Maravi

Letters - Chinese Investment In Zambia And The Shooting At Collum Mine

Call for closure of Collum Coal Mine
By Mubanga Luchembe
Thu 04 Nov. 2010, 03:59 CAT

Editor,

I cannot help responding in support of the National Union of Commercial and Industrial Workers (NUCIW) deputy general secretary in charge of finance and administration Adams Chipeta for having demanded the closure of Collum Coal Mine pending resolution of all unresolved safety, health, financial, legal and compensation concerns.

Locals who were not shocked by the shooting of about 11 Zambians working for this Chinese-owned mine in Sinazongwe, perhaps, do not understand Chinese investment in Zambia at all. China, contrary to MMD’s official claims, does attach conditions to its investments. For instance, the profits are externalised, leaving the locals poorer and empty-handed. The working conditions are also terrible. Unlike the MMD ruling elite who enjoy all the deal outcomes, the rest of ordinary Zambians languish in abject poverty.

Albeit the close ties between Zambia and China go back decades, today Zambia is not only the destination for an ever-increasing number of Chinese goods, but also its nationals – doctors, farmers, engineers, shop owners and market traders among others.
Not only are the Chinese seen as killing local businesses, but their commitment to health and safety regulations is questionable.

Medicines are labelled in Mandarin in breach of Zambian health legislation. These are immoral and harmful things which ordinary Zambians must all stand up against.
Let us be clear, Chinese do not treat locals as human beings. To the Chinese, locals do not deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.

So what is to be done? Calls for closure of Collum Coal Mine are justified and must be heed. But structural change is also needed and educating the Chinese managers in local labour, health and safety regulations - with great emphasis that Zambian workers deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.

Yes, Zambian workers should be taught that Chinese migration can also be a positive force for economic growth. After all, Zambia’s relative success can, in part, be attributed to the arrival of skilled, entrepreneurial labour from China.

Still, without saying much, the response to Chipeta’s demand must come quickly and decisively from the MMD leadership.

Failure to do so could mean that union and government leaders will be fire-fighting Chinese-related labour disputes at Collum Coal Mine and other Chinese-owned businesses for some time to come.

Mubanga Luchembe,

Lusaka

Labels: ADAMS CHIPETA, CHINESE COLLUM COAL MINE, MUBANGA LUCHEMBE, NUCIW

posted by MrK @ 7:33 AM