Zim war vet widow loses land
The widow of Zimbabwean liberation fighter, Vitalis Zvinashe, has reportedly been forced to give up a huge part of her land to a Chinese investment firm that was allegedly given the land to set up a ceramic tiles factory under controversial circumstances.
According to the privately owned Standard newspaper, Sunny Yi Feng (Zimbabwe) (Pvt) (Ltd) was already clearing the land after being given part of the farm by land and rural resettlement minister Perrance Shiri.
The Chinese firm told Margaret Zvinavashe to clear her crops to make way for the development of the property, the report said.
In a letter dated 6 September the Chinese company was expected to have started building on the property last month and begin production in ten months.
But an unnamed government official said the minister did not have the authority to parcel out urban land, as this was a prerogative of the local government ministry and Norton town authorities.
Loan deals
China has been considered the “biggest trading partner” by many African governments, but in recent months it has been “accused of pursuing a predatory, unethical resource-driven colonialism which included extracting the continent's mineral wealth at knockdown prices to propel its economic growth”, said a report by the privately-owned Zimbabwe Independent newspaper.
It was accused of building a colonial empire in Africa in the same way European powers did in the 19th century, the report said.
A senior diplomat from the Chinese embassy in Harare, however, said that the Asian powerhouse's loan deals did not involve host countries mortgaging their resources to China.
He said the claims were being spread by the West, as it feared China's involvement in Africa and elsewhere.
The report said that Harare owed Beijing up to US$300 million in arrears from previous loans.
NEWS24
According to the privately owned Standard newspaper, Sunny Yi Feng (Zimbabwe) (Pvt) (Ltd) was already clearing the land after being given part of the farm by land and rural resettlement minister Perrance Shiri.
The Chinese firm told Margaret Zvinavashe to clear her crops to make way for the development of the property, the report said.
In a letter dated 6 September the Chinese company was expected to have started building on the property last month and begin production in ten months.
But an unnamed government official said the minister did not have the authority to parcel out urban land, as this was a prerogative of the local government ministry and Norton town authorities.
Loan deals
China has been considered the “biggest trading partner” by many African governments, but in recent months it has been “accused of pursuing a predatory, unethical resource-driven colonialism which included extracting the continent's mineral wealth at knockdown prices to propel its economic growth”, said a report by the privately-owned Zimbabwe Independent newspaper.
It was accused of building a colonial empire in Africa in the same way European powers did in the 19th century, the report said.
A senior diplomat from the Chinese embassy in Harare, however, said that the Asian powerhouse's loan deals did not involve host countries mortgaging their resources to China.
He said the claims were being spread by the West, as it feared China's involvement in Africa and elsewhere.
The report said that Harare owed Beijing up to US$300 million in arrears from previous loans.
NEWS24
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