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The Great Chinese Takeout in Africa
During my recovery, I had time to
dwell on parasites, how they invade and deplete their hosts,
much as successive colonial powers have done over the centuries
in places such as Africa. Anyone who thinks that kind of
ravenous acquisition of resources is a thing of the past should
take a close look at the suction China is applying in the
sub-Sahara. The region is now the scene of one of the most
sweeping, bare-knuckled, and ingenious resource grabs the world
has ever seen.
While America is preoccupied with
the war in Iraq (cost: half a trillion dollars and counting),
and while think-tank economists continue to spit out papers
debating whether vital resources are running out at all, China's
leadership isn't taking any chances. In just a few years, the
People's Republic of China (PRC) has become the most aggressive
investor-nation in Africa. This commercial invasion is without
question the most important development in the sub-Sahara since
the end of the Cold War -- an epic, almost primal propulsion
that is redrawing the global economic map. One former U.S.
assistant secretary of state has called it a "tsunami." Some are
even calling the region "ChinAfrica." ....
...More
Remark by a
Ghanaian young executive based in New York after reading this
article:
"The sad thing about
all of this it’s like the few who are in power are selling Away
Africa to the highest bidders. Almost 80% of all aid to Africa
finds its way out into private banks.
Yet still these are the same people who are trying to get us to
come back home, crying brain drain, but yet still will not offer
the proper opportunity to handle position of authority. By the
time they give the countries over to us there will be nothing
else to control. We will then be working for the Chinese, not
the European." Lartey
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