President Museveni this week returned from the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in Sharm el Sheik, Egypt, full of praises for the rising power in the East. The summit will have been watched very closely by other western powers which have traditionally enjoyed the most lucrative trade deals with the continent as well as the political and security deals that underline the trade.
It was also watched very closely by African countries who recognise in China a new partner for development. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao did not disappoint, announcing a $10 billion lending facility to African countries at concessionary rates. China's growth as an economic and military power has the potential to help African countries achieve their own development agendas, especially in financing infrastructure.
In a time of a global credit crunch and nervous investors, China's $10 billion credit facility - which is about as much as the World Bank advanced to the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa last year - is a welcome financing opportunity for the continent. News that the Chinese are willing to invest in Uganda's infrastructure, including a toll road from Entebbe to Kampala, should also be applauded, but with a proviso.
China's see-no-evil, hear-no-evil policy means that it can finance projects in African countries without asking questions about human rights or governance as many western donors do. While many African leaders welcome this non-interference in the sovereignty of their countries, it takes away some leverage by external actors to persuade or otherwise compel the leaders in those countries to treat their citizens better.
Furthermore, Chinese contractors in many African countries, to wit Angola, tend to bring along many of their unskilled and semi-skilled workers to do menial work on the projects they fund, denying locals the opportunity to acquire skills. None of these challenges are incurable. We should welcome the Chinese investment but we must clearly define our interests and work towards aligning them with those of the Chinese - and other donors.
For instance, if the Chinese are interested in exploring for oil in the country, let them in, but ensure that the oil is processed locally and not just export as crude. After all, cooperation suggests a win-win situation.
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I believe the same thing for example what i have seen in my country,ETHIOPIA also tells the same story.With the road projects carried out by the Chinese all the major activities are carried out by the Chinese.Starting from the engineering to the operation of loaders and excavators.Thus African countries must take into consideration while getting into deals.Foreign investment is not only about increasing income it's also about acquiring new technologies and knowledge. Barock.
To the Monitor: I would like to tip my hat off to the Chinese government and people for its role in helping develope the continent. Every nation likes to maintain its independence witout outside interfering. The west had done it in the past and currently, doing the same. They give us money with strings attached. They bring in their workers to do the work, and take the money right back home, leaving us with empty bags to carry. The west also constantly interfered with leadership they did not approve; and, in the process at times, demanded a change in government or leadership. This kind of interferring left the continent with no definitive sytems to further. It was oppressive and supressive, and make our leaders and people look like parasites.
I have no issues with the Chinese in bringing their some of their unskills and skills workers to assist. Most of them are trained and up to the job. What our government needs to do is to balance every agreement with the Chinese, by promoting our workers. I am convinced that the Chinese will have no issues with it. The Chinese are the best friends of Africa right now. The west let us down during the cold war. They used dictatorship to slow our progress. They made false promises to gain our support to fight cummunism, vice versa. They installed puppets government to achieve their aims and, while also allowing suppressive and oppressive regimes to enslave our people...
What did Africa gain? Poor infrasture and civil wars across the continent. They left us with guns to kill each other; so they can continue to steal our resources. Let's thank God for the Chinese, and create a dialogue within which we all can find balance. I don't think this will be hard to achieve because, the Chinese recoginses and realizes our importance in the new world. We are the last frontier, so to speak, and perhaps, have the largest and most important resources left in the world untapped. We are in the position to call the shots and or to demand!!!
chris from nigeria ,my coments is what we need in africa is free corrupt minded presidents and not chinees and what ever technology you may think of.we need presidents who will accepts defited from opposition after election polls despite the margin.as it is done in GHANA.today GHANA is boast of being the most futurist country in west africa despite the small population infact they are stronger in AFRICA.i hate what chineese is doing in africa now because in future we will pay for it.simply because we can not stand on our own,since we dont know what they are doing and how they used to do them.china shouldnt allow to impact your citizens in their works as part of reducing jobless and enable our people to learn more and became educated and futher depend on our own.wake up african leaders and shorn coruption.this is truth and only way forward.
africa leaders must wake up to stop coruption and face the challenge of not becoming 4th world instead of looking at china for their survive, which is also 3rd world,that started rising by just 15 yrs ago we africa has fundamental values and rights and we must start developing.check out today african markets especially poor countries is now full of, low and fake quality products,and low nutritions food and drugs products 80% of them imported from china and causing africa their development setbacks and very low fundamental rights to sustain due sicknesses,illness,weak kidneys and early deaths.and chinees govmt.kept eye closed despite all the reports levelled against them regarding human right abuses.