ZIMBABWE IS NOT CHINA’S MINEFIELD — OUR RESOURCES MUST SERVE OUR PEOPLE

It is shocking to learn that over 85,000 Chinese nationals now live in Zimbabwe. But this is not about immigration. These are not settlers looking for a home. They are part of an aggressive plan to strip Zimbabwe of its resources and leave behind poverty, pollution, and destruction. Zimbabwe is no longer just a country — it is becoming China’s open-pit mine.

From iron ore to coal and limestone, Chinese firms are extracting Zimbabwe’s raw materials at an alarming rate. These minerals feed China’s steel industries, leaving our land scarred and communities suffering. We are now watching our skies darken with pollution from Chinese smelters and coke plants. What used to be clean, open spaces are now dangerous, dirty zones of industrial waste.

Our chrome deposits — the largest in the world, worth over US$100 trillion — are being drained without real benefit to the country. The same goes for lithium. We proudly export raw lithium concentrate to China, earning US$4 billion annually. But hidden within that concentrate are other critical minerals we are giving away without knowing their full value. This is not a trade deal. This is daylight robbery.

A quarter of Zimbabwe’s gold also ends up in China. No one explains how. What is clear is that Chinese companies flood the country with mining machinery, fund small-scale mining operations, and ship out the gold — while local communities get nothing. In their place are destroyed rivers, toxic land, and villagers left to breathe smoke and dust.

The Marange diamond fields tell the same story. Between 2008 and now, US$30 billion worth of diamonds was extracted. The people of Marange remain in poverty — no tarred roads, no schools, no hospitals. But a world-class airport was built — not for the people, but to fly out diamonds. A once-small Chinese firm, backed by the Red Army, is now a global player with jets, hotels, and African headquarters in Mozambique. Zimbabwe got nothing.

Even infrastructure built by China in Zimbabwe is designed to serve Chinese business interests. New railways, power lines, water systems, and roads all support Chinese mining and exports. In Mozambique, China is building an artificial port that will move four times more cargo than Maputo. It is designed for Zimbabwe’s minerals — but will not benefit Zimbabweans.

At Hwange, Chinese coke plants belch smoke into the air. Roads are being destroyed by heavy trucks, but no one repairs them. Zimbabweans suffer power cuts while Chinese companies burn our coal cheaply to fuel their factories. We pay the price — they take the profit.

There is no value addition in Zimbabwe. Our steel is exported as unfinished billets. Our lithium is exported raw. Our leaders clap hands while China builds its industrial future from our minerals. There are no plans for local refineries, factories, or jobs. There are only plans to export.

The problem is made worse by weak leadership. Zimbabwe’s government does not demand fair deals. Unlike Australia, which sells its minerals at market value and reinvests in its people, Zimbabwe accepts cheap deals and overpriced loans. Projects like the Hwange Power Station or Kenya’s SGR railway are funded with loans that mostly benefit China, not Africans.

Enough is enough. We must demand that Chinese companies invest in value addition, create jobs for locals, and follow environmental laws. They must pay fair prices. They must respect our people. Our leaders must stop taking bribes that sell our future. The rape and pillage of Zimbabwe must end.

We cannot sit by while our children’s inheritance is stolen. Zimbabwe belongs to its people, not to Beijing. The fight to protect our land, our minerals, and our dignity must begin now. If we don’t act, the wealth will be gone — and all we’ll have left are polluted rivers and broken promises.