Victor Mulangisi
4 April 2008
Gaborone — The influx of foreign investors in the retail sector has in recent years been conspicuous and a remarkable achievement for a country allegedly buried in irretrievable economic ruin.
The corporate tax collector is smiling over her balance sheet. However, there is the darker side that is not pleasing to the ordinary citizen in the street in Botswana and Zimbabwe. The Chinese business community has dominated this sector and affected many reputable establishments. All sorts of merchandise ranging from cheap shoes, radios, television sets, drugs and perfumes are selling like hot buns.
Local entrepreneurs, as a result, have folded up as they have been outpaced in the race by the Chinese trader. Pressure to repay loans to financiers and gain speedy dominance over their competitors has led many aspiring Zimbabwean businesses to collapse. The main sufferers are the local employees who are left out in the cold. Expectations in the SADC region and elsewhere in Africa were high that the arrival of the Chinese investor would help absorb the growing army of unemployed youth. This happened in the initial stages but diminished later, leaving hapless youths, particularly in sanction-ridden Zimbabwe, roaming the streets or fleeing into neighbouring countries like Botswana and South Africa.
However, though the Chinese desire to invest in Zimbabwe and the SADC region in general is commendable, the trade unionists are agitating for reform, arguing that these investors from the Orient must be rational in their race to maximise profits and look at the plight of their local employees. Local workers are being paid as little as ZW$300 million or less than P100 per month regardless of the fact that inflation has eroded the Zimbabwean dollar. Yet Chinese shops in both countries are open seven days a week from 6:30 am to 6:30 pm.
Unionists here agree that trade liberalisation is good and works well in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). But there must be checks and balances so that the governments, investors and workers can all reap the benefits. Collective bargaining is a viable avenue to settle labour matters. But the Chinese pretend that because of poor grasp of the English language, they do not understand the statutory instruments governing the welfare of their employees.
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