Zim-Russia relations reinvigorated economically

Muchadura Dube
ZIMBABWE has caught the usual detractors, the West, who at the turn of the millennium slapped sanctions on the country with the vain hope of effecting regime change in favour of their pliable mental midget Mr Morgan Tsvangirai of the MDC-T who continues to experience electoral losses at the hands of Zanu-PF and its iconic leader, President Mugabe by surprise.

The recent successful State visit to China by President Mugabe, where mega infrastructural and financing deals were penned, was only a pointer to the good tidings ahead for the nation.

The Chinese business transactions are likely to produce thousands of jobs for the jobless amidst us and the resultant effect of such a result is the stimulation of aggregate demand which had plummeted due to diminished savings and to an extend non existent savings by the populace.

The economy will ultimately grow. The news that Russia has commissioned a US$3 billion platinum group of metals project in Darwendale, Mashonaland West, can only be the icing on the cake as it is the boost which the economy needs at this juncture.

With the Russians being endowed with high technological expertise and vast amounts of cash ready for investment, it is only total commitment to the economic goals as espoused in the national economic blueprint, the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio- Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset) which will take Zimbabwe to the next level of economic development.

The mere presence of Russian’s Minister of Industry and Trade, Mr Dennis Manturov, and that country’s leading diplomat and Foreign Minister, Mr Sergey Lavrov, signifies the importance which the Russian government is attaching to its relations with Zimbabwe. It is in the public domain that President Mugabe led the whole continent to pursue the Look East Policy when he noted the dangers of Africa and his country, Zimbabwe, being totally dependent on the unreliable and selfish Westerners. It has now dawned on the entire continent that Africa’s former allies in the liberation epoch, China and Russia, are trustworthy allies in the new struggle of economic emancipation.

There is a growing realisation that Africa’s liberation ally who helped with the guns to knock sense into the erstwhile coloniser is the only worthy ally in win-win economic ventures. The West is only interested in ventures that deprive the host populace whilst ensuring its citizens are well fed. It can only be advantageous for Africa to engage the Russians together with the Chinese to help build their economies, especially with regards to value addition and beneficiation.

Those doubting Thomasses, who hitherto saw no hope in Zimbabwe’s economic revival, should at least think twice given the interest shown by the world energy giant, Russia in this diversified economic portfolio which is ready to be tapped. Zimbabwe is blessed with minerals numbering more than thirty six with gold, diamond, platinum, lithium and copper being some of the prominent ones. The country’s minerals remain largely unexploited, hence, more investors are encouraged to solicit for joint ventures whose thrust shall be on beneficiation.

The investor will be excited to unearth that the Zimbabwean labour force is amongst Africa’s best given that the nation has the highest literacy rate on the continent. For those who want to invest in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), the country is sub Saharan Africa’s best with a mobile phones penetration rate of 113 percent and internet penetration of 58 percent. These high rates can only be useful to the total growth of the economy.

That Zimbabwe is a jewel, whose potential is yet to be fully realised, has never been in doubt; what has been lacking is the will to implement. The Zanu-PF led Government is now leading from the front, a sign of unbridled political commitment which the business fraternity should fully utilise.

Russia is a reliable partner to Zimbabwe as exhibited by that country’s solid stance when it stood on Zimbabwe’s side by invoking its veto power and blocked the Western powers’ evil intention to slap the country with a broad range of sanctions, including military invasion.

Mr Zalmay Khalizad, the American Ambassador to the United Nations and Mr John Sawyers, the British Ambassador to the United Nations led the crusade in the Security Council to vilify Zimbabwe and place punitive sanctions. The British and Americans’ duplicity and deceit in international relations knows no boundary, they are a cowardly lot who thrive on intimidation and bullying.

It took the grit and cool nerves of the Russians and the Chinese to dismiss these two vampires’ evil desire to destroy Zimbabweans through the enactment of diabolic sanctions. Zimbabweans should always be wary and vigilant when dealing with the British and their American poodle, as theirs has always been a looting agenda disguised under the banner of human rights and good governance. The British, under the war monger and criminal, Mr Tony Blair, committed war crimes in Iraq together with his equally culpable friend, Mr George Bush. The world still wonders why these war criminals still roam the streets free when they should be in jail for their crimes against humanity.

Zimbabwe needs allies like Russia which rose to the occasion in our time of need.

The commissioning of the US$3 billion platinum project in Darwendale is a testimony of Zimbabwe’s open door policy to any would be serious investor that the country is ready to do business with the whole world. Anyone with a burning passion to invest in Zimbabwe’s diversified economic portfolio is welcome. Indeed, Zimbabwe’s economic success story has begun as time will unveil.