Save Lake Chad With Transaqua: Franklin Roosevelt and Kwame Nkrumah Would Concur
25 April 2018
In 1943, after having flown over the Sahara Desert on his way to a Casablanca conference with Winston Churchill, President Franklin Roosevelt remarked to his son Elliott, that with the recreation of a lake in the depressed flats in North Africa, “The Sahara would bloom for hundreds of miles.” He also reminded his son of the rivers which arise in Atlas Mountains and disappear under the Desert. “Divert this water flow for irrigation purposes? It’d make the Imperial Valley in California look like a cabbage patch!”
Later in the trip, FDR made Winston Churchill apoplectic by discussing plans for anti-imperialist development with the Sultan of Morocco, including mooting American aid in providing the resources to train indigenous scientists and engineers to develop the nation.
FDR’s American System vision for African development was not taken up in the post-war era, but his outlook was echoed by at least two prominent statesmen of the next generation from very different backgrounds—Kwame Nkrumah and President John F. Kennedy. It was no mere coincidence that twenty years later, when Ghanaian President Nkrumah addressed the Organization of African Unity, he would also speak about the “possibility for the Sahara to bloom.” Nkrumah’s vision also would be temporarily crushed.
But today, finally, FDR’s and Nkrumah’s dream is beginning to be realized. A giant step toward greening the desert, and defeating the miserable living conditions which go with it, was taken this February, when a meeting of several African heads of state decided to go ahead with a massive project of water engineering called Transaqua. Although proceeding without American government backing, this project is truly in the spirit of American System development, a long-term investment in transforming the physical environment for the benefit of the general welfare.
It is with that in mind that we present this report by an American who does understand the American System, and has worked persistently for several decades to bring its benefits to Africa.—Nancy Spannaus
The Abuja Conference
After two months, the deliberations from the “International Conference on Saving Lake Chad” held in Abuja, Nigeria from February 26-28, 2018 are still reverberating, and will continue to do so. This historic conference, the first of its kind to be convened on the African continent, was initiated and sponsored by the Nigerian government in conjunction with the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), and supported by the United Nations. It has already begun to change the thinking of what is possible for Africa’s future.
this is a great upload by a crazy Kenyan dude who takes us on the new sgr journey from Nairobi to Mombasa – amazing train, amazing people and you get to see the elephants in Tsavo on route – WOW !!!! Imagine how incredible it will be to travel BY BOAT from Democratic Republic of Congo and the monumentally magnificent Congo River all the way up to Nigeria along the TRANSAQUA canal !!!!
In 2015 the first China-Africa Cooperation Forum was held in Johannesburg, South Africa at which President Xi Jinping proposed a 10 point plan for China-Africa win-win development within the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
At the recent 13th National People’s Congress in Beijing., the Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce , Qian Keming, announced that “the majority of the responsibilities or plans [from the 10 point plan] have been implemented on time or ahead of schedule.” (!)
Mr Qian Keming announced that :
“ We have cancelled the interest free loans due to mature by the end of 2015 to more than 20 African countries.”
In addition China has provided emergency food aid to more than 18 countries that have been affected by the El Nino weather pattern which had left Ethiopia with a severe food shortage in 2016. Somalia and Nigeria have also been hit by drought and the threat of famine.
China was the first country to deliver food aid to Ethiopia and put a stop to what could have become another catastrophic famine. In 2016 the Chinese funded Djibouti-Addis Abeba railway was not completed but the Chinese managed to use the incomplete line to get the food aid as quickly as possible from the Indian Ocean sea port of Djibouti to Ethiopia`s capital. When the supplies began to arrive the Ethiopian president actually had tears in his eyes when he thanked Mr Qian Keming, Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce and said that this was the first food to arrive.
As part of the 2015 China-Africa Cooperation 10 point plan, China has set about to not just trade in Africa but to help to improve people`s livelihoods, to raise the standard of living. They have built schools, hospitals and water sanitation projects across the continent. In the area of industrial cooperation China has increased loans to small and medium enterprises by US$ 5 BILLION! Please note these loans are special very LOW INTEREST loans. China has provided technical training to 150 000 Africans.
Economic and trade cooperation zones such as the New Suez Canal have generated a total output as of January 2018, of an incredible US$ 700 BILLION and tax contributions to local authorities of US$ 580 million. The Suez project alone has created 3300 jobs of which 3100 have been filled by Egyptians.
As mentioned China has financed by the Exim Bank of China, the Dijbouti -Addis Abeba Railway which is now complete as well as the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway in Kenya.
The next FOCAC (Forum on China Africa Cooperation) will be held in September this year (2018) in Beijing. Particular focus will be on poverty reduction, job creation and technical training. China wants to assist Africans by improving people`s livelihoods and thereby “raising Africa`s ability to grow by itself“, as said by Mr Qian Keming.
This is the spirit of China`s Belt and Road Initiative and the spirit of win-win development. It is the spirit of an incredible NEW PARADIGM that China is offering not just to Africa but to the entire world.
Who Is Out To Control Africa’s Mining Sector? It is NOT China! Read the Data
April 22, 2018
You might be surprised to learn that contrary to what is generally believed, China is not the largest foreign investor in Africa. China only ranks third, after the United States, and after the United Kingdom. In the ten years between 2005 and 2014, the total accumulated Chinese direct investment (FDI) in Africa was below $40 billion, while that of the U.S. above $60 billion, and that of the U.K. over $50 billion. However, China is both the number one trade partner of Africa and leads in the rate of growth of direct investments in the recent years; this means it will soon surpass the United States and the UK. On the other hand, U.S. investments in Africa have been collapsing at a rapid rate starting in 2009.
The statistics reveal that it is not China, but rather the United States and the UK which are primarily interested in the raw materials and financial wealth of Africa. While China’s investments are spread over several economic sectors in Africa, with infrastructure and construction being the primary one. U.S. and British investments are concentrated in raw materials and finance.
The Chinese Exim Bank is increasingly becoming the leading source of foreign loans for Africa in projects related to infrastructure. China Exim lent more than $50 billion over the period from 2005 to 2014; during the same time, the U.S. Exim Bank had invested less than one-tenth of that amount in Africa, and 70% of those investments were directed to the mining sector.
Below is the link to the full report with tables, charts and statistics from the China Africa Research Institute -CARI, at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies-SAIS. Read: US and China in Africa; What Does the Data Say?
Did British Intelligence-MI6 Interfere in its former colony? Nigeria to investigate allegations of Cambridge Analytica involvement in elections
Nigeria’s government will investigate allegations of improper involvement by political consultancy Cambridge Analytica in the country’s 2007 and 2015 elections, a presidency spokesman said on Monday.
The UK-based political consultancy is facing allegations that it improperly accessed data from social media website Facebook to target voters prior to the U.S. presidential election and Britain’s Brexit referendum in 2016.
In Nigeria, a government committee is looking into claims that SCL Elections, a Cambridge Analytica affiliate, organised anti-election rallies to dissuade opposition supporters from voting in 2007, Garba Shehu, a spokesman for President Muhammadu Buhari, said.
He said it would examine claims that Buhari’s personal data was hacked in 2015 when he was an opposition candidate in the presidential election.
The investigation would also look into whether Cambridge Analytica’s work for the election campaigns of the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) broke Nigerian law “or infringed on the rights of other parties and their candidates”.
Depending on the outcome, criminal prosecutions might result, said Shehu. Cambridge Analytica could not immediately be reached for comment. PDP candidate Umaru Yar’Adua won the 2007 presidential ballot. He died in office in 2010 and was succeeded by his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan.
(REUTERS): 2018-04-02
Namibian President Strengthens Relations with China; Defends China as Best Friend of Africa
The Presidents of China and Namibia, Xi Jinping and Hage Geingob, agreed to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership for cooperation between their countries, and signed six bilateral cooperation agreements, at their meeting in Beijing on March 29. President Geingob had begun his seven-day state visit to China the day before.
At the signing ceremony, both presidents spoke of how China has been an “all-weather friend of Namibia,” in reference to China’s support for Namibia’s independence, and now in its development. Xi said, “China welcomes Namibia to participate in the BRI, and hopes to strengthen policy cooperation and synergy of development plans,” Xinhua reported. Xi spoke also of his belief that China and Africa will join hands to build a closer community with shared future and inject new impetus to China-Africa ties.
For his part, Geingob expressed Namibia’s interest in cooperating with China on infrastructure, sustainable development, human resources, technology, poverty reduction, people-to-people exchanges, and major cooperation projects. He also took the occasion to deliver an emphatic defense of China’s development efforts in Africa. Xinhua reported that the Namibian president called China Africa’s best friend. It never colonized Africa, and has always treated small and medium-sized African countries on an equal footing, Geingob said, and the African people oppose unfounded accusations against China.
In an interview with CGTN today, Geingob expressed his pride and appreciation for the elevation of relations with China to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
“China has been supporting us when things were bad, and then after independence, we continued [our cooperation] to another level,” he told CGTN. “Now we are moving up. Now it is the era of the second phase of the struggle for us, where people now have peace and stability, but they are anxious to get the benefits of that freedom. They want to prosper. They want to have shelter, infrastructure, schools, clinics, etc., and they are eager. They are in a hurry. So China being the all-weather friend, who was there when we were first struggling, now that we are in the second phase of the struggle, that of economic emancipation, those who are with us, must come to join us… This time, we are talking about creating a win-win situation.”
“Do you want to bomb this country back to the stone age? A country which was one of the most developed in the Middle East just a few years ago. We notice the United States refuses to help rebuild the areas where fighting has ended.”
This statement this morning from Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia sums up the main reason why the US, UK & France launched a new round of air strikes on Syria last night.
Conveniently, the airstrikes occurred just before a team of investigators from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was due to reach Douma to determine whether the alleged sarin gas attack had taken place.
Caught in another lie – this one again yet again just as Syrian and Russian forces had routed Crown-sponsored terrorists in Eastern Ghouta – the psychopaths chose to unleash over 100 missile strikes, mostly at heavily-populated Damascus.
In addition, the missile strikes allow the bankers’ Jihadi mercenaries to regroup after being pounded by Syrian, Russian and Turkish airstrikes for months.
According to Russian military sources, Syrian forces intercepted 71 out of the 103 missiles launched. But their lie was temporarily contained and more Syrian infrastructure was destroyed.
Now let’s talk about the bigger lie.
Yesterday, for the first time, a Russian general pierced this lie on RT when he stated that there was proof that the UK was behind the well-orchestrated and completely staged “gas attacks” in D0uma.
Yes, you read that right, he said the UK. Not the US, not Israel, not Saudi Arabia, but the UK. Those of you familiar with my writing know that I am constantly pointing my finger at the City of London for the lies, deception, and wars which dominate the headlines of their propaganda rags.
The lies are so constant that it is difficult for most people to sort out. But it seems the Russians are beginning to understand this biggest lie of all – that somehow the US-UK “special relationship” features the US as senior partner.
It’s just the opposite. The Crown-controlled City of London calls the shots.
Even the anti-war left’s constant portrayal of Tony Blair as a poodle of George Bush was a well-placed lie. Bush was, in fact, playing the usual role of any US President- a well-compensated bulldog protecting his Freemason higher-ups in the Crown and their City of London banking lair.
Once the Crown’s pretext is executed (often using Israeli Mossad cutouts), their US bulldog is set upon the target – always a socialist like Assad, who has spent his life exposing this biggest lie. The last thing the Crown wants to see is a good relationship between the US and Russia. This would knock out their lucrative arms, oil and drug trades and relegate the UK to expendable status.
The US is and always has been a Hessianized mercenary force for this City of London-based Rothschild-led banking cartel. We have accrued a $24 trillion debt, a bad reputation and thousands of dead (largely poor, brown, or black) young US soldiers protecting these scumbags.
It’s high time the whole world fully comprehends this biggest of lies. Until we do, there will be constant pretexts and lies leading to yet more debt, death and destruction. When we do, it all ends and American Revolutionaries who fought these bastards 250 years ago can rest easier in the knowledge that victory has been truly achieved.
East-West Railroad Would Transform African Continent
This is an interesting and useful article. I have stressed for decades the urgent need to construct both an East-West and a South-North Railroad. A high-speed transport grid that Africa should have completed decades ago, is essential for the well-being and economic growth of Africa. Such a transportation network, integrated with several hundreds megawatts of electrical power, would create an infrastructure platform that would be transformative; producing the conditions for African nations to finally eliminate hunger and disease. These projects are possible now with the expansion China’s New Silk Road, initiated by President Xi Jinping, which has changed the strategic geometry of the world. For example. At the February Abuja conference to ‘Save Lake Chad’ at which I participated, the Head of States endorsed the mega Transaqua project; an inter-basin water transfer proposal to recharge Lake Chad. The Transaqua concept had been in circulation for over thirty years, but with no progress until ChinaPower become involved. As I advised the participants at this conference: now is the time for Africans to think big!
Can China Realize Africa’s Dream of an East-West Transport Link?
The Jamestown Foundation-Publication: China Brief Volume: 18 Issue: 6
Map of a proposed trans-Africa highway network, ca. 2003 (Credit: Wikipedia Commons)
African development hinges on a maddening paradox: its greatest asset—the sheer size and diversity of its landscape—is also the greatest barrier to its development. Landlocked countries are cut off from ports, and the difficulty of moving goods from country to country weighs down intra-continental trade (only 15% of African trade is within Africa. (African Development Bank, 2017) African consumers bear the brunt of these difficulties. [1]. Costs are driven up by a host of factors: tariffs, border delays, corruption. But the biggest challenge is that no streamlined transport route exists between West and East Africa – only a decaying and underdeveloped road and rail system which pushes up costs and drags down efficiency.
Several ambitious schemes have been proposed to link Africa’s east and west coasts, some of which are closer to full realization than others. Most notable in this respect is a plan to expand the existing Trans-African Highway 5 (TAH5) into a true cross-continental road and rail link, the early stages of which China has helped bring to fruition where Western consortiums failed. Likewise, Chinese investment in African infrastructure through Beijing’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) may help create expanded sub-regional linkages, particularly in East Africa, that could help facilitate the emergence of an eventual, true East-West link in the long term. However, in the short-to-mid-term, the obstacles to a truly robust set of East-West transport links are formidable, and it is unlikely that China’s involvement will be a panacea.
Kenya`s New Mega Infrastructure, the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway
by PD Lawton , 14 April 2018
image: Kenya`s SGR , International Railway Journal
Amazing and wonderful things are happening all across Africa as this continent begins a giant leap into a modernized incredible future! China is investing in African infrastructure at an astonishing rate bringing the African nations into the New Paradigm and `Win-Win` spirit of China`s Belt and Road Initiative. By issuing credit for the construction of mega infrastructure , China is assisting African nations to invest in the future, investments based on the development of Africa`s physical economy! We are so fortunate to be alive in these times and to be able to witness the continent`s transformation with mega development projects which will free the human creativity of Africa`s people and provide them with an economic renaissance.
Source: New China TV, Bridges: My Railway, My Story – Documentary about Mombasa-Nairobi Railway May 29, 2017
The Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway is the largest and most expensive infrastructure project ever undertaken in Kenya.It is 480km of super modern construction that traverses mountain ranges, wetlands and national parks. The project has found innovative solutions to a multitude of social, environmental and geographic problems in its journey from the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa directly into the interior of East Africa and Kenya`s thriving capital Nairobi, home to over 4 million people. Mombasa is the largest sea port in East Africa and its key trade gateway.
The old railway from Mombasa to Nairobi is over 100 years old and it could only carry 1 million tons of freight each year. The main highway is in poor condition and in parts severely over-crowded. Up until now the old railway and the motorway have been Kenyans only direct access from the coast into the interior. As the railway has deteriorated over the decades the Rift Valley Railway Consortium of Kenya and Uganda reported losses of US$1.5 million in 2014.
In 2009 the Kenyan government agreed to work with the China Road and Bridge Corporation to construct the standard gauge railway from Mombasa to Nairobi. Work commenced in December 2014. China`s Exim Bank has extended credit for 90% of the project. By May 2016 initial track laying was completed in just over 1 year . The passenger service was opened on 31 May 2017 which was an astounding 18 months ahead of schedule! Freight services commenced in January 2018.
The journey time has been reduced from 10 hours to 4 hours . It now takes less than half the time to travel nearly 500km – incredible! The economic advantages of reducing travel time and improving access between the port of Mombasa and Nairobi are immeasurable. This is a qualitative improvement of the Kenyan economy , an advancement that will transform the economy beyond all previous limits. In a few years time it will become obvious that the $7.3 billion cost of this mega infrastructure project will seem like nothing in comparison to the vast improvements it will make in developing the physical economy by building the country`s infrastructure, an incalculably sound investment in the future! Infrastructure is the key element of the physical economy without which manufacturing cannot develop.
Not only will the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway transform Kenya`s economy, it is also the first part of the Belt and Road Initiative`s Northern Corridor Integration Project (NCIP) .It is the primary section of a planned series of railways to connect the Great Lakes region to the Indian Ocean. This is only the start of the radical economic transformation of not just Kenya but also Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, DRC and also South Sudan. Through mega infrastructure projects such as this and the Transaqua Project, the African interior can be transformed through economic development. As already proven by the construction of the Mombasa-Nairobi Project, mega infrastructure does not have to destroy ecosystems and national parks, all these things can be creatively designed in such a way that they can symbolize a dialogue and communion between man and nature and actually enhance the wellbeing of both humans and the natural kingdom.
The Mombasa-Nairobi railway has provided 60 jobs per kilometre of line. More than 30 000 Kenyans are now employed including highly skilled professionals.
90% of the total railway workforce is Kenyan including many women who have been selected on ability and are now working in various fields from site engineers to project supervisors and even plant operators and they are loving it! There are also 8 women train drivers who are part of a team trained in China in the operation of the highly sophisticated locomotives. This is a hugely positive human investment. The SGR train drivers were selected on the basis of ability and their passion for the project.
Factories were built along the route of the railway to make the required parts. Rail ties are used for support and transmission. These factories can make 1400 concrete ties per day as well as colossal steel T-beams weighing 143 tons each ! On site production increases efficiency, supplies local employment and drastically reduces the overall production time.
Each section of track is composed of 44 rail ties spanning 25meteres and weighing 15 tons. It takes just 4 minutes to lay a track panel. There is a margin of error of less than 2cm and with perfect precision the railway fits together like a jigsaw puzzle! There are 79 bridges along the course of the railway. The Ormagerigara Bridge is a colossal 807,46 meters long.
The making of high performance concrete for rail and bridge construction requires an ingredient called coal ash, also known as fly ash. Kenya has always had to import its fly ash. As demand for concrete was outstripping supply the China Academy of Construction Research came up with a solution. They proposed using volcanic ash instead of fly ash. As Kenya is situated on the Great Rift Valley it is abundant in volcanic ash especially in the area near Nairobi. Tests show that volcanic ash is a perfect substitute for fly ash. This is a fantastic discovery that has solved an immediate problem, reduced the costs, boosted local production, invented a new industry, helped the Kenyan government from having to import fly ash and provides a solution to all the countries on the Great Rift Valley of East Africa with an essential ingredient for construction and infrastructure. Wider applications will be found and who knows what else this discovery will bring, amazing!
The railway passes through Tsavo National Park which is the largest wildlife reserve in Kenya which currently relies heavily on tourism. Tsavo is more than 13000 square km and at its widest point is 240 km. This ecosystem has around 13000 – 14000 elephants, a much loved and respected animal in Kenya and the world. When the railway was first proposed environmentalist groups strongly objected to it on the grounds that it would destroy the natural beauty of the environment and disrupt and disturb the local populations of many species such as elephant, wildebeest and rhino.
The Kenyan Wildlife Department were very concerned about the negative impact however China has encountered similar problems in their own national parks and ecosystems. Drawing on years of experience Prof. Zhang Jingqiao who is the project designer of the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway, has been able to apply extraordinary measures based on China`s past experiences to incorporate the needs of the local wildlife in the design and construction of the line. Similar problems were incountered in China when constructing the Qianghai Tibet Railway that traverses a particularly beautiful wilderness, home of the endangered Tibetan antelope. 33 wildlife passages were built along the line and over the past 10 years the migratory animals have become perfectly accustomed to using these man-made corridors. This solution has been applied in Kenya and is proving to already be a success. Lions, elephants and migratory herds are all beginning to use the 14 corridors which are either bridges or culverts traversing the railway! Vast sections of the railway that cross Tsavo have been elevated on beautifully designed viaducts, leaving the wildlife completely unaffected!
Emali is a town of 25000 residents that has been bisected by the railway. The movement of cattle is important to the lives of many from Emali and the railway has created a problem for them. Another concern was that the line separated the town`s 2 schools. The railway project`s community liaison officer discussed all these problems with the residents and came up with the solution of a pedestrian bridge across the line. The $2 million bridge was not factored into the initial cost but the Chinese project manager for that section said that the additional cost was a worthy investment because it made the children`s lives safer. Within a month of the decision to build, the 700 ton steel bridge was completed and has reduced the children`s daily walking distance by 3km. The bridge has also been designed so that it can safely be used by livestock as well as pedestrians.
The Mombasa-Nairobi Railway is proof that mega infrastructure is a plus-plus investment, there are no negatives and the project only brings benefits. With creative solutions it is possible to overcome all and any obstacles whether these are social, environmental or geographic. The lives of millions of people are being enhanced by investment in mega infrastructure and the physical economy. With the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway as working proof of this surely the public can now see that the Transaqua Project can become the single most important investment in the futures of millions upon millions of people in Africa. Kenya`s mega infrastructure is proof that we do not need to destroy the environment in order to develop. Transaqua has the potential to completely re-write the history of the African interior and to transform the livelihoods and economies of all 12 participating nations.
Africa is on the brink of the most incredible future working in conjunction with China`s Belt and Road Initiative and the New Silk Road. Development plans of amazing creativity can change the course of history not just for Africans but for the entire world.
