Monbasa-NairobiSGRprovidesemploymentsforlocalpeopleSUNRUIBO
ChinAfrica:DoyouthinkChineseenterprisesare“givingfish”or“teachinghowtofish”?ZhuWeidong:MostoftheChineseenterprisesinAfricaIvisitedhavedevelopedtrainingprogramsforlocalpeople.Thishasboostedthetransferofskillstolocaltechniciansandincreasedtheirjobopportunities.Forexample,duringtheconstructionoftheMombasaNairobiStandardGaugeRailway(SGR)inKenya,ChinaRoadandBridgeCorp.(CRBC)trainedmorethan18,000Kenyanworkers.Inaddition,ithasalsoteamedupwiththelocalrailwayauthority,alocaltrainingschoolandChina’sSouthwestJiaotongUniversity,andtrained10Kenyanteachersand100studentsonrailwayoperationsinthefirstterm.AChina-Kenyarailwaytraininginstitutewillbebuilttoprovidetrainingforaround3,000Kenyanrailwaytechnicians.
ToaddresstheproblemofthelackoftechniciansintheAddisAbaba-DjiboutiRailwayproject,morethan36,000localworkershavebeentrainedbyChineseenterprises.Thetraininghasnotonlyaddressedtheneedsofhumanresourceduringrailwayconstruction,butalsocultivatedtechniciansforrailwaymaintenanceandoperationinthefuture.
HuajianInternationalShoeCity(Ethiopia)Plc.,aprivateChineseshoe-manufacturingcompanyinEthiopia,hasalsopaidattentiontotraininglocalpeople.Thecompanysetupaspecialclassfornewstaff,withexperiencedteachersprovidingtrainingandguidance.ItalsoprovidesexcellentlocalworkerswithtrainingopportunitiesinChina.AgroupoflocalstaffmembershavebeenpromotedtoseniorpositionsaftertheyreceivedtraininginChina.
Howaboutlocalpeople’semployment?CanChineseenterpriseshelpinthisregard?
ItisreportedinsomeWesternmediathatChineseenterpriseshavebroughttheirownworkerstoAfricaanddidnothireAfricans,whichtookawaylocaljobopportunities.Thisargumentisgroundless.Infact,manyChineseenterprisesattachgreatimportancetothelocalizationoftheirbusinesses.Theyhaverecruitedalargenumberoflocalpeople,andsomelocalemployeeshavebeenpromotedtosupervisorsandmanagersafterbeingtrained.
Dr.DeborahBrautigam,DirectoroftheChina-AfricaResearchInitiativeatJohnsHopkinsUniversity’sSchoolofAdvancedInternationalStudies,saidthiskindofclaimwas“rumor,”andshenotedthatthemajorityofthestaffworkersrecruitedinChineseenterprisesarelocals.SheexpressedthisviewinherarticletitledFiveMythsaboutChineseInvestmentinAfricapublishedinForeignPolicyinDecember2015.
DuringmyvisittotheMombasa-NairobiSGRproject,Ifoundthatthisprojecthadcreatedatotalof42,000jobsofvariouskindsbytheendof2016.CRBChasrecruitedmorethan8,900Kenyantechniciansandmorethan8,700localmanagementstaff.Thelocalstaffemploymentratereachedashighas92percent.ZhuWeidongLocalworkershavebeenrecruitednotonlybyChina’sstate-ownedenterprises,butalsoprivatecompanies.Forinstance,themajorityoftheworkersatHuajianhavebeenrecruitedlocally.Sofar,atotalofover6,000localpeoplehavebeenprovidedjobopportunities.ItisconstructingHuajianInternationalLightIndustryParkinEthiopia,whichwillbringinclothing,shoesandhats,electronicsandotherlightindustrialmanufacturingcompanies.It’sestimatedthat30,000to50,000jobswillbecreatedforlocalsinEthiopiawhenitreachescompletionin2020.
ChineseenterprisesarecriticizedfornotprotectingthelocalenvironmentwhileoperatingbusinessesinAfrica.What’syourtakeonthis?
Letthefactsspeak.TaketheMombasa-NairobiSGRforexample,CRBChasmaderegulationsandconstructionplanstoprotecttheenvironmentandwildanimals.BasedontherequirementsfromKenyaWildlifeService(KWS),theChineseenterprisehasbuiltbridgesforthetraintopasswildlifereserveswithoutaffectinganimals.Atotalof969bridgeculvertsand14wildlifepassageshavebeenbuilttoallowanimalspassage.Sectionsofthebridgesrunningthroughnationalparkshavealsobeenelevatedashighas7meterstoenhancemovementofwildlifesuchasgiraffes.Theraillineisalsofencedonbothsidesalongthetracktopreventanimalsstrayingintothepathoftrains.
TheAddisAbaba-DjiboutiRailwaypassesthroughEthiopia’sAwashNationalPark.Strictcontrolshavebeenputinplacetoensuretheprojectdoesnotharmwildlifespecies.Forinstance,inthesectionsofthetrackbuiltbyChinaCivilEngineeringConstructionCorp.,twoculvertsarebuiltforeverykilometeralongthetrack,andthusatotalofover750culvertshavebeenbuiltalongthe430-kmrailline.
SomeforeignscholarshavealsomadeobjectiveevaluationsonenvironmentalprotectionissuesofChinesecompaniesinAfricaafterthoroughresearchandinvestigations.Forexample,CanadianscholarsNamukaleChintuandPeterJ.WilliamsonrefutedsomeWesternmedia’sclaimsthatChineseenterpriseshavedamagedtheenvironmentinAfricaintheirpublishedarticletitledChineseState-OwnedEnterprisesinAfrica:MythsandRealities.Inthisarticle,theymentionedsomeenvironmentalprotectioncasescarriedoutbyChineseenterprisesinAfrica.Forexample,ChinaNationalPetroleumCorp.hasbuilttheworld’slargestbiodegradablewastewatertreatmentfacilityinSudantoeliminatethedischargeofeffluents.TheExport-ImportBankofChinaandChinaDevelopmentBankalsohavemadetheirownenvironmentalandsocialresponsibilitypolicies,toencourageChineseenterprisestoconductstrictenvironmentalmanagementinAfrica.
HowhaveChineseenterprisesfulfilledtheirCSRinAfrica?
CSRrequiresenterprisestocareaboutnotonlycorporateprofitsandshareholders’interests,butalsotheinterestsoflocalcommunitiesandstakeholders.InsteadofonlyfocusingonmakingprofitsasreportedbysomeWesternmedia,mostChineseenterprisesdofulfilltheirCRSinAfrica.
ChinesecontractorsoftheMombasa-NairobiSGRandtheAddisAbaba-DjiboutiRailwayhavedoneagoodjobinfulfillingtheirCSRinAfrica.Forexample,sincetheMombasa-NairobiSGRprojectstarted,CRBChasorganizedover260activitiesforpublicwelfare,benefitingatotalofover20,000Kenyans.Theactivitiesincludedrillingwellsforlocalresidents,donationtoschools,conductingroadrescue,constructingroadsforlocalcommunities,andparticipationinenvironmentalprotection.
Atpresent,backwardinfrastructure,shortageoffundsandprofessionalsarethemainbottleneckswhichhinderAfrica’sdevelopment.ManyChineseenterpriseshaveconsideredaddressingthesebottlenecksastheirprioritieswhenrunningprojectsinAfrica.
Afrobarometer,aninfluentialpan-African,non-partisanresearchnetwork,releasedfindingsfromRoundSixsurveys(2014-15)inOctober2016,whichhavebeenconductedamongalmost54,000citizensin36Africancountries.SurveyresultsshowthatChinaisthesecondmostpopularmodelfornationaldevelopmentaftertheUnitedStates.Almosttwo-thirds(63percent)ofAfricanssayChina’sinfluenceispositive.ThemostimportantfactorscontributingtoapositiveimageofChinainAfricaareChina’sinvestmentsininfrastructureandotherdevelopmentprojects,thecostofChineseproductsandChina’sbusinessinvestments,accordingtosurveyrespondents.
ThereisnodoubtthatsomeChineseenterprisessoughtimmediateinterestswithoutcomplyingwithlocallaws.RatherthanfulfillingtheirCSR,theydamagedthelocalenvironment,bringingdiscontentandresentmentfromlocals.TheChineseGovernmentistakingmeasurestodealwithsuchenterprises.AfewsuchenterprisescannotrepresentthemainstreamofChineseenterprisesoperatinginAfrica.
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