India appears more than happy to delve into Africa, but the negatives could outweigh the positives. The Democratic Republic of Congo’s ambassador to India Balumuene Francois told The Economic Times that while India was making efforts for the economic development of Africa, the Indian government is lackadaisical in giving timely responses.
Francois pointed out that in October 2009, India had agreed to fund a hydroelectric project in Katende, DRC, with the country putting up 60% of the capital at around $168 million. “To date we have not yet started implementation. We are still in the discussion phase [with India].”
And yet China seems to have no problem expediting the African projects. Francois also pointed to the $360 million infusion from China to fund another hydropower plant near Kinshasa. He said, “Even as we’re talking now, the execution of the [Chinese] project has already started.”
So why is China seemingly able to plow through red tape that appears to hold up India-funded projects? "The Indian government’s way has been to approach African countries, let them set the agenda, and go by what their requirements are. And we do not compete with the Chinese," says Shashi Tharoor, former minister of state for external affairs. And it appears that India and China are after different sectors.
While China has focused on resources such as furthering its business into various mining operations throughout the continent, India has been more involved with infrastructure such as in the telecommunications industry. For the past two years, around $1.7 billion has been allocated in various sectors including urban transport in Cote d’Ivoire, rural electrification in Mali, cement factories in the DRC, and a railway project in Angola. And just like the DRC hydropower deal with India, discussions are still in the works for all of the projects.
India had initially agreed to train Ugandan engineers in nuclear energy with India gaining access to substantial uranium reserves. Uganda’s high commissioner in India Nimisha J. Madhvani said, “I’ve been writing for four years to [India’s] atomic energy department proposing that in return from training engineers from our country, we would provide access to the uranium reserves in Uganda and for four years I can’t get an answer. I’ve tried numerous avenues and approaches. Everyone promises to help, but it goes nowhere.” She continued, “We would like the Indian government to be more aggressive in Africa.”
However, it isn’t just India’s government that is slow in its response. It is difficult to get any response from Indian companies about basic information and operations. One local Indian source told Alternative Energy Africa in regards to Indian giant wind manufacturer Suzlon, “I’m Indian and even I can’t get a response.”
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