15.5 C
Athens
Σάββατο, 23 Νοεμβρίου, 2024

Who Will Help Africa’s Industrialisation?

Περισσότερα Νέα

- Advertisement -

China is going to fund and develop a new port in Mozambique, where a Chinese company – Dingshenq Minerals – has been exploring heavy sands in Chibuto since 2018. The new port is in the south of the country, an area known for the rich mineral contents including zirconium, titanium, tungsten and rate-earth elements, besides gemstones.

The development is coming in the backdrop of raising questions as to why Africa remains poor despite an abundance of natural resources and economic cooperation with industrialized countries. The short answer is that nobody is interested in industrializing Africa, as political and ethnic conflicts could not be perennially blamed for underdevelopment. However, it is a matter of facts that the continent remains a victim of perpetual exploitation by industrially advanced nations for raw materials on sub-optimal, less rewarding trade terms. 

The African Institute for Economic Development recently highlighted in a paper that despite centuries of exploitation of mineral wealth “many African countries still rank among the poorest nations on the globe.” The problem is persisting because Africa lacks capital, expertise and technology to make the use of its abundant resources for its own industrialization, a weakness that is exploited by developed and developed countries like the US, Canada, Australia, France and the UK, as well as emerging economic powerhouses like China. Knowingly or not, they all continue to exploit natural resources to their own benefit, much to the detriment of the continent, which holds 30% of the mineral resources of the world, with huge reserves of diamonds, salt, gold, iron, cobalt, uranium, copper, bauxite, silver and petroleum. To mention one example, 57% of Africa’s export earnings come from hydrocarbons and Nigeria, Libya, Algeria, Egypt and Angola together account for 85% of the continent’s oil production. The copper belt in Haut Katanga Province (Democratic Republic of Congo), the diamond minerals in Sierra Leon, Angola, and Botswana and rare metals in South Africa’s Steenkampskraal Mine are only a few examples of the abundance of mineral resources, yet Africa’s level of industrialization remains low. 

Most of the infrastructure built by the main consumers of its mineral resources is driven by their mercantile interests. While there is a lack of infrastructure for connectivity, Africa’s mineral-rich areas have been connected by ports by foreign companies, a logic of colonial days which remains questionable and is adopted also by the new, growing Chinese presence. Today, Bejing is the biggest bilateral coastal infrastructure funder in the world with a total USD 65 billion spent on funding, surpassing Japan and multilateral institutions like the Asian Development Bank. More than half of the 46 coastal port projects were financed by Chinese entities and 11 are operated by them. It funded Lekki Deep Sea Port in Nigeria with the aim to make it a major cargo hub in West Africa, and it still has operating interests in more than a dozen countries including Djibouti, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Angola, Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Sierra Leona, Guinea Cape Verde and Mauritania. 

The United Nations has made it clear that industrial development is of critical importance for sustained and inclusive economic growth in African countries. Industry can enhance productivity, increase the capabilities of the workforce, and generate employment by introducing new equipment and new techniques. However, despite much euphoria, the African countries are not able to industrialise and have fallen under serious debt problem and colonial dynamics are still working. It is high time that Africa thinks how it can use its mineral resources for its own industrialization. Partly it is because of political instability of the countries, corruption and ambivalence of African leaders and partly because Africa’s vulnerability due to lack of capital and technology.

- Advertisement -

geopolitica.info

- Advertisement -

ΑΠΑΝΤΗΣΤΕ

εισάγετε το σχόλιό σας!
παρακαλώ εισάγετε το όνομά σας εδώ

The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

Ροή ειδήσεων

ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ

Fatwa against VPNs: A threat to digital freedom in Pakistan

In a rapidly evolving digital world, where technology is increasingly integrated into every aspect of our lives, the internet is often viewed as a...

Strikes and protests increase in China due to unpaid wages and factory closures

Strikes and protests by labourers and industry workers have seen arise in China where such incidences are strictly forbidden. The majority of the protests...

Pakistan: HRCP demands reversal of Anti-Terrorism Act amendment proposal, warns of threats to democracy

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) concluded its 38th Annual General Meeting with a stern call for urgent action to address Pakistan’s worsening...

China’s space ambitions face ‘huge test’ from Musk presence in Trump White House

Tech mogul Elon Musk's potential weight in the second Donald Trump administration is likely to accelerate the US space programme and pose a "huge test" to China's extraterrestrial...

ΔΗΜΟΦΙΛΗ ΑΡΘΡΑ

Φέτβα κατά των VPN: Μια απειλή για την ψηφιακή ελευθερία στο Πακιστάν

Σε έναν ταχέως εξελισσόμενο ψηφιακό κόσμο, όπου η τεχνολογία ενσωματώνεται ολοένα και περισσότερο σε κάθε πτυχή της ζωής μας, το Διαδίκτυο θεωρείται συχνά ως...

Fatwa against VPNs: A threat to digital freedom in Pakistan

In a rapidly evolving digital world, where technology is increasingly integrated into every aspect of our lives, the internet is often viewed as a...

Σε κίνδυνο τα ανθρώπινα δικαιώματα στο Πακιστάν

Η Επιτροπή Ανθρωπίνων Δικαιωμάτων του Πακιστάν (HRCP) ολοκλήρωσε την 38η Ετήσια Γενική Συνέλευση με μια αυστηρή έκκληση για επείγουσα δράση για την αντιμετώπιση της...

Οι απεργίες και οι διαδηλώσεις αυξάνονται στην Κίνα λόγω των απλήρωτων μισθών και του κλεισίματος των εργοστασίων

Απεργίες και διαμαρτυρίες από εργάτες και εργάτες της βιομηχανίας έχουν εμφανιστεί στην Κίνα όπου τέτοια περιστατικά απαγορεύονται αυστηρά. Η πλειονότητα των διαμαρτυριών διεξήχθη πριν...