FLASHBACK: China needs to be more transparent with African countries - IEA

Director of Governance and Administration at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Dr. Samuel Darkwa, in August last year entreated China to be more transparent with its engagements with African countries.

He said this at an IEA-China Symposium on the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Accra.

Read the full story originally published on August 17, 2021 by www.ghanaweb.com.

• China’s presence in Ghana has been over 60 years

• The researcher wants China to exercise more transparency in its engagement with African countries

• FOCAC, which aims to promote socio-economic relations between Africa and China, has been around for over 20 years

The Director of Governance and Administration at the Institute of Economic Affairs, Dr. Samuel Darkwa, has championed the call for more transparency to exist in the engagements between China and African countries.

According to him, there have been situations where there have been conflicts between African countries and China due to such a thing and has therefore called for more openness in the details of infrastructural contracts.

Using the classic cases of the Nairobi-Mombasa Railway project built by China, he said Kenya agreed to benefit from almost 50 of the project in terms of resources and this should be the ideal way of doing things.

He made this known during an IEA-China Symposium on the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

It was on the theme, “FOCAC - A New Paradigm of Development Cooperation” and on the topic, “FOCAC as a Vehicle for Infrastructural Development in Africa.”

Dr. Samuel Darkwa was addressing the specific topic of “Chinese Infrastructural Development in Africa: A Case Study of Kenya and Zambia.”

"What China and Africa have to do together is that there should be more transparency and if that happens, getting in debt traps will not happen," he stressed.

Participants at the symposium also shared ideas about some of the projects that have been undertaken by China, in Ghana, and how they have not particularly involved a lot of the local indigenes.

Other participants highlighted the points that there is the need to clarify the mindset that China is offering Africa freebies when in fact, these are just loans that are eventually paid back.

Also, some argued that China also benefits from being in Africa, for instance, China’s over 60 years in Ghana, a lot of things needed to change so that more locals benefit from their projects, including representation at management levels.

FOCAC was set up to promote economic and social cooperation between Africa and China. It has been around for over 20 years.

FOCAC was also set up to address pitfalls associated with the ODA, including infrastructure, energy, industrial, health, and medical advancement, trade and finance, and are being initiated in various forms in other countries.



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