In the 2006 Zambian election, Michael Sata, leader of the opposition Patriotic Front, embarked on an election campaign that raised eyebrows across the continent. Taking to the stage at rallies in the capital, Lusaka, and the mineral rich Copperbelt province, Sata tapped into what had become the populist mood by berating foreign, in particular Chinese, investors. ‘Zambia has been mortgaged to China,’ he said. ‘These Chinese are infesters, not investors’.
With significant mineral wealth, the central African state has long been a destination for foreign direct investment (FDI). First, the British and South Africans arrived to set up copper mines, which were nationalised soon after independence but then privatised in the mid-1990s as a result of ‘structural adjustment’ programmes. Chinese firms have subsequently become the major players in Zambia’s mining industry, providing massive inward investment and re-opening once defunct mines to feed China’s industrial boom.
Sata threatened to expel ‘bogus’ Chinese investors, and, after he met with Taiwanese representatives in Malawi, the Chinese ambassador threatened to pull all investments should he win. But Sata’s message struck a chord with the urban poor, who had seen little of the benefits of the post-2000 commodities boom, and blamed the Chinese for worsening labour conditions and political corruption. In September 2011 Sata was elected president of Zambia. Full story...
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With significant mineral wealth, the central African state has long been a destination for foreign direct investment (FDI). First, the British and South Africans arrived to set up copper mines, which were nationalised soon after independence but then privatised in the mid-1990s as a result of ‘structural adjustment’ programmes. Chinese firms have subsequently become the major players in Zambia’s mining industry, providing massive inward investment and re-opening once defunct mines to feed China’s industrial boom.
Sata threatened to expel ‘bogus’ Chinese investors, and, after he met with Taiwanese representatives in Malawi, the Chinese ambassador threatened to pull all investments should he win. But Sata’s message struck a chord with the urban poor, who had seen little of the benefits of the post-2000 commodities boom, and blamed the Chinese for worsening labour conditions and political corruption. In September 2011 Sata was elected president of Zambia. Full story...
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