Beijing gave more to NDC than NNP
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- Parent Category: Oct 2011
- Category: Week ending Oct 22nd, 2011
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Despite breaking ties with Taiwan in favour of Mainland China, the former Keith Mitchell-led New National Party (NNP) government did not take too kindly to the assistance allegedly given by Beijing to its arch rival, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2008 general elections.
According to wikileaks documents otained by THE NEW TODAY newspaper, NNP officials had complained to US Charge D’affaires, Karen Jo McIsaac that the Chinese gave NDC more cash than it gave to them to contest the poll.
“The donations were allegedly in the form of cash and, to the NDC, campaign items such as tee shirts and posters”, said a document written by McIsaac.
The wikileaks documents also touched on opposition among Grenadians especially in the construction industry to Chinese labourers on local projects.
Following are excerpts from wikileaks on the Grenada/Chinese connection:
2009-03-04 21:55
SENSITIVE
SUBJECT: CHINA INVESTS BIG-TIME IN GRENADA
Grenada and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) celebrated the fourth anniversary of relations on January 20, 2009 with protestations of warm friendship and continued observance of the one China policy.
The PRC continues to pour money into the cash-strapped island nation. Grenada withdrew its recognition of Taiwan in 2005 after being promised greater assistance by the PRC.
Chinese laborers apparently are not required to obtain Labor Ministry certification to work in Grenada. All materials used by the Chinese are brought in under diplomatic cover, even when imported for commercial use, but Customs officials sought to rectify this situation but after one attempt are now afraid to say anything.
Grenada’s value to the PRC outside of its ongoing battle for recognition with Taiwan is not immediately apparent as the country has never been on major trade routes nor does it produce oil, gas, or any other raw material.
THE PAYOFF
After years of recognising Taiwan, the former New National Party (NNP) administration could not pass up the US$250 million dangled in front of it by the PRC in 2005 to adopt the one China policy.
The Taiwanese were invited by the GOG to leave promptly, with several issues unresolved, including the non-payment by the GOG on an outstanding loan. Taiwan has threatened to take the GOG to court, but Grenada’s politicians have not looked back since the switch.
To post’s knowledge, the debt has not yet been repaid. In addition to the initial lump sum, the PRC has provided US$10 million each year for “technical cooperation”, though neither the Chinese nor the Grenadians will say exactly what it has been spent on.
During the 2008 election campaign, NNP officials complained to Charge d’Affaires (CDA) Karen Jo McIsaac, that the PRC gave its main rival, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), more cash than it gave the NNP.
The donations were allegedly in the form of cash and, to the NDC, campaign items such as tee shirts and posters. (Note: Grenadian voters often wait to see who will give them the most money, goods, or parties before they decide which way to vote. There are no laws prohibiting campaign contributions from foreigners or foreign entities. The three largest contributors during the 2008 campaign are rumored to have been the PRC, Venezuela, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The Barbados government was also a source of funds and political advice for the NDC. Only the Grenada United Labour Party (GULP) specifically refuses to accept outside funding. Neither the GULP nor the Peoples’ Labor Movement (PLM), whose political leader told CDA somewhat plaintively that he would take outside money if someone would just offer it to him, are truly viable political parties. End note.)
CHINESE LABOR OUTLET
In 2006, the PRC brought 600 Chinese laborers to Grenada to construct a new national cricket stadium, the old one having been destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in September 2004.
The workers lived on the site, planted a huge garden which supplied most of their food, and kept to themselves. The Chinese did not frequent local shops or restaurants and bars.
Gregarious by nature, Grenadians complained about the Chinese policy of non-fraternisation as well as not being able to make money off so many visitors.
Lack of English language skills also hampered communication, even when the workers ventured out in groups of six to ten.
Controversy erupted close to the July 2008 election over the use of uncertified Chinese labor by the PRC as well as by local contractors to work on roads and building projects, replacing local workers.
Both the NNP and the NDC governments have tiptoed around the issue of labor certification so as not to offend the PRC. However, according to local construction companies, the Chinese workers do not have work permits.
Local private contractors also complain that the PRC is allowed to bid on World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and United Nations funded projects, undercutting local companies that must pay real local labor and equipment/materials costs.
The contractors say they do not object when it is a wholly Chinese government project such as the stadium. But when the international financial institutions let the PRC bid using low costs made possible by a PRC-controlled and funded labor force, and a government that brings materials in under diplomatic cover, and does not need to pay attention to profit margins, they cry foul.
The number of Chinese laborers in Grenada appears to have dropped in 2008 from its peak of 600 in 2007.
PRC Ambassador Zhang Wanhai told CDA that there are eight diplomats accredited to Grenada and that at least 90 laborers remain on the island. The workers are sought out by local and international investors because “they work harder” than Grenadian employees and of course are paid less than locals.
Chinese workers live on site and grow their own food in vacant areas of the work sites.
Although the Chinese claim the Chinese laborers are “independent contractors”, the embassy retains control of their passports and other documentation.
No one CDA has spoken with knows — or perhaps will say — how the workers’ wages are handled, whether the workers receive direct reimbursement or the PRC embassy is the recipient.
PROMISED ASSISTANCE
Once the stadium was completed in early 2007, the Chinese workers fanned out across the country to undertake other projects, public and private.
The PRC promised to build four agricultural stations, 2000 homes, and to provide scholarships for Grenadian students to study at Chinese universities.
The scholarships have been instituted and twenty-three Grenadians are currently studying at various universities around China.
However, the other items have not yet materialized. Instead, the PRC built a hotel and two restaurants with materials brought into Grenada under diplomatic cover marked as being material and equipment to build the stadium.
Customs officials attempted in early 2008 to hold the PRC accountable for these items, but the issue was quickly swept under the rug by the GOG where it remains.
The antacid-pink-colored hotel and its restaurant remain in limbo as the government tries to decide if it wants to pursue the issue. The other restaurant, which opened in early 2007, has been closed down since the collapse of Capital Bank International in late 2007.
The promised 2000 homes were part of China’s promised Hurricane Ivan assistance, but unlike the U.S. Government, the PRC refused to rebuild existing homes.
Instead, they demanded that the government provide vacant land on which they could build large groups of houses. Negotiations were stalled for over three years over this issue.
Given Grenada’s topography, finding large, flat, empty areas is difficult. One can build on hillsides - and Grenadians build just about everywhere using rickety 14-inch wide stilts that can rise as high as three stories - but there are inherent dangers from landslides caused by heavy rains, earthquake tremors, or simply too much weight on unstable topsoil.
(Comment: Venezuela, which promised 400 houses using the same principle of building multiple homes on an empty plot of land, has only completed 200. These were so poorly built that they remain uninhabitable two years after completion. Many Grenadians whose homes remain incompletely rebuilt after Ivan refuse to move, either because they own the land they are on or because they do not own their land. In both cases they are afraid they will be moved to less desirable locations.
End comment
Other PRC assistance to Grenada includes kitchen appliances, office equipment, and vehicles for the police.
In addition, a two-man martial arts expert team from the Chinese army is stationed at the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) Special Services Unit (SSU) camp to train local officers.
There is a Chinese teacher at the T.A. Marryshow Community College (TAMCC), and seven doctors connected to the Ministry of Health and Grenada General Hospital.
With the exception of the Chinese teacher at TAMCC, none of the others speak English. Grenadian doctors complain privately that their Chinese colleagues cannot perform any useful function because of the language gap.
One surgeon told CDA that two PRC physicians are assigned to the x-ray department but sit there all day because no one understands them if they speak.
Doctors dare not complain too loudly for fear of censure or of having their right to work at the hospital revoked by the GOG.
The Chinese have also promised to build a port in Sauteurs at the northern end of the island of Grenada. The area is environmentally delicate and includes hot springs and is the site of turtle egg-laying.
There is no sign that an environmental impact assessment is planned.
COMMENT
The PRC’s timing was impeccable for seeking recognition by Grenada.
The country was buffeted by Hurricanes Ivan in 2004 and Emily in 2005 with near total destruction of its primary foreign exchange earning export of nutmeg (and the more valuable mace).
Promised international assistance was not sufficient to rebuild leaving the country to choose between going into debt and not rebuilding.
The United States provided $46 million in assistance after Ivan: 50 percent of the total promised by all donors. The U.S. remains the only country to completely expend its assistance package and finish what it promised to do.
Chinese assistance appears geared to pull Grenada into its political orbit, without creating long-term, sustainable development.
China’s Ambassador brags that Grenada votes the “way we want them to” in international organisations.
Grenada’s laborers, who definitely could benefit from additional training, instead have lost jobs to the imported laborers. Neither the previous nor the current governments has publicly accounted for the Chinese funds.
Going into the global economic slowdown, the country is struggling to stay afloat. Grenada’s debt remains insupportably high at 107 percent to gross domestic product (GDP) which would seem to indicate that however the monies are spent, they are not being used to assist in lowering the deficit.
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