Bulawayo 24: China unhappy with ZCDC-Alrosa deal

Bulawayo 24 News, a leading online Zimbabwean news provider, reported earlier tis month that Vice President, Retired General Constantino Chiwenga, is looking to engage China, help in the removal of President Emmerson Mnangagwa from office.

Mnangagwa's tenure in office is reportedly already hanging by a thread, as a faction in the military close to, wants him to voluntarily resign and make way for Chiwenga, after he has dismally failed to resuscitate the country's economy, which is now nearing total collapse in the face of the worst and unseen power outages in the nation's history of up to 18 hours a day, growing fuel and water shortages, a wave of extortionate taxes by his regime, and uncontrollable price escalations.

In addition, Mnangagwa is said to have angered Beijing by giving exclusive diamond exploration and mining rights to Russia's Alrosa, ahead of the Asian powerhouse.

Quoting diplomatic sources in the capital, diamond company executives and an official in the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC), "China is upset with the ruling Zanu PF leader, and [China] is about to play a hidden hand in his removal from power, as Mnangagwa has reneged on a political deal to give China unlimited and preferential access to Zimbabwe's vast diamond deposits."

Earlier this summer, Mnangagwa's administration gave Alrosa "a massive 70-percent stake in a joint venture with government owned Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) in Manicaland with a contract provision for possible expansion across the territory of the whole country.

Bulawayo 24  reported that prior to Alrosa's Zimbabwe entry, China had enjoyed access to mining diamonds in Marange, which is thought to be home to the globe's biggest diamond find carats wise in more than a century, with plans by Beijing to explore other deposits in the country, before its flagship diamond mining firm in the area, Anjin Investments, had its license controversially terminated by Mugabe in 2015 over accusations of diamond looting and corruption. Anjin is a joint venture between a Chinese company, Anhui Foreign Economic Construction Co. Ltd., and Matt Bronze Enterprises, which was formed by the Zimbabwe Defense Ministry and the Zimbabwe Defense Forces through an intermediary company.

"China though they might say otherwise actually removed Mugabe over the fallout in Marange diamonds mining," Bulawayo 24 quoted one of the envoys. "From what we understand in our circles your new leader made a political deal with the Chinese, to grant them exclusive diamond mining and exploration rights in Zimbabwe post-Mugabe, as they had facilitated his passage to becoming president. However he appears to have reneged on the pact, and has decided to choose Russia over China, now that's a very dangerous game and [China] will help remove Mnangagwa, because their economic interests in your country are increasingly coming under threat, from the Russians and the West. China is the one keeping Zimbabwe running, and they will make sure that a leader who protects their interests is in power."

The Chinese are not happy with Mnangagwa because of the diamonds saga," Bulawayo 24 quoted an OPC staffer. "Even communication channels are no longer direct, these days. President Mugabe always had a direct line to speak with the Chinese leader, but now we have to go through the Chinese Embassy, that tells you that all is not well. He's definitely leaving the presidency in 2020, whether he likes it or not, but you already know that."