There is no doubt that China has just lent us 1 trillion shs in the last few yrs. Why hasn't the US done the same..when their economy is bigger than China.
I can see that you really want to believe that China is Africa's Great Saviour. But that does have to stop you from doing some basic homework, which could tell you that:
(1) Kenya is now in the
Top 10 of recipients of aid from the USA government and has been for some time. The figures typically range from $550 million per year to $750 million per year.
All of it grants. Grants, not loans. So you might want to add up all the
grants that Kenya has received from the USA in the last few years and then talk about Sh.1 trillion
loans.
-- I will not mention money (grants!) Kenya receives from American NGOs (the large foundations and so on) because there China does not even begin to enter the picture. Nor is it necessary to get into all the other sources of "official" US money into Kenya.
(2) Do you know where plans for Kenya's food security are being made right now? You might want to look at Obama's
Feed The Future program.
(3) Did you know that the biggest change to how Kenya manages its national budget was spearheaded by the US government:
`
". '
(4) Did you know that the USA has even tried to help Kenya improve its joke of a parliament by running a
Parliamentary Strengthening Program for Kenya?
I could go on and on ...
China has trusted us with their money
Wrong thinking. You have apparently chosen to overlook the little fact that Kenya was forced to take out rather costly insurance on those loans. That insurance, which means they get paid no matter what, is what the Chinese trust.
On Aid..China loans are 60% grant. That is free money. China is also one of biggest donors now to multilateral agencies including UN.
I won't get into the logic of how a loan is also a grant ... Let's avoid generalities. Since this is a Kenyan forum, let's start with the specific case of Kenya. You are delighted that China has lent Kenya "1 trillion shillings" or whatever. Now go take a look at how much China has given Kenya in
grants! Yes, please, having told us about the trillion shillings of loans, we now wait to hear about the
grants. How many shillings there?
Weka namba hapa hapa.
Trade...nobody has stop kenya from exporting...China is Africa biggest importer..importing Oil/Copper/Gold/ name it. Kenya just has to figure out how to balance their trade.
My point is that it is absurd for people to get excited about China being a huge trading partner for Kenya when almost all that trade is in China's favour.
Bottomline..Do not expect chinese to wipe your bottom when you can't even find it.
Exactly. That's why I don't understand all the excitement about China.
China is also one of biggest donors now to multilateral agencies including UN
I don't know why this is supposed to be significant, but I will note that the following countries all contribute more to the UN than does China: France, German, Japan, USA.
Japan contributes twice as much and the USA contributes 4 times as much as China does.
The USA alone funds almost one-quarter of the UN budgets. IMF: The countries that contribute more than China are Japan, UK, USA, France, Germany.
The USA contributes 4.5 times as much as China.World Bank: Japan and the USA contribute more than China.
The USA contributes about 3 times what China does.
Let us also briefly consider other things that really matter:Do you know how many people, especially in poor countries and especially in Africa, die or are affected annually by TB, malaria and HIV/AIDS? Malaria alone kills at least 0.5 million per year. Most of those (about 90%) are in
Africa and most are children under 5.
So who contributes to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria? It is the usual suspects, led, as usual, by the USA. Compare some contributions to the fund for the years 2012-2015:
USA - $1.4 billion per year
Bill Gates - $200 million per year
China - $5 million per year
Another one that is interesting is "global emergency humanitarian assistance" given. Looking at the figures for 2012-2013, and they are typical:
USA- $4.5 billion
China - $4 million
Yes, billions vs. millions. But that's not even the half of it. China actually gets more such money than it gives!!! For example, the year in question it got $13 million in such assistance.
I could go on and on with all sorts of figures all over the place. Instead, I will just go off and chuckle quietly about Africans who are sure the Chinese will save them after the Nasty West "has done nothing for centuries" --- and the view based on just seeing a lot of little men running around tarmacking roads ...
In my view there is very little to talk about when it come to western partners...you just need to check the data for the last 15yrs when Africa has engaged with Chinese...and for the first time...the narrative is of "Africa Rising"...all indicators are up....africa economies are growing..thanks to Chinese paying a premium for our raw materials and lending us massive amount of monies...to lay infrastructure.
I have checked the data, and I urge you to do the same and to get off two myths: (a) that the Chinese are paying a premium for our raw materials; (b) "Africa Rising" and that the "rising" is due to China.
