Frank Mwenefumbo’s response to a
question on what the UDF would do about the illegal logging and mining by
Chinese nationals during the running mate’s debate should send shivers in
Beijing and at Area 12.
Mwenefumbo started his response by saying it
is not just the Chinese doing the plunder and wondered why there are no strict laws for
immigrants in Malawi like there are abroad and then he dropped the bombshell:
“The UDF will make tougher
immigration laws, and as for the aforementioned Chinese…The Chinese, I
personally do not see their value here because when they bring their money,
their loans, they bring their own workers
and Malawi does not gain a thing and yet we will give back this loan,
this , the UDF government will look into and to be honest we should wary with
the coming of the Chinese, the do not add value to our economy.”
Applause ensued.
The moderator got spooked and
asked if that policy would not scare investors. Mwenefumbo stood his ground.
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| Didn't Hold Back - Mwenefumbo |
UTM’s response was tame and beat
about the bush but it also hinted to taming migrants and bemoaned the lack of laws.
The MCP took a dig at the Chinese who
come to open bars in
rural areas and indicated that the country should only
invite ‘real’ investors.
PP’s Jana gave an interesting
response saying the tough laws are already here and pointed at the judiciary as
part of the problem of the laws being ignored.
Now, maybe, Jana meant to point
that finger at the Police who need to enforce the law, but the bigger story
there was the unified anti-China statement that echoed from the debators and the
audience.
Now here is my take.
First, let us do the
fact-checking. The Chinese - be it through MUST, grants, loans, scholarships,
projects like roads BICC, cheap materials and as a market for raw material - do
add value to the economy.
As for everything else…
We indeed need to stop the poaching
and we indeed cannot just open our streets to anyone who wishes to come. That is
on one hand, on the other it is not the Chinese who locate the mines or forests
to plunder, they don’t shoot the elephants, they don’t fly into Malawi under
cover of night.
As Malawian working in China, I
cannot just get a job or start a business here without proper and sometimes excessive and prohibitive paperwork. I am not allowed to stay in 90%
of the hotels here, If I rent an apartment or even just move to a new city, I need
to register with the police within 48 hours.
So, as you can see, and as Jana
mistakenly pointed out, the problems are with our enforcers. If we shut out the
Chinese, the Nigerians will come, if we shut out everyone else, we will do it
ourselves. We do it well enough in Dzalanyama (which feeds Lilongwe with unchecked
illegal charcoal.)
If we want to protect our
resources, why not do it? Do Chinese force their way into the national parks? If
China was lawless, I could be a drug dealer, or also go and traffic some pandas
or start a prostitution ring, that is not possible because the Chinese are vigilant,
have the will to check and prevent and the operational tough laws to deter.
Also, why do the Chinese not cut
down forests in the UK and why do we never hear reports of illegal Chinese mining
in Canada or poaching in the Yellowstone National Park in the USA?
The problem is with our system
and these bad Chinese guys are just cashing in on an open gap. Here is where I also
need to say that the Chinese criminals need to be separated from the Chinese as
a nation. If a Malawian is caught
dealing drugs in Hong Kong, we do not expect it to be seen as representing government
or the people in Malawi as a whole. See?
On Loans and Investments
As for the unfair loans and the
projects that see cheap labour imported from China, it is the same thing as the
poaching and illegal mining. A loan is an agreement, it was signed and all
details fine-tuned and agreed to before it was given. If we want to prevent an
influx of Chinese labourers or ridiculous project arrangements, let us do so
before signing the agreements.
Implications
It will be very interesting to
see how the Chinese respond to this. They will make a mistake by siding with DPP
because it will mean admission of guilt. The best way is for them to deny the involvement
with criminals and declare that the laws deal with criminals.
China can also simply avoid these
issues by employing local labour, how this is such a hard thing to do baffles
me.
The Chinese can also do themselves
a favour by engaging in more areas than just trying to promote their culture
and business. This to me is a huge weakness on their part.
Marxist Links
Also interesting is the fact that
despite all the exploitation by Western nations, only China is being picked
out. No one is brave enough to point out how a few European families still own
almost half of Mulanje and Thyolo or that they also give us projects where we
can only buy products from their country or how they game the commodities
market to keep us poor.
I mean even the debate was
sponsored by the big guns, UK, US, Ireland and they were there in the front
seats like kings. Imagine if China attempted to sponsor the event!
So, yes, Chinese projects are unfair
in many ways and Chinese nationals are leading the plunder of our resources,
but to say we are powerless or victims is a lie, they never forced us not did
they come here by way of an invasion.
Lastly, while we examine the
Chinese, we should not forget the Americans, and Brits and these white folks
who have been fucking us since records begun.
Ciao.
