But what is the purpose of someone BUYING something other than to put its functions under their auspices.

if for no other reason - than to NOT allow a foreigner/neo-colonialist to put in under "their' auspice.

In other words, what are they to gain by buying?

we can look to the tragedy in Somali/North Eastern Kenya and see that their is NUFF land - yet people are starving - without addressing the instability/violence of this region; one can still recognize that their is much much land that is idle..., some land is being used for subsistence farming and other land is being bought by prospectors who use LOCALS to farm...and EXPORT the the crops to the lands of the prospectors. EVEN if the land is used to grow and sell products at a "PROFIT" it can benefit communities.

The answer is simple. To make a prudent business decision, your goal is to extract more than you give to it. That is the foundation/definition of exploitation and employment.

...i disagree. there is a thing known as a social enterprise...i have worked with many individuals in kenya, uganda and namibia engaged in small sustainable social businesses - that are not exploitative.

You dont employ people so that they can feed their children. Its not a charity. You employ people because you make a gain off of their services in surplus of what you pay them.

...again --- "u may not employ people so that they can feed their children" ... but there are models that exist that are working in a similar manner. what i have observed is street-level crime in the african context exist primarily out of desparation; a desire to eat, clothe and shelter ones-self. thus for those that have the means in this context - it is a prudent business decision to help develop industry/trade/housing/work opportunities, etc; if only to 'protect' one's investment in a particular area; even without the social responsibility component...this is a SMART investment. thats why people here live behind wire electric razor fences...because they are afraid of the 'have-nots' even in the worst of ghettos in America...people arent living under the extreme security measures people live in on the continent...and this is simply because there are nuff people hungry...!

Plain and simple, thats how even non-profit businesses work.

Im very transparent in my reasoning. I'm working for the 'man' now...an International development agency. We train youth in vocational skills, so they can be employable or start their own business..my Namibian colleagues nor I, am delusional to the fact that the government of the International funding agency who "gives" my org millions of US dollars are doing so because they are altrusitic...or give a Sh**t about young Namibians - they are doing so because they want to help "maintain" a stable environment where the youth dont take to the streets and destabalize the foreign donors investments (diamonds, uranium, oil) in the country. These things are understood - but on the grassroots level the training is going to benefit the youth and their families.

And such strategies of investing in income generating activities can be employed locally to empower people through enterprises that are developed with the needs of society in mind.