Ghana opposition says China loan is poor value for money

　　Ghana would renegotiate a $3bn Chinese loan if the opposition New Patriotic party wins what are expected to be closely-fought presidential elections later this year in one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies.

　　如果加纳反对党新爱国党(New Patriotic Party)在今年晚些时候预计将竞争激烈的总统大选中胜出，该国将就一笔30亿美元中国贷款的条款重新展开谈判。加纳是非洲增长最快的经济体之一。

　　In an interview with the Financial Times, Nana Akufo-Addo, the NPP presidential candidate, took aim at new debt contracted by President John Atta-Mills’ government to finance gas pipelines and other infrastructure.

　　新爱国党总统候选人纳纳•阿库福-阿多(Nana Akufo-Addo)在接受英国《金融时报》采访时，把矛头指向现任总统约翰•阿塔•米尔斯(John Atta Mills)的政府为建设输气管道和其他基础设施而签订的新借款。

　　This includes the $3bn China Development Bank loan secured last year as part of a putative $13bn package of credit lines, one of the largest on offer as part of Beijing’s efforts to access natural resources and strengthen its commercial foothold in Africa.

　　这包括去年与中国国家开发银行(CDB)谈妥的30亿美元贷款，这笔贷款是据信总计为130亿美元的一揽子信贷额度的一部分。在中国为获取自然资源和加强其在非洲的商业立足点而付出的努力中，这是北京方面提供的最大规模信贷方案之一。

　　Ghana heads to the polls in December. The west African country – already rich in cocoa and gold – started to produce oil in 2010 and is one of the fastest-growing economies on the continent.

　　加纳将在今年12月举行大选。这个一直盛产可可豆和黄金的西非国家，从2010年起成为产油国，目前是非洲大陆增长最快的经济体之一。

　　Mr Akufo Addo’s comments suggest that China’s role in the country’s economy could become a hot issue in forthcoming polls.

　　阿库福-阿多的言论似乎表明，在即将到来的竞选中，中国在该国经济中扮演的角色可能成为一个热点议题。

　　The NPP has criticised up-front management fees associated with the CDB loan, crude oil off-take agreements and a provision that at least 60 per cent of the works contracts must go to Chinese companies.

　　新爱国党的批评对象包括：前期管理费（与上述中国国开行贷款有关）、原油承购协议，以及至少60%的工程合同须授予中国企业的条款。

　　The party has also questioned the rationale for financing the construction of gas pipelines and processing plants with debt when these could have been built commercially with costs recovered within five years.

　　该党还质疑举债建设输气管道和加工厂的基本逻辑，认为完全能够以商业方式建造这些设施，并在五年内收回成本。

　　Mr Akufo-Addo, a lawyer and former foreign minister, said he had no objection to the provenance of the financing – the first $1bn of which was cleared by Beijing for disbursal last week. But he said he had “serious reservations” about whether the loan delivered value for money.

　　阿库福-阿多是一名律师，曾担任加纳外交部长。他表示，他并不反对这些融资的来源。但他说，他对这笔贷款是否物有所值持“严重保留意见”。上周，北京方面已批准支付首期10亿美元贷款。

　　“If it is necessary for us to renegotiate, if we think the original negotiations did not protect sufficiently the Ghanaian interest, we would have to have a look at it again,” he told the FT.

　　“如果我们有必要重新展开谈判，如果我们认为最初的谈判未能充分保护加纳的权益，那么我们将不得不重新研究这个问题，”他对英国《金融时报》表示。

　　Mr Akufo-Addo, whose party is broadly right of centre and pro-American, lost the 2008 elections by just 40,000 votes. His campaign has been buoyed by revelations about a businessman close to ruling party officials who was awarded millions of dollars in compensation for a contract he failed to win. The controversy, now under investigation, has dented the anti-corruption credentials of Mr Mills, a mild-mannered former tax authority boss.

　　阿库福-阿多的政党大致上持中间偏右立场，而且是亲美国的。该党在2008年的选举中以区区4万票之差败选。近期他的竞选形势得到提振，因为有消息透露，一名与执政党官员关系密切的商人，竟然因未能赢得一份合同而得到数百万美元的赔偿。这个争议性事件目前正受到调查，但已导致现任总统、举止温文尔雅的前税务部门主管米尔斯在反腐败方面失分。

　　The discovery of oil in 2006 has buoyed the economy, which expanded by nearly 14 per cent last year, and bolstered Ghana’s strategic position in west Africa, sparking national debate about how best to leverage the attentions of competing foreign powers.

　　2006年发现油田对加纳经济是一大提振（去年该国经济增长近14%），同时也增强了加纳在西非的战略地位。这在该国引发了一场辩论，其主题是如何最有效地利用相互竞争的各大国对加纳的关注。

　　In a thinly veiled critique of previousChinese projects, Mr Akufo-Addo said: “If we are going to build a road in Ghana let’s build one that lasts 20 or 30 years not just two or three years.” He voiced concern that Ghanaian laws limiting foreign involvement in trading were not being enforced, allowing Chinese traders to edge out local competitors in Ghanaian markets, a sore point in a growing number of African countries.

　　阿库福-阿多对中国以往援建的工程发出几乎不加掩饰的批评，他说：“如果我们要在加纳建设一条道路，那就让我们建设一条能用二三十年、而不是只能用两三年的道路。”他表达了一点担心，即旨在限制外国参与交易的加纳法律，目前并没有得到执行，这使得中国交易商能够在加纳市场上排挤本土竞争对手——这种情况正在越来越多的非洲国家成为一个问题。

　　“We want to have good relations with China but we have to have relations where the Ghanaian national interest is fully protected,” he said.

　　“我们希望与中国保持良好关系，但我们必须在全面保护加纳国家利益的情况下保持这种关系，”他表示。

　　Setting out a broader campaign stall, Mr Akufo-Addo said Ghana’s recent growth was impressive but inadequate because the economy was not delivering jobs. As president, he would seek to harness raw materials, traditionally exported, for manufacturing and to eliminate red tape to promote the private sector.

　　在谈到整体竞选纲领时，阿库福-阿多表示，近年加纳经济增长令人印象深刻，但是这还不够，因为该国经济未能创造出就业机会。若当选总统，他将寻求利用传统上供出口的原材料来发展制造业，并消除官僚作风，促进私营部门的发展。