A recent donation of Chinese military hardware to the government of Zimbabwe has caused a stir among analysts with some saying it was misplaced as it does not address real issues affecting the southern African nation. The donated equipment includes armoured fighting vehicles, personnel carriers, ambulances, motorised water purifiers, patrol boats, and various weapons.
Some analysts argue that the donation is part of China’s strategy to further its interests in Zimbabwe’s mineral resources. Farai Maguwu, a human rights defender and director of the Centre for Natural Resources Governance, suggests that the Chinese donation is driven by their desire for access to Zimbabwe’s mining sector. He told NewsDay:
There is no free lunch, nations are driven by interests not love. The most important thing is to find out what the motive behind the donation is. So, when you look at the destructive role of China in Zimbabwe’s mineral sector, it’s not meaningful.
The Chinese involved in the mineral sector have not been able to build even a school or clinic in communities they have been working in.
We have not been at war with any country since independence. The real enemy we want to fight today is poverty, climate-induced disasters, droughts, fight against decline in health and education standards, that is what we need.
Others, like political analyst Tendai Reuben Mbofana, view the donation as dishonest and misplaced. Mbofana argues that Zimbabwe faces pressing issues such as extreme poverty, inadequate healthcare facilities, and a lack of basic necessities like schools. He said:
The deal was an anti-people one. We are looking at a country that is globally known for its poverty, nearly half of the population is living in extreme poverty, we do not have hospitals equipped to serve the people and basic essentials.
We do have cancer machines. We do not have ambulances and we have children who are learning under trees because they do not have schools.
What do we need guns for when our children are languishing in extreme poverty? Who are we fighting? This equipment can be used to kill civilians.
Professor Stephen Chan, a World Politics expert at the University of London, suggests that the equipment provided by China is primarily for border wars. He said:
For the most part, the Chinese donation is light tactical skirmishing equipment for border wars — not all of it useful, such as the patrol boats.
Zimbabwe’s only real water border is Lake Kariba, and its neighbour on the other side, Zambia, poses no military threat. This is a goodwill gesture from China, probably excess equipment it no longer needs itself.
Having said that, the motorised water purifiers might have a beneficial non-military use in helping to alleviate the cholera epidemic caused by impure water. For the most part this donation has no global geo-political context.
Former foreign minister Walter Mzembi criticised the donation, likening it to a friend providing weapons during a conflict. He warned that if harm befalls one’s family or children due to these weapons, the friend who provided them should be held accountable.