Academic Robert Beckford visits Ghana to investigate the hidden costs of rice, chocolate and gold and why, 50 years after independence, a country so rich in natural resources is one of the poorest in the world. He discovers child labourers farming cocoa instead of attending school and asks if the activities of multinationals, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have actually made the country's problems worse.
View The Great African Scandal. Video hosted on Google. In this thought-provoking documentary, made with the help of Christian Aid, academic Robert Beckford undertakes a challenging, emotional journey to Ghana in West Africa. This is where, two centuries ago, Robert Beckfords ancestors were seized and taken as slaves to Jamaica. Now he is making a journey to the land of his roots to discover the hidden costs of rice, chocolate and gold. Working alongside local people, Robert struggles to survive on the average wage of 60p a day. He asks why, 50 years after independence, this country, which is rich in minerals and is a stable democracy, is still one of the poorest in the world. He examines the activities of multinational corporations, as well as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, to find out whether they have actually made countries like Ghana worse off. And, most importantly, he asks how we, as consumers and citizens, can make a difference.
Dr. Beckford's shows have attracted criticism from various evangelical groups for example, Church of England Evangelical Council, the African and Caribbean Evangelical Alliance, New Wine and Forward in Faith, particularly 'The Evangelical Alliance' who say that various documentaries hosted by Dr. Beckford 'fell back on stereotypes', 'sloppy journalism', 'too easily looked for the sensational and in so doing gave a distorted picture of what is really happening'
Find out more
There are many organisations that are campaigning for corporate responsibility, trade justice and fair trade. Here are some websites where you can find out about what you can do to change things, and how and where to buy products that do not use child labour, exploit workers or damage the lands and livelihoods of ordinary people.
www.christian-aid.org.uk
Christian Aid, which helped make this programme, is an in international development agency working with local partner organisations in more than 60 countries around the world. It works where the need is greatest, regardless of race or religion, and it seeks to challenge the structures that keep people in poverty. Its two key campaigns are Trade Justice and Climate Change and, on trade, they are currently campaigning for an end to damaging IMF and World Bank conditions such as Ghana has faced and is facing. Click here to find out more about Christian Aid’s World Bank campaign
Update: Flooding has wreaked havoc in northern Ghana – more than a quarter of a million people have been affected, most having lost their homes and harvest. Christian Aid is working with partners to identify possible opportunities to respond where needed. Find out more.
www.cafod.org.uk
The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development believes that all human beings have a right to dignity and respect, and that the world's resources are a gift to be shared equally by all men and women, whatever their race, nationality or religion. Fair Trade and Trade Justice are two of its many campaigns
www.fairtrade.org.uk
Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. The Fairtrade Foundation is a coalition of organisations which awards the Fairtrade Mark to UK products as a guarantee that they have given their producers a better deal.
www.oxfam.org.uk
Oxfam is a development, relief, and campaigning organisation that works with others to overcome poverty and suffering around the world. Its Make Trade Fair campaign presses decision-makers and governments for new trade rules – fair rules to make a real and positive difference in the fight against poverty.
www.traidcraft.co.uk
Traidcraft fights poverty through trade, by practising and promoting approaches to trade that help poor people in developing countries transform their lives. Established in 1979 as a Christian response to poverty, it is both a trading company and a development charity, which builds lasting relationships with producers, supports people to trade out of poverty and works to bring about trade justice.
www.waronwant.org
War on Want fights poverty in developing countries in partnership and solidarity with people affected by globalisation. It campaigns for workers' rights and against the root causes of global poverty, inequality and injustice. It is at the forefront of the global movement campaigning for trade rules that put people and the environment before the interests of big business. A recent report highlights the appalling conditions and stark injustices within the high street fashion industry.
- World Development Movement
www.wdm.org.uk
The World Development Movement tackles the underlying causes of poverty. It calls for Trade Justice, not free trade, and argues that the UK government must stop pushing poor countries to open up their economies, and respect their right to decide on trade policies that would help end poverty and protect the environment.
- About Dr. Robert Beckford
 Dr. Robert Beckford acher for most of his life, he first taught adult literacy at Bournville College in the early 1990s and progressed to become a tutor in theology at Queens College in Birmingham (1992-8) where he taught trainee clergy. He began teaching at the University in 1999, working first as a research fellow with offenders at Birmingham prison and then moving to the teaching staff in 2001. He Joined Oxford Brookes as the Reader in Black Theology and Popular Culture in January 2007.
irm believer in teaching for social change, Robert also educates in community centres, care homes and male prisons. He currently supervises post graduate students in religion, politics and cultural studies.
well as teaching Robert has presented a number of documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4 covering a range of subjects including Jamaican Independence, the rise of fundamentalist Christianity, historical revisions of empire, the Bible and world conflict, Gospel Music, Reparations and Patron Saints. He gained a BAFTA in 2001 for diversity in educational broadcasting. He is currently the presenter of the Sunday Morning Show on BBC WM.
(From: Channel 4)
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