Quinta Njoh
28 August 2008
They arrived in trickles - a Chinaman, hawking cloth, needles, threads, selling cakes, eggs, shoes, cheap showy jewellery - bangles, trinkets, artificial flowers, electronic gadgets and the like.
That was as far back as 2000. Cameroonians were a little surprised, but they went about their businesses as usual until the Chinese became rather too many and began frying doughnuts!
The Chinese influx - both goods and humans - seemed to have taken off after Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji visited Cameroon in 2002.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China website reported then that Zhu met with his Cameroonian counterpart, Peter Mafany Musonge.
Zhu had said that "efforts of the two countries had in the field of cooperation have registered positive progress"; adding that "bilateral trade has made relatively big progress... that as Chinese goods are inexpensive but good in quality and fits the consuming level of the Cameroonian people, Cameroon is expected to import more goods from China so as to achieve greater progress with striking positive balance in bilateral trade."
To Musonge, this was "selfless assistance by the Chinese government over the past years and hopes to expand such friendly cooperation in all areas."Afterwards, Chinese goods flowed into Cameroon causing excitement amongst the locals because they were cheap and available. The cooperation and bilateral trade, however, turned out to be a multilateral affair.
A certain Pierre Essama Essomba, President of Media Council of Cameroon, in an interview in the China People's Daily Online of September 27, 2006, titled "China Not Practising Neo-colonialism In Africa" had sung the praises for Sino-Cameroonian "bilateral" relationship.
Said he: "China's cooperation and investment in Africa cannot be labelled as "neo-colonialism" because, unlike what European colonists did before, China-Africa cooperation has brought real benefit to African people..."
According to Essama Essomba, "we African people welcome Chinese goods because they are both affordable and reliable. We hope more small and medium-sized Chinese enterprises come to invest in Cameroon so that more people can be benefited...that such cooperation will not only bring the investment, but also technical expertise so that African people can learn to rely on themselves eventually."
True, even the man on the street agrees that Chinese goods are affordable. But now they know that Chinese goods are not reliable. Not by a long shot. They know that the Chinese have invested in Cameroon through cheap and fragile manufactured products, and that they (Cameroonians) have not learnt any technical expertise in exchange nor can they rely on themselves.
In this vein, both critics and Cameroonians think that China is dumping cheap manufactured products in Cameroon, thereby killing the local industries, if any exist.Now, nearly four-fifth of household appliances - needles, utensils, crockery, electronics, plastics, pens, etc - are "Made in China." They are found everywhere. They are cheap and they break as easily as fresh eggs.
Chinese Doughnuts
Cameroonians suffered a rude awakening when the Chinese began frying and selling doughnuts.The Post newspaper reported in July, 2005, that inhabitants of Bamenda were "taken unawares as Chinese traders flooded the streets with what they call "beigne Chinois" (doughnuts).
According to the report, the Chinese traders moved around town on tricycles selling doughnuts.The Chinese had practically killed the local doughnut business, sending many Cameroonian old women who had been making a miserly living out of it into the gutters. Eventually, they found it difficult to take care of their families.
The Chinese petty traders did not only frustrate the doughnut sellers, they also threatened plantain roasters, sellers of beans, corn and potatoes. Holidaymakers alike toiled day and night under harsh sun and rain against the Chinese hawkers, with no profit. All the while, the Chinese seemed to be trading tax-free.
The government was blamed for suffocating Cameroonians with taxes while allowing the Chinese to trade free of charge. Many wondered what Cameroonian youths were doing in China.
While Cameroonians at home were grappling with Chinese goods and their sellers, those in the Diaspora had similar sentiments. They too, believed that Chinese presence in Cameroon had made life easier for most people despite the fact that their products were unreliable. They were, however, not amused by the fact that the Chinese were doing business in Cameroon tax-free, while Cameroonian businesses were closing down.
Cheap, But Fragile
It is a popular generalisation that Chinese products are cheap but fragile; that Cameroon is now a dumping ground for them and that the products are killing local industry.Although these products are objects of criticism, most people are still blinded and lured by their "cheap" and "catchy" appearances. They seem to have no choice.
An importer based in Molyko, Claude Oguna, said the quality of Chinese products is generally bad everywhere."I buy Chinese products from other countries like Germany, Holland, Japan, Ghana, and Zambia; there is no change in the quality of these goods. China produces fake goods," said Oguna.
Another businessman, Fally Ngana, said the quality of Chinese goods imported to Cameroon is garbage."This has to do with the economy of Cameroon. People are incapable of affording the more solid products," Ngana said.
He blamed the Cameroon government for the influx of cheap goods, given that the common man doesn't reap any benefit from the taxes accrued from the importation of Chinese goods.
Most traders are complaining of competition between them and petty traders who have taken up selling cheap Chinese goods and are now topping the sales chart.
"We used to buy goods from Nigeria, Ghana and other African countries that produce solid goods, but now the business seems to be falling since most of our customers rush for the cheaper goods," Ngana added.
Yet another businessman in Buea, Magnus Chinedu, said he rushes for Chinese goods because they are cheap, and they are in high demand, besides, they are the only products in the market nowadays.
But he complained that he loses customers as soon as they discover the fragility of these products. The catch-phrase now is "kam go" (meaning buy today, come back tomorrow to buy the same product).
Women especially have been regular victims of cheap, fragile Chinese goods. Most of them are usually embarrassed when the heels of their shoes come off while crossing the street. As if this is not enough, electrical appliances make the biggest jinxes. A dealer in them, one Jude Mbabie, told The Post that "Chinese products are very unreliable and risky when it comes to electrical appliances. This poses a threat to technicians."
He recounted cases where customers keep running back to him complaining of burnt cables and distributors, and electrical surges which damage other appliances.A certain woman, Emilia Njango, who nearly lost her kitchen due to a short circuit, said "I think the Cameroon government should invest in the local production industry or better still, lay complaints to the Chinese government for them to improve on the quality of these goods even if it means increasing the prices."
All in all, both businesspersons and consumers blame the ills that accompany Chinese goods on the government.First, the government pays meagre salaries to civil servants, reason why they cannot afford better goods.
Second, the government seems to blame for condoning the importation of cheap, unreliable products, while not encouraging local production leaving Cameroonians with no choice but to resort to Chinese goods.
All this notwithstanding, most people say the Chinese goods have helped Cameroonians to survive; providing job opportunities for most of the youths who could have turned into thieves, and also given thieves something more dignified to do. Hawking.
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You have given a good explanation for the reliability of chinese goods in cameroon.But I will to say for short that consumers are not forced to buy.Choice still has a part to play with demand too.Whats a hell with cheap good.We know very well that cheap things end up being more expensive sometimes.Let individual decide what to buy based on the how much money they have and can freely spend.Its up to the Cameroonian consumer to decide whether to buy a cheap pair of shoe monthly , dress neatly, eat well, pay house rent, or to not to pay rents for months, but being able to buy an expensive shoe that will cost a month's salary or more.Whether the government impose tax on the sellers or not , the final decision is on the buyer.Do buyers want the government to tell them what to buy?
China is the factory of the world. Actually, the problem with "made in China" is that some of them are shoddy goods. "Made in China" are comparatively affordable though quality is generally the problem. They are the same goods we use here in China and we do face the same problem here with quality but the difference is that mal-functioning goods are easily replaceable since they are produced here but when those same goods go abroad, replaceability might be very difficult because retailers might not have had replacement arrangements with their suppliers. Another big problem African markets face with "made in China" is durability. This problem stems from the fact that "made in China" that flood African markets are not exclusively made for African markets. While Africa generally has two main seasons (dry and wet) China has four seasons (spring, summer, autumn and winter) and each season requires a different category of goods to be used. Most goods are produced to meet the needs of these four seasons and a season may not be longer than 4 or 5 months, so most articles of use especially on the body are produced to last for a very short time because the next season will require an entirely different category of goods. So the production cycle keeps rotating with regard to the four seasons whereas Africans would like to buy something to use for years upon years. If the Chinese producers understand the needs of African markets, they will solve this problem within a twinkle of an eye. If the African market was developed and organized as the EU or North America, the story would have been different.