Penultimate weekend, leaders of the Group of Seven, G7, the powerful Western economic cartel, met in Schloss Elmau, Germany and announced their plan to pool together a mega $600 billion fund to bankroll infrastructure across Africa over the next five years.

The full physical details of this ambitious venture are not yet clear. Also not yet fully disclosed is the extent of involvement of the African Union and leaders of African countries towards actualising this marvel. All we know is that the African Development Bank, AfDB, which is financed mainly by offshore interests, is part of the plan.

Tagged: “Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment”, the venture is the G7’s response to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, BRI, launched in 2013 to build roads, bridges and railways to connect Asia to Europe. China has also been very active over the past 20 years in financing projects in Africa through loans and direct involvement in construction activities.

While speaking at the event, President of the United States, Joe Biden, made it clear that it was an investment which is expected to bring high yields for the investors, not an aid or charity. Biden pointed out that the fund will be deployed to assist middle-to-low income countries to tackle climate change and strengthen global health, gender equality and digital infrastructure.

On the face of it, this initiative, if implemented will go a long way in ameliorating the crippling infrastructural deficits across Sub-Saharan Africa, especially in the areas of clean energy and transportation. It will also help to interconnect many African countries and boost productivity in natural resource centres.

We are, however, worried about the possible downsides of this initiative. That a project of this magnitude is to take place in Africa strictly as a move to counter China and with little or no conceptual input by Africa’s business and political leaders, is a red flag. After decades of flag independence which has not reflected in African countries assumption of full control of their affairs as many former colonised Asian countries have, a new scramble for Africa is obvious.

There is very little evidence of partnership in this scheme, but a brazen, multilateral incursion into Africa. President Biden’s insinuation of “gender equality” is particularly ominous, especially in the face of the US and Western nations’ determination to foist strange and unacceptable concepts of “gender” on Africans.

In the West, “gender” is no longer just “male and female”. All sorts of artificial concepts have been formulated in the name of “gender” and enforced through schools in many states in America and other Western countries.

African leaders must rise and demand answers to many questions blowing in the wind over this G7 initiative. The so-called “Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment” must be fully interrogated and explained to us in Africa.

Otherwise, no deal.