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Continent's courtship with superpowers

[ Posted On: 2008-07-15 ]

Fifteen years ago, Japan pioneered in what has come to be known as 'African summiteering.' Since then, the world has openly engaged in courtship of Africa for its resources and energy.

African Summits have taken place in China (2006), Europe (2007) and India (2008). The Japanese initiative was prompted by two imperatives: First, its circumstances compel the resource-hungry nation to constantly be vigilant in search for external sources of raw materials. Second, Japan craved for African support in its hunt for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.

Similarly, the European Union longed for African friendship and its appetite was whetted by fear of the Asian Dragon. China's staggering economic growth in the 21st Century and its generous economic policies towards Africa made the EU leery that the continent could be tempted to trust China more than the European rivals. The EU deliberately set out to illustrate that it was a more trustworthy business partner.

But in the campaign to win the minds and hearts of Africans, the EU has stumbled into political difficulties. It has been accused of purposely causing friction by offering select states hefty economic incentives while excluding others. All said, the EU has not done well. One now finds newspaper captions such as "Europe losing out in Africa as Chinese consolidate."

China's success in becoming the preferred trade partner of several African states was a Western concern initially when it referred to a handful of states such as Sudan and Zimbabwe. It became downright alarming when the list started to include resource-rich countries such as the DRC, Angola and South Africa.

There were even whispers that the EU was partly responsible for Kenya's post-election violence. That it was against President Mwai Kibaki being in power because he had engineered for the country a new economic tilt to the East, namely China.

According to the EU, China shortchanges Africa in that it '!B>only seeks commercial gain and disregards good governance.' Yet, when the choice of the two options was put before the Europeans themselves, they failed the test just as clearly as the Chinese. The EU confirmed in action that human rights abuses and undemocratic conduct are universally secondary to economic gain.

The choice before the EU was to bar Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe from attending its December 2007 EU-African Summit in Lisbon. This would uphold the principles of good governance and human rights. Alternatively, it could allow him to attend to make an economic success story of the summit.

Defiant Mugabe

The organisation opted for the latter course, thereby suspending an earlier categorisation of Mugabe as Europe's persona non grata.

Mugabe's presence in Lisbon was a slap on the face to the British Prime Minister who had vowed to boycott the Summit in Mugabe's presence. Mugabe attended; Britain's Gordon Brown boycotted and watched the summit on television.

China's neighbour, India, has become its vibrant rival for African attention. And India sees itself as a better 'suitor' for Africa in that it is committed to quantitative and qualitative socio-economic enhancements as opposed to China's thirst for only quantitative growth.

What is more, India boasts of additional credentials relative to Africa. Its ties with the continent goes back for generations; Indian communities are fully entrenched in East and Southern Africa. Indeed, indelible Indian cultural symbols stretch across the continent from Senegal through East Africa, to Durban in SA.

There are also shared historical and political links. The Indian community in SA was deeply involved in the struggle against apartheid. After all, Mahatma Gandhi launched his political career in the struggle against apartheid before returning to India to defy colonialism.

As one Indian once noted, "We gave you a barrister and you gave us Mahatma Gandhi."

Is India the ultimate challenger to China in Africa? In 1991 when India launched its market reforms, its trade with Africa stood at $967 million.

This surged to $20 billion in a decade-and-a-half. Conversely, China's trade with Africa in 2000 was less than India's. Since then Chinese-African trade has rocketed to $55 billion.

How does India feel about the Chinese rivalry in Africa? With typical political finesse, an Indian businessman states, "How wonderful for Africa to be wooed simultaneously by two beautiful women?"

Article Source: http://www.afroarticles.com/article-dashboard

About The Author: James N. Kariuki - is head of the African Diaspora Unit at the Africa Institute of South Africa in Pretoria.

| View Profile & All Articles By: James N. Kariuki |

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