Is Zimbabwe Open for Business or Open to Slavery?

By Staff Reporter

A recent incident involving Ming Chang Sino-Africa Mining Investments P/L, where a Zimbabwean employee, Kholwani Dube, was allegedly assaulted by Chinese managers, has set off a firestorm of debate. The footage posted on social media shows the alleged altercation and the use of firearms, thus setting off a serious debate concerning the safety and rights of Zimbabwean workers working under Chinese firms.

While the company has released a statement purporting self-defense, the incident raises critical questions over the prevailing labor conditions in the Chinese-owned mining sector. The workers in these sectors have been speaking time and again on poor working conditions characterized by long hours of work, low wages, and no job security. This ZDAMWU statement went further to include intimidation, victimization, and denial of basic workers’ rights.

The incident was, unfortunately, not an isolated case of its own accord; several accounts surfaced illustrating the very same issue at hand—between Chinese employers and Zimbabwean employees—that ended up fuelling growing fears that these actions don’t exactly portray the respect due to their local subordinate counterparts.
July 2024: A Chinese boss shoots two Zimbabwean employees of a mining company run by his countrymen after they went on strike to demand unpaid wages.
* July 2024: A video that went viral online showed two Chinese nationals assaulting two employees at a mine, tying them to a bucket of a front-end loader and lifting them as punishment for allegedly stealing diesel.
* In 2024: The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions accused government officials of protecting abusive Chinese employers.
* In 2024: The Centre for Natural Resources Governance petitioned parliament to conduct investigations in relation to Chinese labour practices in Zimbabwe, but the petition is yet to be acted upon.
These accidents and many other allegations of labour abuse paint an unfortunate picture of working conditions that employees from Zimbabwe must endure when employed within Chinese-owned mines in Zimbabwe.

The question that cries out to be answered is whether Zimbabwe is really “open for business” or has it become a haven for exploitative labor practices. The government has a significant role to play in ensuring that foreign investors respect and adore to Zimbabwean labor laws and workers rights.

This incident needs a full and impartial investigation. The government must act with determination to address these concerns by:
• Strengthening labor laws: The current labor laws must be dynamically enforced, with punishment for violation harsh enough to serve as a deterrent.
• Creation of independent labor tribunals: There is a need for the establishment of a system where workers can independently and fairly process grievances against employers.
• Dialogue and cooperation: A dialogue between Zimbabwean workers, Chinese investors, and government officials should be facilitated. Meaningful dialogue in which concerns are brought forward, and solutions mutually agreed upon can be found.
• Invest in the education and empowerment of workers: Workers must be armed with knowledge and the tools to understand their rights and advocate for themselves so as to not be exploited all in the name of economic hardships.

Zimbabwe cannot afford to have her name
soiled for such exploitative labor practices by people the warmly welcomed, especially now that it is working towards Vision 2030 of becoming an upper-middle-income society and “Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all”. Will these actions not taint the government’s effort towards vision 2030. The government must put the interest of its citizens first and ensure that all workers are accorded dignity irrespective of the nationality of their employer.

Below are comments from X
@ThePunisher1611
@PoliceZimbabwe will be like….We can confirm an accident that happened involving a pick up truck with no passengers and commuter omnibus….whilst we are being victimised and killed by foreigners in our mother’s yard. Why are the Chinese going scotfree after committing …..

@jahman_adamski
You blacks are getting treated like dogs by the Chinese who recruit convicted criminals to free up their jails to work in Zimbabwe.
This is a regular occurrence people getting shot or whipped like dogs.
Remember what happend in Gweru when that guy got shot in both thighs?

@costahcostah
The Chinese are protected more than the citizens. It’s sad. We are being killed in our own land.

@YE4i48zS9CLoGdI
He has a gun in broad day light ,a foreigner for that matter. If Zimbabweans demonstrate with no weapons ,they face the wrath of the police. What’s has gone wrong with our lives?

With the Chinese employers on the crime spotlight, “wrecking havoc” in the viral video, Commissioner Nyathi said to Zimba Wave News, “the incident has been reported to the police and investigations are now underway.”