ZAMBIACHINA Reality replaces Sata’s rhetoric 2nd May 2013 LUSAKA: A Chinese engineer supervises construction Image courtesy of Panos Pictures On President Sata’s inaugural trip to China, Beijing’s former critic welcomed Chinese investment as long as it produces clear benefits for Zambia In opposition, he lambasted the role of Chinese companies in the Zambian economy, but President Michael Chilufya Sata’s April state visit to China marked a point of closure on his previous criticism. At the 11 April Zambia-China Economic and Investment Forum organised by Zambia’s Beijing embassy and China Nonferrous Metals Company, President Sata declared: ‘Zambia needs capital, technology and personnel from China. Our focus is the development and progress investors could bring to Zambia, not their colours.’ The message was that Chinese investment is welcome, especially if it helps the Patriotic Front (PF) to deliver on election promises.
ZAMBIACHINA The grass is greener in Beijing 2nd May 2013 Image courtesy of Panos Pictures View site In April, Zambian President Michael Chilufya Sata was in China praising the Beijing government. Vice-President Guy Scott was doing much the same thing in mid-March – but at...
NAMIBIA Teko trio on trial 2nd May 2013 Image courtesy of Panos Pictures View site Four years after their arrest, two Nambians and one Chinese national begin their defence against allegations of bribery and corruption The much-anticipated trial in the US$55.3 million-Nuctech scanner case, in which the three defendants are charged with inflating invoices and pocketing a $12.8 mn. kickback, got off to...
CONGO-KINSHASACHINA Kasai mines go to Anhui 2nd May 2013 The Chinese company that works with the Zimbabwean government in the controversial Marange fields has signed a major deal with Kinshasa Thanks to a contract signed in Kinshasa on 18 March by Anhui Foreign Economic Construction Corporation’s Vice-President Bai Ziangqian, State Assets Minister Louise Munga Mesozi and Mines Minister...
CHINAAFRICA Lu’s broadside at Western policy 2nd May 2013 China’s top Africa policymaker, Lu Shaye, took to the pages of the officially sanctioned China International Studies in March to slam the interventions by Western governments in Central...
GABONINDIASINGAPORE Middleman at the gate 2nd May 2013 On 26 April at the Libreville headquarters of Oil India Limited, Paul Maurice Tomo lay shirtless on the ground in front of a painted sheet that read:...
GHANACHINA Crackdown on illegal miners 2nd May 2013 Gun battles, environmental degradation and tensions with local communities force the government to take a tough stance on illegal Chinese miners The Ghana Immigration Service is to tighten up security at the country’s borders to stop the illegal entry of Chinese artisanal and small-scale miners (ASMs). Police Commissioner Peter...
SOUTH SUDANCHINA Financing deals finally take off 2nd May 2013 More eye-catching Chinese loans to South Sudan hit the headlines in April, as did more uncertainty about what exactly has been agreed. A year to the day since...
GHANACHINA Sinopec strike 2nd May 2013 Sinopec, the lead contractor on Ghana’s US$850 million gas project, halted work on 30 April citing payment delays and disputes with Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC).
UGANDACHINA One-horse race 2nd May 2013 The government cancelled the bidding for Uganda’s biggest hydropower project, the Karuma Falls Dam, pending a procurement review, after the selected bidder lied to the Ministry of Energy.
FRANCE François Hollande 2nd May 2013 President of France China’s President Xi Jinping welcomed French President François Hollande and his partner, Valérie Trierweiler, to Shanghai on 25 April. On his first official state visit to China, the...
INDIA Salman Khurshid 2nd May 2013 External Affairs Minister, India Salman Khurshid, Minister of External Affairs, was in Uganda on 17-18 April, on his first official visit to Africa. Ahead of the third India-Africa summit due in...
CHINA Jin-Yong Cai 2nd May 2013 Chief Executive, International Finance Corporation Jin-Yong Cai, Executive Vice-President and Chief Executive Officer of the International Finance Corporation, wants the IFC to source more private-sector funding for infrastructure projects in sub-Saharan Africa.
ZIMBABWE Arthur Mutambara 2nd May 2013 Deputy Prime Minister, Zimbabwe Speaking at a conference on China-Africa relations hosted by Frontier Advisory in South Africa, Zimbabwe’s Deputy Premier Arthur Mutambara urged greater African regulation of Chinese investment.