THE IMPACT OF CHINA’S INVESTMENT IN KENYA

I believe most if not all Kenyans are familiar with the work the Chinese have done in the country. This is mainly in terms of infrastructure and technology growth. Well incase you don’t know there are so many products that come from China that we have here in our country. This range from utensils, clothes, stationery among other which were the first products to come to Kenya from China.

The ones we mainly recognize now because of their visibility and daily use are the electronic gadgets and the roads they have constructed in many parts of the country. This is an investment they have made as a country in major towns and areas of Kenya.  The likes of Thika super Highway and Mombasa road are attributed to the China. China has also brought in employment opportunities in the motor and technology industry. They have also contributed to the communication industry in terms of manufacturing affordable phones and increasing the number of mobile phone users in the country. China is continuing to expand its presence in Africa. Kenyan and Chinese officials announced a deal worth $5 billion for China to build a railroad, an undisclosed energy project, and to assist with wildlife protection. 

In a meeting with the Kenyan government, China is set to become the world’s largest oil importer as early as October and with new oil discoveries in Kenya, the country will be the first oil exporter in East Africa by 2016 with deposits topping 10 billion barrels, or three times more than the United Kingdom’s remaining oil reserves.  Statistics by the Kenya Investment Authority (KIA) showed that at least 18 Chinese companies have set up shop in Nairobi in the past two years targeting diverse markets such as footwear, consumer electronics and beverages with an initial investment cost of over Sh7 billion.

In a recent development, vehicle manufacturer Foton Motors is putting up a Sh1.2 billion assembly plant in Nairobi. Other firms such as battery maker Golden Lion and technology firms ZTE, Huawei, and Aucma top the list of Chinese firms with a strong presence in the Kenyan market. Data showed that Chinese companies have in the past five years alone established a strong local presence in Kenya’s telecoms infrastructure, automobile, battery, food and beverage markets cutting down the dominance of subsidiaries of western multi-nationals. Many Kenyans have gotten an opportunity to be employed in this firms thus putting food in their tables an improving their lifestyles.

Despite all this, the investment has also brought with it disadvantages in various sectors. For instance in the infrastructure industry, many engineers in Kenya have lost contract opportunities because all road construction project are given to the Chinese government thus rendering them unemployed. They feel frustrated because their efforts are not recognized and as a result enrollment into causes related to road construction in higher learning institutions has gone down.  China has also started producing counterfeit goods and this has worst hit the mobile phone industry.

The phones are of poor quality and cheap which is what many people tend to go for thus making the original phones to loose market because of their high price. Last year Kenya had an initiative of switching off all the counterfeit phones so as to boost the market for original phones. The initiative kicked off and well a huge number of phones were switched off, unfortunately there are still shops that sell them and people are still buying them. It is like the government did a zero work.

It is for this reason that there is a cry that is going out to the Kenyan government from its citizens, that as much as the China government is making beneficial investments in the country, Kenyans should be given first priority since this is their homeland. As I think out aloud also the china government may also just be making this investment to benefit their country so as much as the deal is so promising and lavishing the Kenyan government should ensure that we don’t sell out country to the China government meanwhile lets enjoy the investments we are getting from China.