| African Scramble |
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When King Leopold II of Belgium claimed sovereignty in 1884 over the Congo River basin he fired the starting gun for Europe's scramble for Africa. China's 21st Century push into the same territory now the Democratic Republic of Congo may turn out to be another seminal moment for the continent.
By signalling its intention to provide $5bn to fund the roads, railways, hospitals and clinics Congo so desperately lacks, Beijing has thrown down its most direct challenge yet to the west's architecture for assisting Africa's development. African nations face a choice, regardless of how indebted, poorly governed, or wracked by conflict they may be. They can go through all the hoops laid out by traditional western donors in return for funds that are often slow to arrive and ultimately are insufficient. Or they can, without regard for accountability or human rights, access cash and infrastructure upfront, collateralised against the mineral and other resources that China desires. Nor is China alone. Brazil, Russia and India are following Beijing's example, if less ambitiously. Congo is the latest of many African countries to consider such a deal. But it is the first to do so at a delicate juncture in negotiations with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund over cancellation of debt. It is struggling to fulfil the terms required to secure IMF budget support. It stands to gain from a clean slate as well as fresh World Bank and other donor assistance should terms be agreed. The sums involved in the draft deal with China are simply larger. Relative to the nation's current earnings and equivalent to around 500 percent of exports, they also dwarf anything comparable that the Chinese have offered to date in Angola or Sudan. The World Bank, IMF and African Development Bank are scrambling to respond. There should be no doubt that Beijing's focused strategy to secure resources, influence, markets for its contractors, service providers and products in Africa, has shifted into a higher gear. In response, traditional donors need to be more nimble and ambitious if they want to remain relevant. But they should not relax their insistence on the money being spent honestly and well a shift already mooted in the corridors of the World Bank and the European Union. It would be foolish to think that $5bn or even five times that investment in Congo will alone make the difference. Like brides told too often that they are ugly, African countries are flattered by their new suitor but they should beware. Africa needs the speed and efficiency with which China can deliver infrastructure such as power and roads. But without the freedom, accountability and governance agenda the west has belatedly tried to export, that infrastructure will, like past roads and dams before it, be swallowed again by the jungle. |