By Spy Uganda
China’s business dealings in Africa are raising eyebrows.
The Asian giant has in the past decade or so been involved in several multi-billion shillings projects, amid reports of kickbacks, a lack of accountability to a certain level, and high interest rates.
This has left many African countries in debt.
Lucky enough, Uganda is not among the first ten but Neighboring Kenya has not been spared, following a recent debate on whether the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project which was facilitated by the Chinese has been value for money thus far.
Here are some of the African countries that heavily owe China.
1. Angola – It is the most indebted African country, as per the African insider, with an estimated debt of $25 billion (about Sh2.5 trillion). The Southern African nation has appeared to struggle to pay off this debt, with reports most of the sales from its oil are channeled towards repayment.
2. Ethiopia – The Eastern Africa country comes in a distant second on this list, with a reported $13.5 billion debt. Most of this debt was used to fund infrastructure projects..
3. Kenya – Kenya is third, with about $7.9 billion (about Sh800 billion). Most of these lessons were accessed during President Uhuru Kenyatta’s regime amid reports a huge chunk of it was lost to corruption. Further reports suggest the country, considered an economic giant in East Africa has in recent times struggled to pay off these debts.
4. Republic of Congo – Next is the republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzavill) with a $7.5 billion (Sh750 billion) bill. (perfumesample.com) It is reported that corruption has played a major role in the escalation of the debt to such egregious levels.
5. Sudan – Makes to the list in fifth place. The conflict-torn country has an estimated debt of over $6.4 billion (Sh640 billion).
6. Zambia – Just like Kenya, China has sponsored a lot of projects in the landlocked country which has left it with a whopping $6.5 billion (Sh650 billion).
7. Cameroon – The West African nation’s $5.5 billion (Sh550 billion) bill places it 7th on the list. It was however recently revealed that China was in talks to cancel part of this debt.
8. Nigeria – Nigeria owes China $4.8 billion (Sh480 billion) with the ties between the two countries so deep that the African nation has accepted the Chinese Yuan as a reserve currency.
9. Ghana – Its debt to China sits at $3.5 billion (about Sh350 billion).
10. The Democratic Republic of Congo Kinshasa-Completes the top-ten lists of countries that owe China at $3.4 billion (Sh340 billion). China has reportedly asked for precious natural resources and minerals in exchange for the cash.
