Zimbabweans are calling out Chinese investors whom they accuse of degrading the environment where they have established businesses.

China has become Zimbabwe’s largest source of investment under the Emmerson Mnangagwa leadership.

Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency’s 2023 annual figures show that 369 licences were issued to Chinese investors last year, with a projected investment value of $3.93 billion.

The Chinese investors accounted for 40 percent of the projected value of new investment for the southern African country.

Bilateral trade between the two countries reached $3.1 billion in 2023, a 29.9 increase from the previous year, according to China Customs statistics.

Chinese companies are active in various sectors such as energy and power, mining, manufacturing, agriculture, construction and services.

Beijing has also poured billions of dollars into Zimbabwe’s infrastructure where it has built airports, power stations, and dams and even donated a Parliament building.

But Zimbabwean authorities are accused of looking the other way as the investors disregard environmental laws, including conservation of forests and pollution of water bodies. 

A report by the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG), a research and advocacy organisation, says conflicts between Chinese investors and local residents, especially in the mining areas, are getting out of hand.

The “Investments or Plunder: An Assessment of the Impacts of Chinese Investments in Zimbabwe’s Extractive Sector”report claims that Chinese mining ventures have led to widespread environmental degradation, disregard for cultural rights of host communities and violation of labour laws, often with impunity. 

The report alleges Chinese investors are taking advantage of President Mnangagwa administration’s push to attract investment in the mining sector, which has seen relaxation of policies and less monitoring.

“These policies, which are heavily influenced by political considerations, have facilitated unchecked extractivism, often at the expense of environmental sustainability and the dignity of local communities,” says the report.

“There is substantial evidence indicating minimal regulation and oversight of mining operations as government institutions tasked with these responsibilities are often reluctant to intervene due to political implication.”

Zimbabwe’s mining sector contributes about 12 percent of the country’s GDP and 80 percent of exports.

Chinese companies have in recent years invested heavily in lithium mines and are also exploiting gold, diamonds, platinum, coal, chrome and nickel.

“Evidence on the ground shows a widening rift between Chinese nationals and their Zimbabwean employees and host communities,” the report said.

“Increasingly, ordinary Zimbabweans are accusing China of exhibiting colonial traits. Videos have emerged of Chinese nationals treating their Zimbabwean employees in a cruel, inhuman and degrading manner. Labour unions and civil society organisations have repeatedly raised concerns over human rights abuses in Chinese enterprises.”

In July, Zimbabwe deported two Chinese nationals after a viral video showed them assaulting two mine employees.

Read: Zimbabwe deports Chinese in viral video assaulting mine workers

The two were tied to a bucket of the front-end loader before it was lifted with them hanging by their hands as punishment for allegedly stealing diesel.

CNRG said relations between Chinese nationals and locals in the coal mining town of Hwange had seen police set up a complaints desk specifically to handle issues involving business operations from the Asian country.

Some 13 coal mining companies from China that are operating in the area are accused of fuelling pollution and environmental degradation. 

Residents have repeatedly petitioned Parliament to enact legislation that could curb the malpractices by the coal miners and staged multiple demonstrations to no avail.

“Whilst China has defended its growing influence in Zimbabwe as a testament to the longstanding historical ties between the two countries dating back to the liberation struggle, this narrative is in contrast to the growing public sentiments against Chinese investment in Zimbabwe,” the report added.

“Local communities have not been meaningfully consulted regarding Chinese-led projects and the entry of Chinese-owned companies has been met with significant community resistance. These conflicts are likely to persist until the rights of communities are respected and their meaningful participation in the governance of natural resources is assured.”

CNRG said the majority of the people it interviewed for the research believed that the relationship between Zimbabwe and China was “highly exploitative” and highly favoured Beijing’s economic interests.

Last year, Zimbabwean labour unions wrote to the government demanding that it investigate Chinese employers, whom they said had become notorious for torture, beatings, gender-based violence, low wages and a host of other labour transgressions.

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions accused government officials of shielding abusive Chinese employers.

Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe Zhou Ding said the accusations are often exaggerated. 

“I would like to reiterate that the Chinese government consistently requires Chinese enterprises overseas to abide by the laws and policies of the host countries, including Zimbabwe,” he said.

 “According to the Zimbabwean government’s assessment and our embassy’s observation, the majority of Chinse companies operating in Zimbabwe are law-abiding and conscientious corporate citizens welcomed by the government and local people. Indeed, there are very few Chinese investors having some problems in their operations, but they do not represent the whole picture of Chinese investment and should not be used to negate Chinese companies’ contribution to the development of Zimbabwe.”