By: Azhar Azam
*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared at "China Global Television Network (CGTN)"
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-02-13/Ending-conflicts-developing-infrastructure-are-critical-for-Africa-O3o3mCdSec/index.html
Even though Africa is the home of 8 fastest economies out of a total 15 in the world and its poverty rate has gone down over the past few years, a whole host of Africans is still becoming poor. And if the circumstances do not change, the proportion of African poor in the global poverty could increase from 55% in 2015 to 90% in 2030.
Conflict and hunger are the major factors that has relentlessly underwritten the outgrowth of poor headcount in the possibly a star-studded continent. The emergence of conflicts and an undeniable link between the two life-threatening issues has posed serious challenges for the livelihoods of millions of African men and women, particularly relying on agriculture.
The boundless conflicts have destroyed African food systems, decimated crops and livestock resources and caused loss of assets and incomes – triggering food insecurity, malnutrition and hunger in the region. As a result, the number of people who are suffering from severe food insecurity in Africa had increased to 277 million in 2019.
As most of the African crisis and conflicts stem from poverty, economic hardships, inequalities in income and asset distribution, marginalization, mismanagement and external interference – international community needs to step up its efforts to help African Union (AU) in attaining its core objective of “Silencing the Guns” in addition to playing an emphatic role in erecting agriculture and infrastructure sectors of the regional nations.
Amid AU Commission (AUC) efforts to enforce a barrage of moves to meet its aspiration of a peaceful and secure Africa, China is extending a blend of agriculture, economic, trade and infrastructure assistance to the region so that the African countries can achieve UN sustainable development goal #1 of poverty eradication, inhibit the risk of food insecurity, provide jobs to the youth bulges and bring back millions of poor in the mainstream to contribute in the economic growth of their respective countries.
Over the past few years, China poured billions of dollars in Africa to build the region’s transportation network, develop infrastructure base and support its agriculture sector. Through China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), Beijing had already pledged in September 2018 opulent investments of some $60 billion to region in the form of grants, interest-free loans and investments and financing by financial institutions and companies.
African borrowings from China at concessional rates and Chinese projects under Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) would tremendously cater the vital transportation requirements of the continent that will lower the travel time by up to 12% and ramp up their trade and integration. Considering one day less in transit expands trade by 5.2%, BRI has the potential to enhance the trade among African countries from 2.8% to 9.7%.
Being part of the BRI, Africa is ideally positioned to gain the benefits of Chinese-funded infrastructure projects, which are set to lift 7.6 million people from extreme and another 32 million from moderate poverty mostly in BRI corridors apart from bettering global real income by 0.7% to 2.9%.
The signing of an agreement between AUC and China within the framework of AU’s Agenda 2063 – to connect all capitals of the continent by road, rail and air transport – will be an inclusive indenture that will reduce the trade costs as well as improve connections across cities, accelerate urbanization and encourage regional integration.
China’s infrastructure investments, coupled with Special Economic Zones (SEZs), would bequeath positive spillover effects on the regional economies and unlock the true economic potential of the manufacturing and value-added industries in the continent. In Ethiopia, one of such initiatives, the Chinese-built industrial parks are strongly supporting country’s ambition to transform it into a manufacturing hub.
In agriculture sector, China is also actively working to extend its widespread assistance with the AU to implement Beijing Plan of Action. In the last decade, Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs signed 16 MOUs, provided science and technology support, established 20 Agri demonstration centers, sent agriculture experts to 37 African countries, arranged 337 training sessions inside and outside Africa, launched 38 occupational programs in Ethiopia and delivered 500 applicable technologies which benefitted one million African farmers.
Nevertheless, the success of the lionized African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which has the potential to kindle industrialization and pave the way of African integration into the global economy as a major player, hinges largely on the development of a robust infrastructure.
By furnishing the most critical infrastructure development prerequisites of African continent, China is interleaving a pivotal role in making AfCFTA an economic sensation. While through agriculture and technology cooperation – it is empowering Africa to slim down poverty, wipe out hunger and unwind income and asset inequalities among its people.
Provided the continent manages to overwhelm its conflict quandary (which it is fixing steadily), the ambition of a secure, stable and prosperous Africa should no longer be an illusion and the privations of the regional people would end soon.
*This is one of my opinion pieces (unedited) that first appeared at "China Global Television Network (CGTN)"
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-02-13/Ending-conflicts-developing-infrastructure-are-critical-for-Africa-O3o3mCdSec/index.html
Even though Africa is the home of 8 fastest economies out of a total 15 in the world and its poverty rate has gone down over the past few years, a whole host of Africans is still becoming poor. And if the circumstances do not change, the proportion of African poor in the global poverty could increase from 55% in 2015 to 90% in 2030.
Conflict and hunger are the major factors that has relentlessly underwritten the outgrowth of poor headcount in the possibly a star-studded continent. The emergence of conflicts and an undeniable link between the two life-threatening issues has posed serious challenges for the livelihoods of millions of African men and women, particularly relying on agriculture.
The boundless conflicts have destroyed African food systems, decimated crops and livestock resources and caused loss of assets and incomes – triggering food insecurity, malnutrition and hunger in the region. As a result, the number of people who are suffering from severe food insecurity in Africa had increased to 277 million in 2019.
As most of the African crisis and conflicts stem from poverty, economic hardships, inequalities in income and asset distribution, marginalization, mismanagement and external interference – international community needs to step up its efforts to help African Union (AU) in attaining its core objective of “Silencing the Guns” in addition to playing an emphatic role in erecting agriculture and infrastructure sectors of the regional nations.
Amid AU Commission (AUC) efforts to enforce a barrage of moves to meet its aspiration of a peaceful and secure Africa, China is extending a blend of agriculture, economic, trade and infrastructure assistance to the region so that the African countries can achieve UN sustainable development goal #1 of poverty eradication, inhibit the risk of food insecurity, provide jobs to the youth bulges and bring back millions of poor in the mainstream to contribute in the economic growth of their respective countries.
Over the past few years, China poured billions of dollars in Africa to build the region’s transportation network, develop infrastructure base and support its agriculture sector. Through China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), Beijing had already pledged in September 2018 opulent investments of some $60 billion to region in the form of grants, interest-free loans and investments and financing by financial institutions and companies.
African borrowings from China at concessional rates and Chinese projects under Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) would tremendously cater the vital transportation requirements of the continent that will lower the travel time by up to 12% and ramp up their trade and integration. Considering one day less in transit expands trade by 5.2%, BRI has the potential to enhance the trade among African countries from 2.8% to 9.7%.
Being part of the BRI, Africa is ideally positioned to gain the benefits of Chinese-funded infrastructure projects, which are set to lift 7.6 million people from extreme and another 32 million from moderate poverty mostly in BRI corridors apart from bettering global real income by 0.7% to 2.9%.
The signing of an agreement between AUC and China within the framework of AU’s Agenda 2063 – to connect all capitals of the continent by road, rail and air transport – will be an inclusive indenture that will reduce the trade costs as well as improve connections across cities, accelerate urbanization and encourage regional integration.
China’s infrastructure investments, coupled with Special Economic Zones (SEZs), would bequeath positive spillover effects on the regional economies and unlock the true economic potential of the manufacturing and value-added industries in the continent. In Ethiopia, one of such initiatives, the Chinese-built industrial parks are strongly supporting country’s ambition to transform it into a manufacturing hub.
In agriculture sector, China is also actively working to extend its widespread assistance with the AU to implement Beijing Plan of Action. In the last decade, Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs signed 16 MOUs, provided science and technology support, established 20 Agri demonstration centers, sent agriculture experts to 37 African countries, arranged 337 training sessions inside and outside Africa, launched 38 occupational programs in Ethiopia and delivered 500 applicable technologies which benefitted one million African farmers.
Nevertheless, the success of the lionized African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which has the potential to kindle industrialization and pave the way of African integration into the global economy as a major player, hinges largely on the development of a robust infrastructure.
By furnishing the most critical infrastructure development prerequisites of African continent, China is interleaving a pivotal role in making AfCFTA an economic sensation. While through agriculture and technology cooperation – it is empowering Africa to slim down poverty, wipe out hunger and unwind income and asset inequalities among its people.
Provided the continent manages to overwhelm its conflict quandary (which it is fixing steadily), the ambition of a secure, stable and prosperous Africa should no longer be an illusion and the privations of the regional people would end soon.