The donation is part of the poverty alleviation pilot village project which is one of the anchors of the China-South Africa relations in the Golden Era jointly proclaimed by Presidents Cyril Ramaphosa and Xi Jinping. File image
By David Monyae
In yet another gesture of friendship, just a few weeks after donating 450 generators to cushion critical public facilities around South Africa from long hours of power outages, China has made yet another donation to the people of Kgomo Kgomo village in the North West province.
The village is set to receive food hampers worth R400,000 from China which will go a long way in alleviating hunger and lifting the spirits of the people amidst the festive season.
North West is one of the provinces in South Africa with a significantly high poverty rate at 60% meaning that more than half of the population lacks basic needs including food. The province, which is endowed with considerable mineral wealth also hosts several Chinese companies.
The donation is part of the poverty alleviation pilot village project which is one of the anchors of the China-South Africa relations in the Golden Era jointly proclaimed by Presidents Cyril Ramaphosa and Xi Jinping of South Africa and China respectively upon the latter’s state visit in August.
This gesture must also be understood within the context of the 2021 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Action Plan.
As part of the Plan, China promised to “undertake 10 poverty reduction and agricultural assistance projects for Africa, encourage Chinese institutions and companies to build in Africa demonstration villages for China-Africa cooperation on agricultural development and poverty reduction, support the Alliance of Chinese Companies in Africa for Corporate Social Responsibilities in launching the initiative of “a Hundred Companies in a Thousand Villages” and actively carry out poverty alleviation cooperation for public benefit”.
Hence, the donation of food to Kgomo Kgomo residents is part of the deliveries on FOCAC commitments.
Under the stewardship of the People’s Republic of China Ambassador to South Africa Chen Xiaodong, these meaningful and impactful gestures have indeed become common thus driving Sino-South African relations to new heights.
Moreover, this gesture is consistent with China and Africa’s undertaking to build a stronger China-Africa community with a shared future as espoused in the 2021 Action Plan.
The donation is also in line with the China-proposed Global Development Initiative (GDI) which provides a comprehensive framework for the implementation of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.
The first two priorities of the GDI include poverty alleviation and food security.
Under poverty alleviation, the GDI trains attention on poverty-stricken communities in developing countries such as Kgomo Kgomo.
As such, the donation of food hampers to a remote and obscure South African village is demonstration that China is willing to walk the talk. It also shows that the GDI is not just another high-sounding statement with no resonance or action on the ground we have become accustomed to.
China is committed to making the GDI people-centred and ensuring that it translates into real impact on real people’s lives.
Further, although the donation is only one of numerous donations China has made in Africa, it confirms China’s willingness, especially as the largest and the most powerful developing country, to step up and take responsibility in the fight against poverty in the developing world.
Having championed and successfully implemented the largest poverty eradication programme in world history, China is well-placed to lead the global fight against poverty.
This donation marks a refreshing qualitative shift in South Africa and China’s relationship which can be credited to Ambassador Xiaodong.
While the bilateral relationship was dominated by the elite and largely revolved around economics and high politics to the exclusion and marginalization of the ordinary people, this is changing.
The food donation in North West is part of the move to put ordinary people at the centre of South Africa-China relations with a view to ensuring that they enjoy real and tangible benefits from the relationship.
These donations are highly appreciated coming as they do at a time when the majority of poor South Africans are vulnerable to food insecurity due to runaway inflation.
However, more sustainable solutions should be explored to reduce the risk of food insecurity. It would be counterproductive to make people depend on donations.
Rather, in addition to donations, China and South Africa must work together to develop robust agricultural and food supply systems to protect poor and vulnerable people from food scarcity and hunger.
This could be done through providing agricultural training and scholarship opportunities for South Africans in China which would improve South Africa’s agricultural skills base.
Moreover, agricultural technology transfer from China to South Africa would be another effective way of averting food shortages.
That said, donations of this kind come from a place of empathy and compassion and are a true reflection of the shared values between South Africa and China. They are an emergency intervention measure that can save lives.
It is only befitting that they are received with gratitude and appreciation.
* David Monyae is the Director for the Centre for Africa-China Studies at the University of Johannesburg