Published by the government of Zimbabwe
8 July 2009
editorial
Harare — THE US$950 credit line from China, the first tranche of an estimated US$5 billion, could not have come at a better time for Zimbabwe, not only because the economy is in dire need of a financial injection, but because it is an invaluable lesson in statecraft and diplomacy.
We salute China for being an all-weather friend to our country from the days of the Second Chimurenga to the Third Chimurenga where China's voice was instrumental in defeating the machinations of some Western nations that wanted Zimbabwe on the UN Security Council agenda pursuant to illegal regime change.
It is providential that the Chinese loan facility was unveiled just days after Prime Minister Tsvangirai returned from his six-nation tour of Western capitals where he had gone to call for the removal of sanctions and extension of financial assistance to the inclusive Government.
The way the West treated the Prime Minister, the bits and pieces of funding that were pledged for Western NGOs under the guise of assisting Zimbabweans, contrasted against the backdrop of the unconditional Chinese facility puts into context the depredations of the Westerners who pretend to love Zimbabwe so much.
Already their media embeds are busy trying to trash the Chinese package.
What these media are failing to appreciate is that no amount of vilification or politicking will take away the fact that China has once again come through for Zimbabwe in its time of need, while the Westerners they laud as benefactors were found wanting.
The bridging package from China that constitutes over 60 percent of the US$8,3 billion the inclusive Government needs to bankroll the Short-Term Emergency Recovery Programme should tell us all that the sun does indeed rise in the East and sets in the West.
But maybe the Western experience served us right because we have a Look East policy but there we were traversing the West asking them to help us defeat their regime change agenda.
We must not forget that sanctions were imposed to make our economy scream as then US assistant secretary of state for African affairs Walter Kansteiner revealed in 2001.
We were naïve to base our revolution on a Western economy, let's not continue the naiveté of trying to look for assistance to attain economic independence from the same people we are fighting.
What we should only ask of the West is the removal of the economic sanctions that bar us from benefiting from our membership of multilateral lending institutions, nothing more, and nothing less.
History tells us that there is no funding with an investment capacity that has ever come from the West. What the West advocates and practises is planned poverty that sees them disburse alms for consumptive use, what they call "humanitarian assistance".
They do not disburse funds for capital projects that foster self-reliance.
To this end we must not look to the West for assistance to bail us out of our present challenges because to the Westerners, the sanctions have not yet achieved their intended objective, regime change that will depose and confine President Mugabe and Zanu-PF to the dustbins of history.
This situation thus bids us all to be masters of our destiny. As such, short of working hard to transform our economy with the assistance of our partners in the East we will remain mired in our present circumstances.
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2009 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
I bet this is a part of the stolen billions coming back to Zimbabwe as a disguise of credit which will be forgiven and Bob will say, "our eastern allies are our friends and we know we can trust them". That's why bob wants to look east, cause that's where the stolen billions are. hence why he paid 4.5 million for that hong kong mansion for his step daughter.
As always, The Herald is a big liar!
How much of blood diamond criminal Mugabe has passed on to China and how much of facilities has he extended to China in the mining sector in return?
Zimbos know the facts! I mean, true Zimbos who want to put order in the house! Not Mugabe's bootlickers!
Tsvangirai is trying his best to rectify things, but the Chinese authorities are experts at keeping things secretive, especially commercial deals that go against the people's interest!