Zim CSOs deserve an ear on Chinese investments

Recently, 27 civic society organizations published a statement targeting Chinese companies operating in Zimbabwe, particularly the mining companies.
In the statement, the civic groups raised several issues and questioned the integrity and transparency of the operations.
Despite China being a major player in the local economy, the organizations highlighted that 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.
“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,” said the civic groups
The groups fostered the idea that Chinese investors in Zimbabwe should be accountable to local communities and open to public scrutiny, starting with their contracts, their taxes and beneficial ownership.
However, in response to this, the Chinese Embassy went into a bullish mode, saying the groups’ allegations were influenced by emotions, politics and falsehoods.
They went on further to declare their sole contribution to Zimbabwe’s development saying, “Were it not for China’s funding support and the work of Chinese companies in ICT and power generation, even the statement in question would perhaps have to be scribbled down on a piece of paper, in a candlelit room, and never find its way onto a functioning internet.”
The government can ignore this dilemma at their peril. Several cases have been levelled against the Chinese in local communities and the government must look into this with serious concern.
The Sino-Zim relations are at most portrayed to benefit the latter. However, at the heart of commitment and development in Zimbabwe lies questions of interests and the nature of the relationship which is affecting development and commitment to take place.
There is a general lack of government trust by local citizens and to gain back this trust many fundamentals must be put in place, in this case, there should be transparency and dissemination of information to relevant stakeholders, the public included determining the viability of Chinese investments.