‘CIVIL SOCIETY STATEMENT ON CHINESE INVESTMENTS IN ZIMBABWE: COMMUNITIES’ SENTIMENTS SHOULD BE RESPECTED’ 20 January 2022

We, the Zimbabwe Civil Society groups, united in our common objective of defending our communities and national heritage against investment projects that disempower and impoverish our people, seek to register our deep concern with the behaviour of Chinese business operations in Zimbabwe. Our joint statement is not meant to defame China or trigger xenophobic resentment towards Chinese nationals in Zimbabwe. On the contrary, we seek fair and mutually beneficial relations between the two countries. We have however noted with deep concern the threats of displacements and mining projects in ecologically sensitive places around the country without any due regard for the concerns of the local people.

Zimbabwe is a country endowed with vast natural resources in the minerals, flora and fauna categories. These resources have the potential to reduce poverty, improve human security and help achieve President Mnangagwa’s target of an upper-middle-income economy by 2030 if managed properly. Sadly, the abundance of natural resources has become the major cause for poverty, inequality, human rights abuses, environmental crimes and transnational organized crime that are prejudicing the country of billions of dollars annually and this has been going on for decades. Regarding the growing resentment towards Chinese investments in Zimbabwe, it is important to highlight that for the past 15 or so years, China has been the dominant player in Zimbabwe’s minerals sector, which saw Chinese small scale and large-scale miners getting deep into rural communities to start mining operations.

…We expect the Zimbabwe government and the media to engage China from the vantage point of advancing Zimbabwe’s national interest and promoting and protecting the dignity of the Zimbabwean people against corporate injustice and human rights abuses. We call on the Government of Zimbabwe to openly engage affected communities through public hearings to understand the sentiments of the citizens regarding human rights, environmental and social impacts of Chinese investments in those communities. It is essential to listen to the real people in the affected communities. The Chinese Ambassador should find time to tour the Chinese operations to observe the working conditions of the employees. The Chinese investors in Zimbabwe should be accountable to local communities and open to public scrutiny, starting with their contracts, their taxes and beneficial ownership.