Tag: Infrastructure
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Skepticism About The Heritage Foundation’s Recent Report on Alleged Chinese Spying in Africa
China's political attaché at its embassy in Lesotho echoed doubts raised by journalism fellow Thuso Mosabala about the lack of on-the-record sourcing in The Heritage Foundation's recent report "Government Buildings in Africa Are a Likely Vector for Chinese Spying" by analyst Josh Meservey. ...
The Complicated Politics of Chinese Dam Construction in Guinea
The 450-megawatt Souapiti hydroelectric dam in Guinea is scheduled to begin operating this fall and will bring badly-needed electricity to one of Africa’s poorest countries. The dam is one of dozens of similar hydroelectric power ...
Moody’s Warns That Kenya’s High Borrowing Costs Could Prompt a Downgrade
The global credit rating agency Moody's is becoming increasingly concerned that Kenya will not be able to keep up with the payments on its comparatively expensive loan portfolio. Moody's adjusted Kenya's rating from B2 stable to B2 ...
The Future of Chinese Rail Financing in Africa
China famously lent billions of dollars to countries across Africa to build expensive, new railways. Nigeria, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya all used loans from Beijing to build new lines using a standard gauge (SGR) that will one day ...
David Ndii: “Coronavirus Will be the Final Nail in the Coffin of “Infrastructure-led Growth”
Economist David Ndii, one of Kenya's leading political economy thinkers, a popular columnist and a longtime critic of the government's policy of borrowing heavily from China to build infrastructure, conducted a fascinating hour-long interview with Kenyan philosopher Joseph Kabuthi ...
Why East Africa’s Next Railways Won’t be Built With Chinese Money
From Ethiopia to Kenya and soon Tanzania, thousands of kilometers of new railways are coming online. And if Tanzanian President John Magufuli is successful, Dar es Salaam will emerge as the hub of a hugely ambitious regional railway network that will stretch across half a dozen countries. ...
COVID-19 Expected to Cause Widespread Economic Disruption in Africa
Editor's Note: although Africa, so far, has been spared from the health consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak in China, the economic impact is already being felt across the continent and is expected to have severe repercussions in most countries through reduced export earnings, higher borrowing costs, and ...
Are African Governments Naive to Take on so Much Chinese Infrastructure Debt?
China, according to the prevailing "debt trap" narrative, is preying on vulnerable developing countries by loading them up with unsustainable amounts of debt that jeopardizes their sovereignty. When these countries inevitably default on the loans, according to the theory, China ...
New Documents Unveiled in Kenya’s Court of Appeals Puroportedly Reveal Massive SGR Over-Spending
New documents have emerged that reportedly reveal widespread corruption and over-spending in the building of the Chinese-financed and constructed Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya. These documents are part of the ongoing case in front of Kenya's Court of Appeals in a suit against the government led activist Okiya ...
New Infographic Highlights China’s Global Building Spree and There’s a Lot Happening in Africa
Using information compiled from AidData, a research lab at the William & Mary College Global Research Institute, the Visual Capitalist produced a compelling infographic that shows the stunning breadth of China's infrastructure building around the world, much of which is happening in Africa more than any other continent. ...
Letter to the Editor: Those “Sino-Africa Swap Deals are Happening”
After I published the story yesterday on the evolution of China's Resource-for-Infrastructure deals in Africa and the emergence of new financing models, known as "Sino-Africa Swap" deals, I wanted to get some additional perspective to find out if this is something that's actually happening or if ...
Kenya’s Embattled SGR Suffers Major Setback as Burundi, DRC Opt for Tanzania Route to Port of Dar es Salaam
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta's longheld dream of extending his $4.9 billion Chinese-financed Standard Gauge Railway across East Africa suffered a major setback this week as both Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo both opted to go with Tanzania's SGR for direct access to the port ...