”
“ Any potential medications or vaccines developed using this data would not guarantee Zambia a share of the resulting profit. Similar data clauses previously prompted activists in Kenya to launch legal action against their government, and neighbouring Zimbabwe also abandoned talks with the US over identical privacy concerns.”
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/zambia-diplom ... id-1794390
Re: Understanding the US - Again
I remembered something and Google Gemini gave me this on asking it:
The incident you’re referring to is a cornerstone of U.S.-India relations in the 1960s, specifically during the 1965–1967 food crisis. It’s a period often called the "Ship-to-Mouth" era, where President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) used food aid as a lever to force drastic changes in Indian policy.
The "Short-Tether" Policy (1965–1966)
When India faced back-to-back droughts and a massive famine, it became heavily dependent on U.S. wheat under the PL-480 (Food for Peace) program. LBJ, frustrated by India’s criticism of the Vietnam War and its state-led economic model, implemented a "short-tether" policy. Instead of signing long-term aid agreements, he authorized grain shipments on a month-to-month basis, sometimes keeping ships idling in the ocean until India agreed to certain conditions.
The Mineral Rights & "Operation Hardrock"
The specific "mineral rights" controversy center around a project called Operation Hardrock (1967).
The Deal: As part of the broader aid and development package (managed by USAID), the U.S. provided a $3.5 million loan and technical expertise for an airborne geophysical survey of India.
The Objective: The official goal was to help India locate deposits of non-ferrous metals like copper, zinc, and lead to reduce its import bill.
The Controversy: The survey was conducted by an American firm, Parsons Corporation, and the raw data was sent back to the U.S. for processing. This triggered a massive political firestorm in the Indian Parliament. Critics, led by leftist and nationalist politicians, accused the U.S. of:
Stealing Data: Claiming the U.S. was mapping India’s atomic minerals (thorium and uranium) for its own strategic use.
Resource Imperialism: Arguing that the U.S. was essentially demanding the right to "prospect" India's national wealth as a price for the wheat that was keeping the population from starving.
The Fertilizer Concessions (The Bechtel Deal)
Parallel to the mineral survey, the U.S. and the World Bank pressured India to liberalize its fertilizer industry.
The Demand: The U.S. pushed for a deal with the Bechtel Corporation (and others like Standard Oil) to build massive fertilizer plants.
The Strings: The U.S. insisted that these private American companies be given management control, a guaranteed 20% return on investment, and the right to set their own prices—effectively bypassing the Indian government's price controls.
The Result: Many in India saw this as a surrender of sovereign control over the country's "mineral" and agricultural future in exchange for emergency aid.
Summary Table: The 1966 "Strings Attached"
Condition U.S. Demand / Action Indian Perception
Food Aid Month-to-month "short-tether" shipments. Humanitarian blackmail.
Minerals Operation Hardrock: U.S.-led aerial survey. Espionage and theft of mineral data.
Industry Bechtel Deal: Private U.S. control of fertilizers. "Economic colonialism."
Currency Pressure to devalue the Rupee (done in June 1966). Surrender of economic sovereignty.
The "mineral rights" aspect is often cited by historians as one of the most intrusive conditions of the era because it involved physical mapping of the Indian subcontinent's sub-soil wealth by a foreign power during a moment of extreme national vulnerability.
The incident you’re referring to is a cornerstone of U.S.-India relations in the 1960s, specifically during the 1965–1967 food crisis. It’s a period often called the "Ship-to-Mouth" era, where President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) used food aid as a lever to force drastic changes in Indian policy.
The "Short-Tether" Policy (1965–1966)
When India faced back-to-back droughts and a massive famine, it became heavily dependent on U.S. wheat under the PL-480 (Food for Peace) program. LBJ, frustrated by India’s criticism of the Vietnam War and its state-led economic model, implemented a "short-tether" policy. Instead of signing long-term aid agreements, he authorized grain shipments on a month-to-month basis, sometimes keeping ships idling in the ocean until India agreed to certain conditions.
The Mineral Rights & "Operation Hardrock"
The specific "mineral rights" controversy center around a project called Operation Hardrock (1967).
The Deal: As part of the broader aid and development package (managed by USAID), the U.S. provided a $3.5 million loan and technical expertise for an airborne geophysical survey of India.
The Objective: The official goal was to help India locate deposits of non-ferrous metals like copper, zinc, and lead to reduce its import bill.
The Controversy: The survey was conducted by an American firm, Parsons Corporation, and the raw data was sent back to the U.S. for processing. This triggered a massive political firestorm in the Indian Parliament. Critics, led by leftist and nationalist politicians, accused the U.S. of:
Stealing Data: Claiming the U.S. was mapping India’s atomic minerals (thorium and uranium) for its own strategic use.
Resource Imperialism: Arguing that the U.S. was essentially demanding the right to "prospect" India's national wealth as a price for the wheat that was keeping the population from starving.
The Fertilizer Concessions (The Bechtel Deal)
Parallel to the mineral survey, the U.S. and the World Bank pressured India to liberalize its fertilizer industry.
The Demand: The U.S. pushed for a deal with the Bechtel Corporation (and others like Standard Oil) to build massive fertilizer plants.
The Strings: The U.S. insisted that these private American companies be given management control, a guaranteed 20% return on investment, and the right to set their own prices—effectively bypassing the Indian government's price controls.
The Result: Many in India saw this as a surrender of sovereign control over the country's "mineral" and agricultural future in exchange for emergency aid.
Summary Table: The 1966 "Strings Attached"
Condition U.S. Demand / Action Indian Perception
Food Aid Month-to-month "short-tether" shipments. Humanitarian blackmail.
Minerals Operation Hardrock: U.S.-led aerial survey. Espionage and theft of mineral data.
Industry Bechtel Deal: Private U.S. control of fertilizers. "Economic colonialism."
Currency Pressure to devalue the Rupee (done in June 1966). Surrender of economic sovereignty.
The "mineral rights" aspect is often cited by historians as one of the most intrusive conditions of the era because it involved physical mapping of the Indian subcontinent's sub-soil wealth by a foreign power during a moment of extreme national vulnerability.
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S_Madhukar
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Re: Understanding the US - Again
TBH I think best to have aid as a transaction. Why should someone feel “obliged” ? There is a selfishness from the aid giver too.., that of good karma or blessings if it is not about $ . Even wild animals don’t like taking free food they will offer you something back. One can trade aid without being exploitative
Re: Understanding the US - Again
^^Nobody is asking Zambia to buy anything. This is aid. It is FREE OF CHARGE! If Zambia wants to spend its own money buying pharmaceuticals or making factories it is free to do so.
With regards to PL480, let me answer by firstly posting an article,
https://libcom.org/article/zambian-mine ... e-over-pay
"Two years ago – the police charged two Chinese managers with attempted murder after they had shot thirteen workers who were protesting over poor pay. The charges were dropped after the bosses bribed their victims."
They had used AK47's that they had lying around! Does anyone believe that this was the only excess? If you are OK with shooting 13 how were you treating these workers everyday? Anyone have a similar story of an American run facility in India?
I do not wish to even beginning to compare MMS actions with regards to opening up the Indian economy and its effects on Indian growth and what would have been the results if such an action had taken place under pressure 20 years before MMS. Sovereignty, really! The sovereignty that gave INC exclusive rights to allow their cronies to colonise Indians by preventing competition via a Licence Raj! For how many years were Indians colonised by INC after they sold their trope.
Lastly, lets all thank AIDs for giving Zambia leverage.
What Africans say, they live there. Lia means to Cry. Why Lia? Tell the American to go!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWlyIFQgfuo
With regards to PL480, let me answer by firstly posting an article,
https://libcom.org/article/zambian-mine ... e-over-pay
"Two years ago – the police charged two Chinese managers with attempted murder after they had shot thirteen workers who were protesting over poor pay. The charges were dropped after the bosses bribed their victims."
They had used AK47's that they had lying around! Does anyone believe that this was the only excess? If you are OK with shooting 13 how were you treating these workers everyday? Anyone have a similar story of an American run facility in India?
I do not wish to even beginning to compare MMS actions with regards to opening up the Indian economy and its effects on Indian growth and what would have been the results if such an action had taken place under pressure 20 years before MMS. Sovereignty, really! The sovereignty that gave INC exclusive rights to allow their cronies to colonise Indians by preventing competition via a Licence Raj! For how many years were Indians colonised by INC after they sold their trope.
Lastly, lets all thank AIDs for giving Zambia leverage.
What Africans say, they live there. Lia means to Cry. Why Lia? Tell the American to go!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWlyIFQgfuo
Re: Understanding the US - Again
This is the billy boy clinton formula, he did this in Haiti - no aid money ever went to the victims. Looting and corruption is ingrained in the Dems of the US. Every Dem state in the US is mismanaged deliberately, since looting is ingrained in the Dem ethos. Tis similar to India's Kangress party.Lisa wrote: ↑30 Apr 2026 13:47 American diplomats were regularly buying Free American Medicines in pharmacies all over Zambia. Zambian government was repeatedly asked to stop this leakage and in effect declined as the correct pockets were being lined by this corruption. US said, fine, we will stop this aid. Now this all Trumps fault even though it was the Biden administration that found this corruption!
Translation - American taxpayers owe Zambian politicians a living.