Tag: East Africa

Why G7’s Program for Developing Countries is Still No Match for China’s Belt & Road

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Samizdat – 28.06.2022

The G7 on 26 June re-launched its previous Build Back Better World program to provide infrastructure funds to poor and developing nations under a new name, the Global Investment and Infrastructure Partnership. The project aims to compete with China’s Belt and Road Initiative kicked off by Beijing in 2013.

Why G7’s Program for Developing Countries is Still No Match for China’s Belt & Road

Facebook Faces New Lawsuit Alleging Human Trafficking and Union-Busting in Kenya

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Daniel Motaung, a former outsourced Facebook content moderator, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Nairobi accusing Meta and outsourcing firm Sama of multiple violations of the Kenyan constitution. The lawsuit follows a TIME story published in February titled “Inside Facebook’s African Sweatshop,” in which Motaung and other current and former employees at Sama first gave their accounts of widespread trauma, pay as low as $1.50 per hour, and alleged union busting.

Facebook Faces New Lawsuit Alleging Human Trafficking and Union-Busting in Kenya

[2020] Why tiny Djibouti hosts both China and U.S. military bases – only a few kilometers apart

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Why tiny Djibouti hosts both China and U.S. military bases – only a few kilometers apart

The U.S. opened its military base, Camp Lemonnier, in the East African nation in 2003 and now the biggest base in Africa. It currently has about 4,500 troops stationed in it. Just 12km away from the U.S. base is China’s which was opened in 2017 with around 2,000 military personnel. The decision by China to set up military bases overseas is surprising as it has historically been opposed to the idea.

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The U.S. established the Camp Lemonnier in 2003 after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. It is home to some 4,500 personnel, some of whom are engaged in secretive missions and targeted drone killings in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa, according to the New York Times.

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The lease of land for military bases has become one of the important sources of revenue for the government. In other words, it is the biggest foreign exchange earner for the country. Washington pays $63 million annually for a 10-year lease of the area while China pays $20 million a year, in addition to other investments. It is therefore not difficult to see why the former French colony will look pass the rivalry that exists between the two superpowers.

Biden Administration Escalates Airstrikes in Somalia

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Biden Administration Escalates Airstrikes in Somalia

During his final months in office, Trump withdrew nearly all of the 700 troops that were stationed in Somalia. But they were redeployed in East Africa, and most of the US drones that bomb Somalia are based in neighboring Djibouti and Kenya, so the air war can continue. Now the head of AFRICOM is pitching the Biden administration on sending troops back to Somalia.