A shopping spree in the business centre of Freetown and market places across Sierra Leone will leave you mostly with “MADE IN CHINA” item(s). We eat rice produced mainly in China, India, Pakistan; ride on motorbikes Made in China; Freetown City Council cleaning the city with tricycles Made in China; buy drugs produced in India and China from pharmacies; hopefully, we would someday crowd our streets with used cars Made in China.
Everything is just China and very few from other developing countries. From the staple food rice to medicine, clothes, phones etc MADE IN CHINA dominates. Evidence of Chinese presence in the construction industry and Chinese Hospitals continue to increase across the country. How durable and effective are Chinese goods and services needn’t be asked. Some are; but they are cheap, very, very cheap; period.
The domineering presence of China on the streets of Sierra Leone may perhaps explain the current state of diplomatic relationship between The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and Sierra Leone and why we need to establish stronger ties with other developing countries. Commerce and not politics dominates China’s relationship with other nations and its support to other nations is not tied to good governance, human rights and the like. Non interference in domestic politics, insensitivity to human rights abuses and respect for cultural diversity guides China’s relationship with other nations. A Sylvia Blyden Kailahun Mess story and court action, as well as the 21st century wonder of the world RAPE COMMISSION [what about the used condoms exhibit] in post conflict Sierra Leone doesn’t inform China the way to go.
Late President Siaka Stevens with his socialist ideology established relations with China in the 1970s and since then Sierra Leone and China have steadily maintained a strong friendly cooperation to the mutual benefit of the two countries. National Stadium, Youyi Building and Dodo Dam stand out as symbols of Sierra Leone- China relationship in the President Stevens and Momoh era.President Tejan Kabba too strengthened the tie between the two nations. President Koroma together with some of his senior ministers have visit China and requested for their assistance in various sectors of Sierra Leone’s economy.
President Koroma didn’t visit China to be taught lessons on how to work with the opposition, tackle corruption, curbing human rights abuses, how to play or refute politics of rape, working with western so-called expatriates and fulfilling benchmarks for a 10 or 20 million dollar loan or grant. No way, He went to discuss what would be of interest to both nations in south-south cooperation and came home with gifts with no strings attached. Unacceptable though this may be to western democracies, there are better outcomes to it that would even strengthen our fragile democracy.
Currently, the Chinese are building a stadium in Bo, engaged in Road Construction works, running investment companies and the Chinese Government has promised to build hydro dams and other structures to make life better for Sierra Leoneans. Chinese business interests are providing jobs even though there are uncountable accusations of low salary against many of them; an ugly situation that doesn’t outweigh the positive outcome of their presence.
China has made also great contribution to the health, energy, military, education and agriculture sectors through training opportunities for Sierra Leoneans in various fields in universities in China. Hundreds have benefited from it over the years and many more are set to school in China.
The Chinese example speaks volumes why a south-south cooperation (not absolutely ignoring north-south cooperation) should characterise Sierra Leone’s development agenda. It is therefore necessary Sierra Leone ties up its development plans not just with China but continue to extend it to India, Brazil, South Africa etc. Historically, one of the recommendations at the conference on Technical Cooperation for Development Cooperation (TCDC) in 1978 in Buenos Aires is that for developing countries to realize their potential, “they should pave the way for building competence and capacity to strengthen their resource base, and make proper use of opportunities for collaboration with other developing countries.” The concept South-South Cooperation gaining currency in the 1990s, hinges today on the growing realisation that poor countries might find appropriate, low-cost and sustainable solutions to their problems in other developing countries rather than turning to countries in the north. It goes without saying that goods and expertise from China, India, South Africa among others could be relatively cheaper than that from Western Europe and U.S.A needed to address our food, water and other basic needs.The British Department for International Development (DFID) under Clare Short in the late 1990s sought to withdraw from its aid programmes any requirement to use British service providers to encourage recipient governments to spend the aid more effectively especially on solutions sourced from other developing nations. This substantiates the fact that even those in the north see the efficacy of cooperation between developing nations. Their focus however is mainly from the point of donor fatigue.
China India, Brazil are classed as developing countries but are economy giants compared to Sierra Leone and many other developing countries. There is so much we can learn from them how the finally made it to the economy powers they are currently. Science and technology in these countries sit at the envy of even developed nations.Stretching and revitalising Sierra Leone’s diplomatic presence in India, Brazil and South Africa carries a lot of gain looking at the profitability from the China-Sierra Leone relationship. These countries have the expertise we need to address some of our acute problems. We might provide them raw materials and of course market for their goods and services. Yes, Poverty may abound in some sections of these countries but their industrial strengthen as emerging economic powers fostered as a result of their expertise in science and technology means Sierra Leone’s five million has more in store in a south- south cooperation.
The moves of the Foreign minister Mrs. Zainab Bangura in opening diplomatic presence in these countries would see a transfer of science and technology. Costly though it will be, Brazil and India are among the huge exporters of rice, Sierra Leone’s staple food and a replication of their expertise in rice production in Sierra Leone through bilateral ties will drive low the need for foreign exchange earning for the importation of rice. Remember rice is a political tool that former Vice President Berewa could better explain.
The optimism expressed so far in the direction of south-south cooperation doesn’t rule out a north-south initiative. A combination of both shows the road map to our development.
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