Angola and the Chinese

I was listening to the BBC the other day and I heard a news story about how the Chinese from China are pouring money into Angola to help develop its infrastructure so that the Chinese can have easy access to the natural resources that Angola has and which the Chinese need to develop its booming industries. In its interview with one of the bosses of a Chinese company, it revealed that the Chinese companies brought their own workers there rather than employ local labour. The Chinese felt that their own workers were hardworking, unlike the locals who didn't like to work. This perception appears quite racist.

The Chinese believe that the apparent unwillingness to work is a cultural trait of the Angolans and have failed to realise that it is the result of a lack of education and communication. Perhaps some are aware of this problem but are unwilling to invest in education to bring the Angolans are to speed with the needs of the economy. The reason? They want quick access to the natural resources and putting resources into investing in the people would not be cost effective for them.

Why haven't the Angolans invested in education for their people? Angola is resource rich but years of warfare have destroyed its infrastructure and led to 2 generations of poorly educated people who lack the knowledge and literacy level to acquire the skills needed for today's economy. Unless they wake up to the fact that the greedy get-rich quick Chinese investors are draining the country of its natural resources, there will be little left for their own people to pull the country out of poverty by the time they have a critical mass of educated skilled people.