Trade Union Congress Warns Against Chinese Plunder

SW Radio Africa (London)

Alex Bell

25 May 2011

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has warned against the ongoing plunder of Zimbabwe by foreigners, especially the Chinese, saying the country’s natural resources should benefit the people.

ZCTU President Lovemore Matombo told journalists at the commemoration of Africa Day in Harare that Zimbabwe’s resources “are not for Chinese or any other foreigners to enjoy for a song.” He urged the government to instead use the country’s natural wealth to help the majority of Zimbabweans living in poverty.

His comments come as a delegation of young Chinese entrepreneurs has arrived in Zimbabwe to explore business opportunities in the country. The ten man group is being hosted by the ZANU PF led Youth and Empowerment Ministry, and the focus of their visit is understood to be a tour of the controversial Chiadzwa diamond fields.

The delegation is being led by the Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China, Zhou Changkai, who praised Robert Mugabe as a good friend of the Chinese.

“President Mugabe is a friend of the Chinese people and as Chinese youths we would like to wish good health to the President,” Zhou said

He also said the objective of the visit was future oriented and the delegation wanted to know the social and economic environment in Zimbabwe.

SW Radio Africa correspondent Lionel Saungweme said the visit “may be pleasant for ZANU PF, but it will not be well received by the rest of the country.” He explained that China’s encroachment of Zim’s industry has many people concerned, “because the belief is that they are coming just to loot our resources,” and not put anything back into the struggling economy.

The Chinese already have a strong stake in many businesses in Zimbabwe, including the diamond industry, where Chinese owned companies are the only foreign owned businesses likely to be spared from any indiginisation plans. ZANU PF’s empowerment Minister, Saviour Kasukuwere, has said that the Chinese mining firms will be exempt from handing over 51% of their shares to locals as part of the indiginisation measures being punted by ZANU PF.

This strong relationship meanwhile has also prompted China’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Xin Shunkang, to pledge China’s support for Zim diamond exports to be allowed. Shunkang was speaking at the Chinese run Anjin mining company in Chiadzwa over the weekend, where Mines Minister Obert Mpofu praised the company for “improving the livelihood” of its Zimbabwe employees. This is despite the company recently recruiting the army to forcibly remove local Chiadzwa villagers from their homes to make way for more mining endeavors.

Shunkang meanwhile said that a Chinese delegation will rally behind Zimbabwe at the next meeting of the diamond trade watchdog, the Kimberley Process (KP), where the confusion surrounding Zimbabwe’s trade status is meant to be debated. Zim was suspended from trade in 2009 over human rights abuses at Chiadzwa. But the new Chairman of the KP has this year unilaterally given Zimbabwe the green light to resume exports, despite ongoing reports of irregularities at the diamonds fields.

“Since a Chinese company is involved in the diamond mining here in Zimbabwe, we will walk together because we want both countries to benefit. As a government, we are very excited with the developments happening here,” Shunkang said.

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