China’s 60 Billion Dollars Aid Too Good a Deal that Could Revert Africa Back to Colonialism

Xi Jinping, the Chinese President on Monday pledged 60 billion US dollars with “no strings attached” to support projects in Africa in the form of loans, investment, and aid as China seeks to extend its economic prospects to the continent.

The money offered by President Xi comes on top of the previous financing of the same amount offered by Beijing in 2015. It is to be spent for the next three years.

Speaking at the start of a two-day China-Africa conference, Mr. Xi, said the financing consists of 20 billion dollars in credit lines, 15 billion dollars in grants, 10 billion for “development financing”, 5 billion to buy imports from Africa alongside other interest-free loans and concessional loans.

The president also added that China will encourage its companies to make investments in Africa of at least 10 billion dollars for the next three years.

While China seeks to build trade, foster investment and uphold political ties with the continent, through its massive Belt and Road project, their involvement and deep penetration into Africa could be a cause to worry about, others warn.

Critics claim that the China is subtly burying some poor nations under huge debts. This is probably where Kenya is headed next considering its massive loan it has taken from China since the Standard Gauge Railway Project (SGR) began.

Recently, Kenya went for another 380 billion loan to fund the second phase of the SGR even before the first loan has matured. That Kenya isn’t getting value for money from the project is true since the SGR financial results started off with a loss.

Kenya is among those countries that will sink from China’s debts and already the citizens are feeling its effects owing to the politics surrounding fuel prices and inflated prices of commodities.

African heads of state seem thrilled by the idea of “free” funds from China unaware of the domino effect it might cause. The loans that come without demands or restrictions against environmental damage, corruption or waste, may just be too good a deal that could breed trouble.

According to a study done by a US organization, the Center for Global Development, shows that eight Asian, European and African nations utilizing the Belt and Road funds have serious concerns in terms of the sustainability of sovereign debt.

In fact, Mahathir Mohamed, the Malaysian prime minister cancelled majority Chinese-backed projects worth 22 billion US dollars and issued a warning against “a new version of colonialism”

But China has refuted claims that it is engaging the African countries in a debt trap diplomacy. South African president Cyril Ramaphosa came out strong in support of China saying that the gathering “refutes the view that a new colonialism is taking hold in Africa, as our detractors would have us believe”.

Rallying behind China’s involvement in the African continent if the Chairman of the African Union, Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

President Kagame told the summit that Africa is not a zero-sum game and its growing ties with China “do not come at anyone’s expense.”

For a continent with a combined GDP close times less that of China, Africans have a cause to worry when outside countries get too much involved. Even the Chinse and other Western countries projects can barely do enough to reduce the unemployment rate.

Since the Cold War, China h