[News] OT If you think we’ve got it bad, spare a thought for Zimbabwe

[ManOfSussex]

Sri Lanka has also had massive Chinese investment, They are buying power and influence all over the place.

Haven't they taken over a port they built that the Sri Lankan Government couldn't pay for as Chinese sovereign territory, much to the concern of India and its Navy?

 

[FatSuperman]

Botswana, Zambia, Namibia and Zimbabwe are just the same in regards to the Chinese.

Every major contractor on infrastructure in Botswana is Chinese.

On top of that, anywhere* that the Chinese are operating mines / logging concessions / etc, they have been illegally under-declaring the output and exporting far more than they say they are exporting, thus avoiding tariffs and royalties to the government.

*massive generalisation of course. In Mozambique they shut down all hardwood logging for a time last year whilst they investigated this.

 

[Pretty Plnk Fairy]

well be able to sing a new trade deal with them on March 30 so stop worrieing Tobies and feel the good vibes as both countries will bennefit

On are way

Regards
DR

 

[sydney]

Zimbabwe . . . nothing ever changes.

Other than it's name.

#ONE FOR THE KIDS

25 years ago Zimbabwe was a fantastic country , the bread basket of southern Africa , it is now a destitute shit hole being scarcely propped up by a couple of hundred expat Europeans who are praying beyond hope that something will change for the better , every cent /penny/mark/franc of foreign aid that goes in is pilfered by corupt, despotic, ****tards and sent overseas to offspring who are offered university places in UK , AUS, USA........****ing absolute joke of a situation and your piss poor attempts at a humorous riposte just underline how clueless some of you lot are about the real state of the world.........around 6 thousand ex army were sent out to Rhodesia at the end of WW2 , they were given large parcels of land to turn into farms , it took them about 25 years to make a decent fist of it , so much so that they were importing goods back to Blighty and the Rhodesian pound , under Ian Smith grew to the extent that it was stronger than sterling.......biggest mistake they ever made , rubbing the English's nose in it .....there was supposed to be a bail out clause but when it was needed ...1998--2001 Blair was too busy blowing smoke up GW's arse......truly disgusting stitch up and waste of ingenuity.

A beautiful country with some fantastic infrastructure and outstanding natural beauty pretty much gone to shit ......

 

[sydney]

Zimbabwe . . . nothing ever changes.

Other than it's name.



#OneForTheKidz.

On top of that, anywhere* that the Chinese are operating mines / logging concessions / etc, they have been illegally under-declaring the output and exporting far more than they say they are exporting, thus avoiding tariffs and royalties to the government.
*massive generalisation of course. In Mozambique they shut down all hardwood logging for a time last year whilst they investigated this.

the Chinese are all over southern Africa like a rash ......corrupt African officials filling their pockets.....foreign aid comes in from Europe supposedly to create jobs , the contracts are awarded to Chinese companies who bring in Chinese labour , huge lumps falling out of bridges because of shit and cold joints in the concrete......bollocks.

 

[Jimmy Come Lately]

Maybe not making the headlines (not that non-American foreign news often does) but this is currently on the front page of the BBC News site https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-46865007 and I think it's been on some of the BBC radio and/or TV bulletins this week.

 

[CPFC G]

Haven't they taken over a port they built that the Sri Lankan Government couldn't pay for as Chinese sovereign territory, much to the concern of India and its Navy?

Yep the new port at Hambantota on the south coast, China has also invested in the port in Colombo too. Past two presidents happy to get rich and allow it all to happen.

Colombo has become a Chinese building site, all a bit strange, in that its never going to be a popular destination. Lots of new 5 star hotels, Not sure there will be the people to fill them.

https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-sri-lanka-port-2017-story.html

 

[KZNSeagull]

Perhaps they need the old bugger to actually be dead before his malign influence starts to wane.

Not a hope. Neither Zanu PF or the ANC are going to give up power without a fight. Over here we tend to fight with words and generally respect the will of the people. We are not coerced into voting a certain way. Africa is very different I'm afraid. The plight of the desperately poor in the area in SA that I lived has only got worse but some would rather vote for the ANC than have whatever they do own burnt to the ground or worse in reprisals. You have to be extremely brave in SA and no doubt in Zim too to vote for anyone else.

 

[GT49er]

Not a hope. Neither Zanu PF or the ANC are going to give up power without a fight. Over here we tend to fight with words and generally respect the will of the people. We are not coerced into voting a certain way. Africa is very different I'm afraid. The plight of the desperately poor in the area in SA that I lived has only got worse but some would rather vote for the ANC than have whatever they do own burnt to the ground or worse in reprisals. You have to be extremely brave in SA and no doubt in Zim too to vote for anyone else.

Fair enough - obviously I acknowledge your first hand experience. Such a shame that that's the way it is.


Still think the world will be - just a tiny bit - a better place when the old murderous crook isn't in it any more!

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

Haven't they taken over a port they built that the Sri Lankan Government couldn't pay for as Chinese sovereign territory, much to the concern of India and its Navy?

Correct.

 

[carlzeiss]

the Chinese are all over southern Africa like a rash ......corrupt African officials filling their pockets.....foreign aid comes in from Europe supposedly to create jobs , the contracts are awarded to Chinese companies who bring in Chinese labour , huge lumps falling out of bridges because of shit and cold joints in the concrete......bollocks.

Stop all Foreign aid to Africa and the population will stabilize . The projected rise which will otherwise result in a population of near 3 billion by 2060 is simply unsustainable .

 

[sydney]

Stop all Foreign aid to Africa and the population will stabilize . The projected rise which will otherwise result in a population of near 3 billion by 2060 is simply unsustainable .

that is far too perfunctory I'm afraid.....doesn't fit anyones agenda.......what would all the aid agencies do...??

 

[RandyWanger]

Just received a link to this article from friends in Zimbabwe. Doesn’t make the headlines over here even though the country is facing total ruin with SA not far behind;

I literally just clicked on a link on the BBC website about the fuel issues over there. It's a 'feature' item so is getting some headlines.

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

I literally just clicked on a link on the BBC website about the fuel issues over there. It's a 'feature' item so is getting some headlines.

True. If you click on the BBC Africa section you will get a story about fuel price increases, but the BBC Africa news barely scratches the surface of what is really happening there at the moment.

 

[Wardy's twin]

Yep the new port at Hambantota on the south coast, China has also invested in the port in Colombo too. Past two presidents happy to get rich and allow it all to happen.

Colombo has become a Chinese building site, all a bit strange, in that its never going to be a popular destination. Lots of new 5 star hotels, Not sure there will be the people to fill them.

https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-sri-lanka-port-2017-story.html

Its so China has military bases ton the south of India.....

 

[Lenny Rider]

As a Commonwealth country we should have done more, especially with the white ex-pat community being persecuted, I can remember on the day of the election that Mugabe got in in the early 1980's, ITV News at One(with Leonard Parkin) aired a film report at the polling station, one old colonial lady came right up to the camera and when asked what she thought of the election, she replied "It stinks and so do the British government"

She probably wasn't far wrong, once went to a talk about Faith and Cricket by Henry Olonga, if you get the chance to hear him speak you need to, his tales of Zimbabwe and the Mugabe regime and ill treatment of both Black and White citizens is truly shocking.

 

[sydney]

As a Commonwealth country we should have done more, especially with the white ex-pat community being persecuted, I can remember on the day of the election that Mugabe got in in the early 1980's, ITV News at One(with Leonard Parkin) aired a film report at the polling station, one old colonial lady came right up to the camera and when asked what she thought of the election, she replied "It stinks and so do the British government"

She probably wasn't far wrong, once went to a talk about Faith and Cricket by Henry Olonga, if you get the chance to hear him speak you need to, his tales of Zimbabwe and the Mugabe regime and ill treatment of both Black and White citizens is truly shocking.

Hi mate ....there was serious talk of compensation for white farmers , the ones that got out in the 80's and headed south were actively courted by the dept. of primary industries & dept of agriculture to return , the catch was you needed to bring $ 500,000 U.S with you which needed to be used to set up a business and employ at least 12 Zim/Africans, my wifes parents were sucked in by this offer and sold a lovely house in Mossel Bay in the cape and moved back to Zim in 95 , they built a butchers , a bakery and a general store 20 km's out of Harare and enjoyed 4 years of blissful existence , her uncle borrowed 12 million US and constructed the largest privately owned dam in Zim ....it all went tits up Easter 2000 , we were there staying on the farm when the war vets turned up , drove a coach through the security gates and told us all we had 24 hours to get off their farm , over the course of the next few days they lost absolutely everything....100's of beautiful farms handed to war vets and politicians , most of them were just stripped of anything worth scrapping and have now reverted back to bush. My wifes uncle died with an outstanding dept of over 3 million US , the bank offered to take the farm and sell it to a Chinese tobacco growing consortium ( there were also mineral deposits on the land ) for 4 million , give him one million and pay the debt off but the Zim govt. wouldn't let it happen because there was absolutely nothing in it for them .

They found him in his armchair one morning ......not pretty.

Such a beautiful country but the people in charge are ruined by greed , corruption and a vehement hatred of whites......they know they are responsible for ruining the country but looking at the rest of Africa i suppose they think they are doing rather well , driving around in donated BMW & Mercs........whilst the plebs and povo struggle on a daily basis.

Not truly sickening compared to Yemen , Syria , The Balkans but still heartbreaking for those who have any connection to the place.

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

The Zimbabwe regime is today engaged in gross human rights abuses across the country, social media has been shut down and all comms have been shutdown. Soldiers are beating and killing people, civic and opposition members are being detained by the army.?

 

[sydney]

i notice there seems to be plenty of money for riot gear for the coppers.....ffs. makes me sick.

 

[vegster]

This is unfortunately what happens when you have not very bright people in charge allied with corruption. A warning to us here, Corbyn may not be corrupt but he sure is not very bright and neither are his close associates.

Excellent, only 15 posts in and the threat of Jeremy Corbyn tuning us in to a European Zimbabwe appears. Pitiful and improbable of course as no way would anyone vote other than to support Theresa May who is doing SO well ?

Listening to PMQ's yesterday Corbyn challenged May on the governments inability to adequately fund education ,health and policing and point out the increase in numbers of people in poverty since 2010 since the enforced austerity... Mrs May came back with an interesting reply in which she said that the government had in fact "Lifted thousands of people out of extreme poverty " Notice that ? the inference is, you just have to accept a certain standard of poverty as the norm rather than the exception. Well done Mrs May for convincing the country that poverty is acceptable in 2019.