ZANU PF is seriously ticked off at Eddie Cross, a big-shot economist who used to be on the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's Monetary Policy Committee. They're mad because Cross made some wild claims about Chinese people in Zimbabwe.
Cross wrote an entire article on his website stating that over 85,000 Chinese people are living in Zimbabwe right now. He thinks they're not planning to stay forever, just long enough to make a lot of money off the country's minerals before heading back to China.
He also accused Chinese investors of bringing dirty industries to Africa. Cross says they're taking advantage of the continent's natural resources while dodging the tougher environmental rules back in China. He even traced it all the way back to when diamonds were found in Marange. Cross claims around $30 billion worth of uncut diamonds have been dug up since 2008, but only Chinese bigwigs and top military brass got rich. Meanwhile, the people of Marange are still dirt poor.
Farai Marapira, the head of information and publicity for ZANU PF, called Cross's claims a load of nonsense and said they're xenophobic. Marapira accused Cross of spreading "fake news" and messing with Zimbabwe's economic growth.
Marapira said Cross put a lot of effort into writing a bunch of nasty lies. Cross claimed there are 85,000 Chinese nationals in Zimbabwe, but Marapira says the real number is only 25,000, and most of them work in mining. He said they're here because the President has an open-door policy for investors.
Cross wrote an entire article on his website stating that over 85,000 Chinese people are living in Zimbabwe right now. He thinks they're not planning to stay forever, just long enough to make a lot of money off the country's minerals before heading back to China.
He also accused Chinese investors of bringing dirty industries to Africa. Cross says they're taking advantage of the continent's natural resources while dodging the tougher environmental rules back in China. He even traced it all the way back to when diamonds were found in Marange. Cross claims around $30 billion worth of uncut diamonds have been dug up since 2008, but only Chinese bigwigs and top military brass got rich. Meanwhile, the people of Marange are still dirt poor.
Farai Marapira, the head of information and publicity for ZANU PF, called Cross's claims a load of nonsense and said they're xenophobic. Marapira accused Cross of spreading "fake news" and messing with Zimbabwe's economic growth.
Marapira said Cross put a lot of effort into writing a bunch of nasty lies. Cross claimed there are 85,000 Chinese nationals in Zimbabwe, but Marapira says the real number is only 25,000, and most of them work in mining. He said they're here because the President has an open-door policy for investors.
