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In Africa we have started to speak of China as the modern age colonizers. They are appearing everywhere, building roads, airports, dams and coal fired power sta
by mmsimanga 7y ago
In Africa we have started to speak of China as the modern age colonizers. They are appearing everywhere, building roads, airports, dams and coal fired power stations. They bring all their equipment. We have challenges with governance (understatement). In my home country we have severe power shortages, daily power cuts lasting up 18 hours. Chinese are building a power station. So picture the day we try assert some right and China just switches off the power. This kind of scenario is playing itself out in Africa and I fear by the time we wake up China will own the continent. I exaggerate but I think you get my point.
- pinkfoot 7y agos/we have/some of us, actually just a small minority on Twitter, have/
- mmsimanga 7y agoTwitter doesn't build power stations. Its pretty hard to miss the ground being cleared as the power station is being built.
- pinkfoot 7y agoWhere I live, Hitachi build the power stations. So we all now also believe the Japanese are colonising Africa? Outside of Twitter 'building complex machines for a fee != colonisation'.
- mmsimanga 7y agoYou missed the part where I said in Africa we have governance challenges. 99 year lease of Sri Lanka Hambantota port is modern day colonization.
- pinkfoot 7y agoJust to be clear, Ski Lanka is not Africa. All debts have collateral. Don't sign up to loans you cannot afford. Any don't vote in governments that do. [And don't stuff up the maintenance of your infrastructure to the point you don't have electricity for 18 hours. It wasn't like that when it was commissioned.] Then you won't need to take deals on onerous conditions. The Swiss don't.
- swsieber 7y ago> Don't sign up to loans you cannot afford. And that's the problem - the Chinese are offering them and people/countries are taking them, in large numbers. That statement also applies to home loans, yet the 2008 crisis. A nice platitude isn't going to prevent people from falling into China's lap.
- pinkfoot 7y agoYip. Still not colonisation.