Take note that Santa Claus doesn’t live in China

The list of projects that President Kibaki is bringing on his development mission to China this week has the characteristics of my Christmas wish list as a child. It’s big and unrealistic.

Whether it’s China, the United States or the Saudi oil sheiks, the cost of a long Christmas gift list is worth pondering when the leader of a developing country goes courting one of the world’s most powerful nations. There’s an image of America, China and other places that’s not real in many African minds.

Very simply, the streets in America and China are not paved with gold, and life is much harder than television paints it. The Kenyans that I know in the United States must be well educated to compete. That’s why so many new immigrants are attending colleges. If they do not, they will find themselves in some of the most undesirable jobs.

Sure, you can make more money in America. But ask any Kenyan how much things cost — even at the Wal-marts and other cheaper retailers. For example, a cable television and internet hook-up can cost you $50 a month. A cellphone contract, with unlimited texting and downloading, is much the same.

And despite what you see on television, their morals are not that much different than in East Africa. America is a religious country, and values tend to lean toward the conservative side. I have travelled to China and have the utmost respect for the government and its people. They are on an unparalleled expansion, and that’s reflected in their importance on the world stage.

If you visited China in the 1980s, the takeaway image would be peasants riding bicycles and street sweeping crews with brooms of straw. Today, you’ll find modern airports, massive highway systems and great restaurants. The old parts, like the Forbidden City in Beijing, are nestled near new hotels and residences.

Certainly, the development does not yet stretch to the countryside. There is much left to do to keep the economy humming. One of the most stark differences between the US and China, which are roughly the same size, is that China has four times as many people.

China has almost as many people as Europe, Latin America, the United States and Japan combined. While America’s arable land mass is at about 40 per cent, China’s is 11 per cent. China is trying to feed 25 per cent of the world’s population on seven per cent of the world’s arable land, according to a Columbia University study.

And there are no easy solutions to the over population problem. China’s one-child policy is being rethought because of economics. It’s difficult for one child to support two parents who are older and can’t work. And like America, China must have strategic partners to provide the energy for its growing economy.

So when I see the long list that President Kibaki is bringing to China, the question is not whether he has been naughty or nice. No, Santa Claus does not live in China. The question will be what can Kenya do for China? Kibaki’s list is a long one:

Roads and railways that link northern Kenya to Ethiopia and Southern Sudan; new shipping berths on the Lamu port; and a new railway between Mombasa and Malaba. In 2005, Kibaki asked for help with roads around Nairobi, and a major hospital in the Eastlands. These projects are underway and new medical equipment, worth billions of shillings, is being shipped into the hospital.

Clearly, the Kenyan dream is to achieve a significant economic advance by 2030, and become the portal for the economic rebirth of East Africa. After all, I’ve heard Kenyans say, look what the Koreans and China have done in the last 50 years. It’s Africa’s turn. That may be true. But so is this: Christmas presents do not come from Santa Claus. Be careful about the bill that will come due. It may be a whopper.

rsmith4825@gmail.com