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
