AU Commission Chairman Moussa Faki and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 3/8...
Contesting For African Resources
The African Union Headquarter was funded and built by Chinese and in the eyes of the Americans is seen as a symbol of Beijing’s thrust for influence and access to the continent’s natural resources. Ethiopia is already a home to some of Beijing’s biggest investments and physical infrastructures. Earlier this week, Tillerson criticized heavily “China’s approach” to Africa which he said encouraged dependency through “opaque contracts” and “predatory loan practices”. Tillerson told a news conference in the Ethiopian capital, that “We are not in any way attempting to keep Chinese dollars from Africa,” “It is important that African countries carefully consider the terms of those agreements and not forfeit their sovereignty.” The United States is the leading aid donor to Africa but China surpassed it as a trade partner in 2009. Beijing has pumped billions into infrastructure projects, though critics say the use of Chinese firms and labor undermines their value.Tillerson said Chinese investments “do not bring significant job creation locally” and criticized how Beijing structures loans to African government. If a government accepts a Chinese loan and “gets into trouble”, he said, it can “lose control of its own infrastructure or its own resources through default.” He did not give examples. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, visiting Zimbabwe on Thursday, told reporters it was inappropriate for Tillerson to criticize China’s relationship with African countries.
He elaborate further that many African governments enjoy close ties with both Washington and Beijing. Kenya, for example, inaugurated a $3.2 billion railway funded by China last year. For the last three years, Kenya has received more than $100 million annually in U.S. security assistance. Asked about Tillerson’s criticism of China’s approach on the continent, Kenya’s foreign affairs minister Monica Juma said: “This country is engaging with partners from across the world driven by our own interests and for our own value.”
Tillerson reiterated previous calls for African states to cut ties with North Korea. North Korea has more than a dozen embassies on the continent. The Trump administration has said that Pyongyang earns hard currency from arms deals with African government and the trafficking of wildlife parts from Africa. Tillerson is due to fly to Djibouti, host to military bases owned by the U.S., China, Japan, France, and Italy. He will then visit Kenya, a key U.S. ally in the fight against al Shabaab Islamist militants in Somalia, before traveling to Chad and Nigeria, which are also battling to contain Islamist insurgents.
Analysts say Trump has focused mainly on security concerns in Africa at a time when China, Turkey and other nations are ramping up diplomatic and business links. “When you look at the set of countries that are being visited I think it kind of reinforces the perception that security, indeed, is the overwhelming focus,” said Brahima Coulibaly, the director of the Africa Growth Initiative at Brookings Institution.
Understand that American monopoly is to restrict African resources and control them: America came up with many strategies but failed. The master plan of African Command (FRICOM) that was introduced by President George W. Bush in early 2007 to militarized the whole continent so that Africans may used as mercenaries to fight their own proxy wars. Thanks to people who like peace like (Edward Snowden) for giving early warning to African leaders about the deception of US-AFRICOM. Almost 98% African states rejected such order to host US military bases in their territories. Now again, US being overshadowed by Russians and Chinese, so they have crafted another order known as the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), a kind of economical measure that will compel all developing countries especially African nations to abide to the new monopolies of US that command them what should they own,consume,produce or buy.
US already secured advantage over African countries when ordered the "shitholes" all at once to stop trading with North Korea just in one night. Some of Africa countries have risked a lot in compliance with United States' demand. Multi-billion construction projects like in security sector and education was being constructed with the help of Pyongyang, but now are just white elephants and nestling places for bats and owls; imagining billion of dollars from taxpayers spent on those constructions and projects which was abide by official contracts before US-UN economic sanction has commenced imposing penalty on Kim Jung-uns regime.
Today everything include resources that budgeted for several years have now went into drainage and we have a huge pile of rumbles looking at us, which was suppose to be a state of art skyscrapers and defence complex. Question: Who will compensate this? Why US only know how to stop the constructions but never know how to provide alternative solution that substitute the Asians or refund the loss? Instead African leaders unilaterally demanding their construction projects for completion under the supervision of United Nation if is the case and then after let go off North Koreans, this was not happened in Africa, But yet China,Russia and India are doing business with North Koreans and US is smearing the request from these countries to ceasing their business trades through some preparatory steps.
The hidden agenda under the Department of Treasury was signed officially on 02 August 2017 with the main objective to thwart and disrupt the competitive international markets from fiery adversaries like North Korea,Iran,Russia,Cuba,China and others. Under this so-called new international law your country will be threatened from nationalize land,water or purchasing Russian made products especially military equipment like AK-47s and other military gears example Chengdu F-7, the military aircraft that made from China and owned by most African Airforces. Under the order of CAATSA your country is required to adopt NATO's doctrine and make use of western manufactured materials or otherwise suffer from economical isolation and sectoral sanctions for supporting United States' adversaries.
Reported by Kumerra Gemechu in Addis Ababa and Omar Mohammed in Nairobi;and narrated by Nambili Samuel