Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 21:26:10 +0200
<http://www.africaw.com/africa-the-china-owned-continent> Africa the
China-owned continent
28.09.2014
Not long ago, some of us Africans back home only saw Chinese people in their
very famous "Kung fu" martial arts movies but it may surprise you to know
that over a million Chinese investors have permanently settled in Africa
today with their families. They've bought lands, houses, established
businesses, etc. and have no plans of ever moving back to their country.
Most Chinese people are even bold enough to refer to Africa as the "China's
Second Continent" why because they have come to lay generational "seeds" on
the continent and have no intentions of ever going back even for generations
to come.
We often look at the Africa-China relationship from just one economic point
of view which is not often very helpful. It is true China is "investing"
greatly on the continent but we often ignore some other major areas where
the presence of Chinese people in Africa does nothing but great harm to
Africa. Take a look at the environment for a second. Already wildlife is
being decimated due to habitat loss (from building more infrastructure, more
homes for Chinese immigrants, mining, highway-building needed for transport
of mined products, etc.). As you all know, China is the only country in the
world today that is openly involved in the ivory trafficking dirty business
in Africa. Unlike America and other top nations in the world today, China
has not yet put a ban on the ivory trade and the reason is that, ivory is as
valuable as gold in China today especially among the numerous carving
industries flourishing in China. Just last year alone, around 40,000 African
elephants were poached for their ivory tusks to be shipped primarily to
carving industries in no other place but China. Just as the "blood diamonds"
fueled conflicts in places like Liberia and Sierra Leone, so this dirty
ivory trade continues to fuel terrorist groups such as the notorious Boko
Haram of Nigeria, the Al Shabaab of Somalia, etc. In other words, the
Chinese involvement in the ivory trade does not only harm the environment
but also fuels conflicts all across the continent.
Some people believe the now "famous" lie that China will reap what they are
sowing not today but tomorrow forgetting that China is reaping more than
they sow even today in most parts of Africa. Just take a look at the recent
$75 million airport expansion contract in Mali for example. This project was
funded by American foreign aid but went straight to a Chinese construction
firm. To the outsider, the Chinese are expanding the airport for Mali for
free not knowing the project was funded by another country/donor. Foreign
aid, private loans and even loans from IMF and the World Bank often land in
Chinese hands. In other words, the several Chinese investors and firms
operating in Africa today have taken over almost all major projects across
the continent and some people think they (the Chinese) are just "sowing
seeds" which is not true and to those of you who don't know the type of job
these numerous Chinese construction firms do in Africa, Chinese projects
don't often last long. A hospital in Luanda, the capital of Angola, was
opened with great fanfare but cracks appeared in the walls within a few
months and it soon closed. The Chinese-built road from Lusaka, Zambia's
capital, to Chirundu, 130km (81 miles) to the south-east, was quickly swept
away by rains. I can go on and on.
The Chinese people are building businesses all across the continent not
purposely to provide jobs for Africans as some people think but to make
money and more money. Go to any Chinese-owned business (except maybe the
mining sector where poor Africans do all the hard work) in Africa today and
you will realize at least 90% of the employees in there are recent Chinese
immigrants. The remaining 10% are the poor Africans who do the "hard labor"
for the worst pay ever. From the Chinese point of view, Africa
African-Miner
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