Mnangagwa’s China visit misses the mark: corruption fight key to prosperity
BY Tendai Ruben Mbofana
President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa has embarked on one of his evidently pointless international visits.
This time around, he is in China to attend the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit.
The visit by Mnangagwa is touted as part of a broader engagement strategy aimed at deepening diplomatic and economic relations between China and Zimbabwe.
The latter is seeking to attract investment and strengthen bilateral cooperation.
Of course, at the present moment, trade between Zimbabwe and China is slightly skewed in favour of the Asians.
In 2023, China exported US$1.41 billion worth of goods to Zimbabwe, whilst Zimbabwe’s exports to China were valued at US$1.28 billion.
The main products imported from China include machinery, electronics, and vehicles, while Zimbabwe’s main exports are tobacco, nickel, diamonds, platinum, and lithium.
However, with Zimbabwe earning so much money from its trade with China, coupled with the significant revenue derived from Chinese investments, why is our country still regarded as poor?
Why are ordinary Zimbabweans still languishing in abject poverty, with nearly 50 percent of the population considered extremely poor by international standards (earning less than US$5.50 a day)?
Already, based on statistics from UNICEF, an estimated 1.7 million children in Zimbabwe will need urgent humanitarian assistance this year.
Zimbabwean children – 23.5 percent or over half a million – are stunted (chronically malnourished) and do not grow and develop to their full potential.
Last year alone, 4,300 children were admitted in hospital for wasting, which the WHO describes as acute malnutrition and a sign that a child has experienced short periods of undernutrition.
Why are many families failing to send their children to school?
In fact, according to statistics released by ARTUZ (Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe), in 2022 alone, 63 percent of rural children dropped out of school.
On the other hand, it is estimated that 30,000 students graduate from university each year in Zimbabwe.
Yet, the vast majority, possibly 90 percent, can not be absorbed in any meaningful formal employment.
Those left on the margins of the mainstream economy are abandoned to a life of scrounging for a living through street vending, half-baked ‘projects’, or criminality.
Our youth’s only hope is leaving the country for the diaspora.
It is estimated that between 4 and 7 million Zimbabweans live outside of Zimbabwe, which is roughly 30 percent of the country’s population.
That is why whichever country Mnangagwa visits, he always finds a sizeable Zimbabwean population residing there.
This is too big a population of skilled and highly educated people to be living outside their own country whilst developing other nations.
Why do we still have public hospitals that lack even the most basic medications, with an estimated 2,500 people dying from cancer each year due to the absence of functional radiotherapy machines?
In rural areas, most villagers still have to walk for over 10 kilometres to reach their nearest health care facility – which, in most cases, lack basic necessities.
Yet, we are exporting US$1.28 billion worth of goods to China.
This is not to mention the country’s total GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of US$26.54 billion for 2023.
Where is all this money going?
Should Zimbabwe not be a wealthy country by now, with its citizens living in relative comfort?
We do not need to wait for some lofty ideal of an ‘upper middle-income economy by 2030’ for us to be enjoying a life of comfort and luxury.
Zimbabwe already has what it needs for it to prosper.
So, why are we still poor?
Let us look at China – whom our leaders in Zimbabwe love describing as our ‘all-weather friend’.
On top of earning US$1.41 billion through exports to Zimbabwe, the Asian giant is ranked the second-largest economy in the world by nominal GDP, following the United States, and the largest when measured by purchasing power parity (PPP).
China’s economy is driven by public sector enterprises, state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and a large domestic private sector, as well as foreign businesses.
The country is also the world’s largest manufacturing economy and exporter of goods, and it has the world’s largest foreign exchange reserves.
Its GDP was estimated to be around $17.79 trillion in 2023, according to the World Bank – although some sources suggest that China’s GDP could be as high as $18.6 trillion.
The country’s GDP is expected to reach $18.64 trillion by the end of 2024 and is projected to trend around $19.48 trillion in 2025.
The question we all need to reflect on is why the Chinese economy is growing in such leaps and bounds.
As a matter of fact, the level of poverty in China has significantly decreased in recent years, with the poverty rate falling from 88 percent in 1981 to 0.7 percent in 2015.
According to the World Bank, more than 850 million Chinese people have been lifted out of extreme poverty, and China’s per capita income has increased fivefold between 1990 and 2000.
In so doing, only around 13 percent of the population falls below the poverty line of US$5.50 per day – as opposed to Zimbabwe’s staggering 50 percent.
What is it that China is doing differently as compared to their ‘all-weather friends’ in Zimbabwe?
It all boils down to one word – CORRUPTION!
China has a genuine zero-tolerance to corruption of any form.
To put this into perspective, its Corruption Perception Index (CPI) score is 35.1.
The country ranks 76th out of 180 countries in terms of perceived corruption, with a score of 42 out of 100.
It does not matter who commits this crime – powerful or not powerful, rich or poor – they all face the full wrath of the law.
China has been dealing with corruption by cracking down on officials and business leaders and by implementing policies to increase transparency and accountability.
The government has also established anti-corruption agencies and laws to genuinely combat corruption.
China has anti-corruption agencies, such as the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, to investigate and punish corrupt officials.
The government has implemented laws and policies to increase transparency and accountability, such as the Whistle-blower Protection Law.
Similarly, China has encouraged public participation in anti-corruption efforts, such as through hotlines and online platforms.
All these efforts have witnessed the cracking down on corrupt officials, including high-ranking ones, and have prosecuted many for corruption.
As such, there have been several high-profile cases of individuals being punished severely for corruption in China.
For instance, Zhou Yongkang, the former Security Chief and Politburo Standing Committee member, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2015 for corruption and abuse of power.
Bo Xilai, a former Politburo member and Chongqing Party Chief, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2013 for corruption and abuse of power.
Ling Jihua, the former vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2016 for corruption and abuse of power.
Xu Caihou, a former General and vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2015 for corruption and abuse of power.
Gu Junshan, also a former General and Deputy Logistics Chief of the People’s Liberation Army, was executed in 2015 for corruption and embezzlement.
Yao Gang, the former vice-chairman at the China Securities Regulatory Commission, was investigated by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection in November 2015.
Additionally, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s brother-in-law and Wen Jiabao’s son-in-law were also investigated for corruption.
These cases are part of a broader anti-corruption campaign in China that has targeted many high-ranking government and military officials.
There are no sacred cows.
Can we surely say the same about our own Zimbabwe?
Zimbabwe’s latest Corruption Perception Index is 24 out of 100, according to Transparency International’s 2023 report.
This score reflects the perceived level of public sector corruption in Zimbabwe, with 0 indicating high corruption and 100 indicating no corruption.
Additionally, Zimbabwe ranks 149th out of 180 countries in terms of corruption perception.
As can be clearly seen, corruption in the southern African state, especially when compared with its Asian ‘all-weather friend’, is at shocking levels!
This is the major reason why we find ourselves in such depths of poverty and underdevelopment in Zimbabwe – in stark contrast to China.
In Zimbabwe, corruption has become endemic as an entrenched and acceptable component of our lifestyle.
Based on figures by the country’s own Prosecutor-General and former chair of the ZACC (Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission), Loice Matanda-Moyo, Zimbabwe loses an estimated US$1.8 billion annually to corruption.
According to findings by Transparency International Zimbabwe, the country loses around US$5 million daily.
This staggering amount highlights the endemic nature of corruption in Zimbabwe’s political, private, and civil sectors.
Nonetheless, the number one challenge we witness in Zimbabwe is that the ruling elite appears to either actively promote corruption or turn a blind eye when the crime is committed by those close to power.
What can we say when the state does not seem all that concerned when reports come out fingering corruption in high offices and those aligned to them?
Who can forget the seemingly endless scandals that appear to follow close Mnangagwa ally Wicknell Chivayo?
Surely, how can allegations of the questionable US$100 million deal involving the ZEC (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission), the OPC (Office of the President and Cabinet), and of course, Chivayo and his business partners not go anywhere?
This is just one case amongst numerous more – whether in central government, local authorities, SEOs, or the private sector – that have sunk Zimbabwe’s economy and driven millions of ordinary citizens into unimaginable poverty.
Therefore, as Mnangagwa tours China, may he be reminded that what he needs to learn from the Asian giant more than anything else is their fight against corruption.
He can visit and be charmed by all manner of companies and technological feats in China, but it all means absolutely nothing if he does not also lean the ‘secret’ behind that country’s success story.
Zimbabwe can only hope to rise from the ashes once we have a government that emulates the Chinese in how they have confronted corruption.
The fight against corruption should never be mere lip-service and superficial.
There should never be any sacred cows.
We need to see even those in the ruling elite, their families, and friends brought to book if we are to ever dream of prospering as a country.
Sadly, that is something I do not believe we will ever witness in our lifetime.
● Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to WhatsApp or Call: +263715667700 | +263782283975, or email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com, or visit website: https://mbofanatendairuben.news.blog/
