Africabeat

China in Africa: China is Not the (Only) Devil

The comment below I drafted in response to: U.S.-China Relations: An Apology of Sorts  I've decided to post the comment here instead as Bill's original thread has nothing to do with the Sudan and I was going completely off-topic.  I don't offer a solution to any of the previous discussions on Jewels in the Jungle and Chippla's Weblog - Thoughts and Issues, just some ideas that I hope will spur more discussion.

First, I apologize for my absurdly slow repsonse. 

I'm not sure how to defend the Chinese government's actions in the Sudan, but nor do I think that just because I have a more neutral view on the issue of Chinese involvement in Africa (i.e., that there are aspects that are both promising and troubling) that I have to.  And if I did, it would get me started on a long tangent about the history of immorality in the pursuit of oil and other natural resources that would lead me to the conclusion that again, China is not the devil, it's Europe circa the mid-19th century, Japan circa 1940 or the United States circa right about now.

Liberia: Jeep and run

It looks like Liberian members of parliament, in anticipation of being booted out by winners of the recent elections, are stripping their offices of everything of value.  The IRIN Africa New Service reported:

"...the 76 out-going parliamentarians are so attached to their government-issued Grand Cherokee Jeeps that on Friday they passed a "binding resolution" to keep them beyond the end of their term."

Presumably, the MPs were given Jeeps to bring them closer to their consituents, enabling them to move around areas in their districts where unpaved roads and frequent rains would otherwise make travel impossible. Jeeps are one of those concrete inputs donors love to use to "build democracy."

Of course, considering how little Liberian MPs make legally, none of this surprises.  In Liberia, as in most desperately poor countries, there are no rewards for honesty.

Related news article:

"Scramble for goodies ahead of political turnover" - IRIN Africa News Service

Tags:

Liberia, Parliament, Looting, jeeps