Online Reporter
Business Reporter
Zimbabwean businesspeople should desist from making statements targeting foreign businesses operating in the country that can be misconstrued as xenophobic, according to Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube.
Minister Ncube made the remarks on Monday during a 2026 Post Budget Breakfast Meeting in Bulawayo, while responding to Grain Millers Association Matabeleland Chapter vice chairman, Mr Nthokozisi Sibanda, who called for Government to protect local businesspeople against businesses especially those operated by the Chinese.
The Post Budget Breakfast Meeting in Bulawayo on Monday and another one held in Harare on December 08, were organised by Zimpapers and the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries in partnership with the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion.
“Coming to … the Chinese, I am always concerned when we single out a nationality. From now on, never refer to Chinese again. That is my strong advice to you. Why? Because that is how xenophobia starts. We Zimbabweans have been subject to xenophobia. These (the Chinese) are individuals that we have welcomed in our country. They are doing business.
“And by the way, they are going to areas where we, as Zimbabweans are surprised of. They teach us a few tricks because they have high appetite for business. Is that not the case? They are going to areas where Zimbabweans do not even know. So, I think we should be more accommodative for these foreign citizens. It is one thing to complain about a reserved sector. Say if they are in a reserved sector, clearly they are not in the right sector. But they are free to operate, as long as they are here legally,” said Prof Ncube.
The Chinese have earned the tag Zimbabwe’s all-weather friends because at a time when the Western countries ganged up against the country in the early 2000s when Harare embarked on a hugely successful land reform programme, the Asian giant was one of a few countries that stood by Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe was ostracised by the West, lost billions in the form of lost business opportunities and goodwill, while individuals and companies had serious bottlenecks while transacting in US dollars as the United States Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) intercepted money destined for Zimbabwe.
Some international and local financial institutions were also penalised for facilitating transactions involving Zimbabwean businesses.
Said Prof Ncube: “They have risked their own capital. What’s our problem? I really urge you on this one. I used to leave in a country where people used to complain about nationals of Nigeria. There was a conversation… I was quite distraught about that because I am very sensitive to xenophobia. There was a conversation with a former Air Commodore. There was a Commander in Nigeria before 1980. He pulled out his payslip. There was a line where there was a deduction from the Treasury of Nigeria from his payslip. That amount was what was given to a fund, supporting liberation in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia. Do you understand? So next time you meet them, be more respectful.”
There have been some disturbing cases of violence involving Zimbabweans and some Chinese workers and entrepreneurs, majority of whom are into mining, brick making and cement manufacturing among other sectors.
By complaining about Chinese businesses, Zimbabweans expose their lack of business skills and innovation. Can you imagine the Chinese coming to Zimbabwe to invest in mining, agriculture, power generation and manufacturing while our millionaires are busy buying cars and distributing them to people who don’t need them then turn around and blame the Chinese for exploiting our natural resources? We were standing on this gold and chrome for decades, why didn’t we mine them before the coming of the Chinese? Cement is made totally from the country’s natural resources, why didn’t we build cement plants before the Chinese came in to build theirs? Bricks are manufactured from soil in Zimbabwe. Where have we been when the Chinese came in to make bricks for us? It’s absolutely stupid for any Zimbabwean to complain about the Chinese businesses here. We are not prohibited from investing in big businesses in this country. Let’s build another steel plant before the Chinese do it for us. Stop investing in miserable businesses and go big.