From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Fri Jul 11 2008 - 09:29:46 EDT
China laying key foundation for Africa growth: World Bank
July 11, 2008
WASHINGTON (AFP) — China may be accused of placing business above human
rights in Africa but the World Bank says in a new report that the Asian
giant is spearheading a massive infrastructure revolution in the continent
critical to reducing poverty.
China, India, and a few Middle Eastern Gulf nations are financing an
unprecedented number of infrastructure projects across Sub-Saharan Africa --
both in scale and the focus on large infrastructure projects, said the
report by the Washington-based bank.
Investment commitments in Africa by these emerging financiers jumped from
less than one billion dollars per year before 2004 to eight billion dollars
in 2006 and five billion dollars last year, signaling a growing trend in
cooperation among developing economies, the report said.
"Today, China's growing infrastructure commitments in Africa are helping to
address the huge infrastructure deficit of the continent," said Obiageli
Katryn Ezekwesili, the World Bank's vice president for the Africa region as
he launched the report Thursday.
Entitled "Building bridges: China's growing role as infrastructure financier
for Sub-Saharan Africa," the report said new infrastructure partnerships in
the region were being driven by strong economic growth, improved
business-friendly climate and rising demand for commodities from growth
drivers China and India.
"The growing South-South cooperation is driven by strong economic
complementarities between China and Africa," said Vivien Foster, a World
Bank lead economist and co-author of the report.
"China's growing demand for natural resources is matched by Africa's
significant and often under-developed oil and mineral reserves," he said.
"Africa's urgent need for infrastructure is matched by China's globally
competitive construction industry."
Some Western critics have said that China, which imports about 30 percent of
its oil needs from Africa, is willing to overlook environmental degradation,
corruption and human rights abuses in the continent in its quest for
resources.
One of China's most controversial partnerships is with the government of
Sudan.
The main buyer of Sudan's oil and a key investor in the economy, China has
repeatedly been accused of not doing enough to make Khartoum stop a brutal
campaign in Darfur that has -- according to the UN -- left about 300,000
dead.
"There are of course challenges which will need to be addressed by African
nations and China coupled with the support of development partners,"
admitted Ezekwesili. "By working together, we can create win-win
partnerships," he said.
The report said that in a changing world, with new actors and financing
modalities coming into play, there is a "learning process for investors and
recipients.
"This will place new demands on national capacity to negotiate complex and
innovative deals, and apply appropriate environmental and social standards
needed for the long-term success of such partnerships," it said.
Africa faces daunting challenges in improving its infrastructure.
Development experts agree that creaking infrastructure is cutting the growth
rate of African economies by as much as one percentage point every year, the
report said.
One in four Africans does not have access to electricity. Travel times on
African roads and export routes are two to three times higher than in Asia,
increasing the prices of traded goods. Power generation capacity is around
half the levels achieved in South Asia.
India has also become an emerging financier in Africa's infrastructure
development, committing 2.6 billion dollars since 2003, the report said.
Oil-rich Gulf states and Arab donors committed on average 500 million
dollars every year over the past seven years, it said.
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