Zimbabwe’s Look East Policy and its Pitfalls

By Rawlings Magede

China’s international resource push began in earnest in 1999, when it’s Going Global Strategy liberalized investment policies and provided financial incentives to encourage overseas investments and contracts. Such a strategy was necessitated by a depletion of its own domestic resources. This scenario then forced China to create partnerships with African countries, a development that has created suspicion across the African continent as most people assume that it is a new form of neo-colonialism.

The turn of the millennium saw a drastic change in Zimbabwe’s foreign policy. The disagreement between Zimbabwe and the European Union (EU) in 2003 led to capital flight and economic depression and this resulted in Zimbabwe being isolated from the EU in the form of targeted sanctions. With no viable source for continued support, the country retraced its historical roots and deepened relations with China and this culminated into Zimbabwe adopting a look East policy. The relations between the two countries date back to the war of liberation and were cemented more by the refusal of Russia to provide military support to ZANU PF but rather chose to back ZAPU.Of course all this was part of an ongoing Cold war and a fight for hegemony in Africa.

Since 2003, China has increased its activities in the country and has made massive profits through resource exploitation. According to statistics, trade between the two countries have amounted to more than US 1.1 billion with China the biggest buyer of Zimbabwean tobacco and also importing cotton various minerals. Chinese state construction firms have also been active, building infrastructure including Zimbabwe’s US $100 National Defence College. In 2016, China agreed to finance a new 6500 seat Parliament. The Chinese have invaded every sector from Mining, Manufacturing and Agriculture which form the bedrock of economic revival in the country. However, China’s investment in Zimbabwe has its own pitfalls that have over the years been downplayed.

Look East and disregard Human Rights?

The height of Chinese involvement in the country was when Chinese companies were granted concessions to exploit diamonds in Chiadzwa. Their mining activities left a trail of destruction including forced displacements of thousands of people. The displaced were resettled in Arda Transau; a barren area situated about 30km away from Mutare. The area has no social amenities, no agricultural land and grazing land for their livestock. Since the displacements, Chinese companies have reneged on promises that they made to the people and attempts by pressure groups to address this has been met with stiff resistance by the government. This has been compounded by the fact that the diamond companies have closed shop and halted their operations. The displacements dislocated the livelihoods and socialities of the people and exacerbated people’s vulnerability to livelihood shocks, insecurity and poverty. Over the years, the Chinese have spread their economic tentacles to every province in the country. Reports of forced displacements, poor working conditions and in some instances beatings have been recorded at mines owned by Chinese companies. Over the years, shocking details of gross human rights abuse have also emerged where Chinese officials are seen assaulting workers. The assault of a Chief Chivero in 2019 by a Chinese national in Norton is one such case. Amidst all these gross human rights violations by Chinese companies, the government does not appear moved. Such cases have been downplayed and dismissed while human rights violations continue unabated. The media particularly the State owned media has continued in overdrive praising Chinese projects while underreporting cases of human rights abuse against citizens by Chinese companies such as forced displacements.

 More recently, the Newsday reported that hundreds of Chivhu Villagers are set to be evicted off their ancestral land to pave way for a 12 000 hectare Iron and steel mining project by a Chinese company, Tsingshan Group Holdings. The experiences of Marange families, who were displaced from the ancestral land and dumped at Arda Transau between 2009 and 2015 and over 3000 families of Tokwe-Mukosi who were relocated to Chingwizi, are testimony of how relocation exercises in Zimbabwe have failed to uphold the rights of the affected communities.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development has continued dishing out mining and exploration special grants to Chinese companies to achieve its 12-billion –dollar mining economy target  unveiled in 2019.This however comes at the detriment of local communities that have been invaded by ambitious fortune hunters armed with special grants. Since the Look East policy was adopted in 2003, the country has recorded nationwide land conflicts as communities are exposed to forced evictions due to prospects of mining activities. Constitutional Provisions such as Section 74 of the constitution that provides for Freedom from arbitrary eviction have been ignored.

In the final analysis, the Look East policy while it has recorded considerable development, , it’s implementation  by Chinese companies has also witnessed wanton disregard of fundamental human rights and freedoms of citizens. The government must meaningfully engage local communities before awarding extractive contracts to investors. This will give citizens the opportunity to give or withhold their consent in line with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

 Rawlings Magede is a Development Practitioner who writes here in his personal capacity. Feedback on vamagede@gmail.com