Garissa Township MP and former Majority Leader in the National Assembly Aden Duale has criticised China for what he termed overburdening poor countries with its loans.
Duale was irked by China Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s remarks during his two-day official visit to Kenya which ended on Thursday.
In his remarks, Yi rejected the comments that China was seducing African countries into debt traps through massive loans.
Yi said, "This is a narrative that has been created by those who do not want to see development in Africa. If there is any trap, it is about poverty and underdevelopment."
He spoke in Mombasa during a join-presser with President Uhuru Kenyatta.
On Friday, in a series of tweets, Duale said that China “owns around 72 per cent of Kenya's external debt which stands at $ 50 billion.”
He said that about 18 African countries have been renegotiating their debts while 12 others are in talks with China for restricting an approximate $28 billion loan.
“African nations are heavily indebted to China, and the debt burden has created and completely derail their development trajectories, hence push the continent into more severe poverty, corruption, and unemployment,” Duale explained.
The MP continued that in the next few years, Kenya will pay close to $60 billion to the China Exim Bank alone.
“According to the Auditor General report 2015, Mombasa port can be lost to China if Kenya defaults on loan repayment.”
African nations are heavily indebted to China and the debt burden has created and completely derail their development trajectories, hence push the continent into more severe poverty, corruption and unemployment.
— Hon. Aden Duale, EGH, MP (@HonAdenDuale) January 7, 2022
During a closed-door meeting in Mombasa, China and Kenya signed trade agreements targeting investment, health, security, climate change, and green technology transfer.
China is funding a number of expensive projects in the country, including the ongoing Kipevu Oil Terminal that costs $353 million.
However, in his address, Uhuru hailed China, which is Kenya's development partner, adding that the arrangement had helped deliver key infrastructure projects, adding that the populous Asian nation was progressively opening up its expansive domestic market to Kenyan exports.
“Our partnership with China is not a partnership based on China telling us what to do. It is a partnership of friends, working together to meet Kenya’s socio-economic agenda… we needed this facility to be able to cater for those demands and China was there when we asked for partnership in developing it,” Uhuru said.
