The explosion of a fuel tanker in Tete is but one example of how a society formatted to exclude the majority is bound to implode, says Victor Kgomoeswana.
It remains the biggest threat to the safety and security of humankind, yet we conveniently overlook it unless an explosive reminder hits us in the face.
This week, the business world offered some reassuring headlines.
The 1978 creation of the Saltzman family, Dis-Chem, joined the 13 or so other new listings on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
The deputy president reported that he had a “very good meeting” overall with the ratings agencies; and climate change talks appeared to be headed in the right direction out in Marrakesh, Morocco.
That is if you are among those of us lucky enough to WhatsApp-chat about how to save the planet or to reverse state capture.
For others, like Victor Mlotshwa - who was stashed alive in a coffin in Mpumalanga - or the 73 Mozambicans killed in a gas tanker explosion, these headlines are a luxury beyond their wildest dreams.
Expect no one to create a hashtag about how African lives matter or how to help Mlotshwa improve his quality of life, so that he does not have to put up with racial hatred and humiliation either.
It was in January 2015 when almost 70 Mozambicans died after consuming home-made beer. What came out of that were commitments by politicians to support the victims, and nothing more.
The same happened in the case of the explosion. Those who had been injured were reportedly yanked off to a hospital nearest to the site of the explosion in Tete province.
The explosion happened nearly 90 kilometres away; helicopters would have been dispatched if politicians or wealthier members of society had been affected.
Questions abound about whether the affected tanker, which was ferrying fuel from the Mozambican port of Beira to Malawi, was selling fuel when it exploded.
What were the 73 who were killed and the 100 who were injured doing, so close to a tanker full of fuel?
Similar incidents are often reported in countries such as Nigeria, when locals attempt to siphon petroleum products from the distribution pipes coursing through their neighbourhood without any commensurate benefit accruing to them.
In the name of redress, organisations such as the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) have been known to promote oil bunkering.
These methods of earning income or sourcing fuel are common among communities left susceptible to criminal or militant influence by the lack of economic opportunity.
This could merely be poverty or unemployment. In Nigeria, movements like MEND are a lot more outspoken about what they expect.
Still, their bunkering costs their economy billions of dollars in stolen oil.
In Mozambique, where the local currency has been dropping in value relative to the US dollar for at least 10 years, the resource curse is complicated by the shaky political stability.
The persistent threat by the main opposition Renamo to go back to the bush has hiked the sovereign risk profile of the country not so long ago considered the future hub of the southern African region.
The weakening currency and the tiff with international lenders because of the secret $2 billion (about R29bn), that was apparently borrowed by former president Armando Guebuza, have conspired to cause the Mozambican economy to skid.
Although the investigations into what caused the explosion are ongoing and one would be loath to prejudge, it would not be surprising if those injured and/or killed were participating in unscheduled transactions with the tanker.
From our air-conditioned offices, we are likely to call these dealings illegal. They will term them a survivalist means to earn a living.
It is hard to expect locals who are marginalised to be protective of those resources that pass through their neighbourhood, without gaining anything in return.
Stable communities in resource-rich countries are found where there is an equitable sharing of benefits.
Incidents such as the explosion of a fuel tanker in Tete, oil bunkering in Nigeria and the drowning of African economic refugees in the Mediterranean are but examples of how a society formatted to exclude the majority is bound to implode.
Our attempts to solve such mishaps ought to include lasting solutions to narrow income disparities through education and other essential services, and nothing less.
* Kgomoeswana is the author of Africa is Open for Business and hosts Power Hour from Monday to Thursday on Power FM. Twitter Handle: @VictorAfrica
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
The Sunday Independent