China in Africa

Rarely do metaphors serve themselves up on a platter so nicely.

Lots of people in Africa talk about how great Chinese investment is for the continent. The Chinese do big infrastructure projects and they don't try to use their investments as leverage for political or economic change. The downside that few people seem to talk all that much about is that those big infrastructure projects go up fast and fall apart fast, too. No one sticks around to maintain them, rendering them worthless after a very short time.

On the road to the Nairobi airport in December, this neat tribute to Kenya's relationship with China:

 

The same sculpture a couple of weeks ago:

 

Comments

[Steph Dloniak]

HAHA! Was waiting for someone to write about this...the pictures are classic. I love the fact that every single international visitor sees this when going to and from the airport....they would have plenty of time to look at it while stuck in traffic!

[mnairobi]

two things;

1. The road still looks good, which, surely, is what matters.

2. If the Chinese build a road for the Kenyan gvt, it doesn't then become the Chinese's responsibility,in perpetuity, to maintain it, it's the Kenyan gvt's job. I don't see why you are blaming the Chinese for the failures of the Kenyan gvt.