As per a report by global news agency- Reuters, the businessman from Kenya are protesting against Chinese colonization of the country. The newly built Chinese railway line, from the port city of Mombasa to the capital, Nairobi, which cost 3.3 billion dollars, has shot up the cost of transportation by 50 per cent. China built the railway line under its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Earlier, the businessman were used to transport goods to port city by trucks, the Kenyan government signed a contract with China that if the country builds a railway line from Mombasa to Nairobi, the businessmen will use the Chinese railway line for the transportation of goods.
The businessmen continue to transport goods through trucks, because, the railway line is 50 per cent costlier. The However, the Kenyan government has made it mandatory to transport the goods through the railway line, and this is hurting profits of businessmen. “KPA has an obligation to feed the railway … we were the guarantors of the rail,” said Daniel Manduku, head of the state-run Kenya Ports Authority.
The Chinese engineers and workers, involved in the railway projects, are racially discriminating against the local people. A few weeks ago, a video of a Chinese executive who called the people of Kenya and their President Monkey, has gone viral over the internet. The local people are allowed to drive the railway only when foreign journalists are present; otherwise, all the operations are carried out by Chinese people.
The Chinese government has supported the Kenyan government’s decision to force the businessmen to use the railway line. “That is a responsible and smart move by the Kenyan government,” said Wu Peng, Beijing’s ambassador in Nairobi.
The Businessmen and local community has started protest against Chinese ‘neocolonialism’. A few weeks ago, a casket was discovered, with ‘RIP China colonization’ scribed over it.
In the last few years, China gave huge loans on cheap rates to African nations to bring them in its fold. According to an article in the China Daily, Beijing has helped Africa build more than 6,500 Kms of railways, over 6,000 km of highways, more than 200 schools, 80 stadiums, dozens of government office building and a large number of airports and ports. China is the largest trading partner of Africa with bilateral trade amounting 200 billion dollars in 2014 in comparison to 52 billion dollars in 2016-17. China’s total foreign direct investment in Africa is 100 billion dollars in comparison to 40 billion dollars of India. China has given loans worth 124 billion dollars to Africa in the period of 2000 to 2016.
