As at 2018, a State-owned Electricity Company, a National Broadcasting Network, an International Airport, and a major road in Zambia had all been lost to China due to the failure of the Zambian government to repay a US$8B debt they owe for the infrastructural projects they had undertaken under China's "Belt and Road" initiative.
This Chinese soft power move triggered fear among other African states, more so, among citizens as they feared that Zambia had become a Chinese colony. There was panic across Africa but the situation gradually became normal, as Zambians got used to it. But the twists in their foreign policy especially where it concerned the influx of Chinese nationals into the country, the interests of Chinese owned businesses and that of Chinese nationals resident in Zambia. However, the constant check on formulation of policies resulted to the recruitment of the first 8 Chinese police officers into the Zambian police force. This act raised tension and increased social vises and criminal activities in the country. Ethnic and racial sentiment skyrocketed in 2019 as Chinese population in Zambia rapidly grew to 80, 000.
But seriously, how does China do this?
Well, according to Dr. Mumbi Seraki, China’s long-term goal is the effective ownership of the commanding heights of Africa’s economy. Their whole strategy is encouraging indebtedness.
“They come to Africa with money, they give loans but once you default, they start to take over strategic assets. You see, what China has done is that they have studied countries that have corrupt governments and greedy leaders. That’s the trouble with most African nations. That’s why we find most African nations in this situation.”
Dr. Mumbi, also explained that one of the biggest problems with China’s operations in Africa is the fact that many of the deals are done in secret.
“In many cases, we don’t know what we signed on to. We don’t know the kind of agreements they made because all of them were done hush-hush and behind- the-scenes. All we’ve been told is that China is giving Africa money or they’re funding this or that infrastructure project.
“But we are not told that the debt repayment is set at this percentage and if we fail to pay this percentage, we are going to be in trouble.”
Hmmm!
I find it difficult to come to terms with the fact that Zambia’s Ministry of Finance lacks the capacity to track government spending. In spite of that, Zambia’s President, Edgar Chagwa Lungu, had the nerve to visit China again sometime in 2018 to sign another US$30 million loan for the modernization of Zambia's Mulungushi International Conference Centre and another US$30 million for the expansion of the electricity supply for the Lusaka East Multi-Facility Economic Zone.
Honestly, this is a proof that African leaders are clueless, they lack vision, and the finesse to make right decisions, or perhaps, they just don't care about the future of the people.
For God's sake, Europeans ripped us apart, piece by piece. Just when we should be recovering from the impact of their exploitation, China took the center stage, ready to grind us, and our leaders don't see anything wrong with the move, as long as there's money to embezzle.
What a shame?
Obviously, China is banking on the greediness of our leaders, they capitalize on the corruption in the African political system. They make them offers they can honestly reject but will not, because of their dubious mindset. However, China has become a money-well, dug for African leaders to draw from. And of course, they are busy drawing to fill up their individual pockets at the expense of our freedom and general welfare.
According to theguardian.com "debt was once a symptom of western capitalist domination, it is now also a sign of China’s grip on countries desperately in need of infrastructure and procuring funds through non-concessional loans." The implication of this quote is that "Africa is always desperate for loans". Shame on African leaders!
Don't misunderstand me, I am not against loans, but it beats my imagination how a state would borrow money and spend the money without records of how and on what it was spent.
Yet an elected president of a country would oversee the borrowing of these monies from another country using the hard earned sovereignty of the state as collateral. That's pure insanity! There is no justification for such action.
Why are African leaders so hungry? Hungry for power and wealth.
Those in power want to remain within the corridors of power till they stop breathing, while those that are seeking for power would do anything to have it.
I keep wondering, now I’m overthinking.
Africa, what are we good at?
We can't learn well, yet we can't copy well!
Europe formed European Union it made life easier for her citizens across Europe, Africa formed African Union and it made life more difficult for citizens across Africa.
While European citizens can travel, live and work in other European countries as citizens, an African citizen needs a permit to live and work in other African countries. Then I ask again, what's the need for the union, what do they discuss in their meetings aside the hate they breed?
I see no future for Africa, unless we learn to say NO when we should; stop borrowing money, manage our resources and put our citizens first.
The Chinese government has started their harvest from Zambia, South Africa is on the brink of Re-colonization, and in no distant time, more African countries will join. China is spreading like wildfire into the crucial part of Africa and their language is gaining prominence in our institutions.
In January 2016, South Africa became the first African country to integrate Chinese Language (Mandarin) into her public school curriculum, in December 2018, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and Nigeria followed, while Kenya joined the rush in 2020.
As at 2018, Chinese government had established 27 Confucius Classrooms (CCs) and 51 Confucius Institutes (CIs) across Africa.
It's either we wake up now or we bend over and watch China colonize Africa. You may ask what do we stand to lose, I will tell you, we will lose everything including our individual freedom.
Africa can be liberated if we can collectively "SAY NO" to CORRUPTION and GREED!
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