The Sunday Mail
JUST before the July 30 harmonised elections in 2018, Zimbabwe hosted an unusual visitor in the form of a bald US senator called Chris Coons.
He hoped that his visit — made possible by the new political administration’s decision to lift the ban on United States and European Union election monitors for the first time in 16 years — would ritually pronounce the last rites on ZANU PF, which is passionately abhorred in the Western world particularly for its unpardonable sin of having the nerve to redistribute land from a thieving white minority to a historically oppressed black majority.
A month before the elections — on June 16, 2018 — Coons, together with his posse of like-minded US senators, dangled the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery (ZDERA) Amendment Bill as a carrot for the post-ZANU PF incoming administration — preferably the MDC Alliance.
According to the US’s political calculus, there was no way ZANU PF could possibly win an election in a post-Robert Mugabe era shorn of the combative and incendiary political rhetoric of old, and where more than 61 countries and international bodies had been invited to monitor and prevent the age-old mythical “rigging” from the ruling party.
In a statement before the polls, Coons revealingly said: “This legislation (ZDERA Amendment) reflects our sincere hope that Zimbabwe makes a transition to a peaceful, democratic, just and prosperous nation. . . . A free, fair and credible election is a necessary, but insufficient step to increased levels and areas of co-operation with the United States. Zimbabwe’s leaders must also commit to a peaceful and constitutional transfer of power in order to reflect the will of the Zimbabwean people.”
What was both implicit and explicit in the statement is the unmistakable link between the “transition” and “constitutional transfer of power” to lifting the embargo.
Another Senator, Jeff Flake, who was part of the US contingent that observed the elections a month later, also added in the same joint statement: “The upcoming elections are a once-in-a-generation chance for the people of Zimbabwe to move forward after decades of autocratic rule.”
In this context, moving forward could only be interpreted to mean a ZANU PF electoral loss.
Of course, we all know that it did not quite work out as envisaged.
Bishop Lazi, however, would like to draw your attention to Coons, a Washington foreign policy hawk that is also a member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
In this part of the world, this committee is infamous for its meddlesome and prescriptive directives to sovereign nations in the name of promoting democracy, human rights and similar sanctimonious gobbledygook.
But look at how democracy has worked out in Libya, which remains split in the middle, as the conflict between Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) and the Western-baked Government of National Accord (GNA) continues to fester ever since the assassination of Muammar Gaddafi on October 11, 2011.
And look how democracy has also worked out for Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria, among some of the countries that have been unfortunate enough to be caught in the crosshairs of the US’s foreign policy.
People never learn: It is never about democracy and human rights, stupid!
It is about America’s parochial interests.
In his memoir, “The Room Where it Happens: A White House Memoir”, John Bolton — Donald Trump’s former National Security Adviser — makes this point clear.
“Most important of all, this (war in Afghanistan) wasn’t a war about making Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, or any other country nicer, safer places to live. I am not a nation builder. I do not believe what is, after all, an essentially Marxist analysis that a better economic way of life will divert people from terrorism. This was about keeping America safe . . .”
Comprende?
Luke 6:43-45 says: “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
The plot
Understanding Coons, therefore, is key to assessing the US’s fears, threats, weakness and, most importantly, strategies and future plans, which is critical to Zimbabwe, as it remains encumbered by overt and covert actions to cripple it economically and usher in the much sought-after “transition” and “constitutional transfer of power”.
In June 2018, he, together with some of his fellow senators, wrote a long missive to Donald Trump warning him about the dangers and threats posed by China’s ascendancy.
“We write to you to express our deep concern about growing Chinese influence operations around the world, and the implications for US institutions, alliances, and the international structures that support American prosperity,” read part of the letter, adding: “In the United States, China’s influence operations have been subtle but are becoming increasingly apparent . . . Beijing has also sought to use relationships with American academic institutions and student groups to shape public discourse. In some cases, the vehicle for such influence has been through the leadership of Chinese educational and cultural centres on campuses, known as Confucius Institutes . . . Indeed, without developing a clear strategy to counter these efforts, the independence of democratic societies may be at risk.”
Well, Washington has since reacted by mobilising a “war chest” amounting to US$300 million “to counter the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party” in the five years through 2026, which translates to US$60 million annually. In the world of shadows, things are rarely what they seem, as there is often more than what meets the eye.
It is not fortuitous that we are beginning to see well-co-ordinated not-so-subtle attacks variously disguised as either human rights or environmental activism on local Chinese businesses.
And Afrochine, a unit of China’s Tsingshan Holdings, the world’s biggest steel producer, has unsurprisingly been the victim of this shameful offensive, which often feeds off xenophobic and Sinophobic stereotypes.
To date, Afrochine, more than any other foreign investor in the recent past, has sunk in millions in new investments in chrome smelters, a coal mine (Dinson Colliery in Hwange) and is also currently lining up an iron ore mine near Chivhu.
It is undoubted that the scope of these projects, which will culminate into a multi-billion-dollar integrated steel business, would be hugely impactful for the local economy, which is already showing strong signs of growth.
But other Chinese investments, which are also making a mark in the economy, especially in mining, are being similarly targeted.
For the US, these attacks kill two birds with one stone: They are calculated to throw spanners in the ED economic recovery and growth programme, including creating disaffection towards the Chinese.
The madness is only just beginning.
As we approach the 2023 elections, the noise can only increase in intensity and reach.
The Bishop warned you on June 27 when he observed: “Those who know what the Bishop knows, know that mining activities are the highest they have ever been in the country’s recent history . . . Have those Western-sponsored non-governmental organisations (NGOs) begun sponsoring distracting headlines on environmental degradation, community disruptions and pollution yet? Sooner or later, they will most assuredly do?”
Verily, verily, I say to you, you will surely begin to see contrived headlines about mining in conservancies, game parks and heritage sites with obscene regularity, and the Chinese will naturally be implicated.
While some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) used to be the trusted journeymen for these hatchet jobs, the trend has now evolved to include a phalanx of outlier websites and shadowy social media platforms.
But Zimbabwe, which is always aware and ready to blunt such ill-conceived plots, knows that pigs will fly before such schemes become successful.
For the record, we have more than enough Government agencies and departments that can competently superintend over mining activities in the country. And we will also not accept lectures from pseudo-environmentalists who decimated their own animal populations but now want to pontificate to us about how to protect our wildlife.
With more than 100 000 elephants, against a carrying capacity of 45 000 jumbos, we demonstrably have more than enough habitat for wildlife and land for mining.
We cannot continue to boast of unexploited fabulous mineral resources when the majority of our people are still poor.
As ED has rightfully emphasised and re-emphasised, sweating our mineral resources will help pave our way to prosperity.
We are actually likely to see more, not less, mining activities in the medium to long term.
All the manufactured negative headlines and outrage will not amount to anything more than a storm in a tea cup.
Zimbabwe will march on regardless.
Bishop out!
