tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189930829940284211.post724737521226693342..comments2023-09-18T09:55:35.795-04:00Comments on China in Africa: The Real Story: Guest Post: Is China taking control of Zambia's national broadcaster? No, it is not.Deborah Brautigamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10813215294689392170noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189930829940284211.post-29923770305068806352016-07-29T05:41:06.952-04:002016-07-29T05:41:06.952-04:00Kai Xue, comments like your's are a very good ...Kai Xue, comments like your's are a very good example why people actually believe rediculous articles like the one discussed in this post. Taking over broadcasting content in exchange for loans is exactly what must not happen if the Chinese agenda is to create trust and mutual understanding. Peternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9189930829940284211.post-36231319929875927692016-06-22T16:45:11.045-04:002016-06-22T16:45:11.045-04:00This had me thinking. I'm working on a matter ...This had me thinking. I'm working on a matter in Zambia and it would be a good idea if as part of the security package for the loan, the Zambian national broadcaster allocated 100 broadcast hours to the bank to air programming and commercials that stressed the benefits of the project and warns against defaulting on loan obligations on pain of being shut out of future lending.<br /><br />Not trying to be facetious. <br /><br />I believe populist resentment towards Chinese lending in Zambia is in itself a big contributor to default risk. Take a look at this transcript of a debate in the Zambian parliament from October 2015 regarding a US$500 million loan by China Development Bank to the Zambian Road Agency for the paving of roads in the Copperbelt. It's an outstanding commercial bargain. It's a low interest rate loan for a much needed project that will spur every kind of local economic activity including increasing agricultural productivity by connecting farmers to a wider marketplace.<br /><br />Parliament member from Katuba Jonas Shakafuswa (Katuba) according to the transcript asks: "Why did we single-source lucrative contracts like the Copperbelt 400 (C400) and Lusaka 400 (L400)? We issued the contracts to one Chinese company, yet we have been saying that we want to grow our economy by empowering Zambian-owned companies. How will local companies participate when all the contracts are given to chocholis?"<br /><br />A number of misnomers in his comment. It's not a lucrative contract, Chinese contractors compete fiercely and African projects are low margin, road construction requires expertise, despite the project being a good bargain with wide public benefit, the MP must dwell on anything negative he can latch onto. And to add a final insult, he uses a derogatory term for Chinese--in parliament! <br /><br />This does not inspire confidence in lending to Zambia. It reflects a desire to fight China as a hostile force without grounding, and I can only imagine how bad the populist forces in Zambia maligning this loan as odious will be when there is a lot more economic stress. <br /><br />There should be a lot of broadcast hours taken as a form of credit enhancement to tell Zambians what the loans mean for their quality of life. The win for Zambia in Chinese lending is clear but especially given the populism and coming economic crisis of the host country, I can't see where the win for China is. <br /><br />http://www.parliament.gov.zm/node/4705 -- TranscriptKai Xuenoreply@blogger.com