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ARAB AND WORLD

Wed 15 Mar 2023 8:02 am - Jerusalem Time

Between the West, Russia and China... Africa is a victim of its resources

China and Russia are strengthening their presence in African countries through investments in infrastructure, which often impose more debts on the countries of the continent, which pay the price for the abundance of natural resources on their lands, in light of international warnings of the accumulation of debts on the poorest countries in the world.


"One out of every three infrastructure projects in Africa is set up by a Chinese state-owned company, and one in five is funded by a Chinese government bank," says Paul Nantulia of the African Center for Strategic Studies. "China is already involved in a sector that is in huge demand on the African continent," he adds.


This coincides with Western countries cutting funding for infrastructure projects on the continent, creating a gap in a highly strategic sector for the African Union.


"The Chinese saw this loophole and decided to invest in infrastructure," Nantulia told AFP.


Funding for infrastructure projects comes mostly in the form of loans.


During the Conference of the Least Developed Countries that was held in Doha under the auspices of the United Nations this month, the leaders of African countries expressed their dissatisfaction with the way developed countries dealt with their countries, amid UN warnings that the poorest countries are heading towards a debt crisis or even default.


Anna Borshchevskaya, a researcher at The Washington Institute, explains how this "debt trap" is set up, saying, "China provides loans for expensive infrastructure projects, but these projects usually fail. When countries cannot repay the loans, China controls the country's strategic assets." .


China rejects the accusation of practicing "debt trap diplomacy", denouncing what it sees as unfair criticism from its geopolitical opponents in the West who burden poor countries with huge debts.


"Partnerships are forged through friendship and goodwill," Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said earlier this month.


Chinese-led projects in Africa include the Standard Gauge Railway linking the Kenyan city of Mombasa to the Great Rift Valley, which cost five billion dollars and funded 90 percent of its construction by Beijing.


It is the largest infrastructure-related project in Kenya since independence and opened in 2017, knowing that China is the second largest lender to Kenya after the World Bank.


In December 2022, Tanzania signed a $2.2 billion contract with a Chinese company to build the last section of a railway aimed at connecting the main port with neighboring countries.


Developed countries have always sought to secure raw materials from developing ones, which is something that Paul Akiwumi, Director of the Africa and Least Developed Countries Program at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), sees as "somewhat very positive in order to push forward the economy."


Indeed, some Chinese-financed assets are profitable and sustainable, notably the ports built in countries like Namibia and Nigeria. But the benefit was double for the Chinese, who "provide financing, carry out the construction process, and obtain maintenance contracts," which sometimes extend to 99 years, according to Nantulia.


He adds that Chinese-funded projects in the field of infrastructure are "designed to absorb Chinese labor", which means that they do not contribute much to reducing unemployment levels in Africa.


During a visit to Senegal in January, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sought to stress that US economic strategy toward Africa was based on "mutual benefit."


"Countries should be wary of flashy agreements that may be opaque and thus fail to benefit the people they are purportedly designed to help," she said, alluding to China.


"This could leave countries with a legacy of debt, resource diversion and environmental destruction," she added.


Russia, Africa's main arms supplier, is also expanding on the continent through mining projects undertaken by Wagner, the private military group that has become party to conflicts in many countries, including Ukraine.


In January, the United States accused Wagner of "massive human rights violations and plundering of natural resources" in African countries.


The European Union also announced new sanctions against the Russian group for "violating human rights" in the Central African Republic, Mali, Sudan and Ukraine.


Wagner carries out mining activities in these countries as a "form of payment" for its services, according to Nantulia.


Nantulia explains, "Wagner operates in authoritarian environments that lack democracy and where corruption is a way of life ... because it realizes that it can do a lot without accountability." "We cannot find Wagner active in democratic environments," he added.


The debts of African countries are not limited to the Chinese and Russians. "About 50 percent of our debt (in Ghana) is owed to Western bond markets and multilateral agencies," says Ghanaian Tetteh Hormico of the African Trade Network.


Experts also point to the environmental ramifications of Chinese and Russian projects in Africa.


According to Borshchevskaya, China and Russia are known to "neglect (environmental rules) more than their Western counterparts."


"China is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change," she told AFP, while her "Belt and Road" initiative still "finances coal-fired power plants abroad... As for Russian mining projects, according to reports, they have caused high levels of toxic metal compounds." Groundwater sources, soil and plants are polluted.”


And the head of the "Center for Peace and Democracy Building in Liberia," Devestus James, stresses that these repercussions are "dangerous" for his country.


"Citizens are victims of their resources... erosion from mines pollutes drinking water... resources are also taken and exported," he told AFP.

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Between the West, Russia and China... Africa is a victim of its resources

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