TFIGlobal
TFIGlobal
Right Arm. Round the World. FAST.
No Result
View All Result
  • Indo-Pacific
  • Americas
  • Indian Subcontinent
  • West Asia
  • Europe
  • Africa
  • Indo-Pacific
  • Americas
  • Indian Subcontinent
  • West Asia
  • Europe
  • Africa
TFIGlobal
TFIGlobal
No Result
View All Result

Zimbabwe and China – a match made in hell. Zimbabwe allows China to destroy its environment to mine coal.

Abhyoday Sisodia by Abhyoday Sisodia
September 27, 2020
in Africa
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
China, Africa, Zimbabwe
404
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Become a Patron!

Zimbabwe has seen one of the worst post-colonial transitions, from being the breadbasket of Africa to being the debt basket. Recently, the nation is in news for all the wrong reasons, as per a recent vice reportage, the Zimbabwe government was at the centre of criticism for allotting land in Hwange National Park (one of Africa’s most treasured Natural Reserves/National Parks) to companies from China for coal mining. It was big news internationally because apart from being the most diverse game reserve with 100 mammals and 400 bird species and also being home to the critically endangered black rhinos.

It was first discovered when the rhino monitoring team from Bhejane Trust saw people who they assumed were lost, but after some enquiry, it was clear that they were from Zhongxin Coal Mining Group—and another Chinese company—Afrochine Smelting and they were able to produce documents and permits granted by the government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Also Read

China thought it could control Zimbabwe forever, but its dreams have been shattered

Robert Mugabe, the man, who plundered his own country, ravaged his own people and killed ‘Zimbabwe Cricket’ is no more

“You can’t have coal mines in the middle of a national park,” Trevor Lane from Bhejane Trust told VICE News. It will most certainly mess up the ecological balance depleting the tourism potential of the game reserve, and being a safe zone for so many species of animals and birds, it will be morally void and ethically wrong for the Zimbabwe government to allow the mining of coal in the middle of this reserve. As this became international news, criticism landed from all directions, resulting in the government declaring that it will ban all the mining activities. However, these claims were not followed by actions, the world rejoiced on these claims but the activities continued.  The world was shocked by the fact that the Zimbabwe government was willing to open their treasure of national parks for coal mining which will have grave irreversible ecological damage, this brings a very pertinent question to the fore, why was the government not able to take any actions?

The answer is pretty obvious, the country is 6 feet deep in debt, courtesy to Beijing’s Debt Diplomacy, even if the government wanted, it just cannot act against the interests of China. It all goes back to the Mugabe era, due to his racial policies against the white minority, he was side-lined by the USA and other western democracies, as a result, he turned east and found a friend in China. Since then, like much of Africa, it has a strong presence in Zimbabwe, with investments spanning from energy to agriculture, mining and trade in wildlife. Being so entrenched into the Zimbabwean economy, one can imagine the extent of debt China has poured into it, and thus compromising the sovereignty of the recipient country in the process.

Since the early 2000s, when the western democracies put sanctions on Zimbabwe, China has been pouring in billions, it has built the military academy, parliament building, railways and roadways and other infrastructure. One can compare it to the colonial enterprise in India, where the British built the railways to get the raw material and natural resources out to the ports.

As for Zimbabwe, the preposition of a giant Thermal Power Plant, with the capacity to generate 2,800 Megawatts of electricity is highly lucrative, as it will make the country energy self-sufficient and provide much-needed jobs as well, but it comes at a very serious cost. At the cost of its hard-earned sovereignty.

The Chinese attempt to force Mandarin as a language is a very obvious attempt at establishing cultural supremacy in the many African nations including Zimbabwe. The Chinese enterprise in this southern African country is a part of the larger trend to capture any and every possible source of natural resource, & given the economic vulnerability of these resource-rich countries, debt diplomacy remains the most effective and potent means of controlling these natural resources for its own interests.

The country certainly does not want to have an eastern colonial power ruling them, instead of western imperial power and it was not something Mugabe had meant when he proposed looking towards the east from where the sun rises. The Zimbabwe-China relations are a match made in hell because they bring the worst out of these nations and are based on selfish and short term interests.

Tags: Zimbabwe
ShareTweetSend
Previous Post

Russian meddling? Putin snatches the juiciest poll issue from the democrats as Russia warms up to the US

Next Post

Bill Clinton had messed up Sudan pretty bad, Trump is all set to fix the war-torn nation and save it from China

Also Read

Saudi Arabia throws down a challenge to UAE by supporting Algeria against Morocco

Saudi Arabia throws down a challenge to UAE by supporting Algeria against Morocco

May 22, 2022
United States of Africa: A dream that got Gaddafi killed at the hands of a desperate US

United States of Africa: A dream that got Gaddafi killed at the hands of a desperate US

May 8, 2022
After choking Europe’s Algerian supplies, Russia begins blocking the Moroccan gas route as well

After choking Europe’s Algerian supplies, Russia begins blocking the Moroccan gas route as well

May 7, 2022
Emboldened by Russia, Algeria plans to halt gas supplies to Europe

Emboldened by Russia, Algeria plans to halt gas supplies to Europe

April 29, 2022
Load More

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms of use and Privacy Policy.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Qatar scraps its LNG deal with Germany at the last minute citing new conditions

Qatar scraps its LNG deal with Germany at the last minute citing new conditions

May 11, 2022
China makes the last-ditch effort to prevent its faulty weapons from getting exposed in Ukraine

China makes the last-ditch effort to prevent its faulty weapons from getting exposed in Ukraine

May 10, 2022
Europe to activate Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline very soon   

Europe to activate Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline very soon  

May 14, 2022
China could stage a hostile takeover of Japanese semiconductor firms to heal its wounds

China could stage a hostile takeover of Japanese semiconductor firms to heal its wounds

May 7, 2022
The dollar is officially DEAD now

The dollar is officially DEAD now

May 22, 2022
Europe to activate Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline very soon   

Europe to activate Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline very soon  

We predicted one month ago that Biden will say sorry to MBS. It’s happening in 10 days

We predicted one month ago that Biden will say sorry to MBS. It’s happening in 10 days

The dollar is officially DEAD now

The dollar is officially DEAD now

Biden can solve the baby formula crisis with a click of his finger, but he is exacerbating it

Biden can solve the baby formula crisis with a click of his finger, but he is exacerbating it

Sweden and Finland will never be NATO members

Sweden and Finland will never be NATO members

Victor Orban and Donald Trump are creating a ‘global right’ movement to bring peace

Victor Orban and Donald Trump are creating a ‘global right’ movement to bring peace

May 23, 2022
Elon Musk’s visit to Brazil creates a political tsunami for Lula and his supporters

Elon Musk’s visit to Brazil creates a political tsunami for Lula and his supporters

May 23, 2022
USA calls an urgent meeting with Russia as Biden gets cornered by the EU

USA calls an urgent meeting with Russia as Biden gets cornered by the EU

May 23, 2022
US diplomat reveals Biden was exploiting Ukraine’s miseries from day one

US diplomat reveals Biden was exploiting Ukraine’s miseries from day one

May 23, 2022
The most corrupt nation in Europe is earning millions every day due to the Ukraine war

The most corrupt nation in Europe is earning millions every day due to the Ukraine war

May 23, 2022
Youtube Twitter Facebook
TFIGlobal
  • About us
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy

©2022 - TFI MEDIA PRIVATE LIMITED

No Result
View All Result
  • Indo-Pacific
  • Americas
  • Indian Subcontinent
  • West Asia
  • Europe
  • Africa

©2022 - TFI MEDIA PRIVATE LIMITED

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Follow us on Twitter

and never miss an insightful take by the TFIGlobal team

Follow @tfiglobal
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. View our Privacy and Cookie Policy.