China is a communist country and does not play with its natural resources. Tamper with any natural resource in China and you will most likely be executed. Why then is China in Africa happily exploiting our natural resources? Why then is China in Africa triumphantly destroying our forest reserves and wildlife? Why then is China in Africa boldly destroying our agricultural lands and water bodies? Why then is China in Africa expeditiously digging for all the gold, bauxite, diamonds, etc.? And what are our leaders doing about it?
China has taken advantage of Africa's poor leadership structure and is rapidly exploiting Africa's natural resources without any iota of conscience.
Once again, lets take Ghana for example. Ghana is a very peaceful country blessed with abundance of natural resources. China and Chinese investors are very interested in countries such as Ghana where they can manipulate their way to the very heart of the country's natural resources.
Although Ghana is peaceful, Ghana just like most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, is plagued by corruption and poor leadership. The corruption and poor leadership structure work great for China and Chinese investors. Why? Because, China and Chinese investors can easily bribe their way to any place and point they want to reach in Africa without much hindrance.
Although agriculture accounts for just about 20% of Ghana's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), about 60% of Ghana's work force is into agriculture. In fact, agriculture is the back-bone of Ghana's economy. However, unlike in advanced countries where farming is mostly done on large scale with advanced machinery and technology, farming in Ghana, and in africa in general, is mostly done on small scale. In other words, most farmers in Ghana are subsistence farmers who grow crops and rear animals just to feed themselves and their families.
Agricultural land therefore becomes a very important resource not just to the Ghanaian economy but also to the very existence of the average Ghanaian farmer. The problem here however is that, Ghana opened its doors to China and Chinese investors and now those arable and agricultural lands that the average farmers depend on for survival, are almost all destroyed. The poisonous chemicals and explosives used in illegal mining activities (locally known as "galamsey") have destroyed almost all agricultural lands and water bodies and it is worse especially in the southern half of the country.
The Illegal Chinese mining activities in Ghana have destroyed almost all arable lands and water bodies and Ghana's leaders are doing almost nothing about it. Why? Because the leaders (including most traditional leaders) are very corrupt and some are "bought and paid for" by China.
Although there are laws banning illegal mining activities in Ghana, China and Chinese investors have taken advantage of Ghana's corrupt chieftaincy system bribing their way through.
I have written several articles about how the Chinese illegal ivory trade is driving elephants and rhinos into extinction. I have also written about how China has taken over all paid construction works in Africa and how poor some of those construction works are in places in countries like Kenya. This is another way China and Chinese investors destroy Africa.