走进中国人的精神家园

英文版:

Henan’s Development Models Could be Helpful for Sierra Leone 

By H.E. Ambassador Ernest Mbaimba Ndomahina of the Republic of Sierra Leone to China

SThe
mouthwatering field trip that was organised by China’s Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, for African ambassadors to Henan Province, in November
2018, was just inspiring.

During
this trip, I saw an impressive and developed Henan, met and listened to
inspiring speeches from the municipal senior officials, and visited
touristic sites. 

I
can boldly say that the Chinese government is very serious in its
decentralisation drive, which has subsequently led to the development of
Henan Province.

The development models that were used to improve Henan Province could be very helpful to Sierra Leone’s development.

Sierra
Leone, a West African nation, had gone through coup, civil conflict,
dreadful Ebola viral disease and on 14th August, 2017, the flood and
mudslide incident that destroyed lot of lives.
All of the above mishaps have their retrogressive consequences on the country’s development.
At
this crucial point of my country’s development, under the “New
Direction” agenda of the current government, championed by President
Julius Maada Bio, the Chinese development models, particularly those of
Henan Province, could not have come at a time better than this.
I
will ensure that my government, headed by the indefatigable President
Bio, is aware of these development models and subsequently find a way to
emulate them for the transformation of Sierra Leone. 

Spirit of the Red Flag Canal

The
impressive and inspiring story about the “Spirit of the Red Flag Canal”
was just intriguing. The 1500-kilometer-long red flag canal, which
according to the officials, represents a spiritual home for the Chinese
nation, and has beautiful scenery, was amazing.

I
admire the measures taken by the Chinese people in the 1960s to improve
harsh living environment for the people of Linzhou, by building a “milk
way”-the Red Flag Canal, along the steps of the Taihang Mountains.

I
was forced to shed tears when I was told that the people took 10 years
to build the Red Flag Canal, and how eventually they suffered, just to
improve the harsh living environment.

The
1.16 million people, who were living in an environment with 86% of
mountain and sloping land, worked every hard to ensure that they build a
“milk way”. I was touched by the resilience of the residents of Linzhou
in this regard. 

This is  a spiritual home for the Chinese nation!

⬆Ambassador of Sierra Leone to China interviewed by the media in Red Flag Canal

New Energy cooperation

I was also very impressed with the visit to the New Energy Base of Yutong Group.
My country has a seasonal electricity supply problem, and that has been affecting our transformative ambitions.

When
I say seasonal I mean we have a hydro power plant in Bumbuna town, in
Tonkolili district, Northern Province of Sierra Leone, called Bumbuna
Hydro-Power plant that is very much effective during the raining season
and drops during the dry season due to the low level of water content. 

During
the dry season, our only hope is the thermal plants in Freetown and
those in the South-east and Northern provinces of the country.

The
operational cost of these thermal plants is very expensive. The
generators used both heavy fuel oil (HFO) and marine fuel oil (MFO),
which are more expensive than the normal fuel.
So when I saw the New
Energy Base of Yutong Group, and its impressive work in Henan Province,
I believe the group’s officials could help to salvage our electricity
constraints, through cooperation and consultation.   

Henan model of urbanization development

I
am of the fervent belief that that the Forum on Henan-African
Cooperation is one of the ways that Africans could learn more about the
Chinese model in developing the provinces, cities and regions, through
decentralisation.

The
importance of this cooperation cannot be underestimated, and its
subsequent impacts on us (African ambassadors), is something worthwhile.

The
social and economic developments of Henan province, which can be also
linked to the Chinese government’s efforts to intensify
decentralisation, have absolutely transform lives of the people of the
province.

I
must confess that I was so impressed by what I saw during the field
trip, and realised that this China cannot be fully understood from
outside the country.

Like
I mentioned earlier, it is an eye opener. It has not only opened my
eyes to see what the true China is but it has as well convinced me that
China is ready for the best as she prepares a brighter future for the
generation yet unborn.

Also,
I realised China is really good at tourism development, because the
visit we made to the Youth Cave and the Museum of Red Flag Canal, the
one at the National Museum of China’s Writings in Anyang, the Lankao
City Hall, the Culture and the Musical Instrument Village, were all
fascinating and most times, inspiring.

My
country, Sierra Leone, has a huge tourism market of about 66 billion
United States Dollars (US$66bn). Our beaches are one of the best in
Africa. We have both white and brown sandy beaches, which makes them so
colourful.
⬆African envoys had taken photos at the millennium city park in Kaifeng

Learn from the Chinese government

Frankly,
there are lots of positives that I garnered from this African
Ambassadors’ visit to Henan province. The five days field trip and
engagement with officials of the municipal government, was worthwhile.

The
development path that China chose and the massive improvement that I
saw in Henan Province, has created a sense of possibility in my mind
that, if only we (Africans) could adopt these strategies, the
impossibilities of Sierra Leone’s, and by extension, African’s
development will be very slim.

One
of the ways that these models could be used in my country is by making
efficient and effective use of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation
(FOCAC) and the Forum on Henan-Africa Cooperation.

The
Chinese government could be consulted, under the above mentioned
cooperation platforms, to develop the tourism, health, and special
economic zones (SEZs), etc., in Sierra Leone. The SEZs could comprise
setting up of manufacturing companies as well as developing the human
capital, by building their capacities in skills and knowledge about
production factories, which is the ambition of Sierra Leone’s President
Julius Maada Bio.

Sierra
Leone has great investment opportunities. The traditional investment
area which is mining of country’s gold, bauxite, rutile, iron ore and
diamond, etc., is in dire need of improved investment.

In
addition, the emerging investment opportunities such as tourism,
fisheries, agriculture, could also be strengthened using the Chinese
development models.

Once
these are done, through the support of the Chinese government, then the
great aspiration of President Xi’s shared future for mankind could be
achieved in the West African country.

⬆African Envoys Visited the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University

文  | 欧内斯特·穆巴姆巴·恩多玛希那（Ernest Mbaimba Ndomahina） 塞拉利昂共和国驻华大使

翻译 | 周   竞

编辑 | 张   梅

设计 | 李玉丹