Russian President Vladimir Putin is on a charm offensive to bolster friendships in Africa as seen in developments happening at the second Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg, Russia.
Putin is behaving like a person booted out of a WhatsApp group, seeking friendships on the sidelines from former colleagues.
Largely, Russia, which is not a member of NATO, nor the Commonwealth has been largely viewed as an aggressor in the ongoing war with Ukraine.
America is Russia’s number one nemesis both economically and militarily.
And Putin seems to be saying; Look! America I am here and behold, the whole of Africa teems with my friends.
To put the icing on the cake, Putin has been dispensing gifts galore in St Petersburg in addition to making a spectacle of it.
It seems he has been in a good mood in the lead-up to this summit.
To President Emmerson Munangagwa of Zimbabwe, he gave a presidential helicopter to be delivered soon.
Government spin doctor, and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting, Nick Mangwana confirmed the development saying the blackbird will be gracing Zimbabwean skies very soon.
Optics from Russia showing President Munangagwa meek and humble rubbing hands in appreciation have been quite a spectacle.
President Munangagwa has also been seen playing around with a variety of handguns raising speculation he could be shopping for arms in Russia.
Putin, in addition also gave other 5 countries and Zimbabwe free grain to be delivered in under four months at Russia’s expense.
The other countries are Somalia, Eritrea, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic
and Mali. Each is to get 50 000 tonnes of grain on top of an assurance for more food security.
However, in response to the grain gesture, Munangagwa said “We are grateful. We are not in any grain deficit at all. We are food secure. He is just adding to what we already have”.
But it must be remembered that when Munangagwa came to power, he chartered expensive airliners from the Middle East for equally expensive junkets around the world.
In a show of obscene extravagance, the Gulfstream jetliner would fly many hours from the Middle East to land in Harare just to pick him up in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second largest city only an hour’s flight away.
President Munangagwa even visited far-flung countries such as Belarus signing mega deals and memorandum of understanding (MOU) that graced the generous pages of State newspapers but whose fruits are yet to cascade to the common man on the street.
At one point, he was pictured living it up in a Gulfstream jetliner serving himself cowlegs (mazondo), a delicacy popular with Zimbabwean males for its supposed aphrodisiac qualities.
Besides, it proved Munangagwa was uneasy about the threat of food poisoning in the wake of the coup that brought him into power. He only trusted home-cooked food from a personal chef at State House.
He survived an ice cream poisoning before at the height of factional battles in Zanu-PF. The former Army General Constantino Chiwenga had to order helicopter hundreds of kilometers away to airlift him from Gwanda to South Africa for emergency treatment.
He also survived a cyanide poisoning when one morning he found a white powder dusted up in his offices. His secretary who had been in first had to be hospitalized.
And again, one morning he found his office chair cut with a knife in a sure warning to his life.
And after the Bulawayo bombings that claimed the lives of two VIP bodyguards, he beefed up security with reports saying a strong contingent of 40 men is around him at all times.
Such has been his life with enemies lurking everywhere.
The bombings, whose plotter and executioner are unknown to this date showed mistrust and enmity in the upper echelons of Zimbabwean leadership.
The then Vice President, Kembo Mohadi and Defence Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri sustained injuries from shrapnel.
Zimbabwe has been getting gifts from almost all better-off countries including America even though the relationship is that of distant cousins.
China built a new US$200 million Parliament building in the Mt Hampden area of Harare as a ‘gift’ by the people of China.
Minister of Information Monica
Mutsvangwa said the new Parliament building is a sign of ‘deep relations between China and Zimbabwe’.
The imposing circular structure 18 kilometers outside Harare from the old Parliament building was funded by China Aid through a grant. It has six storeys and sits of 30 000 square meters. It will house members of the National Assembly and the Senate.
It was built by Shanghai Construction Group at the start of November 2018 and fully funded by the Chinese government ‘as a gift to the people of Zimbabwe’.
The National Assembly will accommodate 400 members while the Senate holds 150 members.
In total, it has 600 rooms for MPs and their supporting staff, conference facilities, 15 committee rooms, and a car parking area.
The whole construction process took 42 months but was behind schedule by 10 months due to delays attributed to the outbreak of the covid -19 pandemic.
Of course, China and Russia have long-standing ties with Zimbabwe and have been pivotal in supporting guerrillas during the country’s fight for independence from colonial Britain.
Moreso, China and Russia provided military training and logistics furtively and conspicuously to liberation war fighters scattered throughout the African region in addition to supplying arms.
Munangagwa himself went to both China and Russia during the war.
The question now is when ‘gifts’ are paraded in public, nobody knows what these countries get in return. The leaders are not transparent enough to keep the public aware of the nitty-gritty involved.
In world politics, it is a known axiom there are no free lunches.
The helicopter is not from Putin’s personal fleet. Russian citizens have a stake and would be interested to know what they get in return.
In recent years, Zimbabwe has seen an exponential growth of Chinese funding in mining, for instance, Anjin Investments that has been hugely involved in diamond mining in the Marange area in Manicaland province to the southeast of the capital Harare.
Reportedly, according to a recent joint statement by the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) and Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Mineral Workers Union (ZDAMWU), Anjin Investments is the lowest-paying diamond mining corporate in the country, a sure sign the Chinese miner is unperturbed by the labour laws of the country neither the welfare of its citizens.
They loot home the lion’s share of the super-profits without hindrance.
The Chinese are also heavily involved in
Lithium mining in the country which has Africa’ s largest lithium reserves.
Chinese lithium miner Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt fronted by its subsidiary Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe has recently started a US$ 300 million lithium processing plant in Goromonzi, 80 kilometres south East of the capital.
Lithium is in global demand and widely used in the manufacturing of batteries for electrical vehicles and solar systems.
Chinese entities are also involved in upgrades of airports in Harare, Bulawayo and Victoria Falls.
They also have a stake in refurbishing electricity projects in Hwange and Kariba.
In cities and towns, they have water reticulation projects making Chinese funding in the country hugely dominant.
The Russians have been interested in the chrome ore at Karo Mine and hence the gift.
For African youths, Putin has promised to give bursaries, scholarships in technology, education and a gamut of specialised sectors both on the continent and in Russia.
In addition, he has proposed that willing Africans learn the Russian language from ECD right through to the tertiary level.
Of course, Russian is spoken only in that part of the world but will enhance Russian influence on the continent.
This is being viewed as a subtle way to colonise Africa through language even though President Putin has not imposed it blatantly. These are baby steps to impending hegemony.
However, given that the education sector in the majority of African countries is in disarray and lackluster, I would suggest African leaders grab this opportunity with both hands.
If Putin is paying for it, grab it while it lasts. The youths are in great need of it. There are opportunities for the youths.
Education in Africa lacks funding, schools are few and far between, and good schools are expensive making it elitist.
In the case of Zimbabwe, it is not a secret that the education system is going downhill owing to a moribund economy.
Currently, no Zimbabwean university is in the top 1000 universities worldwide. According to the 2023 Times Higher Education rankings, universities in South Africa, Zambia and Namibia are ranked higher with the University of Zimbabwe (UZ), previously among the top performers coming at 2,201.
Zimbabwe and America ties are somewhat troubled. America is the world’s superpower and this relationship is not helping Zimbabwe any better. The two countries have been so since the late Robert Mugabe was in power.
Zimbabwe took its land from a 4000-strong contingent of white former farmers and gave it back to landless blacks previously crammed like sardines in a can on barren and unfertile soils.
White former farmers enjoyed the lush Savannah grasslands of Zimbabwe like some Biblical mana from heaven.
Europe has colder climes and the sunny, idyllic Zimbabwe scenery and weather made it a perfect haven for farmers, cattle ranchers to enjoy and do business.
These scions of colonial Britain owned vast tracts of land they forcibly took from natives by hook and crook.
From the bush war, there were agreements on land signed at the Lancaster House to the effect that whites would give back the land on a willing buyer willing seller basis.
However, the whites reneged on the promise for years leading to the country’s war veterans mulling an idea to invade and forcibly take back the land.
Land was a key issue as they waged war against colonial Britain.
Of course, there was chaos. The was a haphazard land redistribution exercise. New black farmers took ownership of vast tracts of land, many without any iota of expertise on farming.
There was a sense of Deja Vu country wide. But time showed they were ill-prepared for the task at hand. Many farms were left idle and hunger pervaded the country in the ensuing years.
Then America feeling aggrieved retaliated with trade sanctions on Zimbabwe. The infamous Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZIDERA) of 2001 is the blueprint that gives a moratorium on American corporations, companies and institutions to drop Zimbabwe as a business partner.
In the process, foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country wilted. Zimbabwe had to go cap in hand to China and other willing countries for aid and investments.
When Munangagwa came into power, he went on a charm offensive with the motto “Zimbabwe is open for business” in an effort to woo investors.
ZIDERA also had travel bans and asset freeze on the Zimbabwean elite including Robert Mugabe and wife Grace Mugabe, selected ministers, Service Chiefs and the Zimbabwe Defense Industry.
Now that Russia has given out invitations to Africans to learn Russian, as parents, are we prepared to let our kids learn a bit of the Russian language?
What do we say as parents?
I would say BRICS is growing as an economic grouping perhaps it’s to our advantage.
Russian in schools is a good thing. It brings in variety. Not that I support Putin in the war in Ukraine. I don’t support Putin in Ukraine.
But language is a vehicle of emotions in any way. We get to understand the complexities of other cultures.
Anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela warmed up to the oppressors by learning Afrikaans, their language.
Language is a skill that can open up the economy.
However, not to give him all the credit though, Putin might have subtle motives at heart. I see neocolonialism at play. We have to take everything vigilantly. Hated by America as a vile warmonger, Putin is sure to change the world order and it is not a pleasure for the Americans who feel threatened by his comeuppance.
When the war against Ukraine broke out, America had Russia by the chokehold imposing trade sanctions on Russia, the elite and their business empires.
Most American companies packed up and left Russian soil in a move meant to make Putin the Biblical leper of the world.
For Munangagwa, Putin has long been an enemy’s enemy that became a friend.
Zimbabwe remains among other African nations that have maintained neutrality in the Russia- Ukraine war refusing to publicly condemn Russian aggression.
And the Russian gifts can only mean one thing, Russia is in Africa to stay. It is for the long haul but definitely, these are coming at a cost to Africa’s sovereignty in the long term.
Image Credit: Alexei Danichev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
