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The Case of Ghana's Bui Hydropower

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The Case of Ghana's Bui Hydropower The State’s Role and Synergies in China-Africa Engagements: The Case of Ghana’s Bui Hydropower Dam A Dissertation SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY Alexander Kwame Adovor Tsikudo IN PARTIAL FULFILMMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Abdi Ismail Samatar August 2019 © Alexander Kwame Adovor Tsikudo, 2019 Acknowledgements I am grateful to God almighty for bringing me this far and sustaining me with grace and protection. This study was made possible with the support of several people. I wish to convey a special thanks to my advisor and mentor, Abdi Samatar, for his cerebral support, guidance, feedbacks, and patience. I also wish to thank the rest of my advising committee: Mark Lindberg, Kathryn Grace, Abigail Neely, and Greta Friedemann- Sanchez for supporting and challenging me to a productive effect. I am grateful to the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change for their financial support and a sense of community. A similar gratitude goes to the Department of Geography for supporting me all these years. I also wish to thank all my friends in the Twin - Cities and elsewhere for making this journey successful. In particular, I want to thank Forster Ntow, Joe Getzoff, and Jay Bowman for reading various iterations of this work and offering thoughtful comments. Likewise, John Eleblu, Mark Segbefia, Nii Tackie, Hayford Manu, Abraham Lamptey, Abraham Seda, Janeke Thumbran, Sravanthi Kollu, Maurice Sikenyi, Ding Fei, Anindita Chatterjee, Liz Schneider, Jacqui Daigneault, Uday Thapa, and Emily Springer offered hope amidst grad-school frustrations. I also wish to thank the Noble family including Jim, Heidi, Eleanor, and Arthur for their warmth and kindness in helping me adjust to life in the Twin - Cities. They made life in grad-school manageable. A special thank you to my godmother, Charity Dzormeku, who provided extra motivation throughout the process of research and writing. I wish to thank my brother, Doe, whose home in Iowa was a refuge for cooling off and relaxing. We troubleshot ideas and had stimulating conversations even at odd hours of the day. My parents, Efo Sammy and Sister Aku, as well as my other siblings—Ekeke, Nyuiwordze, Elenu, Patron, Edem, i Ehui, Romeo, and Gifty—who provided advice and encouragements. Finally, I am grateful to my research collaborators in Accra, Bui, Kumasi, Sunyani, and University of Ghana for their resourcefulness in making this project a success. ii Dedication I dedicate this thesis to my family. iii Abstract Contemporary China-Africa engagement endured a tumultuous start for much of the 20th century until changes over the last three decades transformed it into a salient case in international political economy. The relationship which began after World War II was inspired by geopolitical and anticolonial philosophies. These principles lingered until China’s 1990 economic boom triggered sustained economic performance that supplanted the geopolitical motives. The new geo-economics deepened China’s interactions with African countries. Trade which was previously peripheral increased exponentially, resulting in China becoming Africa’s leading trading partner. Likewise, aid and investment cooperation soared, culminating in rebranding the relationship as a win-win affair. The new win-win relationship attracted considerable attention, and has now sparked intense debate in African studies, international relations, and China-Africa relations. The debate can be structured into two: advocates and critics. Advocates see China’s African intervention comprising trade, aid, and investment as a catalyst for the continent’s transformation. For the advocates, China’s operations in Africa differ from Western assistance, hence provide the continent opportunity for self-determination. This view is countered by critics who consider China’s presence in Africa as self-centered due to excessive focus on resource extraction and market expansion. Critics argue that China’s activities in Africa are reminiscent of colonial strategies. As such, they characterize China’s approach as neocolonial and less developmental. These two views are important in highlighting the pros and cons of China’s Africa foray. However, they overly amplify China’s actions and rarely analyzes how African iv countries can harness the opportunities the relationship entails. To fill this lacuna, this study proposes decisive and active state interventions in forming synergistic networks with China to leverage and shape the developmental outcomes of the current relationship. This proposition seeks to rescue the relationship from being lopsided and provide a framework for evaluating the outcomes of the relationship based on African state interventions. My study focuses on Ghana’s Bui hydropower dam as a case of China’s African initiatives. The Bui hydropower dam was implemented between 2008 and 2013 with the purpose of: 1) generating 400 megawatts of electricity; 2) boosting Ghana’s socio- economic development. Although the project was perceived as a success based on improvements in Ghana’s previous large experience, the objective of using electricity to catalyze local transformation has yet to occur. The project has been plagued with several issues. First, energy output from the dam falls short of anticipated targets. Second, the project has so far generated negligible socio-economic development in and beyond the project. Third, the construction project displaced, and impoverished residents of riparian communities yet created little opportunities for livelihood improvements. These shortcomings derive from poor Ghanaian state capacity and the weaknesses of its actors in their interactions with Chinese players in designing and building the behemoth. These conclusions highlight the centrality of state capacity and interventions in development programming. The study contributes to the literature on development studies, China- Africa relations, African studies, and international political economy. v Table of content Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ i Dedication ......................................................................................................................... iii Abstract ............................................................................................................................. iv Lists of Acronyms ............................................................................................................. x Chapter One ...................................................................................................................... 1 The Rise of China and Impact on African Development .............................................. 1 1.0 OVERVIEW............................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 CHINA’S RISE AND ITS AFRICAN POLICY ............................................................................................ 5 1.2 DEBATING THE DEVELOPMENTAL IMPLICATIONS OF CHINA’S RISE IN AFRICA ............................ 15 1.2.1 THE ADVOCATES ............................................................................................................................. 16 1.2.2 THE CRITICS ................................................................................................................................... 21 1.2.3 A STATE-CENTERED PERSPECTIVE ................................................................................................ 25 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ...................................................................................................................... 37 1.3.1 STUDY AREA .................................................................................................................................... 38 1.3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN AND DATA COLLECTION................................................................................. 41 1.3.3 DATA ANALYSIS .............................................................................................................................. 47 1.3.4 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................................................................ 48 1.3.5 CONFIDENCE AND ANONYMITY ...................................................................................................... 48 1.3.6 CHALLENGES................................................................................................................................... 49 1.4 THE STRUCTURE OF THE DISSERTATION .......................................................................................... 50 Chapter Two .................................................................................................................... 52 THE AFRICAN STATE AND INDUSTRIALIZATION..................................................................................... 52 2.0 OVERVIEW.......................................................................................................................................... 52 2.1 EAST ASIA’S STATE-LED INDUSTRIAL TRANSFORMATION............................................................... 54 2.2: THE AFRICAN STATE AND ITS INDUSTRIAL EFFORTS SINCE INDEPENDENCE ................................ 65 2.3 POLITICAL ECONOMY OF AFRICAN INDUSTRIALIZATION IN THE CONTEXT OF CHINA’S INTERVENTIONS ......................................................................................................................................
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