cial visit to China last week after high-level talks with Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan. The purchase was reportedly authorised by President Robert Mugabe.
Although it was not possible to obtain the actual figures of the purchase, our sources said the transaction was approved by Cabinet in March, and ran into several millions of US dollars.
Zimbabwe plans to amortise part of the debt through a barter deal involving tobacco and proceeds from the sale of ivory.
The hardware was reportedly purchased from arms manufacturer China North Industries Corporation in a deal that was negotiated with Cao, who is also vice chairman
of China’s Central Military Commission.
Zimbabwe has recently had to “Look East” for its military supplies after an arms embargo was imposed by the EU and the US due to human rights abuses. Its armoury is said to be depleted due to a critical shortage of spares.
The government, at the helm of its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1980, had paid a deposit on the order and that the shipment of arms – which include bullets, military hardware spares, spares for the armoured personnel carriers, rocket shells and grenades – was due to take place within three months of concluding the deal.
The Zimbabwean heard that payments to the Chinese arms manufacturer would be initiated by a US$6million down-payment and after that, a supply of tobacco and ivory.
“The payment is in respect of a five percent down-payment for the purchase of the military goods by the ZNA (Zimbabwe National Army),” said our source.
Defence spokesman Simon Tsatsi was not immediately available for comment. But an official from the army public relations office said any military force had obligations to bolster its equipment holdings by new acquisitions in order to fulfill its designated roles.
The purchase comes at a time army is reported to be broke with Defence secretary Trust Maposa telling Parliament last month that there was no money to feed soldiers and to continue recruiting troops, although this was angrily refuted by government spokesmen.
Government has also been warned against mortgaging national assets to beef up its military armoury.
Post published in: News