by KWEI QUARTEY
Ghana held its general elections on December 7 and 8, 2012, re-electing incumbent President John Dramani Mahama. However, Nana Akufo-Addo, flag-bearer of the opposition New Patriotic Party, is challenging Mahama’s narrow win and intends to contest the result in court, a legal process that is sure to be prolonged. The verdict could potentially challenge Ghana’s generally stable and peaceful political environment. What will not change are the country’s close economic ties to China.
On my trip to Ghana in 2011, I observed Chinese foremen at the construction sites of the now completed George W Bush Highway. The massive Ministry of Defense building in Ghana’s capital, Accra, was constructed with a US$50 million Chinese grant. The Bui Hydroelectric Dam is a collaborative project of the government of Ghana and SinoHydro, a Chinese construction company. In 2012, China invested in a new Ghanaian airline that serves domestic routes, and it is likely that the China Airports Construction Corporation (CACC) will be involved in building Accra’s new international airport.
…
How good is all this for Africa? US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has not been sanguine about her opinion of China’s role in Africa, implying during her Africa trip in August 2012 that China is unconcerned about democracy and human rights on the continent – compared to the United States, which she says is committed to “a model of sustainable partnership that adds value, rather than extract[ing] it”. In Zambia, she warned of a “new colonialism” threatening the African continent, adding, “We saw that during colonial times it is easy to come in, take out natural resources, pay off leaders, and leave.”
In July 2010, the Chinese ambassador to South Africa, Xian Xuejun, criticized Western politicians and media who “make irresponsible remarks on China-Africa relations.” After all, when it comes to colonialism and neocolonialism alike, the West’s record has hardly been spotless. We need only be reminded of the cozy relationship between the United States and the ruinous Congolese dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, one of many authoritarian rulers on the continent to have been propped up by Washington.
Indeed, many African governments prefer China as an economic partner over Western countries for a number of reasons. First, China’s own development experience has instructive value. Second, China fulfills Africa’s need for critical infrastructure more cheaply, less bureaucratically, and more quickly. And finally, China portrays Africa more positively as a partner in “mutually beneficial cooperation” and “common prosperity”, rather than a “doomed continent” requiring aid.
Asia Times Online for more