Oil Beneath Our Feet, Yet We Beg: Africa’s Energy Paradox

By Farhia Noor

I am African. Oil flows beneath my feet – yet I beg for fuel.

I speak of Pan-African unity, but sign contracts in Beijing, Paris, and Washington. I call my neighbor “brother,” yet trade across oceans while our ports stand idle.

Something is broken. And until we confront it, Africa will remain rich in resources – and poor in power.

Take Zambia’s recent US$1.1 billion energy deal with China’s Fujian Xiang Xin Corporation: a 60,000-barrel-per-day refinery, a 130MW power plant, and production of LPG, lubricants, and bitumen. On the surface, it sounds like progress. But look deeper – and a troubling pattern emerges.

The crude oil to feed this refinery? It will be imported – from the Middle East – shipped thousands of miles via Dar es Salaam.

Not from Angola. Not from Nigeria. Not from any African nation.

Why?

Because there is no Angola – Zambia pipeline. No regional oil corridor.

No functional SADC (Southern African Development Community) energy grid. And no enforcement of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) when it comes to energy.

So China builds. Saudi Arabia supplies. Zambia pays. And Africa – once again – remains divided.

The stranger eats while the brother waits.

This is not development. It is dependency repackaged.

Will Zambians control the technology, the intellectual property, the supply chain? Or will profits flow offshore, while debt accumulates at home?

This isn’t a donation – it’s a loan. Financed by foreign capital, constructed by foreign engineers, governed by foreign timelines.

The repayment? In kwacha. The benefits? Likely in yuan.

And Zambia is not alone.

Kenya. Uganda. Mozambique. Ethiopia. Across the continent, the same model repeats:

Build with borrowed money. Pay with borrowed time. Lose with borrowed dreams.

You cannot climb a tree with borrowed legs.

Why Aren’t We Building Together?

We have oil. We have gas.

We have sun, wind, and human ingenuity. So why no regional pipeline network?

Why no shared energy infrastructure? Why no strategic alliance with Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery – Africa’s largest?

Because unity doesn’t feed political egos. Because donors reward obedience, not collaboration.

Because global financial systems still treat African currencies as second-class. And because too many African leaders still run to Paris, Beijing, and Washington – but not to each other.

They wear kente cloth at summits, yet sign billion-dollar deals in Mandarin and French. They celebrate Pan-Africanism in speeches – but undermine it in policy.

They sign across oceans… and avoid eye contact with their neighbors.

The Real Cost of Division

This is not just about one refinery. It’s about a continent that talks of sovereignty while outsourcing its survival.

If we don’t trade with each other, we will forever serve the interests of those who once divided us. If we don’t build our own energy corridors, someone else will – and charge us for access.

If the drum is not in your hands, the rhythm will not follow your feet.

A New Vision for African Energy

The truth is clear: Africa’s greatest resource isn’t oil or gas – it’s unity.

So here is what must be done:

Because the village is burning. And the children are watching.

They will inherit either a continent that finally stands on its own feet – or one that still kneels at foreign gates.

The choice is ours.

We have oil beneath our feet. Now, let us find the will above our shoulders.

Farhia Noor is a seasoned business consultant based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. With a proven track record in developing enterprises and executing turnkey projects across both government and private sectors, she brings deep expertise to the table. Farhia is also a committed advocate for community-led development and is passionate about advancing sustainable, intra-African growth.