Zimbabwe

China Fully Engaged in Africa for 2023-The Future is Trade Not Debt

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By Lawrence Freeman

Ethiopian Prime Minister, Dr Abiy Ahmed with Chinese Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, in Addis Ababa (Courtesy of VOA)

For the thirty-third consecutive year, the first foreign trip by China’s Foreign Minister was to Africa. China’s new Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, the former Ambassador to the United States, traveled to Ethiopia, Gabon, Angola, Benin, and Egypt, from January 9 to 16, 2023. In addition to visiting these five African nations he was also invited to meet with African leaders at the African Union and the League of Arab States Headquarters. The stated purpose of the trip was: To deepen the China-Africa comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership and boost friendly cooperation between China and Africa.

Friendship Remains Strong

Starting in the year 2000, China organized the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which meets every three years, alternating between China and Africa. These conferences provide a unique opportunity for African leaders and Chinese President, Xi Jinping, to discuss future economic, cultural, and political collaboration. Contrary to continued efforts by the U.S. to malign Africa-China cooperation, China and Africa have remained steadfast in their shared common interest; the development of their people.


Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, and Qin Gang at ribbon cutting ceremony at the new Africa CDC. (Courtesy of African Union-au.int)

One of the highlights of Foreign Minister Qin Gang’s visit to Ethiopia, was to inaugurate the new Headquarters of the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). The new Africa CDC, located outside of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, was built by China and given as a gift to Africa.

This is a critically important contribution to Africa, a continent of one and a half billion people, which was given a very low priority for vaccinating against COVID 19, and continuously suffers from a weak healthcare system.

Foreign Minister Qin met with Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed, and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen. He was the first foreign government official to visit Ethiopia following the signing of the peace agreement of November 2, 2022, that ended a two year long war in northern Ethiopia. He expressed China’s support for “Africans in solving African problems in African ways.” This attitude differs dramatically from the U.S. and Europe, who undermined the government of Ethiopia during the war. Foreign Minister Qin pledged to assist Ethiopia in its reconstruction efforts, which are formidable following the terrible damage that the country suffered in fighting to maintain its sovereignty. Additionally, he announced that China will forgive thirty million dollars in Ethiopian debt.

In December 2022, the U.S. convened its first U.S.-Africa Summit in eight years. The unspoken “secret topic” and motivation for the three-day conference was, how to counter China’s growing influence on the African continent.  

There are yet to be any “deliverables” from the U.S.-Africa Summit. While the Biden administration seems to be more focused on exporting the “infrastructure of democracy,” China is building and financing more hard infrastructure projects in Africa than the rest of Western nations combined. These projects impact the daily material needs of the African people, which is essential to eliminate poverty on the continent.

China-Africa Trade Not Debt

China’s trade with Africa during 2022 expanded to its largest single year total of $282 billion. China exported $164.5 billion to Africa and imported $117.5 billion over that twelve-month time, which represented an increase of 11% over 2021. From January to November of 2022, U.S. exports to Africa, were $28.5 billion and imports of $38.9 billion for a total trade of $67.3 billion, almost no increase over 2021. Thus, U.S. trade with Africa was approximately one-fourth that of China for 2022. If the U.S. intends to counter or challenge China in Africa, it will have to do a lot more than “exporting democracy.”

As you can see from the chart below the myth spun by Western officials and the media that China is primarily responsbile for Africa’s debt, is simply not ture. This intentionally false allegation has been refuted again and again, but Western governments continue to propagandize Africa nations that China is using a ‘debt-trap’ diplomacy to seize their resources. Chinese ‘Debt Trap” is a Myth-Biden Would be Wise Not to Continue Trump’s Attacks on China in Africa,

The total outstanding debt for sub-Saharan African nations to foreign entities totals: 454.4 billion USD. China is not even close to being the largest debt holder. China owns 79 billion USD of sub-Saharan Africa’s debt, less than one firth-17%. The debt held by bondholders, the World Bank, and the IMF, equals 286.9 billion USD,-63% of the total foreign debt of sub-Saharan Africa,

Courtesy of Reuters Graphics

Investing in Manufacturing

Contrary to Western propaganda, which accuses China of stealing Africa’s resources, China is actually expanding Africa’s manufacturing sector. This is a vital contribution since African nations suffer from an anemic production capability to add value their natural resources. A good example is the investment by Dinson Iron and Steel Company (DISCO), a Chinese steel manufacturer, who intends to invest in building a lithium battery manufacturing plant in Zimbabwe. chinese firm to manufacture lithium batteries in zim. The Zimbabwean government has wisely banned the export of raw lithium. Having its own manufacturing plant, will create jobs and improve the standard of living of Zimbabweans, since mining and export of valuable minerals does not lead to economic growth for the population.

This kind of investment in local manufacturing along with China’s Belt and Road strategy of building infrastructure throughout Africa, is exactly what is needed to assist African nations in creating strong sovereign economies.

Lawrence Freeman is a Political-Economic Analyst for Africa, who has been involved in economic development policies for Africa for over 30 years. He is a teacher, writer, public speaker, and consultant on Africa. He is also the creator of the blog: lawrencefreemanafricaandtheworld.com. Mr. Freeman’s stated personal mission is; to eliminate poverty and hunger in Africa by applying the scientific economic principles of Alexander Hamilton

Africa Manufacturing Must be Geared Up to Fight COVID-19

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There are not enough ventilators in the world right now for the world’s needs, so we must move quickly to do our part, says the writer. Picture: Simon Orlob/Pixabay
There are not enough ventilators in the world right now for the world’s needs, so we must move quickly to do our part, says the writer. Picture: Simon Orlob/Pixabay (courtesty of iol.co.za)

April 8, 2020

Below are two important articles on how South African nations are responding to the coronavirus.

According to author, Ramasimong Phillip Tsokolibane, South Africa can retool its manufacturing capacity to begin production of ventilators.  These life saving machines will be essential to save lives as the coronavirus proliferates across the African continent, especially in South Africa. As of today,  April 7, Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 10,789 cases of COVID-19, 536 deaths and 1,122 recoveries for 52 nations reporting.South Africa has 1,749 cases,13 deaths and 45 recoveries. For a country with less than 5% of Africa’s total population, it has 16% of the total cases-the highest among all African nations.  South Africa being the most industrialized nation on the continent should take up the challenge of gearing up production of ventilators, and lead other African nations by example in responding to this pandemic.

Tsokolibane writes: “To survive, the severely ill need ventilators, the machine that helps you breathe or breathes for you, when the airways in your lungs are too swollen and inflamed for you to breathe on your own. We have only about 6 000 of them. Ten times as many will not be nearly enough at peak levels of the pandemic. A ventilator can cost R180,000 or more.”

“We must plan on making at least 80,000 ventilators for South Africa! The government should issue letters of intent to purchase from multiple manufacturers who meet the needed specifications. We must make at least 27,000 for Zimbabwe! Make more for Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Mozambique, DR Congo, and others. We must make more than we expect to need, because they must be on hand everywhere; a person who needs a ventilator now, may be gone before someone can go across town to fetch one.”

Read: Why South Africa Must Start Manufacturing Ventilators Immediately

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The Zimbabwean reports on a significant initiative underway in Zimbabwe: “The government has turned to its tertiary institutions with engineering and technology capacity including University of Zimbabwe, Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT), Great Zimbabwe University (GZU), Midlands State University and the Harare Institute of Technology, among others, for production to meet local demand…Higher education minister professor Amon Murwira told Quartz Africa the hand sanitizers, masks and gloves were made to meet the standards of the WHO…”

Zimbabwe’s universities are manufacturing masks, gloves and hand sanitizers to beat coronavirus

 

Hunger Stalks Africa: Nations Should be Food Self-Sufficient

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Desert Locust invade Ethiopia (Courtesy TESFANEWS)

February 27, 2020

Right now, as I write, two regions of Africa are experiencing food emergencies: East Africa and Southern Africa. This is a crime against humanity. There is no objective reason for starvation and malnutrition in this continent rich with arable land. Actions should be taken today, not tomorrow, to reverse this life threatening, but preventable food shortage. It is morally repugnant to witness so many human beings perishing due to the persistence of poverty, hunger, and disease in Africa.

On January 20th, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) requested a mere $76 million to combat the spread of the destructive Desert Locusts.  A just released joint statement-UN Joint Statement on Locust in East Africa signed by several organizations, Locust in Africa: A Race Against Time, reports that since February, the locust swarms originally sighted in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, have spread to South Sudan, Djibouti, Uganda, Tanzania,  and have reached the eastern border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which has not since a locust incursion since 1944.  With the expansion of the locust invasion, the FAO has doubled its request for emergency funding to $138 million, of which only $33 million, less than 25% has been collected of pledged.

In this region of the world the food supply is already so fragile that 20 million Africans are deemed food insecure. Experts estimate that a one square kilometer swarm of Desert Locusts can consume as much food as 35,000 people in one day, which potentially increases the number of food insecure Africans in this zone to almost 40 million.

The joint communique boldly states: “The next wave of locusts could devastate East Africa’s most important crop of the year, right when it is most vulnerable. But that doesn’t have to happen. The Window of opportunity is still open. The time to act is now.”

The statement concludes: “It is time for the international community to act more decisively. The math is clear, as is our moral obligation. Pay a little now, or pay a lot more late.”

Read: UN Joint Statement on Locust in East Africa

Read my recent post: End Threat of Locust Plague: Transform the Desert

 

Village women receive aid from a charity organisation in Chirumhanzi, Zimbabwe, File picture: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP
Village women receive aid from a charity organisation in Chirumhanzi, Zimbabwe, File picture: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP

Southern Africa

Simultaneously, on the Southern end of the Africa continent; Zimbabwe, Zambia, Angola, Lesotho, and Eswanti (Swaziland) are also facing shortages of food.

Journalist, Shannon Ebrahim, reports that “according the World Food Program (WFP), 7.7 million Zimbabweans are facing the worst hunger emergency in a decade…An astounding 90% of infants are malnourished and have stunted growth.” However, severe food shortages are not limited to Zimbabwe

“In Angola, 2.4 million are affected by food insecurity, where children are barely eating one meal a day. World Vision staff in Angola report they have never seen hunger and malnutrition on this scale.

“In Zambia, 2.3 million are facing acute hunger, and in Eswatini 24% of the population are suffering food shortages. In Lesotho, 20% of the population is food insecure

WFP regional director for southern Africa Lola Castro has said, “The hunger crisis is on a scale we’ve never seen before and evidence shows it’s going to get worse.”

Ebrahim writes, “As a result of drought, widespread flooding, and economic problems, 45 million people in southern Africa are facing food shortages.”

Hunger Can Be Eliminated

Droughts, locusts, and other disasters that contribute to food insecurity may not easily be prevented, but human intervention can mitigate and surmount so called natural catastrophes. However, there is no justifiable reason for hunger to persist in a continent of abundant, fertile, arable land.

Food self-sufficiency, which is a national security priority, in this age of out sized and exaggerated globalization, has worsened in the majority of African nations over the last several decades.  Not only does this jeopardize the health and existence of society, but it drains nation’s foreign reserves with mega-food import expenditures.

The most critical, essential, fundamental, and undeniable ingredient to a successful agricultural sector, as well as a manufacturing sector, is infrastructure.  It is the sine qua non for progress. Africa is suffering from a lack of infrastructure, particularly in the most crucial categories of hard infrastructure; electrical power and railroads. No concerned official in Africa or from a friendly government, who does not place their emphasis on energy and rail, is not helping African nations to develop. No NGO activist, no matter how sincere, who does not advocate for such infrastructure is not truly helping Africans to free themselves from the shackles of poverty, hunger, and disease.

I do not make these statements lightly. Without massive construction of hard infrastructure, African nations will not have productive agricultural and manufacturing sectors capable of producing the physical goods necessary for society’s continued existence. This is a scientific-economic reality.

Why are trees being cut down across the Sahel? To provide firewood and charcoal for cooking. This is foolishness. Trees are one of the best means to reverse the march of the desert. However, trees are being cut down, because homes do not have access to electricity and gas. If a portion of the tens of billions of dollars being spent on “global warming” were spent providing electricity to the nations of the Sahel, the counterproductive practice of charcoaling would be eliminated. If we built the decades’ overdue East West railroad, along with irrigating the desert (again energy) we could, can, transform the desert.

Why should over 100 million Africans face food insecurity on this rich African continent? The truth is; there is no acceptable reason. Our own lack of action speaks volumes.

Read: Zimbabwe is Facing Starvation

Read my article below from March 22, 2017 

Famine in Africa: More Than Humanitarian Aid Required

 

To Understand Zimbabwe and Sub-Saharan Africa One Must Know Evil Colonialism

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September 15, 2019

Robert Mugabe, deceased President of Zimbabwe

Below is an insightful article on the death of Robert Mugabe. One cannot honestly and competently analyze African nations today, unless one thoroughly studies the affects of colonialism, and before that slavery.  When I look at the current state of affairs in Africa. I see the consequences of the long waves of hundreds of years of slavery, colonialism, and neo-colonialism. For example, can one truly understand Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and  South Africa, without examining the evil role of British Imperialism and colonialism? Is Kenya not suffering today from the removal of the Kikuyu from the the Highlands, which were turned into the “Whitelands” by the British in the early 20th century? Similarly, it is impossible to truthfully discuss Zimbabwe, and its now deceased leader, Robert Mugabe without revealing the failure of the 1980 Lancaster agreement to rectify the stealing of 70% of the nation’s most fertile land from millions of “black” Zimbabweans that was given to 4,500 “white” farmers. Why are African nations, with abundant  fertile soil, still using primitive methods of farming and have weak agricultural sectors? Why does Africa suffer from the greatest deficit of infrastructure in the world per land area, which is only beginning to be reversed by China with its Belt and Road Initiative? Why is Africa the least industrialized continent on the planet?  Are we going to blind ourselves to the ugly history of what was done to Africans over hundreds of years, and naively and simplistic blame conditions today on a lack of good governance? This error, this lack of understanding Africa’s history, perverts the the thinking of Western institutions and Africa specialists, yielding flawed analysis.

Mugabe’s Obituaries Rife with White Supremacism

 

New Course on African History: The Effects of 500 Years of Slavery and Colonialism on Africa

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I will be teaching this course in the Fall at the Community College Baltimore County, and Frederick Community College, Maryland, USA

The Effects of 500 Years of Slavery and Colonialism on Africa

New! The Effects of 500 Years of Slavery and Colonialism on Africa
7 sessions, 14 hours

REGISTER

Africa is the poorest continent with hundreds of millions of people living on $2 per day. African nations have the greatest deficit in basic infrastructure like roads, rail, and energy. It’s the only continent where cholera is endemic. African nations are also spending billions of dollars importing food when they have an abundant amount of fertile land. Learn about the causes for Africa’s current condition due to it’s unique history of slavery and colonialism. With the recent China-Africa Summit-(FOCAC) in Beijing, one should be optimistic that economic conditions on the continent are changing for the better

Instructor: Lawrence Freeman has been involved in Africa for almost 25 years and has made over two dozen visits to the nations of Sudan, Nigeria, Mali, Chad, and Ethiopia. He has studied the history and political economy of several Africa nations. Lawrence has attended weekly seminars and forums on Africa in Washington DC including Congressional hearings on Africa. As a result, Lawrence has attained an in-depth knowledge of both historical and current developments of Africa. He has written dozens of articles analyzing the political economies of Africa nations including Sudan, South Sudan, Nigeria, Kenya, Mali, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He specializes in promoting policies for physical economic development, and has presented his ideas to government and non-government circles alike in both Africa and the United States. Lawrence is the Vice Chairman of the International Scientific Advisory Committee to the Lake Chad Basin Commission, and played a prominent role in the International Conference to Save Lake Chad in Abuja, Nigeria from Feb 26-28, 2018. He is promoting the Transaqua water project to recharge the shrinking Lake Chad

LR565 The Effects of 500 Years of Slavery and Colonialism on Africa
5-Digit  Number: 16290
Tue, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m., 11/6 – 12/18 Location:  Conference Center/E-106
Tuition: $50.00          Fee: $114.00     Total: $164.00
MD residents age 60+ pay fee only

Big Plus for Africa: Belt & Road, BRICS, and Africa-China Summit, Converging for Development

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{Heading into the 7th  Forum On China-Africa Cooperation-(FOCAC) we are already witnessing significant changes in the physical infrastructure of Africa as a result of China’s One Belt and Road Initiative, the BRICS and previous FOCAC summits. Next week’s China-Africa Summit portends greater cooperation for investment in infrastructure and manufacturing, leading to the long over due industrialization of the continent. Thus finally liberating Africa from the effects of 500 years of slavery and colonialism. In addition to China, many nations are investing in Africa in constructive ways, but unfortunately not the United States, which is retreating from Africa. President Trump can and should reverse this trend by joining China’s Belt and Road development of this great continent, which in less than two generations will be the population center of world. Please review the articles below.}

Chinese Envoy to FOCAC: `Twin-Engines’ of BRI and FOCAC Will Transform Africa

Aug. 29, 2018 –Zhou Yuxiao, Chinese Ambassador to the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), spoke of the historic impact of the Sept. 3-4 FOCAC summit, in an interview with Xinhua yesterday. His observations come as many African heads of state are already arriving in Beijing, even before the Sept. 3-4 formal sessions of the Forum take place. Founded in 2000, FOCAC has had two previous heads-of-state meetings, one in 2006 and one in 2015.

Zhou said that the China-Africa collaboration had proceeded in small steps, but successfully over the years. All the while, China’s ability to “walk the walk,” and Africa’s success in collaborating, made things work, to the point of widespread trust and effectiveness. At the 2015 FOCAC meeting in South Africa, China pledged financing in the range of $60 billion for implementing ten cooperation plans announced at the time. Now financing is also coming from the Silk Road Fund, the BRICS New Development Bank, and private Chinese firms.

Xinhua summarized, “A key aspect to watch, Zhou said, will be how China and Africa link the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the African Union’s Agenda 2063, and African countries’ development plans.” This year, diplomatic relations were established between the African Union Commission (currently headed by Rwanda) and FOCAC. Zhou referred to the the BRI and FOCAC being “twin engines” for driving cooperation further in Africa. Many African leaders and experts are forecasting what lies ahead.

Lesotho’s Prime Minister Thomas Motsoahae Thabane, said in an Aug. 22 Xinhua interview, that the upcoming summit, “is a landmark in the world aiming to improve itself for the survival of the human race, which faces multiple challenges today … the commitment is not only to specific countries in Africa, but to Africa in general.” China is a “true friend” of Lesotho, not “by word of mouth … but through actions, actions that push us to go from the situation of being underdeveloped to a situation of being developed. What more can you wish for from a friend than to stretch a hand of friendship in order to raise you up when you were flat on your stomach?”

Thabane further pointed out that relations with China are “mutually beneficial.” In the past, for Western countries, the benefit was “always for what they call `the Mother country.’ Now, China is not like that, that is why we feel like we have a true and loyal friend in China.”

Hisham AbuBakr Metwally, an Egyptian researcher with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Industry, wrote an Aug. 21 opinion article for CGTN, reviewing accomplishments in rail, agriculture, energy, education, and other areas in Africa, thanks to work with China to date. {“FOCAC — Unprecedented Successful Mechanism, Reshaped Africa”} But he forecast more and bigger projects and a bright future. “After the completion of all mega infrastructure projects and industrial zones, the continent will change completely.”

Note that CGTN has prepared a five-episode documentary entitled “A New Era of China-Africa Cooperation,” to show the development of African countries and to present the achievements of China-Africa cooperation.

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China-Africa Research Initiative-(CARI) at Johns Hopkins in Washington DC, provides a useful report on the progress of China-Africa collaboration. It also dispels the myth that Chinese loans are bankrupting all Africa nations. Many decades before China started investing in Africa, the continent had been suffocated by hundreds of billions of dollars of parasitic debt from Western institutions.

Excerpt from its conclusion highlight:

“Belt and Road. The language of the 2018 FOCAC will likely include more mentions of the Belt and Road Initiative, given that it is a priority of President Xi Jinping. Chinese contractors are keen to win Chinese finance for infrastructure projects desired by African governments, many of whom have been inspired by China’s industrialization and infrastructure capacity. Chinese-financed infrastructure projects in Africa such as the standard gauge railway transport projects in Kenya and Ethiopia, and new trade and industrial zones in Djibouti, Egypt, and Morocco, have been marketed as part of the Belt and Road Initiative.”

Read the complete report: The Path Ahead: The 7th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation

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This article discusses the “deepening relations” with Africa by the rest of world, and appropriately asks: “Where does this Leave the United States?” Read: The World is Coming to Sub-Saharan Africa. Where is the United States?

 

“The Path to Growth Has No End” China-Africa Summit (FOCAC)

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President of Togo: “The Path to Growth Has No End”

{Togo First}–Ahead of the upcoming  China-Africa Cooperation Summit-(FOCAC) in Beijing, Togo’s President, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, gave an interview to Chinese TV CGTN on August 23.

During the interview, the leader praised relations between his country and China over the past 40 years. He declared also that the coming summit will further improve these relations.

Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, optimistically proclaimed, “The path to growth has no end.” President Gnassingbe’s interview, and the collaboration between Togo and China in the One Belt-One Road Initiative, encapsulates in one African country, the optimism that is radiating through each and all 54 countries in Africa, in the realization that the age of colonialism is ending and the era of development is underway.

As reported by {Togofirst.com}, CGTN asked, “Which types of China companies do you wish to attract to Togo?”. President Gnassingbe responded, “[Chinese] investments have helped Togo grow and advance in its development. However, you know that the path to growth has no end. There is no limitation to our progress, so far. We have achieved some progress, but more can be done…. Regarding our preferred sectors for new investments, I would obviously say agricutlure, since it is the most important for our economy. Our agricultural sector needs to be modernized and industrialized, transformed into an agro-industry. I would say we need Chinese firms to invest in that sector.”

Later in the interview, the Togolese President added, “While some economic powers try to do things on their own, the foundation of the relationship between China and Africa lies in dialogue, focusing on a win-win cooperation. Both sides win…. In regards to economy, I believe we will have the opportunity to discuss a major project, which I praise, the ‘One Belt, One Road’ project. We will discuss how Africa can contribute to this ambitious, generous and revolutionary project….[I]t is quite rare to see a country, even a huge one such as China which is currently the world’s second leading economic power, launch such a major project that would involve almost every continent.”

He added that he recently read President Xi Jinping’s book on ways to fight poverty.

President Faure Gnassingbe has a stuffed schedule in China from Sept. 2 through 10. He will attend the FOCAC forum from Sept. 3-4. He will attend Sept. 5 hearings with Chinese financial and state institutions, including China Merchant Group, the Eximbank of China (which is very active in Togo), the China Development Bank, as well as the managing director of the BRICS bank. He will meet with Xi Jinping the following day, to be followed by a trip to Zhiejiand, China’s fourth largest economic province, where discussions will be held on implementation of Togo’s National Development Plan. 

Foreign Minister Wang Yi Previews Upcoming FOCAC Summit–‘A New Phase of China-Africa Development’

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi outlined the format and the program for the upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit in Beijing, which will be held on September 3-4.

The Summit, which Wang Yi characterized as a “reunion of the China-Africa family” will have four major foci:

1) it will renew the call for a shared future for China and Africa bound by their common interests;

2) it will initiate a new phase of China-Africa development, enhancing the African countries’ participation in the Belt and Road Initiative, and focusing on upgrading cooperation on trade and infrastructure and people-to-people relations;

3) it will introduce pathways to a higher level of cooperation over the coming three years, and there will be the signing of a number of cooperation agreements with some of the countries, focusing on areas critical for Africa;

4) it will enhance the story of China-African cooperation historically with new measures to be introduced, which are people-centered. Wang Yi also said that there would be a great focus on young people in order to carry the relationship further down the road.

The morning of the first day will consist of an opening dialogue between participants, focusing on issues of practical cooperation, increasing synergy and improving trade ties. President Xi and the other African leaders will participate in this discussion, as well as business leaders and other delegates. In the afternoon, there will be the opening ceremony where President Xi will give a keynote speech. This will be followed by more formal discussion will take place, focusing on industrial cooperation, the development of trade, health issues, peace and security issues. The discussion will be tailored to the needs of the African countries. The co-chairs of this meeting will be President Xi, and Cyril Ramaphosa, South African President and the chairman of the African National Congress. In the evening there will be a grand banquet and entertainment program for the delegates.

On September 4 there will a round-table discussion, with the morning session chaired by President Ramaphosa and the afternoon by President Xi. They will discuss the three-year plan moving toward the year 2021. On the sidelines, there will be bilateral meetings with President Xi and the African leaders. Xi’s wife, Peng Liyuan,  will also be chairing a forum on AIDS.

China at Center of Zimbabwe’s Electricity and Total Development

Zimbabwe will require 11,000 megawatts of electricity to achieve its vision of becoming a middle-income country  according to its 2030 Plan, stated Ministry of Energy Director of Policy and Planning Benson Munyaradzi.  Munyaradzi stated, in Xinhua’s paraphrase Aug. 25, that “the huge demand for power presents vast opportunities for China to further invest in Zimbabwe’s energy sector.”  He spoke at a two-day international conference on China’s Belt and Road Initiative organized by the University of Zimbabwe in conjunction with the Confucius Institute. The ideas and plans worked out at the conference will, undoubtedly, flow into the Sept. 3-4 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation conference to be held in Beijing, at which most of Africa’s 54 countries will participate, as well as the head of the African Union Commission.

Zimbabwe, a landlocked country of 16 million people in southern Africa currently has 2,000 MW of installed generating capacity. So to get to the 11,000 MW target, would require building 9,000 MW of capacity, which is a tall order, but which China, in collaboration with Zimbabwe, has shown it can meet. In March, Sinohydro, the Chinese state-owned hydro-power engineering and construction company completed the 300 MW Kariba South Hydro Power expansion project, and in June, Sinohyrdo began the expansion by a further 670 MW of the coal-fired Hwange Power station.

But as in many African countries, the power-generation is one aspect of the capital goods transfer and infrastructure building that China is engaged in to help Zimbabwe to leap forward. China has pledged to set up a “cutting-edge” urological-surgical center in Zimbabwe, and in an agreement signed in July 2017, Beijing pledged to send medical experts, supply medical equipment, and train Zimbabwean doctors in China. China also built a supercomputer center at the University of Zimbabwe, making it the fifth African country to host a supercomputer.

China will also create the 1,700 km Trans-Zambezi Railway, connecting Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique on the Zambezi River, from Binga, Zimbabwe to Nampula near the Mozambique coast. The first phase of this project consists of a 400 km railway between Shamva, Zimbabwe and Moatize, Mozambique.

At the Aug. 24-25 conference at the University of Zimbabwe, University Dean Charity Manyeruke underscored that the BRI offers an exciting opportunity for Africa “to leapfrog its economic development. Zimbabwe is under sanctions from the West, and China stands as a very important strategic partner.”

Putin To Light Up Africa; African Leaders Gather at BRICS Summit

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Russia will light up Africa – Putin

RT article
Russia will light up Africa - Putin
© Thomas Mukoya / Reuter
The African continent is in huge need of energy investments, and Russia could become one of its key partners, according to President Vladimir Putin speaking at BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

“I would especially like to note that Russia is planning to step up its assistance in development of national energy in African states,” said the Russian president during the BRICS-Africa Outreach panel on Friday.

Read more

Commercial port of Novorossiysk, Russia © Vladimir Astapkovich

BRICS trade surges by 30% as global market influence of developing economies grows – Putin

The leaders of governments of BRICS member states (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) were holding a panel dedicated to economics cooperation between the bloc and African countries. The rationale behind the BRICS Plus concept is to create a platform for greater interaction and partnerships amongst countries to win more power for emerging economies globally.

According to Putin, Russia is in talks with Angola, Mozambique and Gabon on implementing promising oil and gas projects. “In the field of nuclear energy, where Russia is the technological leader, we offer African partners to build an industry from scratch,” the Russian president said. These projects are crucial for Africa since about 600 million people on the continent live without electricity.

Energy is not the only sphere where Russia and Africa could cooperate, according to Putin. “Russian business shows interest in working with African partners in a wide range of areas, including agriculture, healthcare, the development of mass communications, geology and subsoil use,” Putin said.

As examples, Putin mentioned Angola, where Russia’s Alrosa is interested in mining diamonds, a joint venture between Russia and Burundi on the production of lighting products for exports to East Africa, and agriculture projects in Senegal.

Modi Emphasizes India’s Commitment to Africa’s Development at the BRICS

July 27, 2018

Addressing a BRICS Outreach Dialogue Session today in presence of a large number African heads of state, Indian Premier Narendra Modi said: “The coming together of so many African leaders during this program is a wonderful thing. India’s ties with Africa are time-tested. The Government of India has deepened engagement with Africa. Economic and development cooperation between India and Africa have touched new heights,” India’s WION TV news reported from Johannesburg.

Among the African heads of state were: Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Edgar Lungu (Zambia), Hage Geingob (Namibia), João Lourenço (Angola), Emmerson Mnangagwa (Zimbabwe), Ali Bongo Ondimba (Gabon), Mokgweetsi Masisi (Botswana) and Peter Mutharika (Malawi). The African leaders were invited by the host nation, South Africa, to discuss ways of pursuing inclusive growth on the continent with the BRICS heads of state, reported China CGTN television network.

South Africa’s BRICS website points out that since it last hosted the summit in 2013, all BRICS hosts have included an out reach format: “In 2013, South Africa took the initiative to activate the provision for a BRICS Dialogue with partners from the Global South, as per the Sanya Declaration that stated: ‘We are open to increasing engagement and cooperation with non-BRICS countries, in particular emerging and developing countries, and relevant international and regional organisations.'”

In his address, Modi, highlighting the ongoing cooperation between India and the African nations and welcoming the effort for regional economic integration by the African countries, he said “in the last four years, we have had more than 100 visits and meetings at the levels of heads of state and various government levels and these have taken our economic relations and development cooperation to a new high. India has offered 180 lines of credit worth $11 billion in more than 40 countries in Africa.”

In addition, he said that “every year 8,000 African students get scholarships to study in India” and pointed out that his country now has an e-network in 48 African countries for telemedicine.

 

 

The Legacy of British Colonialism in South Africa Today

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The article below discusses the problem of the denial of land ownership to South Africans that was imposed by the British Imperialist Empire. A similar British colonial policy of denying land ownership to native Africans existed in Zimbabwe. After the failure by the US and UK to honor the 1980 Lancaster House Agreement to financially support the transfer of land, President Mugabe took matters into his own hands, and gave fertile land held by white Rhodesians to black Zimbabweans. This led to various efforts of regime change against President Mugabe instigated  by the UK. Providing equitable land ownership in South Africa could cause a deeper crisis than in Zimbabwe. The transfer of  farm land under consideration in South Africa does not include the land containing trillions of dollars of valuable mineral resources that are still owned by the London based financial and commodity cartels. 

“This Land Is Our Land”

South Africa’s ruling party has failed to redistribute land to the black majority for over two decades. Can the new president defuse a ticking time bomb?

By Lungisile Ntsebeza-May 3, 2018

For almost 24 years after the end of apartheid, South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) supported a land reform program that was based on a willing-seller, willing-buyer policy. The policy required the consent of both the seller and buyer for the purchase of the land, with the consequence that sellers, almost exclusively white, would determine which land they wanted to sell. After decades of ignoring criticism of that policy, the ANC’s leadership has changed tack, at least rhetorically. It is now advocating a radical policy of land expropriation without compensation.

The unresolved land question in South Africa is a time bomb. One out of every two South Africans was classified as “poor” in 2015, with the poverty rate increasing to 55.5 percent from a low of 53.2 percent in 2011. This translated into more than 30 million out of 55 million South Africans living in poverty in 2015. Ongoing struggles for housing in urban areas and grazing in rural areas reveal the full extent of the country’s poverty crisis. The ANC government now seems to realize that for both its survival as a ruling party and the preservation of democracy, something drastic must be done to reverse the vast inequalities that plague land ownership in South Africa.

When the ANC came to power in 1994, it inherited a deeply uneven playing field. For more than a century, land ownership, access, and use of land had been determined by race. This was the direct result of European colonialism and the arrival of white settlers who violently dispossessed indigenous black Africans of their land. Early settlers established “native” reserves for blacks and, in 1913, the white-led government of the Union of South Africa passed legislation restricting the black majority to just 7 percent of South Africa’s territory, which by then was already overcrowded and overgrazed. This paltry percentage of the land was increased to 13 percent in 1936, a situation that prevailed until the advent of democracy in South Africa in 1994.

Even after being relegated to faraway reserves, black South Africans often did not actually own their land. The state owned most of the land in the rural areas of the former reserves, granting only rights of occupation to its residents, rather than the freehold title deeds that were common for white landowners. While white colonialists
were initially committed to promoting a class of African farmers in the reserves, they changed their minds in the late 19th century, when minerals and gold were discovered throughout the country. They saw rural areas, including the reserves, as reservoirs of cheap labor to stimulate capitalist development. Lacking adequate land, black Africans were forced to sell their labor, cheaply, in the booming gold and diamond mines across the country, as well as on farms and as workers in the emerging white-controlled towns and cities.

Meanwhile, in the native reserves (later rechristened as “Bantustans”) the administration of land was in the hands of compliant state-appointed “headmen.” Having fought wars with tribal chiefs, colonialists appointed headmen as administrators of land whenever they defeated chiefs. With the advent of apartheid in 1948, chieftainship was revived — and only chiefs who were prepared to execute the apartheid government’s policies were appointed.

Although headmen and chiefs did not own the land, colonialists and the apartheid state officials made chiefs and headmen their gatekeepers by giving them land allocation powers and tremendous authority that came with it; no rural resident could be allocated land without the approval of chiefs and headmen….

When Nelson Mandela became president of a democratic South Africa in 1994, this is the deeply unequal system he inherited.

Soon after taking power, Mandela’s ANC adopted a land reform program that had three components: land restitution for those who lost their rights in 1913, land redistribution to redress racial imbalances in ownership of commercial land, and land tenure to protect the rights of farm workers and dwellers, labor tenants and those residing in the of the former Bantustans.

Read  the full article in Foreign Policy magazine: This Land is Our Land

 

 

Zimbabwe Joins China’s Silk Road

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“Zimbabwe embraces ample cooperation opportunities following Mnangagwa’s trip to China”
Source: Xinhua   2018-04-10

By Zhang Yuliang, Gretinah Machingura

HARARE, April 9 (Xinhua) — Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa concluded his five-day state visit to China last Friday, giving substantial impetus to future cooperation between the two nations.

The trip was Mnangagwa’s first outside Africa since taking over from former leader Robert Mugabe last November, and resulted in the two countries deepening political and economic ties.

During the visit, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his counterpart Mnangagwa agreed to establish comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation between the two countries.

Xi said the Zimbabwean people have started a new journey in building their country since Mnangagwa took office last November.

“As a good friend, partner and brother of Zimbabwe, we are glad to see that,” Xi told Mnangagwa.

When meeting with Mnangagwa, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Zimbabwe is an important partner of China in Africa and China will continue to uphold the principles of sincerity, friendship and equality, and bring new vitality to the traditional friendship between China and Zimbabwe.

China is ready to work with Zimbabwe to give full play to the complementary advantages of both economies, innovate cooperation methods and deepen cooperation in infrastructure construction, agriculture, production capacity and human resources, said Premier Li.

On the economic front, China and Zimbabwe managed to strike deals worth billions of U.S. dollars for implementation of various infrastructure development projects in energy, water, transport, tourism and telecommunications, among other sectors, Chinese economic and commercial counsellor to Zimbabwe Li Yaohui told Xinhua.

The two countries also signed numerous agreements to advance economic cooperation, skills development, education and other facets of the economy, the counsellor said.

Among major deals Zimbabwe finalized with China is the expansion of Hwange Thermal Power Station by 600 megawatts by China’s Sinohydro.

Funds for the 1 billion U.S. dollars project, which has been in pipeline for some years now, are expected to be released immediately, the counsellor said.

With this latest deal, China is emerging as the top investor in Zimbabwe’s energy sector after the government, two weeks ago, commissioned another Chinese-built-and-funded power expansion project at Kariba South Hydro Power Station.

The expansion project, which added two 150-megawatt units to the power plant, was also done by Sinohydro at a cost of 533 million dollars.

The expansion lifted Kariba’s installed capacity from 750 MW to 1,050 MW, making it currently the country’s biggest power plant.

The completion of Kariba expansion and implementation of the vast Hwange Thermal Power project will greatly boost Zimbabwe’s power supplies and help the country, which faces perennial power shortages, be energy self-sufficient.

Li Yaohui said that other mega projects sealed by Mnangagwa in China are for the expansion of Harare Robert Mugabe International Airport, construction of a new parliament building, network expansion for Zimbabwe state-owned mobile firm NetOne, refurbishment of Harare’s water treatment plant and construction of a pharmaceutical warehouse, among others.

The two countries also signed a tourism memorandum of understanding and an economic and technological cooperation agreement.

During his stay in China, Mnangagwa also visited Anhui and Zhejiang and met with the political leadership and business communities from the two provinces, Li Yaohui said.

Mnangagwa, who was accompanied by several cabinet ministers and business leaders, said a lot of achievements were made from the state visit. He described the China trip as historic and a resounding success.

“Today, I conclude my first historic visit which will help bring further crucial momentum to our economy. We had many fruitful discussions with political and business leaders in China, including President Xi Jinping, and secured a host of deals which will make a real difference to the lives of Zimbabweans,” he said in a Facebook post at the end of his visit last Friday.

“They will focus on road, rail, air and dam construction projects…” he said.

In its editorial comment Monday, the state-controlled Herald newspaper said Zimbabwe-China ties had hit a new high following Mnangagwa’s visit.

“Major milestones were reached during President Mnangagwa’s meeting with Chinese officials. What is most important is that relations between Zimbabwe and China were elevated to comprehensive strategic status, a move that is set to change the bilateral cooperation between the two nations,” the newspaper said.

Another major milestone that came out of the Beijing visit was the incorporation of Zimbabwe into the Belt and Road Initiative where Zimbabwe stands to reap huge benefits by being part of the select group of countries that China is dealing with under the initiative, the paper added.

“Zimbabweans should celebrate President Emmerson Mnangagwa for convincing the Chinese to make the country a part of such a huge investment that is set to change the face of the world,” the newspaper said.

The trip bolstered Zimbabwe’s efforts to attract foreign investment to revitalize the economy that has been in the doldrums for many years.

Zimbabwe Opposition Campaigns with Anti-China Line

Zimbabwean opposition leader Nelson Chamisa is campaigning for the upcoming elections on an anti-Chinese line. This is not surprising, since on May 8 he will be the featured guest at Her Majesty’s Chatham House/Royal Institute of International Affairs in London. Chamisa tried to say that the Queen personally had invited him to London, which was immediately denied by the British Embassy in Harare.

Chamisa, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, is quoted in the {Zimbabwe Mail} as saying: “We have seen the deals by Ngwenya [President Emmerson Mnangagwa] and with the Chinese and others. They are busy asset stripping and looting our resources, so I said, beginning September when I get into office, I will ask the Chinese to come in a queue, and interrogate their deals. We will send away all those with bad deals for Zimbabwe. We want genuine investment which will bring benefit for the people, not for the leadership only.”

The {Mail}, however, also quoted China-Africa analyst Cobus van Staden of the South African Institute of international Affairs telling Voice of America: “We’ve seen that kind of populist, anti-Chinese agitation in other African countries, too. The most famous one was in Zambia a few years ago, when [the] late President Michael Sata was campaigning under a similar kind of nationalist, anti-Chinese kind of message. But then, interestingly, after he came to power, that changed very quickly.

Because I think once one is power and one faces the reality of the investment environment and the relative influence of China in the whole world, then it becomes very difficult. That’s kind of campaign talk, I think, more than governing talk.”