Chamisa's irresponsible talk could cost us jobs

Nelson Chamisa has said a lot of irresponsible things over the last few months since he became leader of the MDC. Perhaps the worst to date was when he publicly claimed that the U.S. Administration had promised him $15 billion. Of course, it was a complete lie and he was caught out on it. It made him look like a fool and damage was done to his personal reputation but hopefully no long-term diplomatic ramifications ensued.

However, his latest irresponsible remarks are likely to cause irreparable damage.

Addressing hundreds of workers commemorating May Day in Dzivarasekwa Tuesday, Chamisa vowed to kick out Chinese investors from the country. "We will kick out the Chinese companies," said the MDC-T leader.
It is hard to comprehend the level of irresponsibility behind these words.

Chamisa, the leader of an opposition party vying to become leader of Zimbabwe wants to spit in the face of a nation that is helping us rebuild our economy and is investing billions that will create countless jobs and propel our energy sector which is in desperate need of assistance.

He would chase away China's Sinohydro, the company which is investing $1 billion to expand the Hwange Thermal Power Station by 600 megawatts. Chamisa would end the expansion project at Kariba South Hydro Power Station which added two 150-megawatt units to the power plant, at the cost of US$533 million.
This expansion lifted Kariba's installed capacity from 750 MW to 1,050 MW, making it currently the country's biggest power plant.

The completion of Kariba expansion and implementation of the vast Hwange Thermal Power project will greatly boost Zimbabwe's power supplies and help the country, which faces perennial power shortages, to be energy self-sufficient.

So if Chamisa gets into power we can expect a return to massive power outages, a lack of electricity and a nation in darkness.

This is Zimbabwe's future without this welcome Chinese investment in our energy sector, investment that President Mnangagwa has worked hard to achieve.

However, it is not just in energy that the Chinese are investing.

On a recent state visit to the People's Republic of China, President Mnangagwa managed to strike deals worth billions of U.S. dollars for the implementation of various infrastructure development projects in water, transport, tourism and telecommunications, among other sectors.

The two countries also signed numerous agreements to advance economic cooperation, skills development, education and other facets of the economy.

Other mega projects sealed by President Mnangagwa in China are for the expansion of Harare International Airport, construction of a new parliament building, network expansion for Zimbabwe state-owned mobile firm NetOne, refurbishment of Harare's water treatment plant and construction of a pharmaceutical warehouse, among others.

The two countries also signed a tourism memorandum of understanding and an economic and technological cooperation agreement.

When one counts the amount of investment that Chamisa would chase away, it totals many billions of dollars.

Of course, Chamisa has not raised a single dollar of foreign investment promises from anywhere, his dream of America's $15 billion notwithstanding.

However, Zimbabwe can not function on dream and noise. It can however function on investment and the creation of countless jobs for our unemployed citizens. It can function when foreign exchange is seeping into our country.
Only a madman shoos away someone who wants to spend money.

Moreover, Chamisa's remarks will be noted far beyond China. Potential investors who are looking to invest in our country and its people will be extremely hesitant about putting their money in a country where a presidential candidate looks ungrateful and vengeful.

They saw this type of behaviour under Mugabe where he rashly chased away investors for domestic reasons and always put his political ambitions ahead of the country.
We can not afford to return to those dark times and talk like this scares of governments and foreign investors.

Let Chamisa for once start talking about his vision for the country rather than trying to harangue the president even over his successes. Perhaps then the country might see him as a responsible and statesmanlike leader.

At the moment, he is extremely far from that. In fact, with more comments like this we will once again become a pariah and isolated nation with no one wanting to invest in our nation.
 
Charles, Harare (student)