Zimbabwe’s Chinese problem
IT is too early to tell how history will view the impact of the role of China on Zimbabwe. Suffice to say as things stand, the score is an indictment on China and Zimbabwe’s political elite.
This is an exploitative relationship, with benefits flowing mostly to the Chinese and their Zimbabwean enablers.
Just as the olden day African elite profited from the sale of their kith and kin to slave traders, politicians are facilitating the modern-day subjugation of Zimbabweans and pillaging of natural resources for the benefit of Chinese traders and miners.
Writing in his seminal work Born In Blackness, Howard W French argues that “Africa has been the linchpin of the machine of modernity”.
He says slavery powered plantation agriculture and contributed to catapulting America and Europe into global capitalism.
History is being repeated. Instead of Europe and the Americas, the Chinese are the new masters.
On present evidence, it will be difficult to argue against the notion that China’s exploitation of our natural resources and labour have contributed significantly to the impoverishment of Zimbabwe.
There are over 10 000 Chinese nationals in the country, with over 33 companies holding lithium mining licences alone. Their influence far exceeds their numerical presence.
The Chinese nationals and their businesses flaunt their outsized power and influence. As Alex Colville argues, “In Zimbabwe, China is powerful enough to do what it likes.”
Local communities where the Chinese nationals operate mines have been victims of abuse and lawlessness.
Those who work for them in sectors such as retail, hospitality as well as fast-food outlets have felt this raw arrogance and power.
The Chinese pay slave wages and treat their workers appallingly.
The Buja people in Mutoko, where the Chinese are extracting black granite, say their complaints about ill-treatment and damage to the environment have been ignored by politicians, who appear to be on the take.
Headmen, councillors and State security agents work handin-glove with the Chinese exploiters.
Locals who speak out are threatened and are now afraid to voice their frustration.
This playbook has been repeated in several communities across the country such as in the Dinde area in Hwange as well as in Mutorashanga.
Read full article on www.newsday.co.zw https://convowithtrevor.com/icwt-newsletter-issue-74/
Trevor Ncube is the Chairman of Alpha Media Holdings and the host of In Conversation With Trevor YouTube.com//InConversationWithTrevor