Chinese investment in the West African state of Benin has brought substantial and visible benefits to the country but local workers complain of exploitation and even slavery.
The Beninese government and Chinese entrepreneurs insist that all is well on Chinese-run infrastructure projects but as in other parts of Africa, there is a growing backlash against China’s focus on the continent’s vast natural resources and the methods used to extract them.
Although China has become a major trading partner, there is unease about employment practices and a tide of cheap Chinese imports into this country of 8.5 million.
“We can’t go [on] like this, its almost slavery,” one worker said, reflecting a widespread sentiment, whatever the soothing words of the government.
Workers building new roads and other infrastructure projects are deeply resentful.
“We do the work for half the rate while their fellow countrymen don’t have the same qualifications and are paid two or even three times as much,” said Jean-Luc, 47, who did not give his last name.
He has a qualification in building concrete structures and works at the site where a new teaching hospital of 100 beds is taking shape at Parakou in the center of the country.
The US$8.25 million project is entirely financed by China and is due to open in a year’s time.
Jean-Luc is almost nostalgic for the time when the French, the former colonial masters before independence in 1960, were the bosses.
“With them we all had social security health benefits. With the Chinese, nothing! And when you are ill or injured, even if you have a medical certificate they think you have taken time off: it isn’t fair,” he said.
“Human rights are worth little on Chinese sites and if it goes on like this we shall make our voices heard,” said Gaston Azoua, a trade union official. “We are not xenophobes or racists but you cannot flout the law on the pretext they are helping us.”
The Chinese embassy here denies the accusations of unfair treatment of workers on projects funded by Beijing.
“Chinese businesses are not slave drivers,” an embassy official said. “If there are cases of ill-treatment, the victims should report them so we can find solutions together.”
The government in Benin, which lies between Togo and Nigeria and is considered one of Africa’s most stable democracies, insists that bilateral cooperation runs smoothly.
“Benin benefits from several Chinese-financed development projects,” Beninese Foreign Minister Jean-Marie Ehouzou said. “As for the Chinese on our soil, we repeat that every investor is welcome in Benin. But if there are cases of proven ill-treatment they should be reported.”
Over the last 10 years, Chinese investment has grown by 50 percent a year, said the Laboratory for Economic Analysis in the capital Cotonou.
The Chinese community has grown from 700 technical assistants in the 1980s to more than 3,000 today.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
RSS