Chinese activities in Africa

airtel

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China Made Sh1.2bn Sigiri Bridge collapses days after inspection by President Kenyatta
Monday, June 26, 2017 12:58

The collapsed Sigiri Bridge, June 26, 2017. PHOTO | SILAS APOLLO | NMG


The iconic Sigiri Bridge under construction in Budalang'i Constituency, Busia County has collapsed a fortnight after President Uhuru Kenyatta visited the region to inspect it.

The Sh1.2 billion project being constructed by Chinese Overseas Construction and Engineering Company collapsed early Monday.


The Sh1.2-billion Sigiri Bridge in Budalang'i Constituency on June 26, 2017. PHOTO | GAITANO PESSA | NMG

The cause of the collapse is yet to be known though it is suspected the construction work was hurriedly done ahead of the President’s visit.

During the inspection, Project Manager Jerome Xzue Hua said they were focusing their attention on the concrete slab and embankment.

“We did not focus much on road construction on the Northern side because the most critical point of construction is the bridge’s slab.


President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto address residents at Sigiri Bridge in Budalangi, Busia County on June 14, 2017 during an inspection tour of the bridge. FILE PHOTO | NMG

We expect to complete the bitumen work at the end of June for the entire 3 kilometres for both the northern and southern parts,” he had said.

The project which was expected to be completed by end of July, will definitely fall behind schedule.

The bridge is to link Bunyala North and South wards across River Nzoia.

The collapsed bridge in Budalangi. PHOTO | GAITANO PESSA | NMG
On August 30, 2014, 11 people perished after a boat they had boarded capsized killing everyone on board as they attempted to cross the river.

Among those who perished was Brian Juma, a Form Three student at John Osogo Secondary school whose burial among other victims was attended by President Uhuru Kenyatta who promised ensure a bridge was constructed to avert deaths.


The collapsed Sigiri Bridge in Budalangi.
Area MP Ababu Namwamba, during President Kenyatta’s tour of the region, said the bridge was a blessing to residents since it would significantly reduce deaths and make it easier for people to access markets, schools and hospitals on either side.

Mr Namwamba has been using the bridge as a campaign tool for his re-election for a third term and even broke ranks with Opposition chief Raila Odinga to join forces with Mr Kenyatta through his Labour Party of Kenya.

Residents who want to access Port Victoria town and its environs will now have to wait longer.

They will still have to cover a 100-km stretch daily from Bunyala North to Bunyala South, a distance of less than three kilometres across the river.


President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto inspects the construction works of the Sigiri Bridge in Budalangi, Busia County. FILE PHOTO | NMG

http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/...inspection/3946234-3987864-42ciidz/index.html
 

SanjeevM

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If Chinese can wake-up to cheap quality Chinese products, it can open market for india. We can't blame Africans for falling in trap to Chinese cheaper projects. Even we Indians have fallen for cheaper Chinese products and in return cut our own hands. Indian toy industry was the worst to hit with cheap Chinese toys. Now the list is enormous. We can't prevent Chinese imports as India is a signatory to free trade agreements.

But if the US can walk out of international treaties, we should think how much we should honor free trade that's impacting us. 60 billion $ is a huge trade deficit. Think of spending 60 billion $ in arms purchases. What all we can procure. Government needs to better negotiate.

It should be a movement and propaganda world over to boycott cheap quality Chinese goods.
 

Suryavanshi

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What the bridge collapsed, sad they won't get any refunds cause the warranty period is over. :bounce:
Chalu Chinkis :hail:
 

Willy2

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Kenya is under very corrupt govt..they build a express railway line ...just like this one..build by chinese on "Chinese loan",,named Madaraka Express ..
Even labour are chinese..which led to the local protest...the Chinese project sometimes cost 40-50% more than same project in neighboring countries..contrary to the idea that chinese thing are cheep..
Chine give Kenya so much loan that it's debt now 5 time sof it's Budget ..in which 60% debt are chinese...pathetic even our dreadful neighbor don't realize that how dangerous this CCP is ...only because some military and political leader convince them with their son-daughter already UK residence
 

Suryavanshi

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I just did the conversion and holy cow, the construction cost is 10 million dollars.
Like fucking hell our village bridge is way better and longer than this costing us just 80,000 dollars. The Chinese are ripping these people off, they won't even say anything cause their government is corrupt too.
 

airtel

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I just did the conversion and holy cow, the construction cost is 10 million dollars.
Like fucking hell our village bridge is way better and longer than this costing us just 80,000 dollars. The Chinese are ripping these people off, they won't even say anything cause their government is corrupt too.

actually it was 12 million$ Bridge ..........:daru::daru::daru:

I think this includes Road construction costs too .............otherwise 12 million $ for such a small bridge is too much .

upload_2017-6-28_9-55-26.png
 

airtel

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Ghana Resident: Why Does China Send Workers To Africa When So Many Here Are Unemployed?

The China Africa Project explores tough questions about the country and continent's relationship. This week, we talk about unemployment and imported labor.

Eric Olander and Cobus van Staden The China Africa Project

Joe Penney / Reuters
Chinese and Nigerien construction workers in Niamey, Niger, on February 22, 2016.
Eric Olander and Cobus van Staden are the duo behind the China Africa Project and hosts of the popular China in Africa Podcast. We’re here to answer your most pressing, puzzling, even politically incorrect questions, about all things related to the Chinese in Africa and Africans in China.

China’s engagement in Africa is a distinctly 21st century phenomenon and, as such, is still poorly understood by most people, most notably among Chinese and Africans themselves who are still getting to know one another. In that spirit, we’ve started this new column as a way to help spark dialogue and cross-cultural communication in order to explore this fascinating, complex relationship.

In many instances, people are either too shy or embarrassed to publicly ask that question that could be misconstrued as insensitive or politically incorrect. In issues like this that touch on questions of race, power and culture, things can get messy real fast. Instead, we’ll take each question seriously, and with the benefit of our backgrounds in China-Africa journalism and academic scholarship, we’ll do our best to give you a thoughtful, well-reasoned response.


Antony Njuguna / Reuters
A road construction project manager with China Wuyi Company talks to a colleague at a site near Isiolo town, about 320 km north of Kenyan capital Nairobi, in this 2008 file photo.
Every time I pass by a Chinese construction site and see Chinese people working it just pisses me off. Why do they have to bring in their own workers when so many young Ghanaians can’t find jobs? It just doesn’t make any sense!

― Sent via Facebook from Accra

I think if there was poll taken in Ghana or anywhere on the continent of what angers people most about the Chinese in Africa this issue would be #1, by far! I completely understand where you are coming from. In fact, the World Bank just came out with new data that reportedly revealed that 48 percent of Ghanaian young people are unemployed, so you’d think it would only be natural for the government to do more to force Chinese companies to hire local workers as part of the contract for infrastructure projects, right?

Let me present a different side of the argument. First and foremost, often when officials from the two governments reach a deal to build infrastructure in Ghana, it’s not intended to be a jobs program. The objective of these contracts is to build a road, a bridge or some other piece of infrastructure that your own government has deemed essential. This isn’t an aid program, often it’s not even a traditional development program similar to those done by Western governments over the past few decades. Nope. This is pure business. The Ghanaians say they need a road, the Chinese say they can build it.

China has been especially successful in Africa and other developing markets with its infrastructure business because it undercuts both local and international competitors, sometimes by as much as 50 percent. For a country like Ghana, with its limited budgets, the so-called “China Price” is the reason why these Chinese companies often win the bids. Well, part of that is that Chinese companies have an integrated system of financing, engineering, material sourcing, etc. that allows them to build at a lower cost. And yes, part of this is labor, but it’s important to be clear what kind of labor we’re talking about and how much of it they really do import.


Joe Penney / Reuters
Chinese and Nigerian construction workers work on a site in Niamey, Niger, on February 22, 2016.
Some Chinese construction companies will argue that it would take way too long to hire local engineers and project managers which would also push up the budget. So for specialized managers, they say it’s critical to bring in their own folks to do the job. That makes sense. The far more questionable practice is when they import unskilled labor, often referred to pejorativelyby African leaders as “wheelbarrow pushers.” Here, I totally agree with you that this is inexcusable, even deplorable given the high levels of unemployment in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa.

But…

The issue of how much unskilled Chinese labor is actually employed in Africa is often way overblown. I don’t know about the construction sites that you’ve passed where you’ve seen Chinese workers, but I’m almost positive that those Chinese represent a small minority of the overall workforce on the project. There is a lot of research that’s been done to show that the vast majority of workers on Chinese construction projects in Africa are locally hired.

Nonetheless, even if the numbers are small, the optics look bad when Chinese unskilled labor work in countries where too many people are unemployed. However, I think it’s important to step back and see these projects for what they are (building critical infrastructure) and what they’re not (aid-based job programs).

― Eric

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...1ace4b071840410bb60?ncid=engmodushpmg00000003
 

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