US secretary of state Hillary Clinton on Saturday warned of a creeping “new colonialism” in Africa from foreign investors and governments interested only in extracting natural resources to enrich themselves.
African leaders had to ensure that foreign projects were sustainable and benefited all their citizens, not only elites, she said.
Although Clinton did not identify any perceived culprits, a day earlier she had urged scrutiny of China’s large investments and business interests in Africa so that “the African people are not taken advantage of”.
Clinton said in Lusaka that US diplomats in Africa had been asked to provide Washington with assessments of Chinese projects in the countries to which they were assigned.
“We saw that during colonial times, it is easy to come in, take out natural resources, pay off leaders and leave. And you don’t leave much behind for the people who are there. We don’t want to see a new colonialism in Africa.”
Although she did not mention China by name, officials travelling with her said she wanted to stress that African countries should hold Chinese investors to the same standards they applied to Americans and Europeans.
Clinton said the US did not want foreign governments or investors to fail in Africa, but wanted to make sure that they gave back to local communities.
“We want them to do well, but also we want them to do good. We don’t want them to undermine good governance, we don’t want them to basically deal with just the top elites, and frankly too often pay for their concessions or their opportunities to invest.”
Clinton said that American development aid and public works projects came with conditions on good governance and that the current US administration was interested in Africa and its people.
She presided over the handover of a US-built pediatric hospital in Lusaka to the Zambian government. The hospital will specialise in preventing the transmission of HIV from mothers to children and Clinton announced a $15 million (R101.7m) boost to help fight HIV/Aids.
Earlier Clinton laid out the US strategy for helping Africa. “We want a relationship of partnership not patronage, of sustainability, not quick fixes. We want to establish a strong foundation to attract new investment, open new businesses… create more pay cheques, and do so within the context of a positive ethic of corporate responsibility.” Clinton was the first US foreign minister to visit Zambia since Henry Kissinger in 1976. – Sapa-AP