The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
In general, African countries saw FDI numbers rise by 6% to 718 projects up from the previous year’s 676, which was the lowest in 20 years. More than three quarters of the expansion was driven by real estate, hospitality and construction. East Africa became the single largest beneficiary as a region for FDI with I97 projects (27% of total projects) with Ethiopia, Kenya and Rwanda particularly doing better.
These findings, however, seem to contradict the current narrative that the U.S corporate sector is losing interest in Africa as China’s influence rises.
EY says, in the recent past, the U.S economic ties with Africa have been driven by the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which grants 40 African countries, duty-free access to the U.S for approximately 6,400 products—and programmes such as Power Africa.
Leading beneficiaries of FDI in Eastern Africa in 2017
| Country | 2017 | 2016 | Up/Down | 2017 Share |
| Kenya | 67 | 40 | +3 | 9% |
| Ethiopia | 62 | 16 | +7 | 9% |
| Tanzania | 35 | 22 | +1 | 5% |
| Uganda | 14 | 9 | +6 | 2% |
| Rwanda | 12 | 11 | +2 | 2% |
Source: EY Attractiveness programme Africa Report (October, 2018)
East Africa’s charm
Many economic experts The Independent has talked to say the strategic location of East Africa is the main reason behind the growing U.S-Chinese interest.
Ramathan Goobi, a lecturer of Economics at Makerere University Business School told The Independent that the East African region is quite strategic in the sense that it is one of the regions on the continent that many consider to be “virgin territory” for economic expansion.
“East Africa has also positioned itself as one of the fastest growing regions thanks to its liberal economic outlook,” Goobi said, “For countries like China and the U.S which are looking at consolidating their economic power, East Africa is the region to court.”
Similarly, Ambassador Nathan Irumba, the executive director of the Southern and Eastern Africa Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI) told The Independent that besides East Africa’s strategic location, the region is also an emerging oil and gas province, and the struggle for natural resources is always tempting for the global powers.
The usual nonsensical drama of preying on Africa – as Africans watch or wait to be ‘eaten’ by the big cats.
East Africa – as big and as fairly-well resourced as it is: why should it not seek unity of purpose and use their own people and currencies to develop technologies that they can afford? Very confused chaps: they would rather quarrel or hold suspicions among themselves to ensure they remain divided (or even create new political divisions) than seek to form one political unit of 170-180 Million people (half of US population and just over 10% of China’s). We Africans do not seem to learn: Our home land was parcelled out in the 19th century to the big cats of the times mainly because we were busy keeping ourselves to tribal chiefdoms and fighting or wishing our neighbours ill-luck. When we were taught about modern states, and were doled with some fake form of ‘freedom’, we opted to maintain the fragmentation done by the cats – and this time, superimposed inter ‘state’ rivalries on our old tribal ones. Crazy people , we must be!!
Now, barely two centuries after initial parceling, the new big cats are here again. Watch us – how some of us will start preferring being eaten by China and others by US. Do you see why Trump regards us as sh–? (But now he seems to want that ‘sh–‘ on his dinner table! Very funny world —- Hi?