{"id":59316,"date":"2024-06-02T06:26:13","date_gmt":"2024-06-02T06:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/why-africa-is-caught-between-two-stools-with-brics"},"modified":"2024-06-02T07:24:15","modified_gmt":"2024-06-02T07:24:15","slug":"why-africa-is-caught-between-two-stools-with-brics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/why-africa-is-caught-between-two-stools-with-brics","title":{"rendered":"Why Africa is caught between two stools with BRICS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>With the presence of China and South Africa on the continent, African countries have little choice but to get involved with BRICS. At the same time, countries like Malawi do not want to lose touch with the western industrialised nations.<\/b><\/p>\n

When Malawi\u2019s President Lazarus Chakwera attended the 15th BRICS Summit in South Africa last August, he expressed Malawi\u2019s determination to work with the bloc to \u201cconfront the barriers that previously denied Africa a stake in global prosperity.\u201d Chakwera said: \u201cWe need to reboot the system. We need to reboot it now. And we are here to help BRICS nations design the software.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cooperation between the BRICS and Africa is becoming increasingly important. Last year, Ethiopia and Egypt, along with other countries, were officially accepted into the bloc of major emerging economies now named BRICS+.<\/p>\n

Since their foundation in 2009, the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) have positioned themselves as \u201cthe voice of the global south\u201d. China in particular has presented itself as an important partner for developing countries, especially in Africa.<\/p>\n

However, critics consider China\u2019s relationship with Africa as exploitative and mainly beneficial to the Asian country. China is confronted with accusations of human-rights violations when Chinese companies operate in the mining or construction sectors in Africa, for example. At the same time, China has saddled the continent\u2019s countries with unsustainable debts.<\/p>\n

\u201cModern Slavery\u201d<\/p>\n

Relations between Malawi and China date back to 2008, when the southern African country cut its 41-year diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Since then, China has supported infrastructure projects in Malawi, such as the parliament building, the Bingu National Stadium, the Bingu International Conference Centre and the Malawi University of Science and Technology.<\/p>\n

Like many African countries, Malawi is under pressure from constantly rising and unsustainably managed public debt. According to a mid-year public debt report published by the country\u2019s Ministry of Finance in November last year, Malawi owed the International Monetary Fund, the European Investment Bank and the World Bank\u2019s International Development Organisation a total of almost $ 2 billion. The Export-Import Bank of China and the Export-Import Bank of India were owed a total of $ 306 million. The private sector had a domestic debt of around $ 35.2 million.<\/p>\n

A 2020 Afrobarometer survey conducted by the University of Malawi\u2019s Centre for Social Research found that many Malawians believe their country has borrowed too much from China. While some recognise the benefits of Chinese loans for infrastructure development, there are concerns about the long-term impact. One business journalist, who asked not to be named, likened the debt to \u201cmodern slavery\u201d.<\/p>\n

In this context, Malawi\u2019s president emphasised at the BRICS summit in South Africa last year that talks on debt restructuring with China \u2013 and India \u2013 were high on the agenda. In March, Malawi\u2019s finance minister Simplex Chithyola Banda said Malawi was on track in debt restructuring negotiations with its bilateral and commercial creditors. He said the country had so far received assurances from the governments of China and India about their intention to restructure debt. However, China is a particularly tough creditor in debt negotiations.<\/p>\n

The business journalist commented: \u201cAlthough restructuring can extend the repayment periods, it does not relieve the country of its debt, which may divert resources away from important development initiatives in the long term.\u201d<\/p>\n

South African influence<\/p>\n

Like most African countries, especially in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Malawi is not only dealing with China from the BRICS countries, but above all with South Africa. Although the country, which has been a member of BRICS since 2010, is the smallest of the five original players in the alliance, it offers the bloc access to the African market as a regional economic power. In Southern Africa in particular, the country\u2019s economic and political strength is undeniable. The countries in the region therefore hope to benefit from improved market access in South Africa and attract foreign direct investment.<\/p>\n

There is also significant migration to South Africa within the region. Currently, there are an estimated 100,000 Malawian migrant workers in the BRICS country, driven there by low incomes at home \u2013 even if many of them still work in the informal sector. Citizens are also flocking to South Africa from other countries in the region.<\/p>\n

Patrick Kambewa, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Malawi (UNIMA), believes that South Africa\u2019s influence on Malawi is enormous. \u201cWhatever happens in South Africa has an impact on us,\u201d said Kambewa. \u201cWhen South Africa went into lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic, we were greatly affected as a country.\u201d He therefore believes that whatever agreements South Africa reaches with other BRICS members \u201cwill always have an impact on Malawi\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, Kambewa points to the dilemma facing Malawi \u2013 and other African countries: It is uncertain what consequences increasing involvement with the BRICS will have for the relationship with western nations and their powerful institutions. \u201cBRICS presents itself as a rival group to the west, but Malawi\u2019s debt is actually mainly to western institutions. The country is therefore unsure whether to join either side\u201d, says Kambewa.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. With the presence of China and South Africa on the continent, African countries have little choice but to get involved with BRICS. At the same time, countries like Malawi do not want to lose touch with the western industrialised nations. When Malawi\u2019s President Lazarus Chakwera attended the 15th BRICS Summit in South […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":59315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[2355,2361,260],"class_list":["post-59316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-gambia","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Africa is caught between two stools with BRICS - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With the presence of China and South Africa on the continent, African countries have little choice but to get involve ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/why-africa-is-caught-between-two-stools-with-brics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Africa is caught between two stools with BRICS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With the presence of China and South Africa on the continent, African countries have little choice but to get involve ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/why-africa-is-caught-between-two-stools-with-brics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-02T06:26:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-06-02T07:24:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2024\/06\/sm_1717300179.804131.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"719\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/why-africa-is-caught-between-two-stools-with-brics#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/why-africa-is-caught-between-two-stools-with-brics\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Why Africa is caught between two stools with BRICS\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-02T06:26:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-02T07:24:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/why-africa-is-caught-between-two-stools-with-brics\"},\"wordCount\":860,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/why-africa-is-caught-between-two-stools-with-brics#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2024\/06\/sm_1717300179.804131.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Gambia\",\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"files\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/why-africa-is-caught-between-two-stools-with-brics#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/why-africa-is-caught-between-two-stools-with-brics\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/why-africa-is-caught-between-two-stools-with-brics\",\"name\":\"Why Africa is caught between two stools with BRICS - 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