China, important development partner in Africa - GTUC

Accra, Nov. 12, GNA - Dr Yaw Baah, Deputy Secretary-General of Ghana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), on Thursday said the future of Ghana and Africa in the next two decades would be defined by their relationship with China.

He said China was currently the third largest trading partner in Africa and had become very attractive to most African Governments. Dr Baah made the observation at the launch of a report on Chinese Investments in Africa.

It is based on a research conducted by the Africa Labour Research Network (ALRN), a network of trade union researchers into labour related issues on the continent.

The report focused on 10 African countries, Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Angola, South Africa, Mali, Togo, Mozambique, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Dr Baah noted that the volume of trade between China and Africa increased from 10 billion dollars in 2000 to about 107 billion dollars by the end of 2008.

However, he said what was worrying about Africa's relationship with China was the pattern of trade between them. "While China imported raw materials and natural resources, Africa imported manufactured goods which did not make the situation a win-win for Africa, "he said.

Dr Baah called for a united African front to help make the partnership with China a win-win situation, adding, "How can a country like Sierra Leone trade with China that has a population of about one billion". He stressed the need for a clear policy direction in terms of trading between Africa and China.

"China has a clear policy to engage Africa but Africa's approach to China still remains largely ad-hoc, "he said.

Mr Kwasi Adu-Amankwaah, General Secretary of International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Africa Office, launching the report reiterated that the presence of China on the continent was becoming extremely important hence the need for Africa to strategise to make the best of the partnership. He noted that partnership thrived on the basis of equality, and "We cannot continue to have a situation where Africa is always lying low." Mr Adu-Amankwaah advised Africans to take keen interest in activities in other African countries to facilitate the realisation of African unity. Mr Kwabena Nyarko Otoo, Head of Labour Research and Policy Institute of GTUC, said most Ghanaians employed in Chinese construction sites had very poor working conditions and most of them were only engaged as casual workers without any contracts.

He called for a clear labour policy on investment to ensure that Ghanaians employed in such ventures were treated fairly. Mr Otoo said even though there were health and safety arrangements, Ghanaian workers were not aware because there was no clear procedure for emergencies.

Mr Hu Yu Jie, Economic and Commercial Counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Accra, explained that sometimes there was misunderstanding between the Chinese employers and their Ghanaian employees because of the language barrier.

He said the Chinese Government was making efforts to encourage the learning of Chinese language in Ghana and urged Ghanaians to learn the language.

Mr Hu said Chinese were currently working in Information Communication and Technology and agriculture sectors and there were about 387 Chinese companies operating in Ghana. 12 Nov. 09