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India and China in Africa

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A new India-Africa business alchemy

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Towards an energy partnership

ALSO in the issue Indian Council for Cultural Relations Azad Bhavan Indraprastha Estate New Delhi-110 002 E-mail: africa.quarterly@gmail.com Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers of India Regd No. 14380/61

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INTERVIEW: India offers a choice in Africa

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Rehabilitating post-war stress victims in Nigeria

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Indian Journal of African Affairs Volume 50, No. 1, February 2010-April 2010

INDIAN COUNCIL FOR CULTURAL RELATIONS NEW DELHI

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contents

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A NEW INDIA-AFRICA BUSINESS ALCHEMY The India-Africa partnership conclave is a must-attend event, and has come to epitomise the economic surge of an old trusted relationship that harks back to the shared legacy of the anti-colonial struggle, says Manish Chand

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30 TOWARDS AN ENERGY PARTNERSHIP

India provides a model to manage gradual economic transformation and help African countries move from abject poverty to higher levels of development, says Ruchita Beri

34 DRAGON IN ZAMBIA: CHALLENGES FACING CHINA The relationship between China and Africa is entrenched. Yet it is fraught with serious concerns, says Sushmita Rajwar in a case study of the country’s deepening role in Zambia

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44 REHABILITATING POST-WAR STRESS VICTIMS IN NIGERIA Jane-Frances Agbu focuses on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among Nigerian military personnel and outlines a strategy for dealing with it

8 NEWS & EVENTS:

India-Africa action plan to boost ties The plan includes setting up of training institutes by India in Africa in areas ranging from foreign trade to education and IT

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NAWAL EL SAADAWI: PROFILE OF AN ICONOCLAST The writings of this Egyptian author-activist have helped bring into sharp focus the disturbing practice of circumcising girls widespread in many Arab and African countries, says Nandini Sen

18 IN CONVERSATION There is a need for developing a focused analysis of India’s policy towards Africa, says Dr. Alex Vines, head of the Africa programme at Chatham House

64 BOOKS & IDEAS

72 DOCUMENTS 78 CONTRIBUTORS

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FOSTERED BY MOTHER NATURE Nestling in the eastern Himalayas, Meghalaya is the land of majestic mountains, deep gorges, sparkling lakes and mesmerising waterfalls

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Printed and Published by Virendra Gupta Director-General Indian Council for Cultural Relations Azad Bhavan, Indraprastha Estate New Delhi - 110002 Editor: Manish Chand Cover Image Veer Pal Singh/IANS

ISBN 0001-9828

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The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), founded in 1950 to strengthen cultural ties and promote understanding between India and other countries, functions under the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. As part of its effort, the Council publishes, apart from books, six periodicals in five languages –– English quarterlies (Indian Horizons and Africa Quarterly), Hindi Quarterly (Gagananchal), Arabic Quarterly (Thaqafat-ul-Hind), Spanish bi-annual (Papeles de la India) and French bi-annual (Recontre Avec l’Inde).

Africa Quarterly (Indian Journal of African Affairs) is published every three months.

The views expressed in the articles included in this journal are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the ICCR. All rights reserved. No part of this journal may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any from or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the permission of the ICCR.

Editorial correspondence and manuscripts, including book reviews, should be addressed to: The Editor Africa Quarterly Indian Council for Cultural Relations Azad Bhavan Indraprastha Estate New Delhi-110 002 E-mail: africa.quarterly@gmail.com

February-April 2010

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■ From the Editor’s Desk

Asia’s rise, Africa’s opportunity

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he rise of emerging Asian powers in Africa is the good news story that has been in the making for some time, but it’s only now that it is getting serious scholarly attention that it deserves. Besides India and China, other Asian players like Indonesia, South Korea and Vietnam are also deepening their thrusts into Africa, opening up new possibilities for the continent’s development and renewal.

Brazil, part of the BRIC forum of emerging economies, is also scaling up its engagement with Africa. Put together, the countries of the South have brought new approaches and strategies in their dealings with Africa, posing a serious challenge to the Washington consensus that had earlier tended to dictate the trajectory of the continent’s future with its punishing structural adjustment programmes. It’s a clear indication, as Dr. Fantu Cheru and Cyril Obi say in “The Rise of China and India in Africa,” that North-South relations are being superseded by the South-East and emerging Africa-Gulf-Asia triangular relations, with profound implications for Africa’s development.

This edition of Africa Quarterly captures this unique historical moment of opportunity for Africa as status quoists and emerging powers compete for its resources, markets and influence. The multi-polarity in international relations, which has been pronounced since the beginning of this century, has generated fresh challenges and opportunities for the continent to end its marginalisation in global economy and politics. While it is for Africa to leverage the new international dynamic, India and China, two of the fastest growing trillion-dollar economies in the world, are raising their stakes in the continent, albeit in different ways.

In recent years, China’s dramatic escalation of ties with the African continent has triggered a deluge of scholarly research and polemics. Many Western commentators have tended to portray China as morphing into a neocolonial power in Africa, with its focus on extractive resources and questionable practices adopted by state-owned enterprises in the region. The truth lies somewhere in between. However, India’s growing foray in the continent led by its vibrant and globally-found private sector has not inspired the same level of interest and research. This knowledge deficit is now finally getting addressed. With this context in mind, Britain’s influential think tank Chatham House organised an international conference in London in April to mark two years of the first India-Africa Forum summit that brought together experts from Europe, the UK and India to debate and analyse the future of India in Africa. In this edition, we carry detailed analyses of China’s and India’s approach to Africa, including a case study of Beijing’s impact in Zambia.

India, on its part, has already begun preparing for the sec-

ond Forum summit that will be held in Africa next year with the launch of an ambitious all-encompassing action plan that focuses on closer collaboration in areas ranging from agriculture and energy to grassroots development and infrastructure. Above all, the action plan highlights the development-centric partnership between India and Africa.

It includes setting up a slew of training institutes by India in areas of diamond polishing, IT, vocational education and Pan-African Stock Exchange, bringing to the fore the triumvirate of India’s Africa policy: trade, training and technology transfers. Although New Delhi has denied any competition or rivalry with Beijing in the African continent or otherwise, there is a growing realisation that India needs to dramatically ramp up its trade, investment and diplomatic profile to be a catalyst for African resurgence.

Africa is often described as a resource-rich continent, but not many have commented on its abundance of human capital that needs to be harnessed through education and training for the larger project of the continent’s renewal. This is one area that will be need closer scrutiny in days to come.

In a deeply moving article, Jane-Frances Agbu draws our attention to the psychological cost of conflicts and war and writes revealingly about an increasing prevalence of PostTraumatic Stress Disorder among Nigerian military personnel. “It is obvious that the tragic price of war is the toll of death and destruction, but the additional cost, the psychological cost borne by the survivors of combat, needs to be addressed and prioritised in plans for peace and rehabilitation,” he writes.

In another article highlighting psychological scars caused by repressive ideology and practices, Nandini Sen takes a closer look at the writings of iconic Egyptian author Nawal el-Saadawi who delineated the curse of female circumcision, common in many Arab and African countries, in chilling details in her novels. In her novels, Saadawi writes how right from the birth of the girl child, she is subjected to a host of atrocities which at times makes her passage into womanhood more of a punishment than pleasure. The oppression of women must stop to release emancipatory energies for society’s renewal. Women’s empowerment, therefore, is another area where democratic powers like India can make a difference in Africa.

Clearly, India has to first rid itself of gender injustices, but it’s now finally addressing the issue. Read Ghana’s Trade Minister Hannah Tetteh’s interview in which she says that India’s experiment with gender equality in parliament through the women’s reservation bill has struck a chord in Africa. In the end, we are what we choose to be. Africa, if it makes the right choices, may go the way of a rising new Asia.

Manish Chand

February-April 2010

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India, Africa unveil action plan to boost ties The plan includes setting up of training institutes by India in Africa in areas ranging from foreign trade to education and IT

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with other heads of nations at the First India-Africa Forum Summit, in New Delhi on April 8, 2008.

wo years after their first summit, India and Africa launched an ambitious action plan on March 10 that includes closer cooperation in agriculture and setting up new training institutes by New Delhi in areas ranging from foreign trade to education and IT. The action plan was launched at a formal ceremony attended by the 15member delegation of the African Union Commission and the 42-member Indian team, comprising officials of the external affairs ministry and industry bodies.

The action plan, which will implement key decisions of the first IndiaAfrica Forum Summit held in New Delhi in April 2008, outlines a detailed strategy for accelerating bilateral engagement for the next four years. It also lays out a roadmap for the bilater-

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al summit next year. The plan focuses on development-centric partnership between India and Africa and includes setting up of a slew of training institutes by India in areas of diamond polishing, IT, vocational education and Pan-African Stock Exchange. It covers the entire spectrum of bilateral cooperation in diverse areas, including agriculture, business, energy, poverty eradication, peace and security, IT, education, health, transport and tourism.

The action plan will impart greater vigour and momentum to India’s engagement with Africa, said Vivek Katju, secretary in the external affairs ministry.

“It’s a partnership based on concrete development projects. Africa welcomes this partnership and is ready to play its own role in its implementation,” said Jacques-Alfred Ndoumbe-

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Eboule, Cameroon’s permanent representative to the 53-nation AU and chairman of the multilateral affairs sub-committee of the AU. “It’s a blueprint for partnership to promote sustainable development. We hope the action plan will create better market access for African products,” said John Kayode Shinkaiye, chief of staff at the AU commission, headquartered in Addis Ababa.

Closer cooperation in agriculture and food security top the action plan.

India will provide 25 Ph.D and 50 Masters scholarships per annum for four years to African students in Indian universities and institutions to enhance agricultural education, science and research.

At the first India-Africa summit, attended by leaders and representatives of 14 Africa countries, India had

A F R I C A promised to assist Africa in ushering a second green revolution. Food security has become a pressing issue across Africa, especially in view of recent famines and devastating effects of climate change on some African countries. With both sides determined to scale up their bilateral trade to $70 billion by 2015, India will establish an India-Africa Institute of Foreign Trade and set up an India-Africa Diamond Institute in an African country.

The plan also gives a push to greater interaction between private sectors of the two sides that is at the heart of India’s greater business foray into the resource-rich African continent.

To bridge the information gap, an India-Africa Business Guide will be prepared to highlight opportunities on both sides for trade and investment.

India will also establish 10 vocational training centres in Africa and will offer generous lines of credit to African countries for developing businessrelated infrastructure.

At the 2008 summit, India had announced duty-free and quota-free market access to exports from 34 least developed African countries and doubled financial package for development of the continent to $5.4 billion over the next five years. n

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India, Africa to learn from each other, says Krishna ndia and Africa are committed to learn and gain from each other's developmental experiences and practices, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said in New Delhi on March 4. “One of the main features of our continuing partnership lies in sharing of best developmental experiences and practices, capacity building and human resource development,” Krishna said in a written speech read out at the inauguration of a two-day seminar on “India and Africa — An Emerging Partnership.”

The seminar has been organised by the Society for Indian Ocean Studies, the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library and the Indian Council of World Affairs. “We are committed to learn and gain form each other’s capacities,” Krishna said, adding that India has been increasing the number of training slots for citizens from African countries to India.

He said that trade with Africa has increased in quantity and variety, from $5.5 billion in 2001 to $30 billion in 2007. “Even so, the true poten-

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External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna

tial is much greater and the spread and composition of the trade has to be substantially diversified,” he said.

The minister also pointed out that India has doubled the lines of credit to $5.4 billion for the next five years to Africa. Zambian High Commissioner S.K. Walubita said that relations between India and Africa would be critical in this century.

Walubita said that Africa would like to see a “shift to substantive investments, rather than mere trade.”

“Africa would like to see more value addition,” he said.

India’s ties with Africa distinct from others: Sharma ommerce Minister Anand Sharma has said that India’s ties with Africa were deeply entrenched in history and the bond between South Asia’s economic powerhouse and the continent was “distinct and different from any other.”

“India’s engagement with Africa is distinct and different from any other country. It’s a partnership, a friendship which is rooted well in history,” Sharma said on March 15 on the sidelines of the Africa-India Project Partnership summit.

“We are not in competition,” the minister told reporters on the margins

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Commerce Minister Anand Sharma

of the summit organised jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Export-Import Bank of India, with support from the ministries of external affairs and com-

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merce. “Africa appreciates India’s multi-sectoral engagement and also its abiding commitment to capacitybuilding of human resource and in building institutions in Africa,” Sharma said.

He outlined several initiatives undertaken by India to provide African nations with necessary skill sets and build infrastructure in various sectors. “We have started a Pan-Africa E-network project that provides telemedicine and tele-education facilities.

Doctors in Africa can consult Indian medical institutions, and the same holds for universities,” he said.

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IBSA, BRIC boost India’s drive for UN seat It’s a matter of time before the initiative to expand the UNSC is taken to its logical conclusion, writes Manish Chand

India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma at the fourth Summit of the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Dialogue Forum, in Brasília, Brazil, on April 15, 2010.

he stalled drive for expansion of the UN Security Council has gathered momentum with the IBSA and BRIC summits and South Africa backing the G4 initiative, say Indian officials who feel that it will be “a matter of time before it’s taken to its logical conclusion.”

“The initiative to expand the Security Council in both permanent and non-permanent categories has gathered momentum. It’s a matter of time before it’s taken to its logical conclusion,” said senior officials at the end

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of the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) and Brazil-Russia-India-China (BRIC) summits held in Brasilia on April 15.

Officials cited the endorsement of South Africa for a non-permanent seat for 2011-2012 in the UN Security Council by the 53-nation African Union at its February summit in Addis Ababa as a major step forward in the evolution of the AU consensus on UN reforms.

They also cited South Africa’s support to a letter to the UN chair for intergovernmental negotiations for expand-

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ing the Security Council, backed by 140 nations, as an indication that the longstalled drive for the UN reforms is finally moving.

There is no conflict between the AU and G4 nations — of India, Brazil, Germany and Japan — on UN reforms, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma told journalists aboard the prime minister’s special aircraft on April 17 while returning from Brasilia.

The G4 has now been joined by South Africa, albeit not formally as a group, said Sharma. According to

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Indian fellowships for African researchers ith the aim to foster partnership in innovation, India is offering 416 fellowships to African researchers in top Indian institutions in areas from biotechnology to forestry. “We not only want to intensify relations at political and trade level with Africa, but also at the scientific and academic level,” Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chavan said in New Delhi on February 19 while launching the C.V. Raman International Fellowship for African Researchers.

Eight fellowships, in three categories, will be offered to each African country — making a total of 416. The three categories are of senior fellowship of one month duration, visiting fellowship of three months duration and a post-doctoral fellowship of six

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India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Hardeep Singh Puri, “there is clear and discernible momentum, but it has progress.”

“Things are likely to come to fruition in 2011-2012,” he said. Five years ago, the G4 drive for the expansion of the council petered out after the AU failed to evolve a consensus on nominating its candidates for the UN seat from Africa. There were differences over new additions to the UN Security Council in both permanent and non-permanent categories. “That’s why South Africa’s backing is so significant,” an official said.

Putting their collective economic weight behind the BRIC initiative, Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev joined in at the BRIC summit to back a greater role for India and Brazil in having a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.

“We reiterate the importance we attach to the status of India and Brazil in international affairs, and understand

months to one year. The objective of the fellowships will be to provide opportunity to conduct, under the guidance of their host in India, collaborative research in universities and other Indian institutions in various areas of science and technology.

The fellowship application will have to be made to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), which is the coordinator of the programme. The selection will be made by a panel established by the Indian government’s department of science and technology. Over 240 Indian institutions have been included in the programme, ranging from the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences and National Institute of Ocean Technology. “India’s recent growth,

and support their aspirations to play a greater role in the UN,” the joint statement said.

Similarly, the IBSA summit held on the same day in Brasilia backed Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh’s call for democratization of international decision-making bodies, including the UN. “There is an urgent need for reform of the UN, including the Security Council, by making it more democratic and representative,” Dr Singh had told Brazilian President Lula da Silva and South African President Jacob Zuma.

During bilateral talks with Dr. Singh, President Lula reiterated Brazil’s support to India’s candidature for a non-permanent seat of the UNSC for 2011-12. Dr. Singh underlined this new mood of optimism about expansion of the UNSC and India’s place in a restructured world order when he told journalists at the end of his eightday trip to the US and Brazil that “the world has taken a benign view of India and wants it to succeed.” n

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even during a period of global financial crisis, has provided the requisite flexibility to reach out to African countries who have similar development background,” said Chavan.

He added that the launch of the fellowship programme reflects India’s deep and abiding commitment to South-South cooperation, particularly its engagement with African nations. Pointing out that the new decade has been declared as the “Decade of Innovation” by the Indian government, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, T. Ramasami said that India’s focus was on quality and affordable innovations.

“We are focusing on the purpose of innovations rather than the process of innovations,” he said, adding that this would be an important contribution to African countries.

Indian textbooks for Ethiopia thiopia’s Ministry of Education has awarded Indian media house Laxmi Publications a contract to print and distribute textbooks and teacher training guides. The Ministry had issued a tender for the publication of civics and ethical education textbooks and guides for high school students, which attracted nine international and local companies.

Laxmi Publications was selected for its offer of $1.44 million, as this was the lowest offer that met all the criteria, officials said. Ruwi Modern Printers of India offered the highest price of $4.87 million.

But the offer was rejected at the initial bid process itself for its failure to submit the $30,000 needed for bid security, officials said.

— Groum Abate/Addis Ababa

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Malawi president elected new African Union chairman alawi President Bingu Wa Mutharika was elected as the new chairman of the African Union (AU) during a summit of the 53-member group in Addis Ababa on February 2.

African leaders elected President Bingu wa Mutharika the new chairman of the AU at the Heads of State and Government Summit, BuaNews reported. The leaders rejected a bid by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to win a second term. Gaddafi was elected chairman during last year’s summit and had wanted to stay on in the post which

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is usually rotated among member-countries of the continent. Addressing the summit, Gaddafi said he would continue to promote his vision of a “United States of Africa”. The executive council also endorsed the 15 members of the AU Peace and Security Council. Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Nigeria were elected to serve for three years. The remaining members — Burundi, Chad, Djibouti, Rwanda, Namibia, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Mali and Benin — will remain members of the council for two years.

Indian peacekeepers recognised for services in Congo ndian peacekeepers have been decorated for their services in the Democratic Republic of Congo, having played a decisive role in establishing peace in the African nation, an army official said on February 2.

The peacekeepers were decorated at a ceremony in Goma, eastern Congo’s provincial capital, on January 26.

India is the largest contributor of peacekeepers to the United Nations Organisation Mission in Congo, with more than 4,500 soldiers deployed across the North Kivu province.

“The peacekeepers from India have been decorated for

their service with the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Congo.

About 150 Blue Helmets (UN peacekeepers wear blue helmets) from four infantry battalions, the aviation contingent, the hospital and military observers were recognised for their contributions at a ceremony in Goma held on India’s Republic Day,” the official said. The United Nations’ force commander Lt. Gen. Babacar Gaye congratulated the Indian contingent for their efforts in peacekeeping in Congo. The Indian contingent first arrived in Congo in November 2004 with most of it being deployed to North Kivu.

Climate change: Africa seeks financial package

Africa looks to become self sufficient in food by 2015

frica, as one of the victims of climate change, should be given suitable financial compensation for mitigation and adaptation projects, a top UN official said on February 7. “Africa wants action now,” said Abdoulie Janneh, UN under secretary general and executive secretary of the world body’s economic commission for Africa, said at the session on “Climate Change in Africa” at the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit in New Delhi.

He said that the unanimous support for Africa had been heartening as it showed that there was the possibility of reaching some agreement in Mexico.

The Copenhagen accord had been greeted by disappointment by the African countries, who had criticised it for being non-binding, as well as not having adequate or clear funding for developing countries. The 53 countries of Africa account for less than four percent of total global emissions. Janneh said that to bring credibility to the climate change issue for Africans, there was need to have a “credible financial package.”

According to Gurjit Singh, joint secretary, east and south Africa in the Indian ministry of external affairs, there was a need to be careful to ensure that the “surge of new financing" does not lead to repetition of old patterns.

frican countries are seeking to become self-sufficient in foodgrain production by 2015 and are looking at better farming techniques to reduce dependence on rains, according to delegates at a business and networking summit in New Delhi. “We know food is very important. In next five years, Africa should be able to feed itself,” Malawi’s Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Food Security Margaret Mauwa said on March 15.

“But issues like climate change, wrong use of inputs, fertilisers are posing challenges to food security. Africa is fighting to ensure enough food in the midst of these problems,” she added. Malawi holds the chair of the 53nation African Union, most of whose economies are agrobased. However, only six percent of the total cultivable land is being used by countries because of poor irrigation facilities. Most of the farming in Africa is still rain dependent.

Even though some nations saw a bumper production, their fortunes could oscillate between the good and the bad because of this dependence on rain. “Malawi was able to sustain itself this year with the level of production even leaving us with a surplus of 1.3 million tones over the 200809 crop season,” Mauwa said.

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Republic of Congo backs India for UN seat

‘Learn South Africa’ plan for Indian travel agents

ndia’s bid for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council for the 2011-12 term got a boost with the Republic of Congo being the latest country to declare support for New Delhi.

Foreign Minister of Congo Basile Ikouebe met the then minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor on March 17 and discussed bilateral relations, including the scaling up of economic ties between the two countries.

“The Republic of Congo assured India of its support for a non-permanent seat for the term 2011-2012,” the External Affairs Ministry said in New Delhi. A protocol on Foreign Office consultations was signed by the two ministers after the talks. “Both sides agreed to speed up formalities for concluding several other institutional mechanisms for bilateral cooperation,” the ministry said.

The Republic of Congo, also known as Congo Brazzaville, is a French-speaking country in central Africa with a population of 3.7 million people. In 2008, the oil sector accounted for 65 percent of the GDP, 85 percent of government revenue, and 92 percent of exports.

ith an aim to spread more awareness about the region, the South African Tourism Board has announced a programme for Indian travel agents beginning in July.

‘Learn South Africa’, as the programme is called, will have audio-video clips specially designed for the purpose which will help Indian travel agents get better knowledge about South Africa as a destination and all its tourist attractions. Medha Sampat, the Indian country manager for South African tourism, said: “There is a growing interest in South Africa as a destination from many new trade partners in different cities across the country, and this programme will help us reach out to each of them”.

The session will give a brief overview of the region, history, cultural heritage, provincial distribution, local cuisine, award-winning wines, wildlife game reserves, city attractions, tourism offerings, among other things.

“It aims to help professionals promote, plan and organise quality holidays to suit client requirements,” Sampat said.

Nigeria wants Indian help for rural development

Namibia invites Indian women’s cooperative

high-level Nigerian delegation led by Adewale Aribisala, Chairman of the Nigerian House Committee on Millennium Development Goals, called on Union Rural Development Minister Dr. C.P. Joshi in New Delhi on March 2.

The 20-member visiting delegation, comprising members of the Nigerian Parliament, evinced keen interest in various rural development programmes under the Rural Ministry.

In his address, the Rural Development Minister Dr. Joshi highlighted the measures undertaken by the government to ameliorate the conditions of rural masses, especially of the rural poor.

Dr. Joshi also shared the experiences related to the flagship programme, namely the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, the Indira Awas Yojana, the National Rural Drinking Water Programme, the Total Sanitation Campaign, the National Social Assistance programme and the Provision of Urban amenities in Rural Areas. The visiting delegation appreciated the Indian counterparts for sharing ideas related to the welfare of rural people.

amibia has invited VimoSEWA, India’s first insurance cooperative owned and run by women workers, to assist in the development of micro-insurance in the southern African nation.

Namibia’s state-owned financial service authority, NAMFISA, and FIDES bank, a microfinance institution, have invited VimoSEWA to set up the micro-insurance service in that country, said VimoSEWA chairperson Mirai Chatterjee.

The Namibian government has launched a programme to extend social security coverage to its citizens.

As part of its Vision 2030 programme, the Namibian government is providing NAM$450 (Rs.2,700) per month pension to its elderly citizens and NAM$200 (Rs.1,200) per month to the disabled.

VimoSEWA is part of the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) family. It is an integrated micro-insurance scheme protecting the health, life and assets of its members and their families.

VimoSEWA provides technical assistance to the International Labour Organisation’s Microfinance Innovation Facility and Sa-dhan, a federation of microfinance organisations in India.

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COMPARING India with China in Africa Manish Chand maps out methods that drive the engagement of India and China with Africa and argues that India’s blend of trade, technology transfer and soft power can give it an edge in the continent

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n November 2006, China hosted a grand ily indebted poor countries (HIPCs) and the least develsummit with leaders and representatives oped countries (LDCs) in Africa, that have diplomatic from 48 African countries. The summit was relations with China high on both style and substance, typical of n Increase from 190 to over 440 the number of export Beijing’s ‘we have arrived’ posture that was items to China receiving zero-tariff treatment from the on display later at the 2008 Olympics.

LDCs in Africa with diplomatic ties with China.

Stephen Marks, a freelance researcher and n Establish three to five trade and economic cooperation writer, has memorably evoked Beijing’s sigzones in Africa in the next three years. nature style in hosting the summit, the largest such diplo- n Over the next three years, train 15,000 African profesmatic exercise held in the Chinese capital. sionals; send 100 senior agricultural experts to Africa; set “Heads of state and dignitaries from 48 countries flocked up 10 special agricultural technology demonstration to Beijing in November 2006 to attend the largest internacentres in Africa; build 30 hospitals in Africa and protional summit ever held in the Chinese capital. And China vide a grant of RMB 300 million for providing pulled out all the stops, not only to make the VIP guests feel artemisinin and build 30 malaria prevention and treatwelcome, but also to leave China’s peoment centres to fight malaria in Africa; ple and the world at large in no doubt of dispatch 300 youth volunteers to Africa; India hosted a summit build 100 rural schools in Africa; and the meeting’s importance.” with leaders of 14 “Bright red banners lined the streets increase the number of Chinese governwith slogans lauding ‘Friendship, Peace, African countries on ment scholarships to African students Cooperation and Development.’ April 8-9, 2008 in New from the current 2,000 per year to 4,000 China’s official news agency Xinhua per year by 2009.

Delhi — India’s declared that the visitors ‘brought a Hu also declared Beijing’s support for first attempt at trend of the mysterious continent to the the process of African integration, “the capital of China.’ Giraffes and elephants African regional and sub-regional organinstitutionalising frolicking on the savannahs were spread a continental-level isations in their efforts to promote ecoover giant billboards on all the capital’s nomic integration, and (support) the engagement with main streets and squares.”

African countries in implementing the Africa Trust the Chinese to conjure up the New Partnership for Africa’s African chic!

Development (NEPAD) programmes”.

But the first Forum on China-Africa Cooperation The next day, the second Conference of Chinese and Summit (FOCAC) produced a veritable basket of deliver- African entrepreneurs ended with 14 agreements worth $1.9 ables for Africans. China, President Hu Jintao pledged, billion signed between 11 Chinese enterprises and African would: governments and firms. n Double its 2006 assistance to Africa by 2009 Big-ticket deals were unveiled: China’s state-owned Citic n Provide $3 billion of preferential loans and $2 billion of conglomerate agreed to set up a $938million aluminium preferential buyer’s credits to Africa in the next three plant in Egypt; a new copper project, worth $200million, in years Zambia; a $55million cement factory in Cape Verde; and a n Set up a China–Africa Development Fund, which would mining contract with South Africa, worth $230million. reach $5 billion, to encourage Chinese companies to Two years later, India hosted a relatively modest suminvest in Africa mit with leaders of 14 African countries on April 8-9, 2008 n Cancel debt, including all the interest-free government in the Indian capital. It was not only smaller in size, but also loans that matured at the end of 2005 owed by the heav- a quieter affair. It was India’s first attempt at institutional-

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ising a continental-level engagement with Africa and invest- China’s economic superpower aspirations.

Energy Security: Africa accounts for over 31 percent of ing the burgeoning relationship with a structure. New Delhi rolled out the red carpet for visiting African leaders, China’s oil imports. China has oil interests in Algeria, but grandiose gestures and frills were missing. There were Angola, Chad, Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, Congo and some sideshows in the run-up to the summit. The Indian Nigeria, including exploration rights in Angola, Sudan and Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) hosted a gala con- Nigeria. Out of $109 billion bilateral trade, oil accounts for cert against the backdrop of the lighted ruins of Purana 50 per cent of African exports to China. Angola is the sinQila that brought dancing and musical troupes from 14 gle largest source of oil for China, overtaking Saudi Arabia African countries to create a unique aesthetic fusion. In as the leading supplier of oil to China in 2008. State-owned short, India eschewed the big bang approach and all that oil firms CNPC, Sinopec and CNOOC are driving the razzmatazz. Instead, it opted for a more focused diploma- Chinese energy foray into Africa.

Big power ambitions/global branding: There is a cy, revolving around the triumvirate of its Africa policy: growing body of research that points out that China’s trade, training and technology.

In his speech, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh aggressive push in Africa and the methods used to entrench placed African resurgence at the heart of India’s engage- its influence among the African elites are powered by ment with Africa. “India wishes to be a partner in Africa’s Beijing’s big power ambitions. It will not be unfair to say resurgence,” he said. The Indian prime minister announced that China is using Africa as a testing ground for its big a raft of measures that underlined India’s development-cen- power ambitions by challenging the status quoist powers tric approach towards the continent focused on enhanced (the US and the EU) in the continent. Chris Alden and Martyn Davies have outlined the trade, technology transfers, capacity Chinese strategy of co-opting corporates building and human resource developIt’s time to take a and state-owned behemoths to project ment. These included granting duty-free clear-eyed view of its global ambitions. “In pursuit of its and quote-free market access to exports from 34 least developed African coun- new approaches the broader global ambitions, Beijing is tries and doubling financial package for two Asian powers are intent on ‘picking corporate champions’ that, with the benefit of active and gendevelopment of the continent to $5.4 bilbringing to their erous support from the state, are being lion over the next five years. New Delhi engagement with the groomed to join the ranks of the Fortune pledged another half a billion dollars for African continent in 500. Roughly 180 companies have been investment in projects related to capacidesignated by the state to benefit from ty building and human resource develwhat is called the preferential finance, tax concessions and opment and increased scholarships and post-Washington political backing to ‘go global’ and training slots for African students. consensus period become true multinationals.” (Chris Not surprisingly, China was a loomAlden and Martyn Davies (2006) ‘A proing shadow at the India-Africa summit with the media conjuring up Africa as a new arena for com- file of the operation of Chinese multinationals in Africa’, petition and rivalry between the two emerging Asian giants. South African Journal of International Affairs) Search for markets/profit motive: ‘Forget Mao, let’s At a joint press conference with African leaders, Manmohan Singh, however, asserted that India was not in race with do business,’ is the reigning mantra. China’s investment in Africa is not just confined to mining and manufacturing, but China or any other power in the African continent.

Clearly, conjuring an India-China power game in the has diversified into areas like retail. African manufacturers African continent is a seductive spin that sells in the crowd- are reportedly flooding African countries with cheap ed marketplace of ideas. However, it’s time to take a clear- Chinese goodies, driving local producers out of business. eyed view of new approaches the two Asian powers are bringing to their engagement with the African continent in Methods: what is called the post-Washington consensus period. There State-led, state-driven: China’s Africa engagement is are some overlapping elements in their approach, but one state-led and state-driven. Large state-owned enterpriscan identify distinctive features in the way China and India es/monoliths are at the forefront. engage with Africa.

No-strings-attached aid and trade: China’s deals with oil-rich repressive regimes in Africa have attracted a lot of adverse criticism, but Beijing has made it clear that its polKey drivers of China’s engagement Resource hunt: China’s foray into Africa is driven by icy in Africa is a reflection of the basic principles underlyits growing appetite for resources and oil to feed its econo- ing the Chinese foreign policy: non-interference in each my, which is projected by Goldman Sachs, an internation- other’s internal affairs and respect for sovereignty and teral investor, to be the world’s largest economy by 2050. The ritorial integrity. Kenyan government spokesman, Alfred resource-rich Africa is turning into a promised land for Mutua, describes China as “an easy country to do business

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External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora, and other dignitaries at the inaugural session of the 2nd India-Africa Hydrocarbons Conference, in New Delhi on December 7, 2009.

with.” “The Chinese do not peg their economic activity or the author of The Dragon’s Gift: The Real Story of China in aid to political conditions… you never hear the Chinese Africa, China has concluded similar deals since 2004 with at saying that they will not finish a project because the gov- least seven resource-rich countries for Africa for $14 billion. ernment has not done enough to tackle corruption. If they “Angola, for example, has been helped by three oil-backed loans from Beijing, under which Chinese companies have are going to build a road, then it will be built.” built roads, railways, hospitals, schools High-profile political diplomacy: Economic diplomacy is complemented Africa supplies nearly and water systems,” writes Brautigam in Africa’s Eastern Promise(published in by regular and sustained high-level 15 percent of India’s Foreign Affairs, January 5, 2010). political visits/interactions. In the last oil imports. Nigeria No-strings-attached arms sales: 10 years, top Chinese leaders have visited at least 15-25 African countries. In supplies 10 percent of China has tightened its hold over some regimes in Africa like Sudan and June 2006, Chinese President Hu India’s total oil Zimbabwe by selling them sophisticated Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao visited imports.

In Sudan, weaponry.

10 African countries to promote India has invested in China–Africa relations and struck lucrative deals in the process. the energy sector to Key drivers of India’s engagement with Africa Quick decision-making: The the tune of state-led engagement ensures that deciEnergy Security: Africa supplies $1.5 billion sion-making is centralised and that nearly 15 percent of India’s oil imports. much quicker as compared to decisionNigeria supplies around 10 percent of making process in democracies. “We like Chinese invest- India’s total oil imports. India’s oil major ONGC has a 25 ment because we have one meeting, we discuss what they percent stake in Sudan’s Greater Nile Petroleum want to do, and then they just do it. There are no bench Corporation; ONGC is looking for oil exploration rights in marks and preconditions, no environmental impact assess- oil-rich countries; private sector companies like Reliance ment,” says Sahr Johnny, Sierra Leone’s ambassador to and Essar are also looking for opportunities in the hydroBeijing. carbon sector in various African countries. In Sudan, India Resource-backed development loans: Based on its has invested in the energy sector to the tune of $1.5 billion. own experience decades ago of getting $10 billion loan from UN ambition: African countries are critical to India’s Japan in return for oil and coal, China is replicating the ambitions for securing a permanent seat in an expanded same formula in Africa. According to Deborah Brautigam, UN Security Council. A large number of African countries

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have declared their support for India in an expanded UN action plan focuses on development-centric partnership Security Council. Efforts are on to forge a consensus between India and Africa and includes setting up a slew of between the G4 countries and the AU over the UN reforms. training institutes by India in areas of diamond polishing, IT, Limiting China’s influence: Although India’s foreign- vocational education and Pan-African Stock Exchange. policy making establishment is in denial about any compe- Under the new action plan, India will provide 25 Ph.D and tition or race with China in Africa, seasoned Africa watch- 50 Masters scholarships annually for four years to African ers point out that India’s Focus Africa policy and official students in Indian universities and institutions to enhance encouragement to private sector to spur investment in the agricultural education, science and research.

ITEC: Africa is the largest recipient of India’s Technical continent was prompted by Beijing’s success.

Resources for growing economy: India’s private sec- Cooperation Programme (ITEC). India has already extendtor companies are increasingly looking at acquiring mining ed $1 billion assistance in areas including training, deputaassets in Africa. Vedanta, India’s biggest mining group, is set tion of experts and implementation of projects in African to buy Anglo American’s zinc mines in Namibia, South countries. Over 1,000 officials from sub-Saharan Africa receive training annually in India under the ITEC proAfrica and Ireland for $1.34 billion.

Market for India’s technologies: India is increasing- gramme. Over 15,000 African students study in India and ly seen in Africa as a rising knowledge power with proven many of them are self-financed. India became the first Asian prowess in IT, bio-tech and other frontier areas of knowl- country in 2005 to become a full member of African edge. Many African leaders and ambassadors have lauded the Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) with a contribution of $1 million to the ACBF mission and appropriate, affordable and adaptable poverty alleviation in Africa. technologies from India that suit African Bridging digital divide: India’s conditions.

Many African leaders ambitious Pan-African e-network proAfrican resurgence and Southand ambassadors ject, linking its leading universities and South solidarity: India has high stakes have lauded hospitals with their counterparts in in the resurgence of Africa that will help the appropriate, African nations via satellite, has create a more equitable and balanced emerged as the new face of India’s world order. India feels an economicalaffordable and Africa diplomacy. The project that ly dynamic Africa could also give more adaptable seeks to bridge the digital divide and heft to South-South solidarity and technologies from bring benefits of tele-medicine and quicken the pace of reforms of internatele-education to African people, hightional decision-making structures. “The India that suit lights India’s emphasis on human time has come to create a new architecAfrican conditions resource development and greater conture for our engagement in the 21st cennectivity in its dealings with Africa. tury. We visualise a partnership that is Lines of credit/concessional finance: Around $2 billion anchored in the fundamental principles of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit. Working together, the two lines of credit for various projects and investments are already billion people of India and Africa can set an example of in operation. Lines of credit operate at the bilateral, regional fruitful cooperation in the developing world,” Prime and pan-African level. India is a member of the African Minister Manmohan Singh said at the India-Africa Forum Development Bank and the Afri-Exim Bank through which an Indian Trust Fund, and an Indian line of credit, respectively Summit on April 8, 2008. operate to achieve developmental goals in Africa, explains Gurjit Singh, India’s former ambassador to Ethiopia and joint Methods Private sector-led trade and investment: secretary in charge of East and South Africa in the external Encouraging private sector investment, spurred by the gov- affairs ministry.

Support to NEPAD: India has provided a line of credit ernment’s Focus Africa policy and CII-Exim Bank business conclaves. With both sides determined to scale up their bilat- of $200 million to assist NEPAD in achieving its objectives. eral trade to $70 billion by 2015, India will establish an Several projects in Senegal, Mali, the Gambia, DR Congo and India-Africa Institute of Foreign Trade that will provide Mozambique worth over $100 million are already being professional education in the field of international trade and implemented within the ambit of this programme.

Engaging RECs and forging institutional management, including studies on the public and private arrangements: India has extended $250 million line of credsectors in Africa.

Training/Capacity Building: Nearly two years after it to ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development. It is their first summit, India and Africa launched an ambitious designed to support projects across the 15-member ECOWaction plan that includes closer cooperation in agriculture AS region, promoting regional opportunities and creating and setting up of new training institutes by New Delhi in opportunities for Indian companies in energy, areas ranging from foreign trade to education and IT. The telecom, railways and other sectors in the region.

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Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee (then External Affairs Minister) addressing African delegates after inaugurating the Pan-African e-Network Project of the Government of India, in New Delhi, on February 26, 2009.

Critical Appraisal

n’t matter whether the cat was black or white as long as it Taking a critical look at key drivers/motivations and caught mice. By the mid-nineties, the Chinese economy had methods, it’s evident that there are fundamental differences clocked more than a decade of double-digit growth and its between the Indian and Chinese engagement and coopera- economy was literally hungry for resources of all types, the tion with the African continent. These differences, in turn, most important being oil.

Resource-rich Africa presented itself as the promised stem from basic differences in their political systems, strucland for the African elite that saw in the tures, processes and worldviews. Both continent’s bountiful resources its tickIndia and China backed African liberaThere are fundamental et to big power ambitions. China’s rultion movements and the struggle against imperialism, colonialism and racism, differences between ing oligarchy, therefore, fashioned an allalbeit in a different manner, and were the Indian and Chinese encompassing strategy to entrench its presence in Africa through aid, trade and ideology-driven in their approach to engagement with investments. Sensing a deepening frusAfrica during the 50s and 60s. For India, Africa. They tration of Africa’s rulers with Western it was non-alignment, Afro-Asian solipowers and its reigning Bretton Woods darity and the ideals of South-South stem from basic institutions, the IMF-World Bank comcooperation that dominated its internadifferences in their bine, with its onerous prescriptions of tional relations and, by extension, its political systems, good governance, transparency, democengagement with Africa.

In post-Cold War period, the asym- structures, processes racy and human rights, China presented itself as a viable alternative that did not metries between India’s and China’s and worldviews lecture, but brought to the table what engagement with Africa became maniAfrican rulers were craving for — nofested. In the late eighties till midnineties, Africa virtually faded out from the horizon of strings attached aid, trade, infrastructure and investments India’s foreign policy as India liberalised its economy and its minus sanctimonious preaching.

The Chinese package approach worked and won it many elite looked to the West for foreign investment to shore up the economy. There was also a certain fatigue among the friends and admirers, especially among autocratic regimes Indian elite about the idealism of non-alignment and clichés in African countries and even among African intellectuals of South-South cooperation. Africa began to be seen who were chafing under Western moralising.

The dramatic rise in China’s presence and profile in the through the Western prism as a basket case and its leaders were seen by some as mere solicitors for aid and freebies, African continent has its upside as well as downside. But on said Lalit Mansingh, India’s former foreign secretary and a the whole, China’s accelerated ties with Africa have beneformer envoy to Nigeria at an international conference in fited the continent by providing it an alternative to the preNovember 2008 in New Delhi, organised by the Observer scriptive Washington consensus. China’s resource hunt in Africa has had deleterious consequences, but at the same Research Foundation.

On the other hand, China, too, was navigating its tran- time it drove up the prices of commodities and impacted sition from moribund socialism to neo-liberal free market positively on collective African GDP. Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy. Deng Xiaoping was the poster boy of this emerg- GDP increased by an average of 4.4 percent 2001-04, 5 to 6 ing new China where it was glorious to be rich and it did- percent in 2005-06 compared with 2.6 percent in 1999-

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2001. China was the major factor since it had accounted for has denied any rivalry with China — and it’s not just in most of the increase in the global consumption of Africa, but a broader official stance towards dealing with an assertive China — competition is going to intensify in days commodities since 1998.

China’s resource-backed loans, the target of partisan to come. If China’s bilateral trade with Africa can more than polemics and critiques, have also ensured that these deals did double in five years from the 2005 level, a promise made by bring in some infrastructure to dysfunctional states in Africa. Chinese President Hu Jintao in 2006, India, too, can clock On the negative side, China’s policy of patronising bru- $100 billion before we know it.

A wave of Afro-optimism has swept Indian private sectal African regimes and offering no-strings attached aid and arms has sparked criticism about Beijing behaving like a tor, especially big corporate brands, who are increasingly neo-colonial power and a resource-hungry ogre. “Africa looking at Africa as “Cape of Good Hope,” as a piece in The sells raw materials to China and China sells manufactured Hindustan Times, India’s leading daily, puts it.

India’s telecom colossus Bharti Airtel’s $10.7 billion products to Africa. This is a dangerous equation that reproduces Africa’s old relationship with colonial powers. The acquisition of Kuwait-based Zain’s 15-country operations in equation is not sustainable for a number of reasons. First, Africa has created a splash about globally-bound Indian Africa needs to preserve its natural resources to use in the business. Adi Godrej, a well-known Indian industrialist, is the latest to join the African dream of the future of its own industrialisation.

Indian corporate world, with his compa“Secondly, China’s export strategy is China’s policy of ny recently buying Nigeria’s Tura contributing to the deindustrialisation of patronising brutal Group. Africa is “the continent of the some middle-income countries… it is in African regimes and future,” says Godrej, encapsulating the the interests of both Africa and China to mood among Indian entrepreneurs find solution to these strategies,” said offering no-strings towards investing in Africa.

Moeletsi Mbeki, deputy chairman of the attached aid and arms South African Institute of International Affairs, at a conference in Beijing in has sparked criticism What it means for Africa 2005. The Chinese practice of bringing about Beijing behaving This intensified competition among in their own labour, which is sometimes emerging and status quoist powers bode like a neo-colonial more than 50 percent of the total workwell for the African elite and people who power and a force in a project, and discriminatory are keenly watching the rise of India and wages and poor working conditions for resource-hungry ogre China, two developing countries with local workers, have created a strong colonial pasts, who are scripting their backlash from local population in African countries. Besides, own unique paths to superpower status, and are refashionthe Chinese business practice of crafting package oil-for- ing their engagement with Africa in the light of new global infrastructure deals, subsidised by the state, has led to realities. In the future, the larger contest will be about two distortions and corruption in the way business is done, say distinctive models, albeit with some overlapping features, of some Western critics. engagement with Africa and their contours will depend on what kind of power India and China eventually become as Present and Future they become two of the world’s five largest economies, as Cutting to the present and looking to the future, one can projected by Goldman Sachs in their BRIC report. make some broad projections about the trajectory of the “As the largest democracy in the world with long-standengagement of India and China with Africa and the implic- ing ties to Africa, India’s economic progress in the last it contest between the Beijing consensus and India’s decade, especially the exponential growth of its ICT indusapproach, as enshrined in the New Delhi Declaration that tries, could serve as an ‘alternate’ model to China,” says emerged from the 2008 India-Africa Forum Summit.

Ndubisi Obiorah, director of the Centre for Law and Social The asymmetries of scale will stay, at least for a decade. Action (CLASA) in Lagos, Nigeria, (“Who is afraid of China On all economic indices, China is at least a decade ahead of in Africa? Towards an African civil society perspective on India and only a combination of state patronage and aggres- India-Africa relations”). The Chinese model is alluring for sive private sector foray over a period of time could see some African leaders, especially those of oil-rich countries, India’s bilateral trade and investment in Africa reaching any- as it reinforces their ambitions of a prosperous authoritariwhere close to that of China’s. India may highlight that it is an state. They look at the China success story as a refutation extending lines of credit of almost $2 billion in Africa, but of the Western thesis that democracy is a prerequisite to the Chinese have pledged over $4 billion each in Angola, development and use the China example to sell the Sudan and Nigeria. India has denied repeatedly and vehe- seductive fantasy of visionary and stable leadership to their mently that it is in race with China in Africa. “We are not acolytes. in a race with anyone,” said Indian Prime Minister But with more African countries turning to democracy Manmohan Singh at the April 2008 summit. But while India and a 300-million strong aspirational middle class emerging

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“India is the world’s most populous democracy and has Africans. India is, after all, the world’s most populous democracy, and mirrors linguistic, cultural and religious been a leader in frontier areas of knowledge. It’s emerging diversity of Africa. India’s evolution from a socialist com- as a knowledge power. Africa can hugely benefit from the mand economy to a free market liberalising economy with Indian experience,” Houngbo said. Houngbo’s remarks a significant role for state intervention in social sector has underscore the powerful appeal of the Indian model and the struck a chord with African leaders and policy makers. relevance of the Indian experience for African countries.

One can discern in the African response to the Indian Above all, India’s success will be the strongest refutation of the authoritarian argument about putting economic reforms engagement the makings of India’s winning journey in Africa. But India needs to back up this winning template above political reforms.

If one puts Africa’s resurgence at the heart of Africa’s with some more vigorous diplomacy, quicker delivery sysengagement with external players, the Indian model of tems and more trade and investment. There is serious cooperation will find greater encouragement in Africa. And diplomacy deficit. The high-level visits by Indian leaders it is already happening. India’s blend of enhanced develop- to African countries are few and far between. In 2007, Manmohan Singh became the first mental package, technology transfers, human resource development and One can discern in the Indian prime minister to visit Nigeria in over four decades and was only the infrastructure development, combined African response to the second to do so after Jawaharlal Nehru. with attractions of democracy and freemarket economy, have been by and large Indian engagement the India urgently needs to expand diplomatic footprints across the African conwelcomed across the African continent. makings of India’s tinent by opening more missions.

Almost every African leader at the winning journey in Currently, there are barely Indian 30 2008 New Delhi summit showered Africa. But India needs missions in African countries and most praise on India's development-centric approach and lauded India as a rising to back up this winning of them are ill-staffed with an Indian economic and knowledge power. South template with some ambassador at times concurrently African president Thabo Mbeki praised vigorous diplomacy, accredited to more than five African countries. Right now, India’s external India for its help in the reconstruction of quicker delivery affairs ministry has three territorial diviAfrican countries and stressed on systems and more sions dealing with Africa. Lalit increased cooperation between the two sides in the area of the UN reforms. trade and investment Mansingh suggests there should be a super-division dealing with Africa under Alpha Oumar Konare, chairman of the an additional secretary or a special secAfrican Union Commission, said IndiaAfrica partnership will help African countries to achieve retary. The quantum of India’s aid, lines of credit and scholtheir millennium development goals. Democratic Republic arships need to increase dramatically to raise the profile of of Congo President Joseph Kabila stressed that the partner- the Indian engagement in Africa. Indian officials in charge ship will help Africa gain “a great deal from India’s experi- of the Africa policy have invested a lot of effort and enerence in poverty reduction, development, micro-credit and gy in distinguishing the Indian approach from that of others, but it’s time to face the hard facts of asymmetries in the the development of the middle class”.

In an interview to Africa Quarterly ahead of the summit, scale of engagement of India and China in Africa. True, the then Ghana President John Kufuor encapsulated the essence Indian model of cooperation to Africa, as former Minister of the symbiotic and mutually empowering relationship of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor pointed out, is between India and Africa. “If India’s experience is married distinctive in many ways and is seen by African leaders as to Africa’s vast natural resources, it will result in the accel- different, but that can’t be a pretext for smugness.

India still has many winning cards in Africa, but it’s time erated development of Africa and assist African countries to develop their production base of non-traditional exports as to leverage them effectively to translate them into concrete well as add value to their traditional exports.” (Africa results on the ground. If the Afro-optimism of the Indian Quarterly, Volume 48, no. 2, May-July 2008). More recent- private sector is complemented by a bolder strategic vision, ly at the India-Africa business conclave, Togo’s Prime the age-old ties between India and Africa, dating back to days Minister Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo held up India as “a ter- of solidarity of the anti-colonial struggle, can reach a plane which will be more strategically effective than China’s much rific example” for Africa.

“What is very interesting and appealing is the Indian larger economic engagement, which will be difficult to beat model of cooperation. India is a developing country but has at least in the next decade.

Although there is a perception that Indian diplomats achieved much. Africa can, therefore, learn from the trajec-

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consider postings in African countries as punishment, the repeated by Indian ministers and officials, continues to aniIndian foreign policy establishment is finally waking up to mate the Indian engagement with the African continent. the long-range potential of this partnership.

Africa, after all, is integral to India’s aspirations for a per- Africa’s Choice manent seat on the UN Security Council. India’s agenda-free To sum up, China and India have brought to Africa alterapproach, as Tharoor likes to point out, has been welcomed native models of engagement and of doing business, but at in Africa. “We do not wish to go and demand certain rights the end of the day, it will be Africa’s choice to pick the right or projects or impose our ideas in Africa. But we do want to partners in its quest for resurgence and renewal. “China and contribute to the achievement of Africa’s development objec- India contribute towards further globalisation of Africa, but tives as they have been set by our African partners,” Tharoor they also help stem the tide of Westernisation and said at the recent business conclave. India Eurocentrism in African societies,” writes wishes to be a partner in Africa’s resurMazrui.

India is more of a gence, said Manmohan Singh memorably Tired of the tyranny of the IMFcultural force in Africa World Bank prescriptions on the one at the 2008 summit.

If this approach is blended with susthan China is. India’s hand and wary of the West’s patronising tained economic push and a more proac- civilisation has exerted attitude, Africa is now looking at partnertive diplomacy with frequent high-level ships of equals. Let me end with the a soft impact beyond memorable words of Prof Alpha Oumar visits, India can still make up for the lost its shores, creating a Konare, the then chairperson the African decades in Africa, a continent raring to find its place under Union Commission at the end of the wider global the sun. Above all, as Dr Ali Mazrui constituency. India’s India-Africa Forum summit. “Today, points out, India has a major soft power Africa does not need a guiding hand. advantage in Africa. “India is more of a soft power influence is Between India and us, we do not need very much there, cultural force in Africa than China is. any intermediaries. But governments India’s civilisation has exerted a soft especially if compared need to continue their dialogue. Our civil impact beyond its shores, creating a wider societies, our businessmen, our youth, with China global constituency.” In an interview to your women, our workers, our labour, Africa Quarterly, Dr Mazrui says: “India’s our intellectuals, have to continue to talk soft power influence is very much there, especially if you are amongst them to broaden the cooperation, the partnership comparing it with China where much of the focus has been that we have launched today. There is very little time now for economic relations and on some degree of military impact on Africa. We do not want to waste any time. We have to make Africa.” very major decisions now. I think that the policy of the rider “An older Asian power in Africa is Japan and it has next to and the horse is finished for us. We do not want to be horsno cultural impact except for economic, trade and diplomat- es any longer on which people will continue to ride.” ic cooperation. You don’t easily get to listen to Japanese music “Everyone has to get off our backs. We will run the race or Chinese movies. But these have been part of the African like everyone else. We have to be ready to run whether it is experience from the days of the British Raj in both India and for a hundred metres, or a thousand metres or a marathon.

Africa.”

Now the time for the rider and the horse has come to an end There may be more Chinese restaurants in the world, but and we are equal partners in the race.”

Indian cuisine is more influential on other cuisines than Will Africa be the ultimate winner in this new modernChina is. And then there is no Chinese equivalent of the day race for its resources and, above all, its friendship? Or will powerful Bollywood. Mahatma Gandhi, Mazrui points out, it continue to be a dark toy in the carnival of others? This the has had a more powerful and enduring influence in Africa overwhelming question and one that time alone will decide. than Chairman Mao. “The commerce between India and Africa will be of ideas (This is an edited version of the paper presented by Manish and services, not of the manufactured goods against raw mate- Chand, Editor, Africa Quarterly, at a conference hosted by rials after the fashion of the Western exploiters,” said Chatham House in London on April 9, 2010 to mark the second Mahatma Gandhi decades ago. And Gandhi’s ethos, often anniversary of the India-Africa Forum Summit.) n

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S E C U R I T Y

India and Africa: Towards

an ENERGY partnership As India forges an energy partnership with African countries, it needs to be embedded in a cooperative framework that helps in African development and nation building, says Ruchita Beri

W

orld powers are jostling to establish a strong presence in Africa.

The United States announced the creation of a new Unified Combatant Command (COCOM), the Africa command in February 2007. In 2006, China hosted about 50 African leaders in Beijing, EU adopted a new strategy for Africa in 2005, and Japan has offered a new assistance package to Africans recently at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD).

India, too, has institutionalised its relations with Africa and hosted the first India Africa Forum Summit on April 8-9, 2008. Of late, it has been argued that India’s quest for energy resources is the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressing the First India-Africa Forum main driver for India’s engagement of Africa.

Summit in New Delhi on April 8, 2008.

India is not a “new player” in Africa. Contacts between India and Africa can be traced back to ancient times. that its economy has been making in recent years, India has Jawaharlal Nehru had observed that, “though separated by been eyeing Africa’s abundant hydrocarbons and other the Indian Ocean… Africa is in a sense our next door neigh- natural resources.1 bour.” Support for anti-colonial movements and the antiIndia’s Draft Integrated Energy Policy suggests that apartheid struggle were pillars of India’s Africa policy dur- the country faces formidable challenges in meeting the ing the Cold War. The emergence of a democratic South energy needs. It needs to sustain 8 to 10 percent of ecoAfrica in 1994 was indeed a victory for India, as it was the nomic growth to meet its economic and human developfirst country to bring the issue of apartheid to the United ment goals. Such growth would call for increased demand Nations. But the fact remains that Africa was largely viewed for energy. In particular, there will be substantial increase in the context of solidarity with the developing world. in demand for oil to fuel land, sea and air transportation.

To an extent, India’s growing relations with Africa are a For more than a decade, India’s energy consumption has reflection of changes in its foreign policy since the mid- grown at a faster pace than its economy and it appears this 1990s. Over the last decade or more, India has been pursu- trend will continue.2 ing a policy of engaging all regions of the world. It has wooed While India has significant reserves of coal, it is relathe countries of East Asia with its ‘Look East’ policy, entered tively poor in oil and gas resources. India does not prointo a strategic dialogue with the United States, reworked duce more than 30 percent of its oil needs from the oilits relations with China, and has also endeavoured to re- fields within its territorial boundaries. It appears that the establish linkages with South American countries. As part proportion of crude demand being met from indigenous of its current foreign policy approach, India has also started production presently is likely to decline further.3 Estimates looking at building relations with African countries within suggest that by 2020, only about 25 percent of the total the framework of common interests. Given the rapid strides demand will be met internally.4

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A F R I C A Due to stagnating domestic crude production, India imports approximately 70 percent of its oil. The World Energy Outlook, published by the International Energy Agency (IEA), projects that India’s dependence on oil imports will grow to 91.6 percent by the year 2020. Most of these supplies emanate from the Persian Gulf. Wary of its reliance on Persian Gulf oil, India is following in the footsteps of other major oil importing economies and has adopted the twin strategy of diversifying its sources of supply of crude oil and acquiring overseas oil and gas assets. In this context, Africa’s vast hydrocarbon resources have proved to be very attractive. Moreover, the special features of the African oil — high quality and low sulphur content and the fact that bulk of the new discoveries are offshore, lowering the political risk — add to the attraction.

Africa’s Hydrocarbon Profile Africa accounts for 9.7 percent of the world’s proven oil reserves, 7.8 percent of the world’s total natural gas, and about 6 percent of the world’s proven coal reserves. In 2007, Africa produced 488.5 million tonnes of oil and consumed 138 million tonnes.5 In the same year it produced natural gas about 171.3 million tonnes equivalent of oil (Mtoe) and consumed 75.2 Mtoe. Similarly, it produced coal about 154.2 Mtoe and consumed 105 Mtoe.6 Africa is home to several oil producers — Algeria, Angola, Chad, Cameroon, Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Nigeria, Sudan and Tunisia. The natural gas producers in the continent include — Algeria, Egypt, Libya and Nigeria.

The majority of coal in Africa is produced in South Africa, with a small percentage by Zimbabwe. Most of the oil analysts predict that oil will remain the largest single fuel in the global energy mix in the future.7 Africa has a net exportable surplus of 350.5 million tonnes of crude oil on the offer annually.8 Nigeria is subSaharan Africa’s largest oil producer. Discoveries in Angola in the last decade have earned it the title of “oil jackpot of the 21st century”.

India-Africa Partnership India’s growing energy needs have pushed it towards energy cooperation with the African countries. Currently, around 18 percent of India’s crude oil imports are sourced from Africa (including the North African countries).9 Indian national oil companies like the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Videsh Limited (OVL) have invested in equity assets in Sudan, Ivory Coast Libya, Egypt, Nigeria, Nigeria-Sao Tome Principe Joint Development Area and Gabon. India has recently completed a 200 million dollar pipeline project to lay a pipeline from Khartoum to Port Sudan on the Red Sea. India has placed its energy ties within the wider context of cooperation with Africa.10 Further, with energy gaining a priority in African devel-

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opment agenda, the African governments are equally keen to diversify their energy ties. Thus, there is an obvious synergy of interest between the two. African countries have also acknowledged the growth of Indian economy and expressed a desire to emulate the Indian model. The African countries feel that India provides a “model to manage gradual economic transformation” and help the African countries to moving from “abject poverty to higher levels of development.”11 They have been interested in acquiring cost effective and intermediate technology from India and have been particularly interested in forging partnership in areas such as information technology, agriculture and energy sectors.

One of the key challenges facing African countries is lack of local expertise and technologies in the energy sector. For example, Niger, according to its officials, has oil reserves, but cannot explore them and has to depend on imports. India can assist African states to achieve their potential in this regard.

Zimbabwe’s Trade and Industry Minister OM Mpofu has said his government could even consider allowing Indian participation in mining for uranium — a much needed resource for energy-hungry India and its efforts to boost nuclear power generation. “We view this relationship as one of mutual trust,” Mpofu said recently. “It has no colonial baggage. It is more balanced.”12 India’s expertise in various sectors is an attractive source of partnerships for African nations as they embark on the mission to modernise their economies.

India has made a name worldwide in information technology (IT). Software production is the new mantra of Indian excellence. Narayana Murthy, Sabeer Bhatia are a few who became world famous due to the IT boom. Only half a million Africans have access to the Internet, and therefore, there is a pressing need to narrow the “digital divide”.

India has provided assistance to countries like Mauritius and South Africa to develop their software hubs. An important cooperation in this regard is the Pan-African e-network costing about $100 million announced by former President Abdul Kalam during an address to the Pan-African parliament in South Africa in September 2004. This project aims to provide prototypes for tele-education and tele-medicine in all 53 members of the African Union.

African leaders often quote the example of India’s Green Revolution and its self sufficiency in food production.

India’s success in agricultural sector can help in developing the African potential. Opportunities for collaboration between India and Africa exist in agricultural research, crop varieties that require less water, eco-friendly fertilisers, high tech agricultural and soil and water management.

The Indian pharmaceuticals industry leads the effort in the developing world in terms of technology, quality and range of medicines. Further, it has the advantage of low cost of production and R&D. Over the years, India and Africa have dealt with the scourge of communicable diseases like malaria, tuberculosis and HIV-AIDS. Collaborative research and development partnerships between Indian and African

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pharma majors would be mutually beneficial. Several Indian pharma and healthcare companies like Ranbaxy Laboratories, Cipla Limited, Aurobindo Pharma, and Emcure Pharmaceuticals have invested in Africa .

India recognises African countries’ focus on capacity building and human resources development. As a result, Africa today is the largest recipient of India’s technical cooperation programme that amounts to around $1 billion. Over 100 officials from sub-Saharan Africa receive training annually in India under the ITEC programme. Annually, over 15,000 African students study in India and Indian engineers, doctors, accountants and teachers are present all across Africa. India is also the member of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF).

In the last decade, India has launched a number of initiatives towards closer cooperation with Africa. They include the Focus Africa programme launched as part of the Export Import Policy (EXIM) policy in 2001 to increase trade with Africa. Realising the need to enhance cooperation with West and Central African countries, in particular, Techno-Economic Movement for Cooperation between nine African countries and India (TEAM 9) was initiated in 2003.

In April 2008, India institutionalised the relationship with African countries through the India-Africa Forum Summit. It has offered a duty-free tariff preference scheme to 34 less developed countries in Africa and doubled the lines of credit to $5.4 million.13 The India-Africa Project Partnership business conclaves held annually for the past five years are reflective of the growing interest of the Indian industry. As a result, India-Africa bilateral trade has grown from $967 million in 1990-91 to $25 billion in 2006-07 (inclusive of oil imports).14 As peace and security are the main ingredients for sustained development, India has played a major role in keeping peace in Africa through its contributions to the UN peacekeeping operations in continent. It has participated in all UN peacekeeping operations in the African continent till now and has contributed around 34,466 personnel, and is currently the largest contributor to peacekeeping operations in Africa.15 They have been deployed in Congo, Namibia, Somalia, Mozambique, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia-Eritrea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Ivory Coast, and Sudan. It has also struck trilateral partnerships like the India-Brazil South Africa (IBSA) dialogue that attempts to bridge the continental divide towards enhancing South-South cooperation.

Future Prospects As India forges an energy partnership with African countries, it needs to be embedded in a cooperative framework that helps in African development and nation building. A number of quantitative studies in recent years have shown that oil-exporting countries have done worse economically than the others.16 In fact, a number of oil exporting coun-

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tries in Africa, including Algeria, Angola, Congo, Gabon, Libya and Nigeria, have seen plunging real per capita incomes. More importantly, oil boom and high prices of oil have led to instability and authoritarianism in these countries.17 Oil rents have tended to impede democratisation and have sustained a long line of autocratic rulers.

Collier and Hoeffler found that there is a link between oil and civil wars, particularly secessionist civil wars.18 Fearon, Latin and De Soya report that oil exports are significantly linked with the onset of civil war.19 These studies indicate that countries that depend on oil exports (including those in Africa) are the most economically troubled, conflict ridden and authoritarian states of the world.

So far, unlike China, India has escaped criticism lightly, for its dealings in the worst-governed bits of Africa.20 The main reason is that, hitherto India’s transactions have been on a more modest scale. However, reports suggest that this may not last for long. Human rights advocates who berate China for complicity in the plight of Sudan’s Darfur region are already beginning to turn their attention to India.21 In this backdrop, as India’s engagement with Africa grows, it needs to create its own niche by developing a distinct paradigm of energy relationship. Indian energy ties have to be embedded in a developmental framework. The first priority across most of Africa is to utilise the continent’s energy resources for fulfilling the development needs of the continent. Oil and natural gas are of little use to anyone, including Africans, without pipelines, refineries, electric power plants and other infrastructure that enable hydrocarbons to be moved, processed and converted to useful forms of energy and materials.

Moreover according to a recent report of the World Energy Council, “Africa is the least illuminated continent of the world”, as less than 20 per cent of its population has access to electricity.22 Huge sums will be required to build modern energy systems in the continent that lags behind in terms of energy access.

To fill this gap, African governments will need to take steps “to mainstream energy development into their national budgets and development strategies.”23 At the same time, India as a development partner will have to scale up its assistance to African governments in this endeavour. Indian companies, both in the public and private sector, will have to increase their investments in the African energy infrastructure sector.

While some progress has been made, the challenge remains in terms of charting out timelines and fulfilling commitments.24 Joint efforts are also needed towards expanding the African knowledge base and developing a pool of expertise within the continent.

Hence, India should develop a model of partnership that showcases its long-term approach towards Africa, based on a triad of training, technological assistance and trade. It should also focus on empowering Africans. The African leadership expects India to become a shareholder in Africa’s

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A F R I C A development; a shareholder who is well informed of African aspirations and helps them refashion indigenous structures to achieve them. n

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(This is an edited version of the paper in Africa and Energy Security, published by Academic Foundation in association with the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi)

References 1. Beri, Ruchita (2005). “Africa’s Energy Potential: Prospects for India” Strategic Analysis 29(3): 361-94, July-September.

2. Mahalingham, Sudha (2004). “Energy and Security in a Changing World” Strategic Analysis 28(2): 251, April-June.

3. Government of India (2000). Report of the Group on India Hydrocarbon Vision-2025.

4. Ibid.

5. BP Statistical Review of World Energy, 2008 at http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/ globalbp_uk_english/reports_and_publications/statistical_energy_review_2008/STAGING/local_assets/ downloads/pdfstatistical_review_of_world_energy_full_rev iew_2008.pdf (accessed on June 10, 2008).

6. Ibid.

7. Bhagat, Gawdat (2007). African Oil: Potential and Implication”, OPEC Review, March. p. 93.

8. BP Statistical Review of World Energy (2008) op. cit.

9. Ministry of Petroleum, Government of India.

10. See “Africa–India Frame Work for Cooperation”, India Africa Forum Summit, 8-9, 2008 at http://meaindia.nic.in/ (accessed on June 10, 2008) 11. “Africa Needs a Coherent Policy towards China and India”, June 1, 2006 at http://www.weforum.org/en/media/ Latest%20Press%20Releases/PRESSRELEASES21 12. Mahapatra, Rajesh (2006). "In Africa, India sees Promise for its Booming Businesses", Mail and Guardian Online (Johannesburg) at http://www.mg.co.za/article/2006-10-16in-africa-india-sees-promisefor-its-booming-businesses 13. See Opening Address by Dr. Manmohan Singh at the Plenary Session I, India Africa Forum Summit, April 8-9, 2008 at http://meaindia.nic.in/ (accessed on June 10, 2008).

14. See Trade Statistics, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India at http://commerce.nic.in (accessed on April 2, 2008).

15. For details see Beri, Ruchita (2008). “India’s Role in

Keeping Peace in Africa”, Strategic Analysis 32(2): 197-221, March.

16. The pioneering research was done by Dr. Jeffery D. Sachs; see Sachs, Jeffery D. and Andrew M. Warner (1995).

“Natural Resource Abundance and Economic Growth”, NBER Working Paper Series no. 5398. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. November.

17. Ross, Michael L. (2001). “Does Oil Hinder Democracy”, World Politics 53: 325-61, April.

18. Collier, Paul and Anke Hoeffler (n.d.). Greed and Grievance in Civil War. Oxford University Centre for the Study of African Economies. Working Paper 2002-01, http://www.csae.ox.ac.uk/workingpapers/pdfs/200201text.pdf 19. Fearon, James D. (2004). “Why do some Civil Wars Last so much Longer than the Others?”, Journal of Peace Research 41(3): 275-301 20. See, Sengupta, Kim (2008) “EU Boycotts China Oil Firm over Funding of Darfur Regime”, The Independent, March 17. At http://www.independent.co.uk/news/ world/europe/eu-boycotts-china-oil-firmover-funding-ofdarfur-regime-796794.html (accessed on May 15, 2008).

21. Economist, April 10, 2008, http://www.economist.com/ world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11019743 22. Statement by Abdoulie Janneh, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary of ECA at Conference on Financing and Development at Accra, Ghana on May 30, 2007 at http://www.uneca.org/eca_resurces/speeches/janneh/2007/070530_speech_janneh.htm (accessed on January 17, 2009).

23. Ibid.

24. “Nigeria says China, India to Build its Oil Refineries”, Energy Daily, April 15, 2008 at http://www.energydaily.com/reports/Nigeria_says_China_India_to_build_it_o il_refineries (accessed on May 11, 2008).

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DRAGON in Zambia: Challenges facing China The relationship between China and Africa is entrenched. Yet it is fraught with serious concerns, says Sushmita Rajwar in a case study of the country’s deepening role in Zambia

Chinese President Hu Jintao and then Zambian president, the late Levy Patrick Mwanawasa, unveiling a plaque announcing the opening of the Zambia-China Economic & Trade Cooperation Zone, the first such zone in Africa that China has invested in.

T

he study of China in Africa is no more “like pursuing a dragon in the bush” in the words of George Yu, 1968 (Yu 1968:1026). This language gives the impression that China is stripping Africa off its entire historical, cultural and political heritage. In fact, in the past decade ties between China and Africa have evolved to a much greater level, bringing into light a relationship that is very different from the past. This relationship could certainly be called asymmetrical and its future is not very secure.

Keeping this in mind, the first part of this article would

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discuss China’s relationship with Zambia and its role in the country and the latter part would bring out the challenges being faced by China in Zambia.

China, with a population of 1.3 billion and covering 9.6 million square kilometres, is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Its annual real growth of GDP was recorded at 9 percent in 2008 and GDP in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) at US$7.8 trillion in 2008.

During 1999-2004, the GDP grew at a rate of 10 percent and in 2006 China became the world’s third largest economy by GDP after the United States and Japan. It recorded its highest GDP in 2007 with a 13.1 percent growth rate. It is the second largest economy after the U.S. now (CIA: The World

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A F R I C A Factbook). On the other hand, Zambia is one of the least developed countries, despite its rich mineral wealth. It has a land area of 753,000 sqkm. The country’s total population was recorded at 9.9 million in 2000 and projected at 11.1 million for 2005. Over the period 1994-2004, the real GDP growth rate averaged 3 percent. In 2005, the GDP growth stood at 5.2 percent while annual inflation was recorded at 15.9 percent and per capita real GDP was $82.

Zambia’s economy has been traditionally dominated by the copper mining industry. The average per capita income is $800 and 51 percent of the population reportedly lives on less than one dollar per day (Britannica Online Encyclopaedia 2009). Whereas Zambia recorded significant recovery in the performance of key macroeconomic indicators apart from formal sector employment, China’s performance is more favourable in comparison to Zambia’s.

China-Zambia Relations The historical relationship between China and Zambia dates back to the pre-independence period when the present-day Zambia was a protectorate of Great Britain.2 At the time, the relationship was in the form of Chinese financial and material assistance to one of the opposition parties. It may be noted that the historical engagement between China and Africa is rooted in a shared similar historical experience and struggle for national liberation and independence. Prof. Zeng Qiang of the Institute of Asian and African Studies identifies three distinctive periods and this relationship: During President Kenneth Kaunda’s time (1964-1991), China provided active support to the Zambian government in its efforts to consolidate political independence and struggle against Western colonialist control. The well-known Tanzania-Zambia railway (TAZARA), built with Chinese assistance, has become a monument to the friendship between China and Zambia and even China and Africa, and Sino-Zambian relations have expanded ever since. China provided assistance to liberation or independence struggles and aid towards economic reconstruction and consolidation of national independence while African countries provided support to China in the international arena and allowed China to establish diplomatic missions.

Therefore, politics and ideology were dominant factors defining the China-Africa relationship during this period.3 The second period from 1979 to 1999 was marked by profound changes in both China and Africa. In Africa, this was the period of International Monetary Fund and World Bank-sponsored structural adjustment and liberalisation programmes as well as the adoption of a multi-party democratic system while China was emerging from social chaos and economic crisis of the Great Cultural Revolution. China adopted an ‘Open Door’ policy to economic reforms, which put economic development at the centre of the national development strategy and ideology on the sidelines. In 1991, a ‘Going Out’ policy was initiated which had Africa as a

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major policy target area. In the third period from 1999 and up to the present, the main preoccupation of the African countries at the turn of the new millennium became wealth creation or poverty reduction, peace and stability, promotion of economic development and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

African countries worked together for a common purpose, which saw the creation of a New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) and the African Union (AU) that replaced the OAU in 2002 as a way of strengthening their strategy for common economic development effort (Huse 2008: 36).

Actors Who Matter in this Relationship There has been consensus among a number of scholars on the issue of the presidency playing a pivotal role in formulating policy towards China. A majority of them believe that it leads the country’s engagement, although evidence to support such assertions is difficult to produce.

Most scholars perceive Zambia’s parliament to be heavily dominated by the presidency and simply a ‘rubber stamp’ to its wishes. The Chinese government’s January 2006 Africa Policy White Paper called for China to adopt a broader engagement with public and private sector institutions (Government of People’s Republic of China 2006). Many government institutions lack the capacity to deal properly with the range of issues involved in engaging with China, particularly given the rate at which relations between the two are growing.

In addition to the executive and the legislature, if we talk about civil society in Africa, it is said to be under-resourced, usually poorly-organised and invariably prone to corruption (Centre for Chinese Studies 2007). Nonetheless, it plays a part in fostering debate within Africa on key political, economic and social issues. In keeping with its self-assigned role of a state ‘watchdog’, African civil society has been critical of aspects of Chinese aid policy and the conduct of some its businesses in Zambia. Civil society groups have focused on local labour, trade, governance and the environment (Alden 2007: 82).

To give an example, Stephen Muyakwa, an agricultural economist in Zambia and chairperson of the Zambian Civil Society Trade Network, is worried about Chinese working conditions. He says: “Operations at a Chinese-owned coal mine in Zambia were suspended due to unsafe working conditions. Most labourers were half naked and didn’t have protective clothing, dust masks, hard hats or shoes.”

Referring to the death of 50 workers in an explosion in one of the mines, he says, “No Chinese employee got hurt or killed; this makes you wonder how committed the Chinese are to make a difference in Africa” (Mannak 2007).

Another matter of concern for civil society in Africa, including Zambia, is the sudden influx of Chinese labourers into Africa.

According to official Chinese statistics, there were

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R E A L P O L I T I K 82,000 Chinese labourers working for Chinese firms neighbours and Chinese businessmen understand this based in all of Africa till 2005, up from 42,000 in 2004. and make use of Zambia as a base from where to launch However, these figures do not tally with the statistics their operations into the DRC and eastern Angola (Times of Zambia, May 18, 2006). emerging from specific African countries.

In Zambia, figures vary from an official tally of 2,300 registered Chinese citizens to a reported figure of 30,000. Economic Engagement Zambian leaders have often complained of this influx of A look at the trade statistics would reveal that trade Chinese labourers. They have also urged Zambians to between China and Zambia has been substantial in the past. show appreciation for China’s help. The question is how In 2006, exports to China amounted to 10 percent of are Zambians expected to show appreciation? Is it by Zambia’s total exports, totalling $381 million compared to ignoring the influx of Chinese labourers in the country? $0.94 million in 1998, representing a phenomenal average (Marawi 2007). growth rate of over 4,000 percent over the eight-year periMoreover, the proliferation of Chinese retail shops has od. Zambia’s total exports for the year 2006 amounted to $4 added to discontent among Africans. A street vendor in billion.

Lusaka captured the concern of many when he declared: The largest contributors to export growth have been raw “These Chinese investors just come here to make money materials in the form of base metals, comprising unproand take away from us even the simple businesses like sell- cessed mineral products (ores) at 19 percent of total ore ing groceries in markets” (IRIN News 2007). Thus, we exports, and metal products, representing 11 percent of total see a number of NGOs and trade unions, as members of metal products consisting of refined copper and cobalt.

Zambia’s civil society, talking about issues that are Despite the growth in exports to China, South Africa still extremely important for Zambians. emerges as Zambia’s major export destination.

Lastly, Zambia’s cordial relations with the West have Zambia’s export trade with South Africa accounted for had a significant impact on the country. Many Zambians 22 percent of total exports in 2006 of the total amount of were educated in Europe and North $796 million as against $94 million in In June 2007, America and were mostly ‘western1998, representing an average growth President Levy centric’. rate of 94 percent over the same period.

Civil society organisations in Like Zambia’s trade with China, the Mwanawasa dared Zambia are heavily focused on North major components of exports to South the West to match American and European donors who, Africa are raw materials comprising base apart from international institutions Chinese investment in metal ores with an average growth of such as the UN and the World Bank, 324 percent which stood at $58 million his country. He are their primary sources of financial in 2006. Stone, cement and glass grew announced that support.

269 percent and accounted for $121 milZambia had Zambia’s then president, Levy lion of the total exports. Metal products welcomed Chinese (copper and cobalt) accounted for $638 Mwanawasa, played the ‘China card’ in the African Business Forum organised investments, credit million of the total exports, with an

by Business Action for Africa. In June average growth of 335 percent. Out of and loans despite 2007, when he challenged the West to 22 major export categories, eight match Chinese investment in his domestic opposition showed a decline while 14 registered country, he announced that Zambia positive growth. welcomed Chinese investment, credit and loans, despite Exports to the United States were adversely affected over domestic political opposition and unease in the West the same period, declining from $23 million in 1998 to $19 regarding China’s rapid entry into Africa. million in 2006. There was decline in export growth of 13 He said: “Those who oppose Chinese investment… export categories compared to growth in nine categories. all they need to do is to equal the help we are getting However, Zambia’s trade with the U.S. is relatively low and from China. We only turned to the East when you peo- stood at two percent in 1998 and declined by half a perple in the West let us down…Give us the same or more centage point in 2006. cooperation we are getting from China and you will see Zambia is one of the only 15 African countries to enjoy that we are friends… The good thing is that I know of a trade surplus with China. Chinese exports to Zambia, no strings that are attached to Chinese investment” consisting mostly of machinery, electrical equipment, (Baldwin 2007). chemicals, textiles and footwear, increased from $50 million The Chinese also value their relations with Zambia, in 2005 to $102.5 million in 2006, due in part to the transspecially in comparison to many of its neighbours in fer of $22 million worth of aircraft to Zambia.

Southern Africa. Zambia is one country that is more staAs far as Chinese imports from Zambia go, key stakeble politically, economically and socially than many of its holders can be classified into beneficiaries and losers, though

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A F R I C A there seems to be no big threat for the time being, particularly if the authorities can ensure that the commodities meet the required standards. Local producers stand to gain from cheap inputs from China but at the same time are unable to compete with China’s cheaper products from the local market.

The net effect is expected to be a loss in the long term for the local producers. This effect can be cushioned if the government can encourage joint ventures between Chinese and Zambians producers, particularly in the upcoming ‘Special Economic Zones’. Also, increasing trade with China creates employment opportunities in China at the cost of the same in Zambia, provided the commodities in question are competitive.

However, that will not be the case if the commodities are complementary. Both traders and consumers would benefit from cheaper Chinese products.

However, while Chinese exporters will benefit from an expanding African market in Zambia, the Zambian government is expected to partly lose and partly benefit from imports from China.

The loss is on account of forgone income tax revenue due to the loss of employment opportunities at both the firm and household levels while the gain will be on account of higher revenues from trade taxes. The net effect is expected to be a gain in revenues by the authorities (Centre for Chinese Studies, 2007). The Forum of China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) has played a key role in accelerating trade between China and Zambia.

FOCAC was established in 2000 when the first ministerial conference was held in Beijing in October 2000 and where the conference passed the Beijing Declaration of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (Xinhua, October 26, 2006).4 The second ministerial conference was held in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, in December 2003 where the Addis Ababa Action Plan (2004-2006) was passed.

The third ministerial conference was held in Beijing in November 2006 which was declared by China as the ‘Year of Africa’. This immediately brought about an increase in trade between the Africa and China.

A 2006 Deutsche Bank report, “China will remain hungry for commodities over the coming 15 years,” predicted that “China’s import demand until 2020 is such that the growth of demand will remain in lower double digits for most commodities over the decade.” (Trinh and Voss 2006:1).

President Hu Jintao’s visit to Zambia in February 2007 during his eight-nation African tour5 was considerably longer than that of other seven African states.

This was interpreted by many observers as a clear indication of the importance China attributed to its relations with Zambia. During his visit, Hu announced a package of measures designed to further boost bilateral relations, including debt relief, an expansion of Zambian

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tariff-free exports to China, and the establishment of nearly five special economic and trade zones in the Chambishi mining area announced at FOCAC in 2006 (Xinhua, February 5, 2007).

Engagement in Some Important Sectors: a) Mining Zambia is endowed with various mineral resources such as copper, cobalt, zinc, lead, uranium and coal. It holds six percent of the world’s known copper reserves (Zambia Investment Centre, 2006).

The mining industry has been the economic and social backbone of Zambia since the first major phase of exploitation of the copperbelt’s CU-CO deposits commenced in the early 1930s. Since then a wide spectrum of other metalliferous and non-metalliferous resources have been discovered in Zambia and although this exploitation has been limited, they clearly demonstrate considerable opportunities for further exploration and mining. Copper mineralisation was first discovered at the turn of the century, but large-scale production only began in the 1930s, drawing a large number of immigrants to the small mining towns in the copperbelt region in the north.

Zambia was at that time the largest producer of premium quality copper in the world. However, prices fell drastically to below $2,000 per tonne during the mid to late 1990s.6 Thus, the Zambian government embarked on a strategy to privatise copper mines in the hope of resuscitating the failing mines.

Subsequently, the state-controlled Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) was divided into seven separate units and sold off under ‘development agreements’ with ‘stability clauses’, providing a range of attractive incentives to potential investors for 15-20 years with generous income tax allowances, income tax relief, customs, excise and VAT and mineral royalties of three percent but often negotiated to as low as 0.6 percent (Centre for Chinese Studies, 2007).

A large number of international mining enterprises, such as the British/Indian Company Vedanta, South African company Anglo-Vaal, Indian company Binani and Canadian companies Glenmore and First Quantum came to invest in Zambia after privatisation was introduced.

Among these was the Chinese state-owned enterprise (SOE) China Non-Ferrous Company (NFC) which bought the Chambishi Mine in 1998 for $20 million. The mine, closed some years earlier, had only a staff of around 100 people. This area was established in 2005 as the Chambishi Special Economic Zone (SEZ) which is expected to provide Chinese enterprises with favourable investment incentives in line with the China Africa Policy Paper.

All significant areas of operations have been granted special tax concessions. The concessions which were previ-

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R E A L P O L I T I K

The Tanzania-Zambia Railways Authority (TAZARA railway), built with Chinese assistance, became a monument to the friendship between China and Zambia.

ously granted to the China Non-Ferrous Metal Mining Group Corporation Limited (NFCA) in Chambishi were extended to an entire area covering 41 sqkm in Chambishi in December 2005 during the Chinese president’s visit (Edinger, 2007). This SEZ, apart from copper mining, is also expected to attract investments in electronics, toys, clothes and food.

About 50 Chinese enterprises pledged to invest up to $900 million in the zone in 2007. The investment is expected to contribute to the development of the country by way of creating significant employment opportunities in Zambia.

However, the special incentives accorded to Chambishi mine and the establishment of the area as a special economic zone deprive the country of much-needed tax revenues required for the country’s development effort. The long-term prospects for Zambia are gloomy if China were to succeed in its long-term strategy in the absence of a counter strategy from Zambia. For example, if the price of copper has to be negotiated between the two countries, the negotiation will be in favour of China as Zambia lacks the capacity, ability and the will to negotiate.

NFC’s presence has attracted a large number of other Chinese companies to Zambia and especially to the copperbelt over the past few years. Sino Metals Leaching is a joint venture between NFC and the provincial government of Yunan province in China.7 It was established in late 2006 and currently has around 60 employees, most of whom are full-time employees. The Chambishi copper smelter is one of the largest ventures to establish itself in the region that is owned by the Zambian central government and the Yunan provincial government. The project is worth $200 million.

The company has taken up an aggressive programme to identify and train locals in all facets of operation, including

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management. It also hopes to eventually appoint a Zambian national as the CEO, which is a favourable move by the Chinese in Zambia (People’s Daily Online January 16, 2006).8 Along with the development of more efficient processing techniques, the slag heaps of former mines are now being reprocessed. This practice, despite being illegal, is widespread amongst local business people, who collect these deposits from around the region and smuggle them across the border into Zambia to sell to leaching plants. A growing number of small-scale Chinese mining companies are entering Zambia, acting as middlemen and selling deposits to Chinese buyers. While the Zambian government is eager to foster relations with China, it is also aware of the need to encourage Chinese investors to act responsibly.

In May 2007, the Zambian government had to shut a manganese mine operated by the Chinese company Chiman Manufacturing Ltd at Kabwe, approximately 150 km north of Lusaka, owing to pollution and poor environmental management (ABC News, May 14, 2007).

In June 2007, Zambian authorities closed the Chineseowned Collum Coal Mining Industries in southern Zambia as a result of air pollution.9

b) Manufacturing The Mulungushi Textiles was started as a partnership with the Zambian government with 98 percent shares and the rest privately owned. The factory was set up by a Chinese firm. Zambia was represented by Zambia National Service (ZNS) and, together with the Chinese team, began the construction of the textile complex in 1977. It was completed by 1981 although production only started in 1983. Like most parastatals, the company in Kabwe was not doing well, largely owing to the unserviced

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A F R I C A debt held by the Zambian government. After the introduction of privatisation, the ownership of the complex was transferred to a joint venture with a Chinese company called Qingdao General Textiles Corporation. The name was changed to Zambia-China Mulungushi Textiles Joint Ventures Limited.

A ‘Mulungushi Industrial Park’ is also being established in the area. However, the company is still besieged with several problems and is currently not operational. The majority of the workforce has been laid off, leaving only a skeletal staff of 10 workers. However, the negotiations for the reopening of the Mulungushi Textiles have reached an advanced stage and it is set to reopen soon (Lusaka Times, December 10, 2008).

Q U A R T E R L Y

cannot supervise the work as they lack the expertise; it can often lead to instances of cheating. The Chinese construction companies are believed to have carved out a 30 percent share of the market. The markets have now started to adjust to the initial impact of China’s engagement and have now begun to stabilise, as competitors are either pushed out of the market or learn to compete while Chinese construction companies continue to steadily expand their market share (Burke, 2007: 331). The Chinese practice of bringing with them their own workforce has created a huge Chinese ‘diaspora’ in Zambia.

Reactions on Chinese Presence in Zambia a) Reactions of the Zambians

c) Construction The one thing that the Chinese are really known for throughout Africa is their efficiency in construction. They have built magnificent buildings, complexes, stadiums and hospitals across Africa to woo the Africans. Zambia is not an exception to this. The main highlight is the government complex which started in 1985 as a party headquarters building for the then ruling party, the United National Independence Party (UNIP). The complex comprises six buildings and the construction was funded by the Zambian government which has taken over the complex.

Before 1979, state-owned enterprises were among the few Chinese institutions permitted to operate outside China. But, with decades of experience in the construction of large-scale infrastructural projects, often in extremely isolated areas, it is no surprise that these companies are at the forefront of China’s efforts to engage Africa.

Over the past 10 years, the number of Chinese construction companies in Zambia has grown from only two to three to almost 20, although only 11 are registered with the National Construction Council.

Several of the private companies were initially established in Zambia, making it technically difficult to classify them as Chinese companies apart from the ethnicity of the owner. These companies, however, continue to follow modes of operations similar to those of other Chinese companies and appear to have ready access to Chinese government capital through the Bank of China.

Chinese construction companies have a range of advantages over their local and foreign competitors, such as good quality low-cost skilled labour, hands-on management style, high degree of organisation, general aptitude for hard work and access to relatively cheap capital (Burke 2007: 329).

While local and foreign construction companies operate on profit margins of 15-25 percent, Chinese companies usually operate on margins of under 10 percent, thereby making them extremely competitive. It is also felt that the Chinese undertake work according to pre-set quality norms.

The reason behind this is the ready availability of project consultants. However, the key problem is that the Zambians

During a workshop organised by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung of Germany in Zambia in October 2007,10 several stakeholders, especially trade union representatives, strongly complained about the working conditions in Chineseoperated companies.

“We have problems working with the Chinese. They pay very low wages; they discourage trade union activities and say that our demands go beyond what has been agreed upon between the two presidents of China and Zambia.

When we complain, we are told “go and ask your president what we agreed!” How can we deal with this situation? We do not know what was agreed between our president and the Chinese president. We need help on this!” says a representative of a trade union in Zambia.

The discussions among Zambians about the Chinese in Zambia have been varied. First, Zambian bureaucracy and the politicians currently in power see China as ‘the great saviour’ without whom Zambia would languish in poverty. Any questions about China directed to this category of people would be met with defensive responses like “Don’t you know that the Chinese built the TAZARA railway line?” This category of Zambians sees nothing wrong with the Chinese as well as their presence in Zambia. This group was led by then President Levy Mwanawasa. During a visit to the Clinton Global Initiative in September 2007, President Mwanawasa urged countries in the West to redeem themselves before criticising China for giving more aid to Africa.

According to reports in Zambian newspapers, he said that western countries were often reluctant to provide assistance to Africa but China had come out clearly as a dependable partner. Not all Zambians were pleased with this statement. “I hear the president made a statement when he was in New York that the only thing that will save Zambia is China. That’s very unfortunate. He should have said that the only people that can help us grow the economy are the Zambians. It would have made more sense,” said a representative of Transparency International Zambia.

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R E A L P O L I T I K The second category is of people who acknowledge the need for investment in Zambia from China and others.

These people say that the Chinese are taking advantage of the weak labour and immigration laws. The third and most critical category is that of ordinary Zambians on the street.

The majority of Zambians are poor, uneducated, unemployed and underemployed. They feel that the government is too busy protecting the Chinese, while the Chinese are supporting the government in suppressing them. This is the category of people who want to get rid of the Chinese.

They hate the Chinese and see them as exploiters and are thus carried away by the 2006 presidential candidate Michael Sata’s anti-Chinese sentiments.

b) Reactions of ex- colonisers “EU cautions Zambian government… it’ll be a scandal to get back into debt”, read the front page headlines of the Zambian newspaper The Post of October 3, 2007. The statement by Dr. Fee, Head of the European Union delegation in Zambia, followed the previous day’s announcement that China would provide a loan of $39 million to Zambia.

Two days later, another front-page headline read “Zambia free to choose partners”. Magande, the Zambian Minister of Finance and Planning, had reacted to the EU delegation’s warning, stating that the EU should not decide for Zambia which partners it could associate with. He said: “While we appreciate the help we receive from the EU, they should not decide for us which country should give us help.

It is very clear in international relations that it is not proper to interfere in our relationships with other cooperating partners.”11 The western donors have expressed anxiety at the way the Chinese give loans to countries in Africa, generally, and Zambia, in particular. The main fears are that the traditional lenders have just written off Zambia’s debt (at FOCAC summits) and thus the country appears creditworthy.

The other fear is that the Chinese are not at all concerned about the issue of good governance and human rights in Zambia and they are giving loans for projects, such as football stadiums and state palaces, that do not “add value” to the development process of the country. c) Reactions from China The Chinese authorities have expressed exasperation at the criticisms hurled at them by the West. Their standard responses are that the social and economic ties of the West with Africa have stretched for over 400 years and the West has prospered at the expense of Africa during that time. The case of Zambian copper mining is cited where for over a 100 years, Zambian copper has been mined, but Zambia today is one of the poorest countries in the world.

The Chinese also believe that they understand and appreciate the problems of African countries better than the West as they are developing countries.

The Chinese embassy responded to allegations that the

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Chinese investment did not create jobs for Zambians. In a statement, the counsellor of Commercial and Economic Affairs, Chinese Embassy, Lusaka, said: “The fear that China is employing Chinese workers in Zambia is unfounded. It is Chinese policy to employ Zambian workers whenever they are available with the right qualifications. Only when they are not available do we bring in Chinese experts. In fact, it is very expensive in terms of transport, allowances and housing to bring in Chinese experts.”

Challenges Facing China These events have made all eyes turn towards China. The accusations against China of not being sensitive to human rights, good governance, and being supportive of dictatorial regimes have wide notice. For example, the formation of the Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) has been researched heavily after revolts against the Chinese (Okonta 2006).

In Sudan, China refuses to take any concrete stand to help terminate the ongoing genocide. In Zimbabwe, China’s support to the dictatorial regime of Robert Mugabe has raised concerns about the role it is playing in several African countries. China has followed a policy of ‘non-interference in the internal affairs’ of any country. This mask of ‘noninterference’ that China comes with into Africa is very tempting to all kinds of regimes, dictatorial as well as democratic. Thus, most countries have engaged with China extensively as the “terms of engagement are very suitable”.

This has brought to light various challenges that China has begun facing in Africa. Thus, the West has started arguing that what the Asian (read China) countries are doing to Africa today is much more dangerous as compared to what the western countries have been doing.

Scholars like Chris Alden, Daniel Large and Ricardo Soares De Oliveira in the book China Returns to Africa have argued that Asian countries are engaging with Africa somewhat differently from those of the West. This will, in fact, prove “fatal” for Africa. Their best and the first argument against the Chinese is their (China’s) violation of human rights, the lack of emphasis on good governance, and open support to dictatorial regimes.

Even after doing this, the Chinese still manage to get away with their argument of non-interference in internal affairs of a country.12 Western scholars think that this sort of engagement with Africa is dangerous and holds alarming portents for Africa’s future. Thus, it is appropriate to look at the mounting public resentment as a key challenge to the Chinese in Zambia.

a) Manufacturing Sector China bought the Mulungushi Textiles in Zambia with the intention of rebuilding it. So, the name was changed to Zambia-China Mulungushi textiles Joint Ventures Limited.However, the company is besieged with several problems. In 2004, the Zambian government asked Chinese

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A F R I C A managers at Zambia-China Mulungushi Textiles Joint Ventures in northern Kabwe to stop locking in workers at the factory at night (International Business Times, August 9, 2006). But the Chinese have always had a bad track record on labour rights; they have often reportedly failed to give workers their due rights and have exploited them.13 Thus, workers keep complaining about poor working conditions at the mines.

This is a cause for concern in Zambia. In 2006, there was an explosion in a factory of Chinese explosive manufacturing company Luanshya. All 45 workers on site were killed in the explosion. The problem was again attributed to lack of enforcement by the Chinese authorities of relevant laws regarding safety measures.

Only the Zambian government can initiate talks with the Chinese officials regarding the safety of their workers.

Guy Scott, Deputy Leader of the Patriotic Front, had said in 2007 that, “The Chinese are no longer welcome. They are seen as cheats and our government as crooks to allow them to get away with it.” (China View, February 2, 2007).

The flow of cheap Chinese goods is also another major issue for the manufacturing sector that businessmen of Zambia are worried about. This was the main reason for the closure of Mulungushi Textiles.

b) Mining Sector In April 2005, an explosion at the Beijing General Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (BGRIMM) explosives factory resulted in the death of approximately 50 workers. BGRIMM is a subsidiary of China NonFerrous Company. The report on the cause of the explosion has not yet been made public, but it is believed to be negligence on the part of the company. The Chinese government paid a compensation of $10,000 to the next of kin of those killed.

In the wake of the tragic event, the company yielded to public pressure and allowed labour unionisation. The Zambia National Union of Miners and Allied Workers (NUMAW) was set up at the mine and it began collective negotiations.

However, the company continued to employ workers at below par conditions and in July 2006, during a strike over delays in payments by China Non Ferrous, a large number of employees protested in the vicinity of the living quarters of the Chinese managers.

Miners in the night shift stopped work, vandalised equipment and beat up the Chinese supervisor, while the day shift workers blocked the main road in Chambishi. Two protestors were shot and wounded by a Zambian national working as the head of the company’s mine police — a private security company operated by CNF. No prosecution was initiated.

The security manager was subsequently transferred to the nearby town of Chingola (Asia News, May 3, 2008).

But surprisingly, about 500 workers at a Chinese owned

Q U A R T E R L Y

copper smelter in Zambia returned to work after deciding to end a strike over payments and benefits. “The strike has ended, but we are not sure if they have struck a deal,” said Albert Mando, general secretary of the NUMAW, which is attempting to unionise the smelter’s employees.

The employees of the Chambishi smelter, which started processing copper in 2008, walked off the job to back their demands for better wages, holidays and transport allowances. The striking workers had blocked the main road, leading to the smelter in Chambishi, 400 km north of the capital Lusaka, to prevent Zambian and Chinese managers from entering the plant and vowed not to return until their demands were met. In May 2007, the Zambian government had to shut down a manganese mine operated by the Chinese company Chiman Manufacturing Ltd at Kabwe, approximately 150 km north of Lusaka, owing to pollution and poor environmental management (ABC News, May 14, 2007). And in June 2007, the Zambian authorities closed the Chineseowned Collum Coal Mining Industries in southern Zambia due to air pollution.15

Zambia Elections The 2006 general election in Zambia was the time when the anti-China sentiment was at its peak among the Zambians. Michael Sata was able to mobilise Zambians, a majority of whom are poor, uneducated, unemployed and underemployed, against the Chinese. He raised anti-China sentiments among the locals and convinced them that he would drive the Chinese out if he won.

Michael Sata said that Indians, Chinese and Lebanese were taking away jobs from the Zambians (IPS News, October 18, 2006). These remarks were dismissed by the Chinese at that time as “cheap politics”. The Chinese government also announced that it would officially lodge a complaint with the Zambian government regarding Sata’s comments that Taiwan was a sovereign state. Sata is a popularist and his remarks can be perceived to reflect an underlying antipathy towards one of Zambia’s most important investors. Zambia, he declared, was becoming a province, of China (Yaroslav, 2007).

Sata, during his campaign, is also said to have made contact with Taiwanese representatives in the neighbouring state of Malawi (which had diplomatic ties with Taiwan at the time) and also pledged to give recognition back to Taipei should he win in the elections. This was not acceptable to the Chinese and resulted in a furious response from Chinese ambassador to Zambia, Li Baodong. Li threatened to withdraw Chinese investment Sata were.

In his interviews, Sata said that the opposition had played an important role in influencing the government to act “more responsibly” in its relations with China. He also argued that his remarks were intended to ensure that the Chinese were not treated differently from other political investors.

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R E A L P O L I T I K Sata’s remarks also sparked attacks by opportunists on Chinese businesses in Lusaka. There were increasing reports of accidents in the copper mines, especially owned by the Chinese and suddenly a series of protests rose against the poor working conditions of Zambian workers.16 China finds itself in a situation where the West has been constantly mobilising others against its policies in Africa. The Chinese have been accused of not paying attention to human rights and enough proof has been found to support the allegation. They have also been accused of not pressuring recipient countries to uphold good governance, a reality manifest in the speed with which they have distributed aid throughout the continent with no ‘strings’ attached.

Last year, some Chinese medicines were found in some African countries with the label ‘Made in India’.

However, they were found to have been produced in China18 (Times of India, June 9, 2009). Besides, the scandal surrounding Chinese toys had already given it a bad image when in 2007 toxic lead-based paints and danger-

ous magnets were found in the toys exported by the country’s manufacturers (Times of India, August 15, 2007). With such allegations levelled against China, there is reason enough for China to worry.

Conclusion China’s engagement with Africa is set to be an enduring one and very unlike any other country’s engagement with Africa. It is likely to expand in the years to come.

China faces serious challenges as it raises its stakes in the African continent. These challenges, however, can’t be overcome in the short term. Also, there has been inadequate research on the subject. Training local labour is of utmost importance to help employ Zambians and provide more employment. Development aid should also be made more transparent by the government, which would put a check on the actions of the Chinese. Research into these areas would be beneficial for African business as well as Chinese investments. Thus, if Zambia has to improve its future and see a better partnership with the Chinese, it will have to focus on these key areas. n

References Books 1) Alden Chris (2007), China in Africa, London: Zed Books Ltd. 2) Alden Chris et al. (2008), China Returns to Africa: A Rising Power and a Continent Embrace, London: HURST Publishers Ltd. 3) Centre for Chinese Studies (2007), China’s Engagement of Africa: Preliminary Scoping of African Case Studies: Case Study of Zambia, University of Stellenbosch.

4) Davies Martyn et al. (2008), How China Delivers Development Assistance to Africa, Stellenbosch: Centre for Chinese Studies.

5) Huse Martine Dahle et al. (2008), China in Africa: Lending, Policy Space and Governance, Norway: Norwegian Campaign for Debt Cancellation.

Articles 1) Burke Christopher (2007), ‘China’s Entry into Construction Industries in Africa: Tanzania and Zambia as case studies’, China Report, 43(3): 323-336.

2) Edinger Hannah (2007), ‘In Hu’s Agenda’ in The China Monitor, Centre for Chinese Studies, February, 2007:15.

3) Yaroslav Trofimov (2007), ‘New Management: in Africa, China’s expansion begins to stir resentment’, Wall Street Journal, 2 February, 2007.

4) Yu George T (1968), ‘Dragon in the Bush: Peking’s presence in Africa’, Asian Survey, 8(12):1026.

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Internet Sources 1) ABC News (2007) ‘Zambia government closes Chinese run mine over air pollution’, 14 May, 2007, http://www.abcmoney.co.uk/news/14200771117.htm 2) ABC News (2007) ‘Zambia government closes Chinese run mine over air pollution’, 14 May, 2007, http://www.abcmoney.co.uk/news/14200771117.htm 3) Asia News (2008) ‘Exploited workers protest against Chinese company’, 3 May, 2008, http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=11685&size 4) Baldwin Katherine (2007), ‘Zambian leader challenges West over investment’, Reuters, 6 June, http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnBAN624883.html 5) Britannica Online Encyclopedia (2009), ‘Zambia: Economy’, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/655568/Zamb ia/44125/Economy#ref=ref480887 6) CIA, The World Factbook, ‘China’, https://www.cia.gov/ library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html 7) China View (2007) ‘Chinese investment in Africa are no longer welcome’, 2 February, 2007, http://chinaview.wordpress.com/2007/02/02/china-investment-in-africa-are-nolonger-welcome/ 8) Government of the People’s Republic of China (2006), ‘China’s Africa Policy’, 12 January http://www.chineseembassy.org.za/eng/zxxx/t230687.htm

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A F R I C A 9) IHLO (2009) ‘China in Africa’, http://www.ihlo.org/ CINTW/Zambia.html 10)IPS News (2006), ‘China’s Growing Presence met with resistance’, 18 October, http://ipsnews.net/news.asp? idnews=35152 11) IRIN News (2007), ‘Cold Reception for China’s President’, 5 February, 2007, http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/257292032ce258eba704aadd9bf4c518 .htm 12) International Business Times (2006) ‘Chinese labour policies mar African welcome’, 9 August, 2006, http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20060809/china-africamining-investment_2.htm 13) Lusaka Times (2008) ‘Mulungushi Textiles could reopen by next year’, 10 December, 2008, http://www.lusakatimes.com/?p=6285 14) Lusaka Times (2008) ‘Mulungushi Textiles could reopen by next year’, 10 December, 2008, http://www.lusakatimes.com/?p=6285 15) Marawi (2007), ‘Chinese Labourers’, 29 October, 2007, http://maravi.blogspot.com/2007/10/chinese-labourers.html 16) Miriam Mannak (2007), ‘Concerns over Chinese Investment and Working Conditions’, IPS News, 16 June, 2007, http://ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=42815 17) Okonta Ike (2006), ‘Niger Delta: Behind the Mask, Ijaw Militia Fight the Oil Cartel’, Economies of Violence Working Paper No. 11, http://geography.berkeley.edu/ ProjectsResources/ND%20Website/NigerDelta/WP/11Okonta.pdf 18) People’s Daily Online (2006) ‘More Zambians join management in Chinese enterprise’ 16 January, 2006, http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200601/16/eng20060116_ 235805.html 19) Times of India (2009) ‘Chinese passing off fake drugs as ‘Made in India’ 9 June, 2009, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/China-passing-off-fake-drugs-as-Made-inIndia/articleshow/4633377.cms 20) Times of India (2007) ‘Chinese in dark over toy scandals’ 15 August, 2007, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2282890.cms

21) Times of Zambia (2006), ‘Chinese give Zambia $1 m material for polls’, 18 May, 2006, http://www.zamnet.zm/newsys/news/viewnews.cgi?category=2&id=1147932252 22) Xinhua News Agency (2006), ‘The 1st Ministerial Conference’, 26 October, 2006, http://english.sina.com/p/1/ 2006/1026/92709.html 23) Xinhua News Agency (2007), ‘Hu Hails ‘All-weather Friendship’ Between China and Zambia’, 5 February, http://www.china.org.cn/english/infernational/198857.htm Miscellaneous 1] Sushmita Rajwar is a research scholar with the Centre for African Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Q U A R T E R L Y

2] China and Zambia established diplomatic relations on October 29, 1964.

3] The Soviet factor, the Great Cultural Revolution in China and emergence of communist beliefs in some African leaders could be cited with respect to ideology.

4] African attendees included the Presidents of Togo, Algeria, Zambia, Tanzania and the Secretary General of the Organisation of African Unity.

5] The other nations visited were Cameroon, Liberia, Sudan, South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique and the Seychelles, most of which are Least Developed Nations.

6] The copper production reached a peak of 700,000 t p.a. in 1969-1976 before beginning a progressive decline and sinking to a low of 307,000 t p.a. in 1995.

7] The Sino project came under criticism amid growing concerns over Chinese investments in Zambia, prompted by media reports that opposition candidate Michael Sata was against Chinese investments (Reuters 2007).

8] Chinese in Zambia are facing serious protests from the locals for engaging only Chinese labourers and not taking the locals at the management levels.

9] There were also reports that workers were being sent underground without protective clothing or boots.

10] This was during the presentation of the following study: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (2007) ‘The Social and Economic Impact of Asian FDI in Zambia: A case of Chinese and Indian Investments in Zambia’ Lusaka, Zambia.

11] This was published in Zambia Daily Mail, 5 October 2007 “Zambia free to choose partners”.

12] There have been cases where the principle of non-interference has been breached by the Chinese in Zambia like during the 2006 elections.

13] China has been famous for exploiting the workers in their country as well.

14] This is because South Africa has more developed infrastructure, modern economy as well as a functioning regulatory framework to monitor the behaviour of foreign investors. Besides, it has a strong civil society movement and its own position in multilateral organisations and the South (Naidu 2007: 290).

15] Resentment has not cropped up suddenly, but had been piling up for some time as workers died in mine explosions in a Chinese-owned mine. This raised the issue of unsafe working conditions.

16] The statement regarding decrease in the Chinese investment may be wrong but popular sentiment towards the Chinese was undoubtedly changing in Zambia.

17] The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control of Nigeria has confirmed that the consignment of fake anti-malaria drugs labeled ‘Made in India’ were found to have been manufactured in China.

This consignment has been possibly exported to other countries in Africa too.

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I N

C O N V E R S A T I O N

‘India offers choice in Africa’ There is a need for developing a focused analysis of India’s policy towards Africa. The re-emergence of India offers competition and choice to the African elite, says Dr. Alex Vines hatham House, formally known as The Royal Institute of International Affairs, organised an international conference in London on April 9 to mark the second anniversary of the first IndiaAfrica Forum held in New Delhi in 2008.

The brainchild of Dr. Alex Vines, head of the Africa programme at Chatham House, the conference brought together experts from India, Europe and the U.K. to debate the course of the future of India’s engagement with the African continent.

Vines, who earlier chaired the UN Panel of Experts on Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia, is also Director of Regional and Security Studies at the UK-based think tank.

In this conversation with Manish Chand, Editor, Africa Quarterly, Vines speaks about the need for developing a more focused analysis of India’s policy towards Africa and argues that the re-emergence of India offers competition and choice to the African elite.

C

Excerpts from the interview: Q) Chatham House organised a conference in April on the future of IndiaAfrica relations, two years after the India-Africa Forum Summit. What was the driving idea behind the conference? Is there more interest now in India-Africa engagement?

A) In the western policy-making and academic world, there has been too much attention on China and its re-engagement in Africa and little on India. The India-Africa Forum, I remember, attracted little comment and analysis and I thought it

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Dr. Alex Vines at Chatham House

There is not one Indian policy toward Africa; the Indian Navy has a security driven policy that includes the African rim of the Indian Ocean was important to chart how IndoAfrican relations are developing a year out from the next summit.

Q) India likes to believe that it’s model of engagement with Africa is different from that of other external players. What do you think is distinctive about the Indian model of cooperation with the African continent?

February-April 2010

A) India’s Africa engagement is increasingly mercantilist, driven by the Confederation of Indian Industries and other trade bodies and interests. This is a shift from the era of Nehruvianism focused on anti-colonial solidarity and South-South cooperation and shows that although India remains distinctive in its discourse about Africa, it is less so in practice. There is also not one Indian policy toward Africa; the Indian Navy has a security driven policy that includes the African rim of the Indian Ocean.

Q) How do you compare the Indian model with China's approach to the continent?

A) India doesn’t have the hard-power that China enjoys as a member of

A F R I C A the P-5 of the Security Council.

Indian companies don’t enjoy the same sort of diplomatic backing and network China does.

However, we are in an era of growing elite African choice, and India offers competition and choice in Africa. It also offers learning in the working of India’s democracy in a post-colonial setting.

Q) Some experts and observers have described China as “a neocolonial power in Africa.” How much truth is there in such a characterisation?

A) I think this is exaggerated. On balance, China has more than any other country helped break international complacency and paternalism about Africa. Have a look, Turkey, South Korea, Europe, America and India have all had to raise their game in Africa.

This is good for Africa and it’s up to Africans and their governments to make the most of it. It is Africa’s leadership that can win or loose and make this just a neo-colonial scramble for precious natural resources, leaving little added value to lift the continent out of poverty.

Q) Are Western countries exploring the prospect of partnering with India in Africa? What kind of partnership is possible between India and the EU in Africa? What kind of impact it can have on the shifting power play in Africa?

A) The West is looking at India. The U.S. is encouraging India to expand its naval ambitions in the Indian Ocean, partly to counter the growing Chinese footprint and through alliance compensate for the U.S. overstretch because of priorities elsewhere.

Britain and Germany reached out to India also in 2008, seeking to work with India in Africa but understandably, New Delhi has signaled that it prefers to work with southern partners not ‘tainted’ by a

colonial past — such as the aid effort of the India-Brazil-South Africa Forum. This may gradually change, but not in hurry.

Q What does the emergence of India and China in Africa mean for Africa and the African people? Have they threatened Western interests in the African continent?

A) I have already answered this question. I believe that Africa has everything to gain from the re-emergence of India and China in Africa.

It’s up to the responsible African leadership to grasp this opportuni-

Africa has everything to gain from the re-emergence of India and China in Africa.

It’s up to the responsible African leadership to grasp this opportunity and extract the best deals for Africa and its people ty and extract the best deals for Africa and its people. The West has been shaken by how rapidly the multipolar world has opened over the past few years, but its policy makers are more sanguine about this than a couple of years ago. We see a globalised world, with joint ventures between Chinese and Western oil companies and partnerships such as the ONGC one in Nigeria with London-based Mittal, showing commercial pragmatism.

Q U A R T E R L Y yet has the diplomatic infrastructure for a strategic Africa policy.

The re-opening and opening of embassies in Africa and moving beyond Commonwealth countries, especially in West Africa, is an important step.

Yet, building up Indian analytical capability, and language skills such as Portuguese for Lusophone Africa are needed to make this strategic rather than symbolic.

My impression is that India’s domestic challenges will still for some years trump international ambition, although the need to diversify energy supplies is pressing and will remain key for oil, coal and uranium.

Q) With more external partners to choose from, do you think Africa is closer to its resurgence on the global stage? What will Africa’s rise mean for the shifting global architecture?

A) Africa is the continent of the future.

That’s why I committed my career to analysing the politics of this continent. There are enormous challenges, good governance, climate change, education and health, but as India is experiencing, lifting millions of people out of poverty is possible.

Africa’s development is a longterm project, but moving from dependency on international donors through greater choice of partners is positive.

There are of course countries in Africa that do not enjoy naturalresource endowments and these will need support, including in agricultural extension in which India has a good record. n

Q) Do you think India has a strategic vision of its relationship with Africa?

A) The Indian Navy and Air Force certainly do, but I’m not sure India

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India in Africa: Two years after Forum summit With the second India-Africa Forum Summit barely a year away, Africa experts and scholars gathered at Chatham House in London in April to debate and analyse the future of India’s engagement with the continent of hope he engagement of India and China, the two emerging Asian powers and home to nearly one-fifth of the world’s humanity, with Africa and their different strategies in the continent are attracting increasing global attention. China’s bilateral trade with Africa has exceeded $109 billion, while India’s bilateral trade with the continent is now estimated to be around $40 billion.

In recent times, there has been an intense debate and analysis over the nature of Beijing’s dramatic acceleration of economic ties with Africa and what it means for the development of the continent. This frenzied discourse on China in Africa is partly driven by the West’s unease with a rising China in the region the former colonial powers still see as their fief. The critique of China has also been powered by human rights activists, trade unionists and African leaders who have objected to some of Beijing’s unsavoury business practices in Africa.

However, despite centuries of trade links with the resource-rich continent and the heady period of anti-colonial solidarity, India’s multi-faceted engagement with Africa, home to over two million Indian diaspora, has not inspired the same level of interest and research. It was against this backdrop that Chatham House, formally known as The Royal Institute of International Affairs, organised an international conference titled “Two Years on from the Forum Summit: The Future of Africa-

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India Engagement,” on April 9 in London to mark the second anniversary of the 2008 summit. It brought together academics and Africa experts from Europe and India to debate and analyse the course of India’s foray into Africa and its larger implications for the continent’s quest for resurgence and development. “There has been too little debate and analysis on India in

Participants shared the view that India and China have very different strategies of engaging Africa, although some of their motivations are similar Africa and this conference is an effort to provide a platform for a more balanced and focused debate, which at least in the West is away from the existing overemphasis on China and its efforts in Africa,” said Alex Vines, head of the Africa programme at Chatham House, while introducing the conference.

The conference generated a slew of ideas, critiques and suggestions that could lead to India not only scaling up its economic ties with Africa, but will also go a long way in making it’s approach distinct in both discourse and

February-April 2010

practice. Participants shared the view that India and China have very different strategies of engaging the continent, although some of their motivations are similar. They stressed on the need for more specific research on India-Africa relations, as there is a dim awareness of how different China’s and India’s approaches to Africa really are. With their economies among the fastest growing in the world, the quest for energy security will ensure that their involvement in the African continent will only deepen in times to come. India is already largely dependent on oil imports and this dependency is set to increase to 90 per cent within the next 10 years, said a summary report at the end of the conference. Nigeria now contributes around 10 per cent of India’s total oil imports.

India’s oil companies like ONGC Videsh have been targeting leading oilproducers like Angola with varying degree of success. Indian companies have become very active in the upstream components of the oil sector and are currently exploring new oil sources in Madagascar, Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda, said Ruchita Beri, research officer at the New Delh-based Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA).

The race for oil has made Africa a new magnet of global attention, but the really important question is, as Cyril Obi, senior researcher at the Nordic Africa Institute at Uppsala, Sweden, puts it, how Africa can benefit from

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this new interest and competition, which is not only between China and India, but also between these new players and Western countries. Said Renu Modi, senior lecturer in African studies at University of Mumbai: “India’s interest in Africa is not only focused on economic gains from the extractive sector. India will build a long-term partnership with Africa rather than focus on short-term business objectives.”

Many speakers focused on Africa’s increasing strategic importance for India and the continent’s pivotal role in helping New Delhi realise its ambition to get a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.

From New Delhi’s perspective, the lack of consensus in the AU over the UN Security Council reforms and its hesitation towards joining the G4 plan of India, Brazil, Japan and Germany has been an area of concern.

Diplomatic efforts are on to bridge the gap and present a united front, but differing perceptions continue to come in the way.

“South Africa went with other African countries on decisions to do with the UN Security Council, particularly when they stipulated that any new permanent members would need to have a veto. This meant that South Africa could not align itself with the G4’s position. This was a point of some concern, and the issue is always raised in India. It is the biggest challenge to its worldview,” said Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, national director of the South African Institute of International Affairs.

And then there are security issues like counter-terrorism and the festering problem of piracy in the Horn of Africa that are set to ramp up India’s strategic foray in the continent.

“In the past, over 100 Indian citizens have been kidnapped and several Indian naval ships have been deployed.

The Indian navy seems to have been more aggressive than the Chinese in its actions against the pirates,” said Vines.

But this is just the beginning: India’s security establishment is now looking closely at imbuing the relationship with Africa with greater strategic content.

Experts struck an optimistic note about a steady and cumulative expansion of India’s engagement with Africa, straddling various sectors. As India complements its economic reforms with a network of social ameliorative programmes, its attractions to the new African elite are bound to become stronger. The democratic transformation in Africa will also enhance the appeal of the Indian model of cooperation (as India’s then

Speakers’ voices n Many speakers focused on

Africa’s increasing strategic importance for India and the continent’s pivotal role in helping New Delhi realise its ambition to get a permanent seat in the UN Security Council. n Experts struck an optimistic note about a steady and cumulative expansion of India’s engagement with Africa, straddling various sectors. n India is intent on building a long-term partnership with Africa rather than focus on short-term business objectives. minister of state for external affairs Shashi Tharoor said in his address at the India-Africa business conclave in March 2010) for Africa as it searches for the right partnership to move beyond the diktats of donors to a genuinely equal relationship in the international arena.

“In a scenario where Africa is going to be increasingly democratic, accountably governed and with a market-based economy, Indian engagement in Africa will move from a passive request-based approach to aggressive involvement of the Indian private sector,” said Ajay Dubey, director of the Area Studies Programme on Africa at New Delhi-based Jawaharlal Nehru

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University.

“India is looking for a wider partnership promoting democratization, research, and training and skills transfer between itself and the African continent,” said Manish Chand, Editor, Africa Quarterly, while distinguishing India’s approach to Africa from that of China’s.

As India braces for its second summit with Africa next year, there is a renewed mood of self-assessment within the African continent itself to evaluate each external partner on its merits and see what they bring to the table for Africa.

The rise of India and China in Africa, as Dr Fantu Cheru says in an eponymous book edited by him and Cyril Obi, has opened new possibilities for Africa in the post-Washington consensus period.

Compared to the institutionalised donor-recipient relationship crafted by the West and the gloom-and-doom narrative about Africa, Dr Charu said China and India, by contrast, have “approached Africa with an open mind and a strong business focus, which has been welcomed on the continent.”

The increased interest from China and India offers new opportunities for Africa to move away from the rigid donor-recipient relationship with the West, said Emma Mawdsley, senior lecturer at Cambridge University.

Contrasting China’s state-driven foray into Africa with India’s private sector led engagement, Dr Charu said that strong and more coordinated activities from India could lead to the Indian approach becoming more successful in the future than that of its Chinese counterpart.

India’s ambitions in Africa, as Dr Vines pointed out, need to be matched by sustainable new doctrines and diplomatic capabilities to tap new possibilities in the burgeoning partnership that’s set to become more robust in days to come.

(This report on the conference is based on a transcript put together by Chatham House). n

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A new India-Africa business alchemy The conclave is a must-attend event, and has come to epitomise the economic surge of an old trusted relationship that harks back to the shared legacy of the anti-colonial struggle, says Manish Chand

Delegates at the sixth CII-Exim Bank conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership 2010 in New Delhi on March 16.

ore than 1,000 Indian and African businessmen, political leaders and policymakers descended on the Indian capital midMarch to mine the new business alchemy between the world’s second fastest growing economy and the resource-rich 53-nation African continent. The stakes were huge: projects exceeding $10 billion were on the table. They were in areas ranging from power, fertilisers and agriculture to education, small and medium industries and telecommunications, but the tension that goes with deal-making was missing. Instead, the businessmen chatted amiably, cracked

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jokes and talked business. When business combines with a sense of camaraderie and ideological kinship, one gets more than deals. It’s a sustainable partnership with a long-term future, says Ghana’s Vice-President John Dramani Mahama, the guest of honour at the sixth edition of the India-Africa partnership conclave that’s growing in size and enthusiasm since it was launched nearly five years ago.

Now, the conclave is a must-attend event, and has come to epitomise the economic surge of an old trusted relationship that harks back to the shared legacy of the anti-colonial struggle. Led

February-April 2010

by the private sector, bilateral trade has grown to $39 billion, recording an over ten-fold increase in the last 15 years.

Almost every week, an Indian firm announces a new business venture in an African country. Tata buses and the Kirloskar pump, made by Indian companies, have become iconic brand names in many African countries. Jonathan Wutawunashe, Zimbabwe’s ambassador to India and Dean of African Diplomatic Corps in New Delhi, is fond of recounting that if someone loses his way in African villages, he is told to go to the Kirloskar pump and find his way!

Adi Godrej, a top Indian industrial-

A F R I C A ist, is the latest to join the African dream of the Indian corporate world, with his eponymous company recently buying Nigeria’s Tura Group. Africa is “the continent of the future,” says Godrej, encapsulating the mood of optimism among Indian entrepreneurs towards investing in Africa.

There is now virtually a scramble to invest in Africa, with big Indian companies leading the charge. The Essar Group has invested $100 million in Essar Telecom Kenya Holdings. Essar’s Yu brand has 400,000 telecom subscribers in Kenya. It has a 50 per cent stake in Kenya Petroleum Refineries where it plans to invest $300 million.

Tata Steel KZN has acquired $120 million in a Greenfield ferrochrome venture in South Africa. The Vedanta Group has spawned 55 learning centres to train 28,500 learners each year, and has trained nearly 150,000 students since 1997. ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of India’s oil major, operates $2.1 billion oil assets in Libya, Sudan, Cote d'Ivoire and Egypt, making it India’s biggest investor in Africa.

India’s leading telecom operator Bharti Airtel has announced an $8.3 billion deal for acquiring Kuwait-based Zain Telecom’s Africa assets. If investments grow at this rate, the two sides will be able to scale up their bilateral trade to $70 billion much before the 2015 deadline set by their leaders.

Although the private sector has been in the forefront of driving Indian investment into Africa, the Indian government has shown the way by forging a proactive Africa policy and has offered incentives to spur two-day trade and investment.

Outlining India’s approach towards the African continent focused on the triple Ts — Trade, Technology and Training, India’s Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh announced a slew of measures at the maiden India-Africa Forum Summit in 2008 that included granting preferential market access to 34 least developed African countries. He announced doubling of the lines of credit to $5.4 billion and pledged over $500 million in capacity building and

human resource development projects.

The market access will boost African exports from cotton, cocoa and aluminium to copper ore and cashew nuts.

The fundamentals of India’s engagement with Africa have only grown stronger. Speaking at the March 2010 business conclave, India’s then Minister of State for External Affairs Dr. Shashi Tharoor outlined the unique agendafree “India’s model of cooperation” with the continent that revolves around capacity building, training and private sector investments. “We do not wish to go and demand certain rights or projects or impose our ideas in Africa. But we do want to contribute to the achievement of Africa’s development objectives as they have been set by our African partners,” Tharoor said.

The Indian model of cooperation has been reinforced by the joint action plan India and Africa launched early March this year. The action plan envisages India setting up 19 institutions in Africa with the African Union Commission and member states in areas of diamond polishing, IT, vocational education and the Pan-African Stock Exchange. The action plan builds on such pioneering initiatives like the India-aided Pan-Africa e-network project that seeks to bring tele-education and tele-medicine to the African people.

India wishes to be a partner in Africa’s resurgence, Dr. Manmohan Singh said at the 2008 summit. African leaders have responded enthusiastically.

“India is a terrific example,” says Togo’s Prime Minister Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo. “Africa can learn from the trajectory of development in India and the Indian experience,” he says.

Says Ghana’s former president John Agyekum Kufuor: “If India’s experience is married to Africa’s vast resources, it will result in the accelerated development of Africa.” This symbiosis opens up possibilities of engagement in areas ranging from agriculture, food security, infrastructure and hydrocarbons to IT and frontier areas of human knowledge.

The economic surge is set to drive the two sides closer to create the century of Asia and Africa. n

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Tharoor unveils Indian model of engagement

gainst the backdrop of China’s surging trade with Africa, India’s then Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on March 15 outlined the unique Indian model of engagement with the continent that revolves around capacity building, training and private sector investments.

“The model of our cooperation with Africa is clearly one seeking mutual benefit through a consultative process,” Tharoor said at the sixth India-Africa business conclave in New Delhi. “We do not wish to go and demand certain rights or projects or impose our ideas in Africa. But we do want to contribute to the achievement of Africa's development objectives as they have been set by our African partners,” Tharoor said.

Although Tharoor did not name China, it was an oblique reference to the Chinese practice of doing business with Africa that stands out in contrast to the agenda-free approach of India. “We are not seeing it in competitive terms.

India's engagement with Africa stands on its own,” Tharoor later told journalists when asked about the possibilities of competition and rivalry between India and China in Africa. “We don’t go with any agenda. The Indian private sector is very effective in Africa,” he said.

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(See Dr. Shashi Tharoor’s speech in Documents section)

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India a terrific example for Africa, says Togo PM There is great scope for cooperation and investment between India and Africa in areas like agriculture, infrastructure, education, energy, roads, airports and railroads, Houngbo tells Manish Chand ogo’s Prime Minister Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo says Africa is increasingly looking at India as a knowledge power and believes Indian enterprises should scale up investment in the West African country.

“Africa’s expectation is to benefit from other countries in the South.

India is a terrific example,” Houngbo, enthused by the success of the IndiaAfrica business conclave in New Delhi mid-March, told Africa Quarterly in an interview. “India is the world’s most populous democracy and has been a leader in frontier areas of knowledge.

It’s emerging as a knowledge power,” he said when asked about Africa’s expectations from the second IndiaAfrica Forum Summit next year.

“Africa can hugely benefit from the Indian experience,” said Houngbo, who became prime minister of Togo, a country of 6.6 million people and the world’s fourth largest phosphate producer, in September 2008.

Houngbo, an accountant and business management expert, had earlier served with the UN in key positions as UN deputy secretary general and director of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) for Africa.

“India’s experience in creating a green revolution could be extremely useful for Africa,” said Houngbo, who was among African leaders invited for the IndiaAfrica business conclave this week that discussed projects worth $11 billion.

“What is very interesting and appealing is the Indian model of cooperation.

India is a developing country but has achieved much. Africa can, therefore, learn from the trajectory of development in India and the Indian experi-

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Togo’s Prime Minister Gibert Fossoun Houngbo talks during an exclusive interview with Africa Quarterly on the sidelines of the India-Africa business conclave.

ence,” he said when asked to compare India’s engagement with Africa with those of other countries like China.

“There is tremendous scope in areas of transfer of knowledge and knowhow. There is enough room for a lot of partnerships. We will have to see how different partnerships are complementary,” he said.

India’s current bilateral trade with Africa is around $39 billion, compared to China’s $109 billion, but New Delhi feels the Indian model is more effective in the long run as it focuses on economic empowerment, skill building and human resource development.

Capturing a new mood of optimism in Togo after the recent elections, Houngbo asked Indian businesses to cash in on new opportunities in his country and offered to host the next business conclave.

February-April 2010

“Togo has been facing political problems. We have been going through a period of social and political churning.

Now, we are entering a more hopeful period as peace, stability and democratic governance have been restored,” he said. “The stage is now set for economic rejuvenation and the take-off of development flight,” he said.

“The challenges are huge, but there are also huge opportunities. There is enormous scope for cooperation and investment in areas like agriculture, infrastructure, education, roads, energy, airports and railroads. We are expecting more FDI, specially from countries like India,” he said.

“India’s Exim Bank is playing a very constructive role in financing a variety of projects in Africa. Now, Indian banks should think of directly financing projects in Africa,” he said. n

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Indian fertiliser firm to set up plant in Ghana soon Ghana’s Trade and Industry Minister Hannah Tetteh is all praise for the agenda-free Indian model of engagement with Africa hana is looking at India for technology transfer and more investments in areas ranging from agro-processing and hydrocarbons to IT, says Ghana’s Trade and Industry Minister Hannah Tetteh.

“The political, social and economic relations between India and Ghana go back many years. Africans gain from the transfer of technologies by India,” Tetteh, one of the seven women ministers in the West African country and a firm backer of stronger India-Africa ties, told Africa Quarterly in an interview.

“We have been discussing a fertiliser plant. That’s going to be a reality soon,” she said while referring to a fertiliser plant the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) plans to set up in Ghana to meet the needs of the West African nation and also export the surplus to India.

“Different countries are at different stages of development. The forward march of democracy is likely to continue,” said Tetteh, striking an upbeat note about the future of democracy in the resource-rich continent. “With education and information, that process will gather momentum,” said Tetteh, who has served as minority spokesperson on gender and children.

Ghana is widely seen as a gateway to West Africa and a model for economic and political reforms in the African continent. Last year, it managed to get a $600-million three-year loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), due to its economy’s resilience in times of recession.

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India-Africa relations are marked by parity and mutual respect. It is one of equal partners and not one where there is an assumption of superiority and this is what makes it a workable relationship India is among the top five foreign direct investors in Ghana, with 46 projects worth $277 million involving Indian companies.

Praising the agenda-free Indian model of engagement with Africa, Tetteh said the India-Africa relations are marked by parity and mutual respect. “The relationship is one of

Picture of resilience n Ghana is widely seen as a

gateway to West Africa and a model for economic and political reforms in the African continent n Last year, Ghana managed to get a $600-million three-year loan from the International Monetary Fund due to its economy’s resilience in times of recession n India is among the top five foreign direct investors in Ghana, with 46 projects worth $277 million involving Indian companies

February-April 2010

equal partners and not one where there is an assumption of superiority on the part of one,” she said. “It’s not prescriptive. This is what makes it a more workable relationship,” she added.

Rooting for reforms in international bodies, including the global economic architecture, Tetteh called for greater cooperation between India and Africa in this area through regional mechanisms.

“The current international architecture is a reflection of post-World War II realities. The world has changed radically since then,” she said.

“The dynamics have changed.

Change is inevitable,” she stressed.

“The question is one of right mechanisms. It might be useful for India to engage with Africa through sub-regional mechanisms and organisations like SADC (Southern African Development Community) and ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States),” she said.

Ghana’s minister is all praise for India’s experiment with gender equality in parliament through the women’s reservation bill.

“I hope this legislation goes through. It’s inspiring for women everywhere, including in Africa,” she said.

A lawyer by profession and an aide to Ghana President John Atta-Mills, Tetteh was in New Delhi to attend a business conclave. She also praised the panchayati raj system in India, saying India and Africa could share their experience in grassroots democracy and institution building.

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Rehabilitating post-war

STRESS victims in Nigeria Jane-Frances Agbu focuses on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among Nigerian military personnel and outlines a strategy of dealing with it

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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is common among the combat returnee Nigerian soldiers.

eyond economic and political manipulation that has perpetuated and glorified warfare, there is no escaping the conclusion that war, and the killing that lies at the heart of combat, is an extraordinarily traumatic and psychologically costly endeavour that has a profound impact on all those who participate in the exercise. This psychological cost of war is readily observable and measurable at the individual level. At the national level, however, a country at war can anticipate a small — but statistically significant — increase in the domestic murder rate, probably owing to the glorification of

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violence and the resultant reduction in the level of “repression” of natural aggressive instincts, which Sigmund Freud, the founder of psycho-analytical psychology, held to be essential to the existence of civilisation (Grossman and Siddle, 2000). However, the nation (if not decimated by the war) is generally resilient, and the group (if not destroyed) is inevitably disbanded. But the individual, who survives combat, may well end up paying a profound psychological price for life. The cumulative impact of these on hundreds of thousands of veterans is pervasive, with the significant potential of a long-term impact on society at large. Thus, it is obvious that the tragic price of war is the toll of death and destruction, but the additional cost, the psychological cost

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borne by the survivors of combat, needs to be addressed and prioritised in plans for peace and rehabilitation.

The motivation for this study was a product of my observation and experiences as an interning clinical psychologist at a military hospital in Lagos. It was at the peak of ECOMOG (Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group) peacekeeping operations in Liberia when returnee soldiers were constantly referred to the psychiatric wing of the hospital for medical evaluation and treatment. They had visible and different levels of physical injuries, which were promptly treated, with some needing more medical attention and longer stay at the hospital than others. But the mental scar, the less visible and somewhat mysterious effect of war Nigerian women protesting on March 11, 2010 against the recent sectarian violence. Thousands of women marched through the streets of Jos in black to the and violent conflict, lingered longer and was State House of Assembly and later to the government house to protest the killings of self-debilitating. Here is delineated the expewomen and children at Dogo Nahawa village in Nigeria’s south Jos, Plateau State. rience of a soldier referred to as Soldier X. During active service in Liberia, Soldier X recounts the tion, among a host of other conditions.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was diagnosed following experience: “I was sent to Liberia as an ECOMOG troop, it was a very after his battlefield and psychiatric histories were considered.

Soldier X received both psychiatric and demanding experience… but we were trained “I fought in Sierra psychological therapies. His condition to endure any type of experience, sometimes going without food and sleep for days. One Leone and Liberia. improved after six months following intensive treatment, and was re-assigned night, the ethnic militias raided our camp and I feel tormented to a less combatant position. Another, killed so many soldiers, some from other couneveryday but I don’t referred to as Soldier Y, presented no tries. They were small boys of around 12 to 18 years and they were very fearless… and some- want to talk about it… physical injuries, and was not referred for medical assessment. Thus, the psychotimes, they drink human blood. They killed so So you see why I logical assessment and much-needed many soldiers in their sleep but I and four other come to the mess help was overlooked. According to him: soldiers managed to escape. We trekked for two everyday to drink…. “I fought in Sierra Leone and Liberia. I feel days before we could get help. I was so disturbed I feel easily irritated tormented everyday but I don’t want to talk that I stopped sleeping for fear that they would return. I was sent back to Nigeria because my and violent, but this is about it… So you see why I come to the mess superior felt I needed medical help.” the life of a soldier… everyday to drink... I feel easily irritated and violent, but this is the life of a soldier… we must His referral report revealed that we must do our job do our job and obey orders.”

Soldier X was restless, talkative, and obey orders” Of course, there are many facets to irritable, hyper-vigilant with bouts of the life of a soldier: to protect the nation, over-anxious moments and also less productive. He was then referred for psychiatric/psycho- to obey commands and to be fearless. But the soldier is not an abstract being, he or she is human with normal physical logical evaluation and treatment.

On first contact, non-verbal observations revealed a and emotional responses to extreme stress. So he or she sufhyper-vigilant, restless man, with unsteady gait, bloodshot fers from PTSD. The first documented cases of PTSD were and shifty eyes, and poor grooming habits. Substance use observed among combatant soldiers and they are most vulnerable to this disorder. and abuse were also queried.

The psychological evaluation presented the following symptoms: sleep disturbance, exhaustion and chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder fatigue, avoidance behaviour, nervousness, anxiety, fear, The history of PTSD can be traced back to the early emotional numbness, including inability to feel joy (anhe- 1800s, when military doctors began diagnosing soldiers with donia) and deadening of feelings towards others. The symp- ‘exhaustion’ following the stress of battle. This ‘exhaustion’ tons also included flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive recol- was characterised by a mental shutdown owing to individlections, replays, violent visualisations and poor concentra- ual or group trauma. Around this time there was a syn-

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drome in England called ‘railway spine’ or ‘railway hysteria’ which bears a resemblance to what we call PTSD today.

People who were victims of catastrophic railway accidents suffer from ‘railway hysteria’. During World War I, such a syndrome was called ‘shell shock’ and during World War II, it came to be known as ‘war neurosis’. During the Vietnam War, the symptoms were described as ‘combat stress reaction’.

The official designation of PTSD did not come about until 1980, when the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) was published. As the name itself suggests, PTSD is caused by a traumatic event involving threatened death or serious injury to oneself. Stressors such as seeing someone else threatened with death or serious injury, or killed, can also cause PTSD. (APA, 1994; 2002).

Some examples of stressors known to cause PTSD include: violent personal assaults such as rape or mugging, car or plane accidents, military combat, industrial accidents, and natural disasters such as hurricanes or tornadoes.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a natural emotional reaction to a deeply shocking and disturbing experience. It is a normal reaction to an abnormal situation. In 2000, the American Psychiatric Association revised the PTSD diagnostic criteria in the fourth edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR). The diagnostic criteria (Criterion A-F) are specified below: A. The person experiences a traumatic event in which both of the following were present: l The person experienced or witnessed or was confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others; l The person’s response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror.

B. The traumatic event is persistently re-experienced in any of the following ways: l Recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event, including images, thoughts or perceptions; l Recurrent distressing dreams of the event; l Acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring (for example reliving the experience); l Illusions, hallucinations, and dissociative flashback episodes, (including those on wakening or when intoxicated); l Intense psychological distress at exposure to internal or external cues that symbolise or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event; and, l Physiological reactivity on exposure to internal or external cues that symbolise or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event.

C. Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general: l Responsiveness (not present before the trauma) as indicated by efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings or

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conversations associated with the trauma; l Efforts to avoid activities, places or people that arouse

recollections of this trauma; l Inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma; l Markedly diminished interest or participation in sig-

nificant activities; l Feeling of detachment or estrangement from others; l Restricted range of affect (for example, unable to have

affectionate feelings); l Sense of a foreshortened future (e.g., does not expect

to have a career, marriage, children or a normal life span).

D. Persistent symptoms of increased arousal (not present before the trauma) as indicated by at least two of the following: l Difficulty falling or staying asleep l Irritability or outbursts of anger l Difficulty in concentration l Hyper-vigilance l Exaggerated startle response E. The symptoms in Criteria B, C and D last for more than one month.

F. The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning. The focus of PTSD is a single life-threatening event or threat to integrity. However, the symptoms of traumatic stress also arise from an accumulation of small incidents rather than one major incident. Examples include: l Repeated exposure to horrific scenes during accidents or fires such as those endured by members of the emergency services (for example bodies mutilated in car crashes, or horribly-burnt or disfigured by fire, or dismembered or disembowelled in aeroplane disasters, etc.); l Repeated involvement in dealing with serious crime, e.g., where violence has been used and especially where children are hurt; l Breaking news of bereavement caused by accident or violence, especially if children are involved; l Repeated violations such as verbal abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse and sexual abuse; and, l Regular intrusion and violation, both physical and psychological, as in bullying, stalking, harassment, domestic violence, etc.

Where the symptoms are the result of a series of events, the term Complex PTSD (formerly referred to unofficially as Prolonged Duress Stress Disorder or PDSD) may be more appropriate. Whilst Complex PTSD is not yet an official diagnosis in DSM-IV or ICD-10, it is often used in preference to other terms such as “rolling PTSD”, “PDSD”, and “cumulative stress”.

Symptoms of PTSD Some of the symptoms of PTSD include: hyper-vigilance (feels like but is not paranoia), exaggerated startle

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Nigerian women protesting against sectarian violence. Such violence is rampant in Nigeria and is negatively impacting the psyche of the Nigerian people.

response, irritability, sudden anger or PTSD was associated mistrust of others, confusion and extreme feeling of losing control (APA, violent outbursts, flashbacks, nightwith long stay in the 1994; 2002; Wikipedia, 2009). mares, intrusive recollections, replays, These indicate the symptoms and the violent visualisations, triggers and sleep mission area, current autonomic effects of PTSD. It is indeed disturbance. Some other symptoms alcohol use, and a debilitating disorder that needs to be include: exhaustion and chronic fatigue, lifetime use of an understood and its effects addressed. reactive depression, guilt, feelings of alcohol/gunpowder detachment, avoidance behaviours, nervousness, anxiety, phobias about specif- mixture. Survivor guilt Conflict, the Military and PTSD Okulate and Jones (2006) investigatic daily routines, events or objects, irrawas associated with ed the prevalence of PTSD and survivor tional or impulsive behaviour, loss of avoidance of trauma guilt in a sample of hospitalized Nigerian interest, loss of ambition and anhedonia.

Also poor concentration, impaired mem- related stimuli but not soldiers evacuated from the Liberian and ory, joint pains, muscle pains, emotionduration of combat Sierra-Leonean wars. Also, relationships between PTSD, survivor guilt and subal numbness, physical numbness, low exposure stance use were further assessed. The self-esteem and an overwhelming sense study employed a sample of all hospiof injustice and a strong desire to do something about it are overwhelming symptoms of PTSD talised patients from the military operations during a fouryear period (1990-1994) who were physically capable of (DSM-IV, 1994, 2002). being assessed. The study location was 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria, which was the base hosAutonomic Arousal Autonomic arousals resulting from PTSD include pital for all casualties from the Liberian and Sierra-Leonean headaches, back pains, inability to relax, shaking and operations. A socio-demographic data questionnaire, the tremors, sweating, nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, PTSD checklist and a validated World Health Organisation abdominal distress, frequent urination and urinary inconti- (WTO) survey instrument were used to obtain data from the nence. subjects.

Palpitations of the heart, hyperventilation, dizziness, The prevalence rate for PTSD was found to be 22 perinsomnia, nightmares, restless sleep, excessive sleep, exces- cent and survivor guilt was found in 38 percent of the sive startle, hyper-vigilance and heightened sense of threat respondents. PTSD was significantly associated with long are some other autonomic arousals due to PTSD. Also duration of stay in the mission area, current alcohol use, lifeinclusive are anxiety, irritability, depression, substance time use of an alcohol/gunpowder mixture, and lifetime abuse, loss of adaptability, suicidality, disruptive behaviour, cannabis use. Survivor guilt was significantly associated with

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Peacekeepers of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) in Darfur.

is present in the body at higher levels in avoidance of trauma-related stimuli but Assessing the link the morning and at its lowest at night. not duration of combat exposure between PTSD and Although stress is not the only reason (Okulate & Jones, 2006). Although the sample studied was specific, PTSD heart diseases, a study that cortisol is secreted into the bloodmight be quite common and probably by Richardson (2008), stream, it has been termed as “the stress hormone” because it is also secreted in undetected among Nigerian military indicates that the more higher levels during the body’s ‘fight or personnel engaged in battle and peacesevere the PTSD flight’ response to stress, and is responkeeping operations. Detection of such sible for several stress-related changes in persons through deliberate screening in diagnosis is, the military community studies should help greater the likelihood the body. Small increases of cortisol have some positive effects: a quick burst of to alleviate the symptoms. Richardson of death from heart energy for survival reasons, a burst of (2008) further observed that deployed disease increased immunity and lower sensitivipeacekeeping veterans with PTSD have ty to pain. significant impairments in health-relatWhile cortisol is an important and helpful part of the ed quality of life.

Assessing the link between PTSD and heart diseases, a body’s response to stress, it is important that the body’s study by Richardson (2008) indicates that the more severe relaxation response be activated so that the body’s functions the PTSD diagnosis is, the greater the likelihood of death can return to normal following a stressful event. from heart disease. PTSD causes the body to release stress Unfortunately, in high-stress environment, the body’s stress hormones, which lead to inflammation and damage to the response is activated so often that the body does not always arteries and cardiovascular system. Stress hormones also have a chance to return to normal, resulting in a state of tend to reduce the amount of inflammation-reducing cor- chronic stress (Scott, 2008).

Also, people with PTSD have dramatically higher rates tisol in the body.

Cortisol is an important hormone in the body, secreted of chronic health problems such as psoriasis, arthritis and by the adrenal glands and involved in the following func- other inflammatory diseases (Boscarino, 2008). Richardson tions and more: proper glucose metabolism, regulation of further observed that increased level of stress hormone and blood pressure, insulin release for blood sugar maintenance, less cortisol from PTSD is a bad combination. From the immune function and inflammatory response. Normally, it above, it is obvious that the psychological effect of con-

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flict/combat is a concept which encompasses a wide variety able to participate in combat due to mental (as opposed to of processes and negative impacts, all of which must be physical) debilitation. Psychiatric casualties seldom repretaken into consideration in any assessment of the immedi- sent a permanent debilitation, and with proper care they can be rotated back into normalcy. However, studies have ate and long term costs of war.

To provide insight into the psychology of war and con- demonstrated that, after combat, psychiatric casualties are strongly predisposed toward the more long-term and more flict on the military, the following aspects are discussed: permanently debilitating manifestation of PTSD l War and psychiatric casualties (Grossman, 1996; Grossman & Siddle, 2000). The actual l Physiological arousal and fear casualty can manifest itself in many ways, ranging from l The trauma of close range inter-personal aggression affective disorders to somatoform disorders, but the treatl The resistance to kill. ment for the many manifestations of An examination of the psychological effects of combat should begin by For the combatants in combat stress involves simply removing the soldier from the combat environacknowledging that there are some posevery major war fought ment. But the problem is that the miliitive aspects to combat. Throughout in this century, there tary does not want to simply return the recorded history, these positive aspects psychiatric casualties to normal life, it have been emphasised and exaggerated has been a greater wants to return them to combat. in order to protect the self-image of probability of On his second tour in Iraq, recounts combatants, or honour the memory of the fallen and rationalise their deaths, to becoming a psychiatric Sergent B, an American soldier: “I saw aggrandise and glorify political leaders casualty than of being Iraqi bodies that suffered severe trauma and I and military commanders, and to killed by enemy fire. A suffered what I think is nervous breakdown. I manipulate people into supporting war. psychiatric casualty is wasn’t functioning. I was having physical symptoms. I was having behavioural reaction.”

But the fact that these positive aspects a combatant who is After struggling through the night, he have been manipulated and exploited does not deny their existence. There is a not able to participate said he decided to tell his superior officer out of fear that “if we do go to patrol reason for the powerful attraction of in combat due to and I do freeze, that could have consecombat over the centuries, and there is mental debilitation quences too”. The message was “hey you no value in going from the dysfunctionare a coward. You are acting like a cowal extreme of glorifying war to the equally dysfunctional extreme of denying its attraction (Grossman ard”. He was sent back to the United States where he was charged with cowardice. The charge was eventually dropped & Siddle, 2000).

The ability to recognise and confront danger, the pow- but his record is still uncertain. “My career is probably at an erful group bonding that occurs in times of stress, the end. I have had my security clearance revoked. I am still awe-inspiring spectacle of a nation focused and aligned to struggling to get things set straight,” he laments. He hopes achieve a single aim, and the ability to overcome the pow- that by speaking out, he could help other war veterans erful imperatives of the survival instinct and willingly die for (CNN, 2004). others — these common aspects of war represent both important survival traits and a potentially positive comment Physiological Arousal and Fear on basic human nature.

The soldier in combat endures many indignities. Among But if war does have a capacity for reflecting some usu- these can be endless months and years of exposure to heat, ally hidden, positive aspects of humanity, it irrefutably does sweltering jungle, torrential rains, or frozen mountains. so at a great and tragic cost.

Usually the soldiers live amidst swarming vermin. Often there is lack of food, lack of sleep, and the constant uncerWar and Psychiatric Casualties tainty that eats away at the combatants’ sense of control over Richard Gabriel has noted that: “Nations customarily their lives and their environment. But, bad as they are, all measure the ‘costs of war’ in dollars/naira, lost production, of these stressors can be found in many cultural, geographor the number of soldiers killed or wounded.” But, “rarely ic, or social circumstances, and when the ingredient of war do military establishments attempt to measure the costs of is removed, individuals exposed to these circumstances do war in terms of individual suffering. Psychiatric breakdown not suffer mass psychiatric casualties. remains one of the most costly items of war when expressed To fully comprehend the intensity of the stress of comin human terms.” Indeed, for the combatants in every major bat, we must keep these other stressors in mind while war fought in this century, there has been a greater proba- understanding the body’s physiological response to combat, bility of becoming a psychiatric casualty than of being killed as manifested in the sympathetic nervous system’s mobiliby enemy fire (Grossman et al., 2000). sation of resources. And then we must understand the A psychiatric casualty is a combatant who is no longer impact of the parasympathetic nervous system “backlash”

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Fighters of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta prepare for an operation against the Nigerian army in the Niger Delta, near Warri.

that occurs as a result of the demands placed upon it.

The Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) mobilises and directs the body’s energy resources for action. It is the physiological equivalent of the body’s front-line soldiers who actually do the fighting in a military unit. The para-sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the body’s digestive and recuperative processes. It is the physiological equivalent of the body’s cooks, mechanics, and clerks who sustain a military unit over an extended period of time. Usually the body maintains itself in a state of homeostasis, which ensures that these two nervous systems maintain a balance between their demands upon the body’s resources. But during extremely stressful circumstances the “fight-or-flight” response kicks in and the SNS mobilises all available energy for survival. In continuous combat, the soldier rollercoasters through a seemingly endless series of these surges of adrenaline and their subsequent backlashes, and the

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body’s natural, useful, and appropriate response to danger ultimately becomes extremely counterproductive.

Unable to flee, and unable to overcome the danger through a brief burst of fighting, posturing, or submission, the bodies of modern soldiers in sustained combat exhaust their capacity to enervate. They slide into a state of profound physical and emotional exhaustion of such a magnitude that it appears to be almost impossible to communicate it to those who have not experienced it (Grossman et al, 2000).

Most observers of combat lump the impact of this physiological arousal process under the general heading of ‘fear’, but fear is really a cognitive or emotional label for non-specific physiological arousal in response to a threat.

The impact of fear and its attendant physiological arousal is significant, but it must be understood that fear is just a symptom and not the disease; it is an effect but not the cause. To understand the psychological effects of combat,

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Nigerian soldiers undergoing training.

we must understand exactly what it is that causes this intense fear response in individuals. It has become increasingly clear that there are two key, core stressors causing the psychological toll associated with combat. These stressors are: the trauma associated with being the victim of close-range, inter-personal aggression; and the trauma associated with the responsibility to kill a fellow human being at close range (Grossman et al, 2000).

only escape available is the psychological escape of becoming a psychiatric casualty and mentally fleeing the battlefield (Grossman et al, 2000).

A Resistance to Killing

The kind of psychiatric casualties usually identified with long-term exposure to combat are notably reduced among medical personnel, chaplains, officers, and soldiers on reconnaissance patrols behind enemy lines. The key factor that is not present Trauma of Close-Range, The impact of fear, in each of these situations is that, Interpersonal Aggression The impact of fear, physiological physiological arousal, although they are in the front lines and arousal, horror, and physical deprivation horror, and physical the enemy may attempt to kill them, have no direct responsibility to parin combat should never be underestideprivation in combat they ticipate personally in close-range killing mated, but it has become clear that other should never be activities. Even when there is equal or factors are responsible for psychiatric casualties among combatants. One of underestimated, but it even greater danger of dying, combat is those factors is the impact of close-range, has become clear that much less stressful if you do not have to kill. The existence of a resistance to interpersonal, aggressive confrontation. other factors are killing lies at the heart of this dichotomy The ultimate fear and horror in most responsible for modern lives is to be raped, tortured, or between killers and non-killers. This is beaten, to be physically degraded in front psychiatric casualties an additional, final stressor that the comof loved ones or to have the sanctity of among combatants batant must face. To understand the the home invaded by aggressive and nature of this resistance of killing in hateful intruders. totality, we must first recognise that The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental most participants in close combat are literally ‘frightened out Disorders (APA, 1994, 2000) affirms this when it notes that of their wits’. Once the bullets start flying, combatants stop PTSD may be especially severe or longer lasting when the thinking with the fore-brain, which is the part of the brain stressor is of human ‘design’. The soldier in combat is insert- which makes us human, and start thinking with the mided straight into the inescapable midst of this most psycho- brain, or mammalian brain, which is the primitive part of logically traumatic of environments. the brain that is generally indistinguishable from that of an Ultimately, if the combatant is unable get some respite animal. from the trauma of combat, and if not injured or killed, the One major modern revelation in the field of military

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A protest against the killings of women and children at Dogo Nahawa village in Nigeria’s south Jos, Plateau State by Muslim Fulani herdsmen.

psychology is the observation that this resistance to killing bat, it is essential to fully comprehend the magnitude of the one’s own species is also a key factor in human combat. inevitable psychological toll.

Ironically, every warrior society has a “purification rituBased on his post-combat interviews, Marshall (1978), concluded in his landmark book, Men against Fire, that only 15 al” to help returning warriors deal with their “blood guilt” to 20 percent of the individual riflemen in World War II and to reassure them that what they did in combat was fired their weapons at an exposed enemy soldier. Specialised “good”. Features of the ritual involved “group therapy” sessions and a ceremony embracing the vetweapons, such as a flame-thrower, usueran back into the tribe. Modern ally were fired. Crew-served weapons, Studies indicate that such as a machine guns, were always emotional and anxiety Western rituals traditionally involve long periods while marching or sailing home, fired. And firing would increase greatly disorders such as parades, monuments, and the uncondiif a nearby leader demanded that the soldier must fire. But, when left to their PTSD are associated tional acceptance from society and family (Grossman et al, 2000). But beyond own devices, the great majority of indiwith impaired the media and cheers lies a personal and vidual combatants throughout history emotional well-being, emotional battle to remain sane and proappear to have been unable or unwilling and this applies just ductive. to kill.

Studies reviewed earlier (Okulate & as much to Jones, 2006; Richardson, 2008; Need for Post-Conflict peacekeeping Buscarino, 2008) clearly indicate that Rehabilitation in the military veterans as to emotional and anxiety disorders such as It is essential to acknowledge that combat ones PTSD are associated with impaired emogood ends have been and will continue tional well-being, and this applies just as to be accomplished through combat.

Many democracies owe their very existence to successful much to peacekeeping veterans as to combat ones. This findcombats. Few individuals will deny the need for combat ing is thus important to clinicians working with the military against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan during World and newer generation of veterans, as it stresses the importance War II. And around the world, the price of civilisation is paid of including measures of quality of life when evaluating vetevery day by military units on peacekeeping operations and erans to better address their rehabilitation needs. It is thus not domestic police forces who are forced to engage in close enough to measure symptom changes with treatment; we combat. There have been and will continue to be times and need to objectively assess if treatment is improving their qualplaces where combat is unavoidable, but when a society ity of life and how they are functioning in their community. requires its police and armed forces to participate in com- Although the samples in Okulate and Jones (2006) study

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A F R I C A indicate that PTSD might be quite common and probably undetected among Nigerian military personnel engaged in battle and peacekeeping operations, detection of such persons through deliberate screening in military community studies should help to alleviate the symptoms. Primary prevention efforts with regard to alcohol and cannabis use should help to reduce the incidence of PTSD among the military.

How can PTSD be managed? The first line of defence against PTSD should be with the service member.

Maintaining proper rest, nutrition, and physical conditioning can decrease the risk of a combat stress reaction occurring and may reduce its intensity and duration if it does occur.

Mastering specific stress coping strategies may also help.

Combat skill proficiency, confidence in one’s abilities, trust in unit leadership, and having close friends to talk about concerns in life in general and combat in particular can make a huge difference.

The second line of defence against PTSD should be with the military unit itself.

Rigorous and realistic training, preview discussions on the nature of the likely combat stressors to be confronted, unit cohesiveness/team spirit/camaraderie/morale and a buddysystem are powerful antidotes against stress in all of us.

Supervisors and fellow unit members need to look for early signs of stress and offer assistance in dealing with them.

They need to assure that the fundamental needs of their peers and subordinates are being met and that they can freely bring up personal worries and issues. It is also important that leaders actively encourage service members to seek professional assistance outside of the unit when needed and support the efforts of service members in making positive changes.

Q U A R T E R L Y

Mental health providers, medical personnel, chaplains, and specially-trained combat stress management teams can all play important roles in helping the service member manage and resolve stress to a considerable extent.

Depending on their orientation and expertise, these professionals can provide the individual with tools needed to learn to manage and understand the stress reaction, can help him or her to talk through the painful experience and, thus, keep it from coming back later to haunt the service member. If necessary, short term medication can be given to aid sleep and reduce anxiety (Llufrio, 2009; Ruzek, 2009).

The following four observations and recommendations were offered by the military personnel interviewed: l Though there are psychiatric wings in most military hospitals in Nigeria, there is no dedicated unit or outfit in the military for the assessment and treatment of PTSD. l Soldiers are often given some days off on return from conflict zones, while those with physical injuries are referred to the hospitals. We feel that this is not enough. l Since soldiers with physical injuries are often referred for medical assessment on their return from conflict zones, the medical personnel at the military hospitals should make a case for special units for the assessment and management of PTSD in returnee soldiers. These units can be centrally or regionally located. l The military medical corp. should hold workshops on PTSD and produce policy papers for the government on the need to manage PTSD in the military.

References American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th Ed.). Washington.

D.C.: Author.

American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (text revision).

Washington, DC: Author Buscarino, B. (2008). PTSD and Heart Diseases. Science daily, 2008. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedaily. com/releases/2008/07/080707081834.htm CNN (2004). Combat stress: The war within. Health.

CNN.com. Retrieved from: http://www.cnn.com/2004/ HEALTH/07/01/post.traumatic.stress/index.html. Site visited on 10th July, 2009.

Grossman, D. (1995; 1996). On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society. New York: Little, Brown, and Co. Grossman. D. and Siddle, B. K. (2000). Psychological Effect

of Combat. NY: Academic Press.

Llufrio, K. M. (2009). Coping with the Effects of Combat.

N.Y: Lifeline.

Okulate, G. T & Jones, O. B. E. (2006). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Survivor Guilt and Substance Use: A Study of Hospitalised Nigerian Army Veterans. South African Medical Journal, vol. 96, no2, pp. 144-146 Richardson, J. D. (2008). Whether Combat Or Peacekeeping, PTSD Impacts Veterans’ Well-being.

ScienceDaily. University of Western Ontorio. Retrieved July 10, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/10/081001145118.htm Ruzek J (2009). Coping with PTSD. National Center for PTSD. Scott, E. (2008). Cortisol and stress: How to stay healthy.

About.Com. http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/cortisol.htm. Site visited on 10th July, 2009.

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Nawal El Saadawi: Profile of an ICONOCLAST The writings of this Egyptian author-activist have helped bring into sharp focus the disturbing practice of circumcising girls widespread in many Arab and African countries, says Nandini Sen

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Nawal El Saadawi is an Egyptian feminist writer, activist and physician. Published in 1973, Woman at Point Zero is her most acclaimed novel.

he prevalent view of women in the Arab world, particularly in the West, remains stereotyped. Images of passive, silent and inert figures are commonplace in the discussion of the “woman question�. If the current view of the Arab woman as a silent partner is false, so is the notion that modernisation and development will automatically improve her status. Neither the transformation of Arab society that accompanied colonialism nor the more recent planning that has gone under

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the name of development supports this thesis. Although the experience of colonialism in the Arab world differed in accordance with colonial policies as much as with the nature of indigenous social structures, it is assumed that the impact of colonialism on social relations was fairly uniform and beneficial. The image of the Western woman and her more public participation has been often mistakenly seen as her enhanced emancipated status. White feminism continues to remain distant from Third World feminism owing to the fact that historically the social realities of women in India or Africa have been very different from their White sisters.

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While white feminism is more individualistic in nature, Third World feminisms take into cognisance the histories of its colonisation and independence and are more participative and collective in nature.

According to Azza Basarudin, Western feminist movements have fallen short in comprehending and conceptualising the diversity of women around the globe. She states, “Approaching Arab women’s rights, struggles and liberations through Western feminist agendas cannot be effective because these agendas were cultivated in a different environment based on Western history, needs, experiences and values. For feminism(s) to be accepted in the Middle East, Arab women need new liberation movements that are based on their experiences and values with some acceptable feminist ideas and practices”. She borrows Chandra Mohanty’s term and suggests that Western feminists should start theorising from women’s struggles instead of assuming that women around the world experience the same kinds of oppression and patriarchal domination. The reality is that Female circumcision is the partial or total cutting away of the exterpatriarchy operates differently in different countries, nal female genitalia, generally as one element of a rite of passage regions, cultures and history where racism, sexism, colopreparing young girls for womanhood and marriage nialism, imperialism, and monopoly capital impacts women’s experiences. She continues, “There is a wide gap Sadaawi’s uncommon exploration in her writings. In The between Western feminist discourses and the actual lives and Hidden Face of Eve, she writes, “The oppression of women practical needs of women from various ethnic groups, cul- in any society is in turn an expression of an economic structures and backgrounds. Therefore, it is crucial for the sur- ture built on land ownership, systems of inheritance and parenthood, and the patriarchal family as a vival of feminism(s) to devise new social unit.” What makes her analysis approaches that acknowledge individuIn 1982, Nawal El unique is the juxtaposition of her peralities and particularities of each woman Saadawi established sonal, historical and social surroundings. and feminist movement.” the Arab Women’s Firmly rooting herself in her rural Nawal El Saadawi was born in 1931 in a small village outside Cairo. Though Solidarity Association milieu, she writes: “We are different the educated Egyptian woman who unusual at that time, she and her siblings which was outlawed isfrom westernised, who usually ignores were educated together and she graduated from the Unversity of Cairo Medical in 1991. When in 1991 where she came from or hides that she her name appeared came from a village or a poor family. But School in 1955, specialising in psychiatry. It is her knowledge of psychiatry on a fundamentalist I think some women in my generation in are proud of their origins.” which sensitised her to the psychosodeath list, she was Egypt An in-depth look at the general trends matic needs of the women who have been subjected to genital circumcision. forced to flee from the behind Muslim feminism (as expressed From 1973 to 1978, Saadawi worked at country. In 1996, she in the media, in general writings, and in personal communications) reveals three The High Institute of Literature and returned to Egypt main elements: that it is rooted in a clear Science. It was at this time that she startdemarcation between Middle Eastern ed to write. Her most acclaimed novel Woman at Point Zero was published in 1973. In 1981, Sadaawi and Islamic traditions on one hand, and the West on the critiqued the one-party rule of President Anwar Sadat and other, that it has its roots in the Muslim faith, particularly was subsequently arrested and imprisoned. She was released the Koran, and that it looks at the family rather than the indiafter Sadat’s assassination. In 1982, she established the Arab vidual as a unit. Furthermore, we actually find that these Women’s Solidarity Association which was outlawed in three elements were present at the inception of Egyptian 1991. When in 1991 her name appeared on a fundamental- feminism in the late 19th century. The tension between ist death list, she was forced to flee from the country. She feminist Western ideology and “homegrown” feminist returned to Egypt in 1996 where she currently works as a thought is an indicator of the greater friction that exists between a post-colonial Muslim world, and the Western writer, psychiatrist and activist.

The complicity of state and ideology, and the exploita- nations that are associated with that colonialism. During the tion of religion for social and political ends are themes in late 19th and early 20th centuries, much of the Muslim

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world was under European rule. In addition to this “us- socio-economic changes taking place in society, and they them” dichotomy that exists in much of the Muslim world, struggled hard not to lose their ancient rights. Sometimes there are certain practical differences between the circum- they were successful but mostly it was a losing battle since stances of women in the West vis-à-vis the Muslim — and the fundamental principles of social justice, freedom and in this case the Egyptian world. Chief among these is the equality were buried under the growing authority of men and women, and the growing prosperity of the new ruling pre-existence of a women’s world in Muslim countries.

While Western women were struggling to carve out a class over the poor majority. As Saadawi correctly observes niche for themselves and their activities in society, their in The Nawal El Saadawi Reader, a struggle within Islam Muslim counterparts, living in segregation, already had began, and was never to end, between those who fought for accomplished it. Women used to congregate routinely, and equality, freedom and social justice, and those who stood for women as a group were viewed as a distinct tangible entity class privilege, male domination and feudal oppression. The with a particular set of concerns. The Egyptian women’s descendants of this later group were later to side with the magazine Hawa (Eve) was in existence in Egypt as early as Turkish domination, with French, British, Italian and 1892, years before the rise of public sentiment regarding German colonialism and later with the international impefeminism. Therefore, Egyptian Muslim women were begin- rialism headed by the USA. Thus it came about that histoning their battle from a different starting point than Western ry was to plunge Arab women into a long night of feudal oppression and foreign domination women. In many ways, they did not see femRight from the birth in which women were condemned inism as conflicting with their central morals and ideals. (Osman) of the girl child she to toil, to hide behind the veil, to quiver in prison of a harem fenced in Echoing similar sentiments, Saadawi is subjected to a by walls, iron bars, windowless laments the systematic domination of host of atrocities rooms and the ever present eunuchs women as seen in Egypt and other places. which at times on guard with their swords.

She is quick to point out that Islam does not Sadaawi is critical of the fate sanction the blatant discrimination faced by makes her passage meted out to most Arab women as women. She also traces out how in the times into womanhood they are reared in the culture of fear of yore women held respectable positions in the society. The history of the Arabs is stud- more of a punishment — fear of straying from the so called ded with women personalities who played than pleasure. Also, “righteous path” and therefore incuran important role in the tribal society of the needless to mention, ring the wrath of God. She is careful to point out that it is the poor and the pre-Islamic and early Islamic eras. Saadawi the class factor is very hapless who suffer most at the hands talks of the Prophet’s wife Khadija who was much at play of these self-styled guardians of reliknown for her imposing personality, her gion. In her characteristic wry matindependence, both socially and economically, since she earned her own living through trade, and the ter of fact voice she writes that the rich girl can have a hymen freedom that she insisted upon in the choice of her husband. inserted surgically while her poor sister may not be as lucky Khadija had for some years employed Muhammad to take and suffer the wrath of the society. Right from the birth of care of her trading interests and manage her affairs. During the girl child she is subjected to a host of atrocities which at the 20 years of their marriage, Muhammad did not marry times makes her passage into womanhood more of a punanother woman, he was monogamous. Only after her death ishment than pleasure. Also, needless to mention, the class factor is very much at play. The rich and the powerful have did he practise polygamy.

Another very prominent woman was Aisha, the youngest a different set of norms by which they lead their lives. The wife of the Prophet. Despite her young age she was a living poor and the hapless, particularly women, are always at the example of how women stood firm in those days. She was receiving end.

In The Hidden Face of Eve: Women in the Arab World, El well known for her strong will, versatility and incisive logic and eloquence. She wielded a powerful intelligence which Saadawi discusses what it is to be a woman in the Egyptian was a match even for the prophet of Allah. She did not hes- society. Though she talks of women she has met or she has itate to oppose or contradict him, he whose word was all treated, the writing has a universal appeal and can be likened powerful among the Muslims. Aisha fought in several wars to stories of women across the globe and across societies. In and battles, and was actively involved in politics and cultural the Introduction to the book, Irene L. Gendzier writes: and literary activities to an extent that led the theologian of “Western feminists will find much of importance in these Muslims, Urwa Ibn El Zuheir to say, “I have not seen any- pages. For those feminists who have long lamented the one who is more knowledgeable in theology, medicine and deprived status of Middle Eastern Arab women, Saadawi’s book will confirm their fears. But it will also require that in poetry than Aisha”.

Arab women did not lose their independence and posi- they reexamine the basis of their strategies vis-à-vis Third tivity suddenly. It was a gradual and slow process related to world women and women’s movements. The inseparabili-

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between wakefulness and sleep… I felt something move under my blanket.

Almost at the same time a hand, as cold, as rough and as big as the first one was clapped over my mouth to prevent me from screaming... They carried me to the bathroom... I also remember the icy touch of the bathroom tiles under my naked body, and unknown voices and humming sounds interrupted now and again by a rasping metallic sound which reminded me of the butcher when he used to sharpen his knife before slaughtering a sheep for Eid… At the very moment I realised that my thigh had been pulled apart and each of my lower limb was being held far apart from each The United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) and the UNICEF launched a joint programme to end female genital mutilation by 2012. UNFPA's country director Janet other…Then suddenly the sharp Jackson (centre) with some of the delegates at the launch on November 10, 2009 metallic edge seemed to drop between ty of the situation of women and the broader political and my thighs and there cut off a piece of flesh from my body.

I screamed with pain despite the tight hand held over my economic conditions existing in society is the root assumption of Sadaawi’s analysis. It is a position that implies both mouth, for the pain was not just any pain, it was like a searpolitical commitment and an analytic starting point. The ing flame that went through my whole body. I did not know struggle for women’s liberation is inseparable from the what they had cut off from my body. I wept and called out for my mother but the worst shock was when I looked struggle to create a more just society.”

The controversy surrounding Western feminists’ support around and found her standing by my side. It was her, I of Iranian women against the wearing of the ‘chador’ in the could not be mistaken, flesh and blood, right in the middle early period of Khomeini’s rule raised a number of issues. of these strangers, talking to them and smiling at them, as El Saadawi’s position has become part of the debate. In what though they had not participated in slaughtering her daughis sometime a defensive tone, she argues against Western ter just a few moments ago. They carried me to bed. I saw feminists as well as the reactionary clergy. The inseparabil- them catching hold of my sister who was two years younger ity of women’s issues and broader social concerns was than me in the same way…”( 1982) Female circumcision, the partial or total cutting away of demonstrated several times in Egypt. In 1981, the government of President Sadat accused the growing political oppo- the external female genitalia, has been practiced for centuries sition in a language that was as elusive as it was deceptive. in parts of Africa, generally as one element of a rite of pasThose charged with “sectarian strife” and of participating in sage preparing young girls for womanhood and marriage. extremist religious movements became targets of govern- Often performed without anaesthetic under septic condiment repression. On September 6, Saadawi was arrested, tions by lay practitioners with little or no knowledge of held under the so called “Law for the Protection of Values human anatomy or medicine, female circumcision can cause from Shame”, a piece of legislation that proscribes dissent death or permanent health problems as well as severe pain. and provides for extensive periods of detention pending Despite these grave risks, its practitioners look on it as an integral part of their cultural and ethnic identity, and some legal action. (1998) El Saadaawi strongly condemns the brutality of the perceive it as a religious obligation. Female circumcision is dreaded practice of female circumcision. She laments and currently practiced in at least 28 countries stretching across condemns the loss of childhood as the girl child undergoes the centre of Africa north of the equator; it is not found in the severity of the mutilation of her genitals. The shock and southern Africa or in the Arabic-speaking nations of North the pain apart, it is the participation of people she trusts tak- Africa, with the exception of Egypt. Female circumcision ing part in this heinous crime, that decimates her faith in life. occurs among Muslims, Christians, animists and one Jewish She is scarred for life and is unable to understand why she sect, although no religion requires it. Although circumcision is put through this pain. Unfortunately, due to her moth- may be performed during infancy, during adolescence or er’s complicity in the act, she can not even turn to her for even during a woman’s first pregnancy, the procedure is consolation. Describing her own experience and the trau- usually carried out on girls between ages four and 12. There ma that she would suffer for the rest of her life, she writes: are three basic types of genital excision, although practices “I was six years old that night when I lay in my bed, warm vary widely. In the first type, clitoridectomy, part or the and peaceful in the pleasurable state which lies halfway entire clitoris is amputated, while in the second (often

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A scene from Moolaadé by pioneering Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembene. The drama deals with the barbaric practice of female genital mutilation still practised in a number of African nations. Six girls, who are scheduled to undergo the traditional “purification” ceremony, escape, and four make their way to the home of Colle Ardo Gallo Sy, a wife and mother, who is sympathetic to their dilemma.

referred to as excision), both the clitoris and the labia minora are removed. Infibulation, the third type, is the most severe: After excision of the clitoris and the labia minora, the labia majora are cut or scraped away to create raw surfaces, which are held in contact until they heal, either by stitching the edges of the wound or by tying the legs together. As the wounds heal, scar tissue joins the labia and covers the urethra and most of the vaginal orifice, leaving an opening that may be as small as a matchstick for the passage of urine and menstrual blood.

In the conditions under which female circumcision is generally performed in Africa, even the less extensive types of genital cutting can lead to potentially fatal complications, such as haemorrhage, infection and shock. The inability to pass urine because of pain, swelling and inflammation following the operation may lead to urinary tract infection. A woman may suffer from abscesses and pain from damaged nerve endings long after the initial wound has healed. In addition, the amputation of the clitoris and other sensitive tissue reduces a woman’s ability to experience sexual pleasure. For infibulated women, the consummation of marriage is likely to be painful because of the small vaginal opening and the lack of elasticity in the scar tissue that forms it.

Tearing and bleeding may occur, or the infibulation scar may have to be cut open to allow penetration. Infibulation

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may make intercourse unsatisfying for men as well as women. (Saadawi1982) Given the medical complications and related consequences of female circumcision, why does the practice continue? First, it is unclear how frequently such problems occur, for few data exist and those that are available come from small studies or are based on self-reports. Second, in societies in which few women remain uncircumcised, problems arising from female circumcision are likely to be seen as a normal part of a woman’s life and may not even be associated with circumcision. The most important reasons, however, probably lie in the social and economic conditions of women’s lives.

Female circumcision is an integral part of the societies that practise it, where patriarchal authority and control of female sexuality and fertility are givens. In communities where a person’s place in society is determined by lineage traced through fathers, female circumcision reduces the uncertainty surrounding paternity by discouraging or preventing women’s sexual activity outside of marriage.

Although the societies that practice circumcision vary in many ways, most girls receive little education and are valued primarily for their future role as sources of labour and producers of children. In some communities, the prospective husband’s family pays a bride price to the family of the

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bride, giving his family the right to her labor and her chil- in which one is herded into prison because one is born with a thinking mind and a heart that beats for truth and justice… dren; she herself has no right to or control over either.

A girl’s virginity may be considered essential to her fam- The greatest crime is that I am a free woman in an age that ily’s ability to arrange her marriage and receive a bride price. desires only servants and slaves. I was born with a mind that In Somalia, for example, a prospective husband’s family may thinks in a time when they are trying to eradicate the mind.” have the right to inspect the bride’s body prior to marriage, (1998) Echoing Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s call for decolonising and mothers regularly check their infibulated daughters to the mind, she writes: “Fear not those who kill the flesh, but ensure that they are still “closed.” In this context, parents see fear those who kill the spirit. I and my country shall be both infibulation and early marriage as means of ensuring free.” (1998) Woman at Point Zero distils El Saadawi’s contempt, hatred that their daughter remains “pure” and thus worthy of the and anger toward patriarchal Islamic Egypt through the life bride price.

Echoing this thought El Saadawi equates the woman’s and times of one woman, Firdaus, who is awaiting execuposition to that of the harem guards. She writes, “Chastity tion at the women’s prison for killing a man. El Saadawi was imposed on male attendants in female harems by cas- bases this novel on stories recounted to her by women pristration which turned them into inoffensive eunuchs. oners. Women at Point Zero is Saadawi’s harshest critique of Similarly female circumcision is meant to preserve the the society she lives in where being born as a woman conchastity of young girls by reducing their desire for sexual demns you to the status of a second class citizen. Firdaus lists the numerous atrocities heaped on her but she emerges intercourse. (1982) She also points out that Islam does not sanctify female stronger after every assault and finally she chooses to kill her fear. Firdaus’s story is that of extreme circumcision. On the contrary the vengeance against her life as a woman as Prophet opposes it. She also clarifies in her research that it was practised even in In communities where all she knows through life is scorn, oppression and physical assault. the pre-Islamic times. a person’s place in Like El Saadawi herself, Firdaus is In her theory of the state-sponsored society is determined depicted as having grown up in a small patriarchal system she writes: The by lineage traced southern village. She migrates to Cairo woman’s problem lies in her body, or more precisely in her womb. The state through fathers, female and tries to live with dignity and indein order to be in control of the means of circumcision reduces pendence. She goes to school and is extremely proud of her secondary cerreproducing human beings, and in order the uncertainty tificate. And yet she continues to suffer to submit these means to the interest of the economic system which happens to surrounding paternity the indignities of life as all she aspires for by discouraging is “respectability”. In her inimitably be in force at that time, has been obliged to extend its control and subjugation to or preventing women’s forthright manner Firdaus admits that that of women’s bodies. sexual activity outside she is more admired and coveted as a prostitute than as a daughter or a wife.

In India, female infanticide is rife of marriage She tells her story to the narrator on the even amongst the educated intellieve of her execution, in a bare prison cell. gentsia. If the girl child is allowed to survive, she is discriminated against right from her birth to her From childhood, Firdaus has known nothing but the brudeath. The evils of the dowry system and the fetish for vir- tality of the patriarchal system, and the low status of women ginity are seen even in the educated households. Like El in that system. She describes her mother as empty-eyed, Sadaawi, most Indian feminist writers have pointed out how brutalised by her father. “No light seemed ever to touch the the state governs a woman’s body. In Mahasweta Devi’s eyes of this woman... One day I took her head between my Draupadi, Dopdi, the tribal warrior, is gang raped as part of hands and turned it so that the sun fell directly on her face, her punishment for daring to spearhead the Naxalbari but her eyes remained dull, impervious to its light, like two movement. In Dhouli, Sanichari and several of her short sto- extinguished lamps.” Mother has a string of children who die ries, while both men and women are forced to toil, the in infancy. “When one of his female children died, my father woman’s suffering is greater as she also has to peddle her would eat his supper, my mother would wash his legs and body to the malik mahajan. Devi equates the body of her pro- then he would go to sleep...When the child was a boy, he tagonist Jashoda in her short story Stanadayini with the coun- would beat my mother, then have his supper and lie down try, saying just as Jashoda’s breasts are rotting with cancer, to sleep.”

Firdaus grows up in this unfeeling world, sexually abused India too is suffering. If medical and scientific help is not provided soon, she too will die a painful death bereft of any by her uncle, punished for questioning her paternity and then sent off to live with the abusive uncle when her parents dignity.

The creative mind needs to continue to struggle against died. In Cairo, she attends school, does well, and is quickly all odds. As El Saadawi says, “I was born in a wondrous age married off to an old man when school ends, so as no money

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The novel Women at Point Zero is El Saadawi’s harshest critique of the society she lives in, where being born as a woman condemns you to the status of a second-class citizen.

or time need be spent on her future. Later, Firdaus becomes a prostitute and understands independence. Prostitution is preferable to her than marriage as for the first time in her entire life she feels empowered. Unfortunately, this profession too does not hold her for too long as she sets out to achieve the elusive tag of “respectability”. She works in a company which pays her very little and she makes the mistake of falling in love with a Trade Union leader. As was expected, he deserts her for a richer woman. Her life comes a full circle when she resorts to prostitution once again but this time a powerful pimp lays claim to her earnings. She feels betrayed yet again and raises her hand to kill. Firdaus kills to salvage her honour. Saadawi makes her death heroic as she seems to be speaking for all women as she says: “I am saying that you are criminals, all of you: the fathers, the uncles, the husbands, the pimps, the lawyers, the doctors, the journalists, and all men of all professions.”

El Saadawi’s singlemindedness in her writings about the status of women in Egypt permeates both her fictional and her non-fictional writing. She identifies religion as an agent of patriarchal oppression in her country. It kills the light in the eyes of women, as it did in Firdaus’ mother. Firdaus is

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forced to commit murder in order to salvage her dignity.

However, it would be reductive to say that El Saadawi’s fiction speaks for all women in the Arab world. In spite of the violence heaped on the women, they are definitely not characters who are to be pitied even as they remain cloistered in the veil. The women’s very potent voice has continued to ring loud and clear. El Saadawi has come under great criticism for her depiction of the cloistered Arab woman. Her success in the West generates much skepticism. The western interest in her is not innocent. Some critics argue that she is acclaimed not so much because she champions women’s rights, but because she tells western readers what they want to hear. In this view, the West welcomes her feminist critique of the Arab culture because it confirms the existing stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims as backward, misogynist and violently oppressive. Her promotion, critics charge, is part of the systematic and historical EuroAmerican demotion of Arab and women. She is seen to cater to the Western reader’s sensibility where the poor hapless Arab woman continues to remain an object of pity calling out to her first world sisters for their intervention and help. However, whatever the nature of the criticism might be, it cannot take away from the greatness of El Saadawi’s works. This kind of criticism seems to be a woman writer’s lot. Taslima Nasreen of Bangladesh has met with a similar critique and a similar fate as she faces exile from the country of her birth.

Woman at Point Zero is El Saadawi’s greatest indictment against the Arab society where a woman is commodified in the worst possible manner by the patriarchal society. The commodification and the violence inflicted on her become even more severe owing to the fact that she comes from a poor household. The fact that Firdaus has touched a chord in every heart, is evident from the fact that the novel has been very well received. According to Miriam Cooke, “Firdaus is known around the world. From Jakarta to Jeddah to Jerusalem and Johannesburg, Muslims and non-Muslim women know this woman, this heroine of Women at Point Zero.”

Firdaus’s story has a universal appeal as most women have traversed her path in some form or the other. While Firdaus might be spending her last few hours in jail, for most women their lives are worse than jails where the “don’ts” are inevitably more than the “dos”. Right from her birth, a girl child is given a set of norms which tell her what not to wear, where not to go, whom not to talk to and how to learn the correct behaviour. Inevitably, no child can ever do everything right and time and again she is reminded by the elderly women of her family about the perils that are to befall her in the future.

El Saadawi bases her story on a real life incident. She writes: “I wrote this novel after an encounter between me and a woman in Quanatir Prison. A few months before, I had started research on neurosis in Egyptian women, and was able to concentrate most of my time on this work as I

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was then without a job…The idea of prison had always exer- ever since I could remember. Somewhere, in some distant cised a special attraction in me…The idea grew even more spot within my body was awakening an old pleasure lost a compelling when my friend, the prison doctor, began to tell long time ago, or a new pleasure still unknown, and indeme, at length, about a woman who had killed a man and was finable, for it seemed to arise outside my body, or in a part under sentence of death by hanging. I had never seen a of my being severed from it many years ago.” This also brings to light the barbaric process of cliterodectomy. woman who had killed…

Interestingly, though Firdaus’s tirade seems to be against Firdaus had been forced to suffer as a young girl. “Then, she the patriarchal system, she is perhaps as much a victim of (the mother) brought a woman who was carrying a small the class hierarchy as she is of patriarchy. Right at the out- blade or a razor blade. They cut off a piece of flesh from set she mentions her origin, thereby situating herself in the between my thighs. I cried all night.” The atrocities heaped class milieu. The fact that she belongs to the lower class on her were not peculiar only to her. All girls of her age and stamps her for life and though she aspires to belong to the her class were subjected to the ordeals Firdaus is forced to undergo, but her stark loneliness renders higher classes, her efforts are rendered her apart. She goes through life alone, fruitless. She says, “Only my make up, El Saadawi’s fighting her battles single-handedly. Even my hair and my expensive shoes were ‘upper class’. With my secondary school singlemindedness in her incarceration is in a solitary cell. In a certificate and suppressed desires I her writings about the sense it is only once that she seeks human company — to share her story with the belonged to the ‘middle class’. By birth status of women in narrator.

I was lower class. Firdaus’s father, a El Saadawi has spoken strongly against poor farmer, lives merely to inflict pain Egypt permeates both on his wife. He is uneducated and rules her fictional and her the brutal practice of cliterodectomy. In his family with an iron hand. He would non-fictional writing. most African societies, it is considered as an important rite of passage to womannever miss a meal even as his family starved. “My father, a poor peasant She identifies religion hood. Several African women authors as an agent of have spoken about this practice. There farmer, who could neither read nor write, knew very few things in life. patriarchal oppression seems to be a sharp divide among authors who talk about it as just another practice.

How to grow crops, how to sell a bufin her country Some depict it as one of the important falo poisoned by his enemy before it rites in the life of the girl awakening to died, how to exchange his virgin daughter for a dowry when there was still time, how to be womanhood. Flora Nwapa of Nigeria talks of one-month quicker than his neighbour in stealing from the fields once long feasting that follows this cleansing ceremony in her the crop was ripe. How to bend over the headman’s hand much acclaimed novel Idu. The girl is attended to by all reland pretend to kiss it, how to beat his wife and make her bite atives as she recovers from the surgery. A visibly fattened and beautified girl visits the market place after a month where the dust each night.”

Ironically, he is a devout man invoking Allah’s blessings her mother or her mother-in-law responsible for taking care several times a day. In Firdaus’s rather heightened imagina- of her is congratulated by one and all.

Unlike Nwapa , El Saadawi comes down heavily upon tion, she thinks of her family to be shadowy creatures whom she can no longer relate to. The family lives in abject pover- what she sees as a brutal practice of genital mutilation. In The ty and sometimes even the mother loses count of the num- Hidden Face of Eve, she writes: “The practice of circumcisber of children she has. Firdaus talks dispassionately about ing girls is still a common procedure in a number of Arab her brothers and sisters. “For, like most people, I had many countries such as Egypt, the Sudan, Yemen and some of the brothers and sisters. They were like chicks that multiply in Gulf States. The importance given to virginity and intact spring, shiver in winter and lose their feathers, and then in hymen in these societies is the reason why female circumsummer are stricken with diarrhoea, waste away quickly cision still remains a very widespread practice. Behind circumcision lies the belief that, by removing parts of girls’ and one by one creep into a corner and die.”

Bereft of love or affection from her parents, Firdaus turns external genital organs, sexual desire is minimised. This to her uncle who visits them from Cairo once in a while. permits the female who has reached the ‘dangerous age’ of When her mother dies, her uncle takes her to Cairo and puts puberty and adolescence to protect her virginity and thereher in a school. The uncle’s tenderness as opposed to her fore her honour, with greater ease. Chastity was imposed on father’s brutalities brings Firdaus closer to him. It is now the male attendants in the female harem by castration which uncle’s turn to exploit the young girl sexually. She gives in turned them into inoffensive eunuchs. Similarly, female to him and also feels a sense of happiness as he is the only circumcision is meant to preserve the chastity of young girls human being she feels close to. “A strange thing was hap- by reducing their desire for sexual intercourse.”

El Saadawi is very vocal in her criticism of the institutions pening to me, strange because it had never happened to me before, or because it had been happening to me all the time, that form a woman’s life: polygamy and divorce, denial of

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Women around the world are protesting to end the practice of female circumcision… the poster reads: The Beginning of the End, No to Female Circumcision. It is currently practiced in at least 28 countries stretching across the centre of Africa north of the equator.

education, veiling and seclusion, and denial of the right to work outside the home. In Firdaus’s case, it takes on an even darker shade as she is bereft of any strong and sustaining human relationship. The people she trusts inevitably betray her. Her uncle marries her off to an old man in order to pocket a large dowry. Through Firdaus and her mother’s unhappy marriages, El Saadawi explores the themes of marital rape and wife abuse.

Unfortunately, in the Arab society this is not looked upon as a crime as a man is supposed to own his wife.

Talking of her husband’s insatiable sexual appetite, Firdaus says, “At night he would wind his arms and legs around me, and let his old gnarled hand travel all over my body, like the claws of a starving man who has been deprived of real food for many years wipe the bowl of food clean and leave not a single crumb behind.” Commenting on the regular beatings she is subjected to, she writes: “On one occasion, he hit me all over with a shoe. My face and body became swollen and bruised. So, I left the house and went to my uncle. But my uncle told me that all husbands beat their wives, and my uncle’s wife added that her husband often beat her. I said my uncle was a respected Sheikh, well versed in the teachings of religion, and he, therefore, could not possibly be in

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the habit of beating his wife. She replied that it was precisely men well versed in their religion who beat their wives. The precepts of religion permitted such punishment. A virtuous woman was not supposed to complain about her husband.

Her duty was perfect obedience.

Through Woman at Point Zero, El Saadawi explores the role of women as political and social tools for men. Firdaus trusts Ibrahim, the trade union activist. She believes she is actively and positively contributing to the revolutionary struggles in the vice of the economic traps put in place by the Infinitah. Firdaus is both ethically and politically violated by Ibrahim and then literally prostituted by him through the veil of “revolutionary struggle” he hid under, approaching her as a noble advocate for the common people. Once again, Firdaus is shaken from any hopes of being desired for more than a sexual or political tool, as Ibrahim uses the notion of revolution only as a trick to lure her into his bed. It is this shock at his betrayal that takes her to prostitution once again. It is now that she starts to make sense of the strange predicament she is in. She also realises how hollow terms like “respectability” and “marriage” are. She says, “A successful prostitute was better than a misled saint.

All women are victims of deception. Men impose decep-

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A F R I C A tion on women and punish them for being deceived, force them down to the lowest level and punish them for falling so low, bind them in marriage and chastise them with menial service for life, or insults or blows.”

About prostitution, she says, “Yet not for a single moment did I have any doubts regarding my own integrity and honour as a woman. I knew that our profession had been invented by men, and that men were in control over both our worlds, the one on earth and the one in heaven.

That men force women to sell their bodies at a price and the lowest paid body is that of a wife. All women are prostitutes of one kind or another.”

Firdaus’s sense of freedom is short lived and illusory. She falls prey to a pimp who lives off her money. She tries to get rid of him but his contacts in the police and the government ensure his protection and all Firdaus’s attempts at freedom come to naught. Finally, she kills him. With his death she feels she has finally killed her fear of men. She feels vindicated as at long last she is truly free.

Then, the arrogant expression of a master, the aggressive look of the male who fears nothing returned. I caught hold of the latch of the door to open it, but he lifted his arm in the air and slapped me. The whites of his eyes went red and he reached for his knife but my hand was quicker than his.

I raised the knife and buried it deep in his neck… I was astonished to see how easily my hands moved as I thrust the knife into his flesh, and pulled it out without any effort… I realised that I had been afraid, and that the fear had been within me all the time, until the fleeting moment when I read fear in his eyes.

El Saadawi locates Firdaus’s predicament and that of other women in patriarchy and the vicious cycle of male domination. However, by making it a woman versus man story she renders it facile. Men are as much a product and

Q U A R T E R L Y

victim of patriarchy as women are albeit the scales are tipped in favour of the former. El Saadawi discusses violence perpetrated by women on women. Firdaus’s mother and her uncle’s wife are depicted as much as victims as perpetrators of violence. However, what renders the novel weak is the absence of female bonding which can actually liberate a woman from the stranglehold of patriarchy. Moreover, all men in this novel are seen as predators. There is not a single male character that can be seen in a positive light. The reader should keep in mind that El Saadawi does not speak for all Arab women. She speaks of a certain case that she had handled as a psychiatrist, but the fact that Firdaus’s story has become so popular goes to show that its theme is universal and people across the globe have empathised with her predicament.

Women in general and creative women in particular, have been kept in a marginal position, have been isolated from the mainstream of life due to the undemocratic nature of most societies. El Saadawi continues to fight for the rightful place of women in all walks of life. In a collection of her non-fictional work, The Nawal El Saadawi Reader she writes: The gradual emancipation of women as equal partners in life is an integral part of the democratisation process, an integral part of the mobilisation of forces for independence and reconstruction, an integral part of the struggle for freedom, and therefore, an integral part of humanity and a new creativity in all areas and all forms. Freedom is indivisible and cannot use its wings to the full if part of its body is chained. The mind too is indivisible. It cannot fully use its creative potential if there are dark areas maintained by prejudice, ignorance, rigid partitions or fetters of any kind and the development of the mind like the development of a country is a total process in which there is no room for division on the basis of sex. n

References Basarudin, Azza. “Dismantling Bridges, Building Solidarity: Reconciling Western and Arab Feminisms”. AlRaida: Lebanese American University. Vol XIX, Nos. 97-98.

Spring/Summer 2002. Pp. 62- 65.

El Saadawi, Nawal. The Hidden Face of Eve: Women in the Arab World.London:Zed Books,1982.

Woman at Point Zero. London: Zed Books, 1983 The Nawal El Saadawi Reader. New York, St. Martin’s Press, 1998.

Osman, Ghada. “Back to basics: The discourse of

Muslim feminism in contemporary Egypt.” Women and Language. Urbana: Spring 2003. Vol. 26, Iss. 1; Pp. 73 -76 Yount, Kathryn M. “Like mother, like daughter? Female genital cutting in Minia, Egypt.”

Journal of Health and Social Behavior. Albany: Sep 2002.

Vol. 43, Iss. 3; pg. 336.

Basarudin, Azza. “Dismantling Bridges, Building Solidarity: Reconciling Western and Arab Feminisms”. AlRaida: Lebanese American University. Vol XIX, Nos. 97-98.

Spring/Summer 2002. Pp. 62- 65.

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A selection of new books on Africa and by African writers from www.africabookcentre.com THE RISE OF CHINA AND INDIA IN AFRICA: Challenges, Opportunities and Critical Interventions

By Cheru, Fantu & Obi, Cyril I. (Eds.); 276pp; UK; Zed Books; Paperback; £21.99 IN RECENT years, China and India have become the most important economic partners of Africa and their footprints are growing by leaps and bounds, transforming Africa’s international relations in a dramatic way.

Although the overall impact of China and India’s engagement in Africa has been positive in the short-term, partly as a result of higher returns from commodity exports fuelled by excessive demands from both countries, little research exists on the actual impact of China and India’s growing involvement on Africa’s economic transformation. This book examines in detail the opportunities and challenges posed by the increasing presence of China and India in Africa, and proposes critical interventions that African governments must undertake in order to negotiate with China and India from a stronger and more informed platform.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION IN RURAL TANZANIA AND ZAMBIA: The Impact of Civic Education

By Riutta, Satu; 224pp; USA; Firstforumpress; Hardback; £52.99 SATU RIUTTA asks whether civic education initiatives — to which huge sums of donor funds and effort are devoted annually — actually promote political participation among the rural poor in nascent democracies.

Does raising awareness about citizen rights and responsibilities increase participation? Are the effects of civic education greatest on collective or individual forms of participation? Do women respond differently than men? Drawing on a rich set of data from villages in Tanzania and Zambia, Riutta casts new light on both the empowering effects and the limitations of civic education in the context of participatory development and democratisation. The book explores the impact and limitations of civic education.

■ Pictorial View BLUE AND OLD GOLD: The History of the British South Africa Police, 1889-1980

By Gibbs, Peter, Phillips, Hugh & Russell, Nick; 640pp; South Africa; 30’ South; Hardback; £45.00 IN 1889, Cecil John Rhodes was granted a royal charter by Queen Victoria to settle Mashonaland, in what was to become Southern Rhodesia. He formed the British South Africa Company and the regiment of troopers raised to protect the occupying Pioneer Column were dubbed the British South Africa Police, the BSAP. From the 1893 Matabele War, the 1896 Mashona Rebellion and the Jameson Raid, the Anglo-Boer War, through both World Wars and finally to the bitter Rhodesian bush war of the 1960s and ‘70s, troopers and officers of this famous regiment of policemen, both black and white served in civilian and military roles until the disbandment of the Force in 1980 when the country became the independent Zimbabwe.

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February-April 2010

INVICTUS: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation

By Carlin, John; 288pp; UK; Atlantic Books; Paperback; £8.99 NEW EDITION, originally published under the title PLAYING THE ENEMY: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation, 24 June 1995. Nelson Mandela steps onto the pitch wearing a Springboks shirt and, before a global audience of millions, a new country is born. This fascinating book tells the incredible story of the journey to that moment. As the day of the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup dawned, and the Springboks faced New Zealand’s all-conquering All Blacks, more was at stake than a sporting trophy. When Nelson Mandela appeared and led the all-white Afrikaner-dominated team in singing South Africa’s new national anthem, he conquered white South Africa. This book tells the extraordinary human story of how that moment became possible.

A F R I C A POLITICS OF SOCIAL CHANGE IN GHANA: The Konkomba Struggle for Political Equality

By Talton, Benjamin; 256pp; UK; Palgrave; Hardback; £55.00 WITH GHANA’S colonial and postcolonial politics as a backdrop, this book explores the ways in which historically marginalised communities have defined and redefined themselves to protect their interests and compete with neighbouring ethnic groups politically and economically. The study uses the historically Konkomba and their relationship with their historically dominant neighbours to show the ways in which local communities define power, tradition, and belonging.

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Cause and Conflicts

MAGIC AND WARFARE: Appearance and Reality in Contemporary African Conflict and Beyond

By Wlodarczyk, Nathalie; 208pp; UK; Palgrave; Hardback; £52.00 EXPLORES THE roles played by magic in contemporary African warfare, specifically through the case of Sierra Leone, to assess its impact on behaviour in conflict. In the last fifteen years, rituals designed to imbue people with supernatural power and make them immune to enemy fire have been seen on battlefields across Africa. Wlodarczyk argues that the use of magic in warfare can be understood, not as an illustration of how Africa’s reality is qualitatively different from the West’s, but as appropriate and logical. Here, a conceptual framework is suggested for analysing culturally alien practices more broadly, to inform approaches to civilian and military intervention not only in Africa but in conflict theatres around the world.

DEATH IN A CHURCH OF LIFE: Moral Passion during Botswana’s Time of AIDS

By Klaits, Frederick; 348pp; USA; California U P; Paperback; £16.95 ETHNOGRAPHY, WHICH explores the healing power of caring and intimacy in a small, closely bonded Apostolic congregation during Botswana’s HIV/AIDS pandemic. Over the course of time, Frederick Klaits discovered Baitshepi’s ethos and the ‘spiritual’ kinship embodied in the church’s fellowship practice. Klaits shows that for Baitshepi members, Christian faith is a form of moral passion that counters practices of divination and witchcraft with prayer, and use of therapeutic substances.

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Q U A R T E R L Y

CHIEFTAINCY, THE STATE AND DEMOCRACY: Political Legitimacy in Post-Apartheid South Africa

By Williams, J. Michael; 300pp; USA; Indiana University Press; Paperback; £16.99 EXAMINES THE chieftaincy and how it has sought to assert its power since the end of apartheid. By taking local-level politics seriously and looking closely at how chiefs negotiate the new political order, Williams takes a position between those who see the chieftaincy as an indigenous democratic form deserving recognition and protection, and those who view it as incompatible with democracy. Williams describes a network of formal and informal accommodations that have influenced the ways state and local authorities interact.

THE DEMOCRATIC MOMENT: South Africa’s Prospects under Jacob Zuma By Mangcu, Xolela; 224pp; South Africa; Jacana Media; Paperback; £11.95 EXAMINES AT the mass forces that swept Jacob Zuma to power in 2009 and put an end to the élite politics of the Thabo Mbeki era.

Trenchant and provocative as always, Xolela Mangcu looks at the new configuration of power in South Africa, and in the process illuminates such topics as the new black élite, the role of Julius Malema, the cartoons of Zapiro and the fortunes of COPE.

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■ Identity SELF-DETERMINATION AND NATIONAL UNITY: A Challenge for Divided Nations in Africa

By Deng, Francis Mading (Ed.); 270pp; USA; Africa World Press; Paperback; £21.99 ARGUES THAT most African countries suffer from crises of national identity that are rooted in the formation of pluralistic states, characterised by gross inequities among the component groups. This situation has its roots in colonialism, but instead of seeking remedies and addressing these disparities, many post-independent African governments adopted wholesale the constitutional models of their colonisers.

FAITH IN SCHOOLS: Religion, Education, and American Evangelicals in East Africa

By Stambach, Amy; 248pp; USA; Stanford University Press; Paperback; £20.95 AMERICAN EVANGELICALS have long considered Africa a welcoming place for joining faith with social action, but their work overseas is often ambivalently received. Even among East African Christians who share missionaries’ religious beliefs, understandings vary over the promises and pitfalls of American Evangelical involvement in public life and schools. In this first-hand account, Amy Stambach examines missionary involvement in East Africa from the perspectives of both Americans and East Africans. While Evangelicals frame their work in terms of spreading Christianity, critics see it as destroying traditional culture. Challenging assumptions on both sides, this work reveals a complex and ever-evolving exchange between Christian college campuses in the U.S., where missionaries train, and schools in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

■ Social Stigma GENDERING THE AFRICAN DIASPORA: Women, Culture, and Historical Change in the Caribbean and Nigerian Hinterland

By Byfield, Judith A., Denzer, LaRay & Morrison, Anthea (Eds.); 344pp; USA; Indiana University Press; Paperback; £16.99 CONSIDERS THE movement of people and ideas between the Caribbean and the Nigerian hinterland. The contributions examine Africa in the Caribbean imaginary, the way in which gender ideologies inform Caribbean men’s and women’s theoretical or real-life engagement with the continent, and the interactions and experiences of Caribbean travellers in Africa and Europe. The contributions are linked as well through empire, discussing different parts of the British Empire and allowing for the comparative examination of colonial policies and practices.

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February-April 2010

CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN ART SINCE 1980

By Enzewor, Owkui & Okeke-Agulu, Chika (Eds.); 320pp; Italy; Damiani Publishers; Hardback; £45.00 THE FIRST major survey of the work of contemporary African artists from diverse situations, locations, and generations who work either in or outside of Africa, but whose practices engage and occupy the social and cultural complexities of the continent since the past 30 years. It begins by addressing the tumultuous landscape of Africa, examining landmarks and narratives, exploring divergent systems of representation, and interrogating the ways artists have responded to change and have incorporated new aesthetic principles and artistic concepts, images and imagination to deal with such changes. Organised in chronological order, the book covers all major artistic mediums: painting, sculpture, photography, film, video, installation, drawing, collage.

BEYOND THE DANCE: Voices of Women on Female Genital Mutilation

By Barungi, Violet & Twongyeirwe, Hilda (Eds.); 170pp; Uganda; Femrite; Paperback; £17.95 COMPILATION OF testimonies and poems about the humiliation of female genital mutilation, and about the resulting deprivation. It encompasses accounts of the experience of this practice lived or witnessed, and the visceral responses to the practice. The anger is palpable, the bafflement tangible. Beside the pain, though, is the hope borne of the voices raised by governments, organisations and individuals, urging an end to the practice.

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■ Fiction

Q U A R T E R L Y

SO LONG A LETTER

By Ba, Mariama; 96pp; UK; Heinemann African Writers Series; Paperback; 6.85

THE BITE OF THE MANGO

By Kamara, Mariatu & McClelland, Susan; 224pp; UK; Bloomsbury; Paperback; £9.99 ANALYSES THE impact of the Western idea of modernity on development and underdevelopment in Africa. It traces the genealogy of the Western idea of modernity from Enlightenment concepts of the universal nature of human history and development, and shows how this idea was used to justify the Western exploitation and oppression of Africa.

Argues that contemporary development, theory and practice is a continuation of the Enlightenment project and that Africa can only achieve real development by rejecting Western modernity and inventing its own forms of modernity.

THE BOY NEXT DOOR

By Sabatini, Irene; 416pp; UK; Sceptre; Paperback; £14.99 AS ZIMBABWE breaks free of British colonial rule, young Lindiwe Bishop encounters violence at close hand when her white neighbour is murdered. But this is a domestic crime, apparently committed by the woman’s stepson, Ian, although he is released from prison surprisingly quickly. Intrigued, Lindiwe strikes up a covert friendship with the mysterious boy next door, until he abruptly departs for South Africa. Years later, Ian returns to find Lindiwe has been hiding her own secret. It is to bring them closer together, but also test a relationship already contending with racial prejudice and the hostility of Lindiwe’s mother. And as their country slides towards chaos, the couple’s grip on happiness becomes ever more precarious.

THE DILEMMA OF A GHOST/ANOWA

By Aidoo, Ama Ata; 124pp; UK; Paperback; £9.99

NEW EDITION with an introduction by Kenneth Harrow. A letter describing unhappiness when a woman sees her husband taking another wife. Translated from the French by Modupe Bode-Thomas.

L’ETRANGE DESTIN DE WANGRIN

By Ba, Amadou Hampate; 378pp; France; Paperback; £9.50

TWO DRAMATIC plays which explore the tensions between western culture and traditional African society. In Dilemma of a Ghost, Ato returns from University in the United States with a sophisticated new wife.

The author explores the unstable foundations of their marriage and the fault lines between genders. In Anowa, a young woman defies her parents and marries the man she loves. However, when she assess their long life together, she realises that something vital is missing.

THIS NOVEL tells the story of Wagrin, a Malian character who from a young age is coupled with the Deity of mischief and cunning.

His adventures take him to the pinnacle of power and fortune until he displeases the Gods. French text.

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■ History and Biography THE STATE OF AFRICA: A History of Fifty Years of Independence

By Meredith, Martin; 768pp, UK; Free Press; Paperback; £8.79 EVER SINCE the process of decolonisation began in the mid-1950s, and arguably before, the continent has appeared to be stuck in a process of irreversible decline. Constant war, improper use of natural resources and misappropriation of revenues and aid monies contribute to an impression of a continent beyond hope. Weaving together the key stories and characters of the last fifty years into a compelling narrative, Martin Meredith has produced a comprehensive history of European ideas of how to organise 10,000 different ethnic groups led to the current continental malaise.

AFRICA: A Biography of the Continent

By Reader, John; 803pp; UK; Penguin; Paperback; £12.79 AN IMPRESSIVE biography of the continent, describing its prehistory, geology and the emergence of humans and early societies. The author also discusses the impact of trade and foreign influences especially the demand for ivory and slaves. Several sections are also devoted to the coming of settlers, colonialism and the eventual creation of independent states.

■ Aid and Development

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ORTHODOX STRATEGIES for socio-economic development have failed spectacularly in Southern Africa. Neither the developmental state nor neoliberal reform seems able to provide a solution to Africa’s problems. Here Andreasson analyses this failure and explores post-development alternatives. Looking at the post-independence histories of Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa, the book shows three different examples of this failure to overcome the debilitating colonial legacy.

HOW COLONIALISM PREEMPTED MODERNITY IN AFRICA

By Taiwo, Olufemi; 368pp; USA; Indiana University Press; Paperback; £18.99

DEAD AID: Why aid is not working and how there is another way for Africa

By Moyo, Dambisa; 208pp; UK; Penguin Books; Paperback; £9.99 NEW EDITION. Argues that it is critical to destroy the myth that aid actually works. In the modern globalised economy, simply handing out more money, however well intentioned, will not help the poorest nations achieve sustainable long-term growth. Analyses the history of economic development over the last fifty years and argues that aid crowds out financial and social capital and feeds corruption; the countries that have caught up did so despite rather than because of aid.

AFRICA’S DEVELOPMENT IMPASSE: Rethinking the Political Economy of Transformation

By Andreasson, Stefan; 258pp; UK; Zed Books; Paperback; £18.99

WHY HASN’T Africa been able to respond to the challenges of modernity and globalisation? Going against the conventional wisdom that colonialism brought modernity to Africa, Olufemi Taiwo claims that Africa was already becoming modern. Africans aspired to liberal democracy and the rule of law, but colonial officials aborted those efforts when they established indirect rule in the service of the European powers. Taiwo looks closely at modern institutions, such as church missionary societies, to recognise African agency and the impulse toward progress. He insists that Africa can get back on track and advocates a renewed engagement with modernity.

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Q U A R T E R L Y

Bestsellers in India “Songs of Blood and Sword” by Pakistani writer Fatima Bhutto is still the number one non-fiction bestseller while Jeffrey Archer’s “And Thereby Hangs a Tale” dominates the fiction list.

TOP 10: NON-FICTION 1. Songs of Blood and Sword Author: Fatima Bhutto Publisher: Penguin Viking Price: Rs.699 2. The Big Short Author: Michael Lewis Publisher: Allen Lane Price: Rs.599

9. My Name is Gauhar Jaan!

Author: Vikram Sampath Publisher: Rupa Price: Rs.595 10. The Veiled Suite Author: Agha Shahid Ali Publisher: Penguin Books Price: Rs.350 TOP 10: FICTION

3. Freefall Author: Joseph Stiglitz Publisher: Allen Lane Price: Rs.499 4. Gandhi: Naked Ambition Author: Jad Adams Publisher: Quercus Price: Rs.699 5. The Checklist Manifesto Author: Atul Gawande Publisher: Penguin Viking Price: Rs.399 6. Becoming Indian Author: Pavan K. Varma Publisher: Penguin/Allen Lane Price: Rs.499 7. The Difficulty of Being Good Author: Gurcharan Das Publisher: Penguin/Allen Lane Price: Rs.699 8. Oprah: A Biography Author: Kitty Kelley Publisher: Crown Price: Rs.1172

1. And Thereby Hangs a Tale Author: Jeffrey Archer Publisher: Pan Books Price: Rs.253 2. Deliver Us from Evil Author: David Baldacci Publisher: Macmillan Price: Rs.433 3. The Immortals of Meluha Author: Amish Publisher: Tara Press Price: Rs.295 4. The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ Author: Philip Pullman Publisher: Penguin Viking Price: Rs.499

5. One Amazing Thing Author: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Publisher: Penguin Books Price: Rs.450 6. 9th Judgement Author: James Patterson Publisher: Century Price: Rs.550 7. The Museum of Innocence Author: Orhan Pamuk Publisher: Faber and Faber Price: Rs.599 8. Empire of the Moghul: Brothers at War Author: Alex Rutherford Publisher: Headline Review Price: Rs.495 9. The Temple-Goers Author: Aatish Taseer Publisher: Picador Price: Rs.495 10. Solo Author: Rana Dasgupta Publisher: Harper Collins Price: Rs.395

(Source: Bahri Sons, New Delhi, www.booksatbahri.com. All the books listed above are available online).

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I N D I A

Fostered by Mother Nature Nestling in the eastern Himalayas, Meghalaya is the land of majestic mountains, deep gorges, sparkling lakes and mesmerising waterfalls, says Kamini Kumari

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Umiam Lake — also known as ‘Bara Pani’ — in Shillong

small state situated in the hilly terrains of Garo-Khasi Mountains, Meghalaya is an upcoming ecotourism destination with abundant flora and fauna. Meghalaya literally means ‘abode of clouds’ which describes the climatic phenomenon of torrential rains in the region. The state is blessed with spellbinding natural beauty with over 250 species of flowers, sparkling lakes, dazzling rivers, lush green mountains, gushing waterfalls and thriving wildlife.

This spectacular north-eastern state of India has it all.

Garo-Khasi Hills Meghalaya was declared the 21st state of India in 1972 by unifying the regions of the Garo and Khasi mountains. The Khasi hills region is characterised by an imposing plateau marked by deep gorges and steep slopes. The greenery spread across the river valleys is breathtaking with over 150 species of grass. The place also boasts of a number of ancient monoliths and table stones as tall as 6 metres.

The Tura peak of Garo hills, 657 metres above sea level,

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offers an arresting sight of the mighty Brahmaputra river flowing down the plains. Its catchment area is clearly visible from the peak, offering one of the country’s most rare sights. The Nokrek Biosphere Reserve in the Garo hills region is one of the least disturbed forest tracts of the Himalayan ranges. It also houses the mysterious Siju cave, which has water dripping continuously from its walls and is yet to be explored completely.

Cherrapunji: Earth’s wettest place Regarded as the wettest place on earth, Cherrapunji’s yearly rainfall measures over 11,430 mm. Tucked away in the Khasi hills, 56 km from Shillong, Cherrapunji was the first British outpost in the eastern part of India.

Over 1300 metres above sea level, this breath-taking enclave is also famous for its limestone caves and orange honey. A place where reverberating waterfalls leap into deep gorges forming splendorous rainbows.

Shillong: ‘Scotland of the East’ The state capital is a very attractive hill station luring you with its sparkling lakes, numerous waterfalls and pine-tree

February-April 2010

A F R I C A

A magnificent waterfall in Cherrapunji forests. The place still has an English aura attached to it, with locals addressing it as ‘mini London’. Shillong has a host of attractions making it a popular tourist destination. It boasts of an 18-hole golf course situated in the heart of the city.

Established in 1898 by officers of British Civil Services, golfers from all over the world come here to test their skills.

The densely forested Shillong Peak, 1,965 metres above sea level is an ideal place for camping. A steep curvy road will take you to the point from where you can have a look at another of Mother Nature’s wonders — the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas and the plains of Sylhet. Then there are the mesmerising waterfalls that are equally phantasmal.

The Bishop falls, the Elephant falls, the Beadon falls and Crinoline falls are the best known.

Adventurous Meghalaya Endowed with over 750 caves, many of them unmapped and unexplored, Meghalaya is literally the “cave capital” of the country. Venture into the tenebrous Siju caves, the stalactite Mawsynram caves, the stalagmite Mawsmai caves, the water dripping Syndai caves and you will experience dark mysteries. The Tura peak is the best option for trekking and rock climbing. The wild currents of the Simsang river make for a perfect white water rafting location. The tall Pine trees are a bird watcher’s delight, the most preferred destination for wildlife photographers.

Flora and Fauna Meghalaya has a forest cover of about 43 percent of the state’s total area. These subtropical forests are one of the richest botanical habitats of Asia. The place receives abundant rainfall supporting a vast variety of floral and faunal biodiversity. There are the mysterious ‘sacred groves’, small

Q U A R T E R L Y

Locals playing the betting game ‘Teer’

Teer betting game, Teer is played with great passion and is hugely popular in the state. Archers take aim at a fixed target, called skum, made of bamboo slats tied together, approximately 4 feet in height. Within 180 seconds, the archers are required to shoot with their allotted number of arrows at the target placed at a distance of 150 feet. If out a total of 1,000 arrows, 850 implant themselves on the skum, then that archer wins. Those who place their bets on the winning archer receive double the amount that was at stake. The game offers tremendous scope to become a world- renowned sport and has already become a part of Meghalaya’s ethno-social identity.

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pockets of forests preserved by the tribal communities for hundreds of years. They remain protected from any sort of exploitation and harbour many rare plant and animal species.

The Khasi hills showcase more than 2,000 flowering plants in a radius of 16 km. There are over 150 species of ferns, mosses, fungi and lichens. More than 250 species of orchids, 25 species of balsams, 20 species of palms and wild species of apples are available in the area.

The eastern region of the Garo hills provides a natural habitat for mammals, reptiles, birds and insects. It has a considerable number of wild elephants, boars, deer, leopards, apes and monkeys. There are approximately 500 species of butterflies with some of them being very rare.

Meghalaya has three wildlife sanctuaries, the Nongkyllem sanctuary, the Siju sanctuary and the Bhagmara sanctuary, which is also home to the insect-eating pitching plant, Nepenthes Khasiana. n

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D O C U M E N T S / S P E E C H E S

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh’s opening remarks at the press conference after the IBSA summit at Brasilia 15/04/2010 am delighted to be in Brasilia for the Fourth Summit meeting of IBSA. I express my deep appreciation to His Excellency President Lula da Silva, and to the Government and the people of Brazil for the excellent arrangements made for hosting this Summit.

We deeply value the contribution made by President Lula in imparting vigour and dynamism to IBSA. I also take this opportunity to welcome President Jacob Zuma to his first IBSA Summit. I am confident that IBSA will immensely benefit from his guidance and leadership.

President Lula, President Zuma and I have just completed a very useful exchange of views on several global issues of mutual concern and the future direction to our trilateral cooperation.

The IBSA Forum provides a framework of cooperation among three major democracies from three different continents. We are all developing economies with shared values and similar aspirations. There is a lot that we can do together to benefit each other, and the world.

We have made a conscious effort to ensure that our interaction goes beyond just the Government level. The IBSA framework is unique because of its focus on people to people contacts. Strengthening of dialogue among civil society and the promotion of sporting links and tourism is an important dimension of IBSA activities. The dialogue over the past three days in the Parliamentarian, Business, Women, Editors’, Small Business, Local Government and Academic Fora is a clear testimony of our commitment to building bonds of friendship and understanding among our people.

At the inter-governmental level, we cooperate on a wide range of issues. Our Foreign and Trade Ministers meet regularly. The sixteen Working Groups in different sectors provide a framework for our cooperation. There has been considerable progress in the areas of science and technology and energy cooperation. We have expanded our cooperation to ocean research, space science, and the Antarctica. The three countries have participated in a joint naval exercise, IBSAMAR. The second exercise will take place in South Africa later this year. Under the IBSA Trust Fund, we are committed to assisting other developing countries through development projects. This is a novel concept of SouthSouth Cooperation. We have decided to expedite negotiations on India-SACU-Mercosur trade arrangement. This trilateral arrangement will bring together a rapidly growing market and enable us to benefit from our respective strengths and complementarities. We are increasingly consulting each other on international issues. IBSA can contribute to the shaping of the global agenda and highlighting the issues of concern to developing countries. We are united in our objective to ensure a fair and equitable international order. The

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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressing the fourth IBSA press conference in Brasilia, Brazil, on April 15. critical phase of the global economic crisis is behind us, but the process of recovery is still fragile and uneven. We have to ensure that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past. Global economic recovery, to be sustainable, must be anchored in the real economy. The financial sector and international capital flows should contribute to economic growth rather than encourage speculation and volatility in the international system. Our focus should be on greater investments in infrastructure, human capital, education and inclusive growth. We must create new sources of growth.

Food security is an important goal for all of us. I am pleased to note that we would be adopting documents on a social development strategy and future agriculture cooperation within the IBSA framework. IBSA should coordinate its positions in the G-20. We should continue to pursue the early conclusion of the Doha round of trade negotiations because a fair and rule based multilateral trading system is in our interest. IBSA countries have been in the forefront of demands for greater market access to the developed markets.

We must speak out against protectionist policies which are only short-sighted and self-defeating in the long run. The systems of global governance have not kept pace with the changing realities of the world. There is an urgent need for reform of the United Nations, including the Security Council, by making it more democratic and representative.

The commencement of text-based negotiations in the United Nations in April is a positive development, and has been possible due to the efforts of the G-4 and South Africa.

Our three countries have closely consulted each other on climate change issues. The Copenhagen Accord was made possible due to the efforts of the BASIC countries. The Copenhagen Conference has decided by consensus to continue multilateral negotiations on two parallel tracks — the

February-April 2010

A F R I C A

Q U A R T E R L Y

India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma at the fourth Summit of the India-Brazil-South Africa in Brasilia, Brazil, on April 15.

Bali Action Plan and the Kyoto Protocol. We look forward to the Cancun Conference to advance our goals under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Terrorism continues to pose a serious challenge to our developmental goals. It is a scourge that needs to be fought through collective international effort. We should make all efforts for the early finalisation of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the United Nations.

The collaborative activities within the IBSA framework hold immense promise for our people. The Joint Declaration and Agreements that we will be signing today will strengthen the enabling institutional framework for cooperation. The IBSA Forum supplements the excellent bilateral relations we have with each other. The significance of IBSA however transcends our bilateral ties. It symbolises the desire of three great countries to overcome physical distances and pool their material and intellectual resources for a common cause. IBSA is a strong moral force in today’s unsettled world. India looks forward to working closely with Brazil and South Africa to take our cooperation to even greater heights.

President Lula, President Zuma and I have just concluded a very useful round of discussions on our multi-faceted cooperation under IBSA, and on several important global issues. I thank President Lula and the Government and people of Brazil for hosting the Summit and other meetings preceding the Summit.The IBSA framework has become the embodiment of South-South Cooperation. In a period

of seven years, when the idea of establishing IBSA was first discussed, IBSA has moved from strength to strength. This is our fourth Summit, and marks the commencement of the second cycle of Summits. We have developed an institutional structure for enhancing our trilateral cooperation in areas such as agriculture, science and technology, energy, economic cooperation, transportation, ocean research and space science. Promotion of people-to-people interaction and greater mutual awareness of each other is the hallmark of IBSA. The several fora and Working Groups that have met here for the past few days strengthen my belief that we are proceeding in the right direction of strengthening civil society interface among our countries. IBSA is largely a peoples project. The collaborative activities within the IBSA framework hold immense promise for our people.

IBSA countries have rich experience of consulting each other on global issues. We have worked together on trade, development and climate change issues. We share similar views with regard to the reform of global institutions of governance. We are united by the primacy we accord to development and issues such as food security, social inclusiveness and energy security. IBSA has entered a phase of consolidation. In this Summit we have agreed to focus our efforts on the implementation of the various initiatives we have launched under the IBSA framework. We have issued a Joint Declaration that spells out our common approach on global issues confronting our societies. I firmly believe that IBSA has developed into a vibrant organisation, and will continue to play an important role in global affairs. n

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Inaugural address by External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna at the sixth CII EXIM Bank Conclave on India Africa Project Partnership 2010 “Developing Synergies: Creating a Vision” 15/03/2010 t is an honour and privilege to deliver the inaugural address at the sixth CII EXIM Bank Conclave on India Africa Project Partnership 2010. This Conclave has become a flagship event for promoting entrepreneurship and business between India and Africa. The large numbers of governmental delegations and private sector businessmen from Africa as well as the presence of so many Indian companies and entrepreneurs at senior levels is a manifestation of the success of this Conclave. The Ministry of External Affairs is happy to have been an active part of this process and remains engaged with it in a supportive manner. Just a few days ago, we had launched the Joint Action Plan between India and

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External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Africa to follow up on the important decisions taken at the India Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) in April 2008. We are confident that the implementation of the decisions of the India Africa Forum Summit will substantively contribute to our African partners’ desire to fulfil the millennium development goals.

India will establish 19 Institutions to develop human resources and capacities in Africa under the decisions of the IAFS. These will include the Africa-India Institute of Foreign Trade, Africa-India Diamond Institute, Africa-India Institute of Information Technology and Africa-India Institute of Education Planning and Administration. We will also create 10 vocational training institutions and five human settlement institutes. Our endeavours through these commitments will supplement our ongoing training programmes through the ITEC programme. Many of these proposed institutions will provide support to the creation of skilled professionals in Africa who could either work for themselves or with local companies or with foreign investors including those from India. I am sure that the private sector who is gathered here in great strength will also contribute to the enhancement of capacity building activities in Africa and I would encourage the CII to use its vast network of partners in Africa to create

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similar training modules in select African countries to augment what the Government of India intends to do. On our part, we are now going to work on another programme which will seek to provide internships for African students already in India by engaging with industry in select centres where we have a substantial number of African students. We believe that such new initiatives in association with Indian industry and its institutions like the CII, will allow us to enhance our engagement and provide a better connect between what we as a Government do in Africa and with the efforts of our entrepreneurs.

We are also looking at organising through the Indian Council of Cultural Relations, an African cultural festival later this year, to highlight our age old cultural links. I am also happy that the Indian Council of World Affairs has agreed to re-establish the annual Africa Day Lecture to mark our close and abiding relationship with Africa. I have mentioned these various efforts in order to emphasise the fact that India remains engaged with Africa at various levels and in a variety of sectors and today when we meet at this Conclave, we remain confident that the overall engagement between India and Africa remains vibrant and full of vitality. In such a positive ambience, there are no hurdles to the enhancement of business and entrepreneurship and in that I would like to wish you full success as you move together for mutual benefit. In January this year, the Hon’ble Vice President of India, Shri Hamid Ansari, visited Zambia, Malawi and Botswana. This high level visit at the start of this year is a signal of our desire to sustain and enhance our political level engagement with Africa. We wish to make the positive emotive engagement between India and Africa into a successful economic engagement for mutual benefit and propose to utilise our Government’s financial commitments to Africa to catalyse greater trade and investment. Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, had in April 2008, announced at the IAFS that India would provide $ 5.4 billion in lines of credit to African countries and institutions to support infrastructure and the development goals of our African partners. We are happy that in the first year of implementation we have nearly attained the annual commitment expected of us and will continue to strive for full engagement in this area.

Similarly, through the grants-in-aid to Africa segment of the budget of my Ministry, we will implement the decisions of the IAFS for creating the capacity building institutions in Africa which were mutually agreed upon through the Joint Action Plan. One of the most significant contributions that we have made is the Pan-African e-Network Project to which 47 African countries have adhered and it is already implemented in about half of them. This visionary project creates networks among African countries and provides them opportunity for tele-medicine and tele-education linkages with Indian hospitals and universities. This project complements the close relationship that India has always had with Africa for human resource development and capacity building.

Similarly, efforts at the bilateral level also continue and over

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A F R I C A the last year, we have signed agreements to establish the IndiaLesotho Centre for Advance Education in Information Technology; procurement and supply of medical equipment for Victoria hospital, Mahe, Seychelles; Hole-in-the-Wall Education Project in Namibia; Procurement and supply of Solar Photovoltaic equipment for 35 schools of rural areas of Rwanda; supply of computers and buses to Benin and others. The India-Africa relationship has evolved and matured into a vibrant one.

In this the role of the private sector in particular has acquired larger and significant dimensions. In many parts of Africa we see Indian investors and businessmen enhancing trade, capacity building and contribution to the development goals of our African partners in a visible manner. We in the Government of India, remain committed to continue to support our African partners and the Indian private sector towards these goals. The CII EXIM Bank Conclave will remain an important part of our engagement and I compliment the Confederation of Indian Industry for its continuing efforts to contribute to our growing engagement and develop new ideas and strategies to keep adding vitality to our friendly relations. n Address by Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur at the conference organised by ASSOCHAM on “India-Africa Partnership in Agriculture” 27/03/2010 oday I am delighted to have the Heads of Mission of several friendly countries with us in Patiala. I, on behalf of the Government of India and the people of Patiala welcome all of you to the historic city of Patiala.

Your presence gives a substantive engagement to our bilateral relations by according an opportunity of establishing a direct contact with agriculturists and potential investors from Punjab. Our relationship with African countries is longstanding. We have walked the same path of seeking independence from colonialism and join the same road for development of our countries and peoples. In many African countries, India is deeply respected for the political support it offered in the period of struggle against colonialists and invaders. Later the role of Indian educationists and businessmen has been greatly valued. The familiarity with which India and Indians are known in Africa is the expression of a true bond of friendship and the creation of strong bonds of our common experience and dreams for our people. The State of Punjab which occupies only 1.5 percent of the geographical area of the country meets two-third of the food grain requirements of our country. Further over 95 percent of the food grains that are moved interstate to feed deficit areas through the public distribution system are the stocks procured from this state. No doubt Punjab is called India’s bread basket. The reason for India becoming a food surplus country from a food deficit country is mainly because of the

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success of the green revolution in Punjab. The rising food prices in India and internationally and food shortages, in the recent years, have highlighted the importance of food security for every country. The crisis is more pronounced in the developing world where the food output has not kept pace with the growing population. The food inflation is expected to affect the developing countries, where food constitutes a major portion of the household spending and the rising prices effectively denies access to the millions of poor people. The initiative, to strengthen our relations with African countries, especially in the field of agriculture, is an important component of our larger vision of close, cooperative and multi-sectoral partnership with African countries. Just a few days ago, we had launched the Joint Action Plan between India and Africa to follow up on the important decisions taken at the India Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) in April 2008. The Action plan which mainly focuses on capacity building in varied fields including agriculture, through training, field visits of Indian professionals, consultancy and sharing of knowledge and information will substantively contribute to our African partners’ desire to fulfil the millennium development goals.

The Indian investment in Africa from the private sector is nowadays attracting the largest attention. Our investors have traditionally been important players in the transfer of technology, creation of local employment and the promotion of intra-African trade besides contributing to exports. The Indian investment in agriculture in Africa is a recent phenomenon but due to the commitment and goodwill enjoyed by our private sector entrepreneurs, it has seen a warm welcome in many African countries. The agricultural investment is aimed at utilising the unproductive arable land in many of these countries to provide mutually beneficial food security to all of us. I am sure with the strengthening of our co-operation in agriculture, Africa can become a major export market in agriculture commodities. I would also like to assure that in the process of transferring technology and providing capital, we remain mindful that we want to contribute to the genuine welfare of the farmers of African countries and would like to utilise unutilised land and not displace people.

I am particularly pleased that several Ambassadors and High Commissioners from the African countries have come all the way to Patiala to participate in this Symposium and highlight the opportunities in the agricultural sector in their countries today. I am confident that our agriculturists, industry bodies and government representatives, will benefit immensely with their country wise presentations and deliberations. Through these forums I would like to demonstrate the sincerity of India’s engagement with Africa that could be seen as harbingers to promote sustainable development on both sides. Finally, I appreciate ASSOCHAM’s initiative in organising this important event for the first time in Patiala and wish the conference success and hope that the outcome of these brief deliberations could lead to tangible cooperation in times to come. n

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Address by former Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor at the CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India Africa Project Partnership 15/03/2010 am delighted to be a part of this celebration of India’s close and abiding relationship with Africa. Your presence here today and representatives of friendly governments, business organisations and entrepreneurs, is a true symbol of our friendship.

I believe that over the years, the India Africa Conclave has acquired an important role in the development of functional collaboration between India and Africa.

Your presence here from so many Former Minister of State for External countries and instiAffairs Shashi Tharoor tutions is a tribute to our successful partnership. It has become fashionable these days to ask openly what we expect of each other. This perhaps overlooks the fact that India and Africa have been close to each other over so many centuries that our relationship is not one of imminent give-and-take but has been that of a family where each one provides the best advice, the best support and the best sharing of experience, so that when we walk the same path, we learn from each other and not make the same mistakes.

In many ways, our path has been common as the trade routes linked us over centuries and kept us in contact. As colonisation came, our contacts acquired different dimensions. Some of those remain with us. In the period of decolonisation and the fight against apartheid, we stood shoulder-to-shoulder and welcomed an increasing number of African countries into the international comity of nations.

In this background, we sought to re-engage in the modern world in the 21st century by redrawing our framework of cooperation and devising new parameters for an enhanced and enlarged relationship commensurate with our new role in a changing world. The renewed vigour in the India-Africa relationship has been a response to the challenge of globalisation and what has emerged from it has been immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation.

Our model of cooperation, which we now seek to implement, therefore, emerges from the success of the first India Africa Forum Summit held in New Delhi in April 2008.

The Delhi Declaration and the Framework of Cooperation both synergised the Indian approach which had been fol-

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lowed so far and gave it a new direction and emphasis in consultation with our African partners.

I recall the Delhi Declaration “This partnership will be based on the fundamental principles of equality, mutual respect, and understanding between our peoples for our mutual benefit.

It will also be guided by the following principles: respect for the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity of state and commitment to deepen the process of African integration; collective action and cooperation for the common good of our states and peoples; dialogue among our civilisations to promote a culture of peace, tolerance and respect for religious, cultural, linguistic and racial diversities as well as gender equality with the view to strengthening the trust and understanding between our peoples; the positive development of intra-regional/sub-regional integration by complementing and building upon existing/subregional initiatives in Africa; recognition of diversity between and within regions, including different social and economic systems and levels of development; and further consolidation and development of plural democracy.”

The first point that I would like to emphasise with the model of our cooperation with Africa is, therefore, clearly one seeking mutual benefit through a consultative process.

We do not wish to go and demand certain rights or projects in Africa but we do want to contribute to the achievement of Africa’s development objectives as they have been set by our African partners. The India Africa Forum Summit and the implementation of its decisions is following this consultative mechanism.

We are sometimes accused of being slow in our implementation. It is true that as a democratic country we have to have consultations and build consensus. Sometimes our strong bureaucracy also acts as a check and balance on decision-making. But in all this, the reality is that once we take a decision and go forward, the decision is firm and well thought-out. We believe that the Framework of Cooperation announced at the IAFS in Delhi in 2008, was a result of a similar process both within the country and with our African partners.

Besides the consultative process and the spirit of friendship, both of which are clearly linked to our desire to fulfill the developmental aspirations of African countries, there is also the element of a sharing of knowledge and experience for which many African countries often want to relate to us.

The multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-party pluralistic democracy that India is, is often an attraction to many of our African partners. So are our Parliamentary institutions and procedures, so also our manner of conducting free and fair elections. Our ability to work with the non-governmental sector and civil society in our quest for inclusive growth are also important lessons which many African countries have wanted to share with us. This sharing of experiences on political cooperation is, therefore, another aspect of our non-intrusive support to the development of democratic

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institutions in our partner countries. Similarly, areas of instance, largely fulfils domestic demand and caters to some human resource development and capacity building have intra-African trade. Investment in agriculture and hortibeen at the forefront of our partnership with Africa. The culture on the other hand contributes mainly to exports, over 15,000 African students present in India, many of and investments in manufacturing contribute both to them on a self-financing basis, and nearly 500 of them per domestic demand as well as exports.

The success of the India-Africa Project Partnership is annum coming on scholarships, add to the experience of many African countries with Indian teachers and profes- heightened as it provides greater avenues for African counsors. This partnership in human resource development has tries to seek investment flows from the Indian private been augmented by the tele-education component of the sector. These investment flows are matched by a commitPan African e-Network project which is visionary in its ment by the Government of India made at IAFS 2008 for up to $5.4 billion in new lines of credit in a five-year periappeal and impact.

The role of ICT, science & technology, research and od. This quantum leap in governmental commitment to development, has contributed to the enhancement of our support the economic growth of Africa acted like a stimuengagement with Africa in this important area of human lus package even though such packages became wellresource development. The 1600 training positions offered known only after the financial crisis in 2009. Under this under the ITEC programme to Africa have also become programme, we are expected to commit about $ 1 billion important avenues of capacity building which in turn con- annually every year for the five years 2009-2013 and I am tribute to the fulfilment of developmental goals in so many happy to say that in the current year we have almost attained countries. India will establish an India-Africa Institute of that target.

The combined net flows from India to Africa emerging Information Technology, India-Africa Institute of Foreign Trade, India-Africa Institute of Educational Planning and from governmental credits and private sector investment, Administration, India-Africa Diamond Institute , 10 therefore, form another part of our sustainable model of cooperation with Africa which has in Vocational Training Centres and 5 The over 15,000 turn given huge impetus to many Indian Human Settlement Institutes in Africa companies to seek opportunities in to contribute to capacity building.

African students Africa. The lines of credit besides the Thus, sharing of experience of which present in India, some asset creation that they provide, also act I have given the two instances in politof them on a selfas a catalytic confidence builder leading ical institutions and human resource development is another important financing basis, and to many investment decisions.

At the India Africa Forum Summit aspect of India’s model of cooperation some coming on 2008, we announced a multi-tiered with Africa. We see this as growing furscholarships, add to cooperative partnership with Africa. We ther and becoming a part of our investthe experience of have had a successful bilateral partnerment in human capital and sustainable ship with most African countries over political systems. many African Another important aspect of our countries with Indian decades. We started the process of establishing similar partnerships with some model of cooperation is the private secteachers and of the Regional Economic tor investment in Africa which has professors Communities. At the IAFS, we brought acquired much greater visibility in the in these two tiers of cooperation and last few years. This has been more manifest ever since India liberalised its own economic system added a Pan-African or continental-tier for enhanced coopin 1991 and in the 21st century, private Indian investment eration. This introduction of multilateralism into our relain Africa is giving the relationship a new diversity and tions with Africa brought with it a transparency of its deciadvantage. This type of investment is not government-led sion-making and reflected our full partnership and respect or government-subsidised. It seeks commercial opportu- for our partners. A substantial amount of funds was comnities and Indian investors are respected because they are mitted for capacity building in Africa at the IAFS and reputed to create the maximum employment generation, almost half the allocation is being channelled through AUtransfer of technology and contribution to intra-African led decisions and a similar amount is committed to the trade. Entrepreneurship skills for which the Indian private bilateral and regional tiers.

The action through the AU was concretised through the sector has been well known have been matched with India’s growing economic prowess leading to sustained invest- announcement of a Joint Action Plan a few days ago in which ment flows which are contributing to the fulfilment of we had shared the decision-making on the allocation of domestic demand in African countries, intra-African trade resources, the creation of training programmes and the estabas well as enhancing the foreign exchange earnings through lishment of 19 institutions in Africa with the African Union Commission and the member states. This is an important exports. n India’s investment in pharmaceuticals in Africa for feature of our new model of engagement with Africa.

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■ Contributors ■ JANE-FRANCES AGBU is associated with National Open University of Nigeria.

■ RUCHITA BERI is joint secretary at the African Studies’ Association of India. She is also a member of the United Service Institute of India. Beri has been involved in research on political and security issues of the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and has done research on South Africa. Of late, she has been focusing on the implications of the war against terrorism and the oil boom in Africa and India’s ties with the continent.

■ MANISH CHAND is Editor of Africa Quarterly, a journal on India-Africa relations and African issues published by the

ICCR. He writes on issues relating to India’s foreign policy and international affairs. His articles have been published in leading national and international dailies and research journals. He has presented papers at global seminars and has served as a rapporteur at international conferences. Manish has travelled as part of the media delegation of the Indian Prime Minister to various countries, including Nigeria and South Africa. He has written many articles on the Darfur crisis and has spoken at seminars on bridging the knowledge gap between India and Africa.

■ NANDINI SEN is a Reader in English in Delhi University. Her area of specialisation is African Studies with special reference to Anglophone women writers. A Charles Wallace Scholarship awardee, she has presented scholarly papers at national and international conferences. Her articles have been published in several literary journals. She is currently working on a book on Sefi Atta, a contemporary African writer.

■ SUSHMITA RAJWAR is a research scholar at the Centre for African Studies in Jawaharlal Nehru University. She is also a member of the African Studies’ Association of India. She has carried out extensive research for her report titled “Challenges Facing China’s Economic Engagement with Africa: A Case Study of Zambia”.

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Note to Contributors Africa Quarterly, published since 1961, is devoted to the study and objective analyses of African affairs and issues related to India-Africa relations. Contributions are invited from outstanding writers, experts and specialists in India, Africa and other countries on various political, economic, social-cultural, literary, philosophical and other themes pertaining to African affairs and India-Africa relations. Preference will be given to those articles which deal succinctly with issues that are both important and clearly defined. Articles which are purely narrative and descriptive and lacking in analytical content are not likely to be accepted.

Contributions should be in a clear, concise, readable style and written in English.

Articles submitted to Africa Quarterly should be original contributions and should not be under consideration by any other publication at the same time. The Editor is responsible for the selection and acceptance of articles, but responsibility for errors of facts and opinions expressed in them rests with authors. Manuscripts submitted should be accompanied with a statement that the same has not been submitted/accepted for publication elsewhere. Copyright of articles published in the Africa Quarterly will be retained by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).

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A new India-Africa business alchemy

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Towards an energy partnership

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INTERVIEW: India offers a choice in Africa

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Rehabilitating post-war stress victims in Nigeria

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