Link to article: https://allafrica.com/stories/202111300105.html
Reports have surfaced that Uganda may lose their only international airport to China due to failure to honor a $200 million loan agreement, though Ugandan officials are dismissing these reports, along with the Chinese embassy in Uganda. The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson, Vianney Luggya, also says that it is false that Uganda would lose their international airport, and that they are still within a seven year grace period that they have been paying interest during. The loan agreement authorizes China’s Export-Import Bank to inspect both the Aviation Authority and Ugandan government books of accounts; some view this as infringing on Uganda’s sovereignty. Though the Chinese embassy claims that the loan was fair and equal, they still have an advantage considering that in case of arbitration, they go to China. Uganda currently owes $1.6 billion to China for loans financing major infrastructure development projects.
This article displays a clear example of neo-colonialism — Uganda is a developing country that needs money to support the development of its infrastructure, and turns to a developed country such as China for funding. However, Uganda then struggles to repay this loan and ends up paying large amounts of interest, forfeiting sovereignty in various places, and setting the stage for a downward spiral into more and more debt. This is especially clear given the advantageous position that China has placed itself in with the loan, where they stand to either make money or gain some other valuable form of compensation from Uganda, whereas Uganda stands to lose immensely if things go awry.
This situation falls into the category of international economics considering the problem arises from potential failure to honor a large loan from another state. The two main actors involved are the states of Uganda and China. The issue makes plenty of sense from a realist perspective, considering China only stands to serve its own national interest (Uganda as well), so they do not intend to give free handouts. Therefore, they would have made sure to enter into this agreement with their own success in mind, and will seize any opportunity that benefits their country and national interest, whether it is at the expense of Uganda or not.