By Liberatus Mwangombe “Libe”
To my fellow Africans and Tanzanians
who praise and give China credit for building a coalition with African nations. The Chinese government doesn’t care about you
– their intentions are not transparent,
they do not care about human rights,
and corruption is as natural to them
as breathing. Even if no one else will
tell you what China’s true motivation is, I will. They need our natural resources such as oil
and minerals.
I wonder if President, Jakaya Mrisho
kikwete, considers the ultimate impact on Tanzania from forming trade alliances
with China. Through my personal research
I have found historical facts that reveal significant growth in the volume of
trading between Tanzania and China. In
1997 Tanzania’s total export of goods and services to China was Tsh 10 billion. In the same year, China’s export of goods and
services to Tanzania was Tsh 37 billion. In 2005, a mere 8 years later, these two
countries exchanged goods and services worth Tsh 347 billion! Tanzania’s
exports represented Sh 101 billion of the total and China’s exports represented
Sh 245 billon, more than twice that of Tanzania! (The Citizen, March 2013)
The numbers in 2005 already suggest
a Tanzanian dependence on China’s goods and services. In addition, in 2009 the divide widened even
further when Chinese President, Hu Jintao, met with Tanzanian President, Jakaya
Mrisho Kikwete and trading was at Tsh 1.37 trillion between the two countries,
again, disproportionately! History demonstrates
that China has never been a genuine trading partner since they have slowly
widened the gap to form a reliable source of income for themselves by providing
largely low quality goods and services at inflated prices. As of 2011 the export value between the two
countries was at Tsh 2.28 trillion!! I
don’t have to tell you which country has the lion’s share of that Tsh 2.28
trillion.