Post-Independence Urban Infrastructures and Environmental Policy in Africa
The 1960s in Africa coincided with the independence of most of sub-Saharan Africa and the rise of new African states with Nigeria, Senegal and Morocco at the upfront. Despite their different political ideologies, the Nigerian, Senegalese and Moroccan governments shared a common perspective on how to restore their economy after decades of Western colonialism. In fact, the three states made considerable investments in developing urban infrastructures after their independence. Although many economists argue that urban infrastructure development was the righteous strategy to uplift African economies, a closer analysis of the current situation of Senegal, Morocco and Nigeria shows that it rather led to corruption in environmental foreign policy and a mismanagement of natural resources.
In spite of gaining independence since 1960, African countries initiated major infrastructure projects only in the 2000s. Before then, the countries were dependent mainly on infrastructures that were installed during the colonial era. In Senegal, inter-regional trade was achieved through the railway created by French colonists in 1924 until the creation of the first three national roads in 2003. Similarly in Nigeria, hydraulic power from the Niger delta remained unexploited until 2006 with the inauguration of the 2,600-MW Mambilla hydropower scheme. As the African country with the most advanced infrastructures, Morocco still imported 10% of its electricity from Spain with the hope that this number would reduce to zero after the launch of the $9 billion solar power project in Morocco. The invention of African-owned infrastructures in the last decades was possible only through foreign aid, which often came at the cost of modifying environmental policies to fulfill the interests of the investor.
In his article, “Why foreign aid fails - and how to really help Africa”, Daron Acemoglu, journalist at The Spectator, suggests that foreign aid is not the best solution to helping African countries since poverty is created and sustained by extractive institutions. The essence of Daron’s argument is that there is a need to understanding the root causes of poverty in Africa before making foreign aid the ultimate solution to eradicating the problem. In this light, we can use Daron’s analogy to understanding why foreign aid has negatively influenced environmental foreign policy for African countries. Between 2001 and 2005, Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa grew four times larger. In Nigeria only, Chinese investment in energy infrastructure was estimated to be about US$5 billion in 2006. However, China’s Export-Import Bank assigns foreign aid with the condition that the aid receiver abides to the environmental policy of China. Considering China’s eagerness to maintain it economic status despite its environmental crisis in China, abiding to its environmental policies at the international level is surely detrimental.
In conclusion, urban infrastructures have played a major role in directing the economic status of African countries since the beginning of the post-independence era. Though it strengthened foreign relations and helped develop sectors like energy and transportation, the eagerness to create urban infrastructures has generally hindered transparency in environmental foreign policy. As African countries like Nigeria, Senegal and Morocco are launching important urban projects in 2016, it is crucial that the need for sustainable environmental design is prioritized over foreign aid.
