LONDON We were very interested to read this week about the mysterious Chinese businessman, Sam Pa, upon whom Mugabe reportedly relies heavily.
An article on the South African website Businesslive named the man as the financier of a covert operation whose purpose is to sustain Mugabe’s regime.
The article reads:
The details of the deal that this mysterious Hong Kong-based magnate has cut with Mugabe’s national intelligence chief, Happyton Bonyongwe, have not been disclosed officially and officials loyal to Mugabe and Bonyongwe deny any connection.
Oil-rich Angola, a rising economic power in Africa and the main source of China’s oil, was a prime example. He has also invested heavily in mineral-rich Guinea and Tanzania. Madagascar since the coup has been another focus of attention. Now it looks as if Zimbabwe is falling under the spell of this canny Chinese investor.
Pa conducts his business largely under the radar, keeps his name and face out of the headlines and is said to use a variety of different identities and nationalities which he changes with nonchalant ease depending on the country and situation he is in. In Zimbabwe, elements of the Bonyongwe deal have now begun to emerge and it fits his pattern of drawing members of a country’s elite into lucrative joint ventures so that, over time, he becomes indispensable to them.
Some disillusioned intelligence officers and party officials, unhappy at the way the country’s valuable mineral resources are being traded away for personal and electoral gain, have released what they know is happening. They allege that in return for diamonds and mineral resources to supply China’s booming economy Pa has provided funds and equipment to Bonyongwe’s Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) to enable it to deliver an electoral victory for Mugabe and his party.
Opponents of Mugabe and the many Zimbabweans wanting free and fair elections and democratic and accountable government will find it disturbing to learn that a secretive Chinese businessman, who schemed his way into Mugabe’s inner circle, has allegedly been underwriting operations to influence the outcome of polls in favour of Zanu (PF).
Pa has also ploughed money into vehicles for the CIO, providing the intelligence service with more than 100 Nissan pickup trucks, so increasing its operational capability against the regime’s opponents, the sources said. He was also involved in funding a CIO hearts and minds programme and Mugabe’s anti-sanctions campaign against Western governments headed by Britain and the United States which have hit Mugabe and key regime figures with a travel ban and asset freezes.
He has underwritten a seed and fertiliser inputs programme to win over the large farming vote which is vital for a Zanu (PF) victory. Most striking, the sources alleged that in early 2010, he had offered to match the salaries of the entire staff of the CIO, the police and the armed forces to ensure their loyalty to the Zanu (PF) cause.
Members of the Vigil most certainly do find this disturbing to say the least! – For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/. For the latest ZimVigil TV programme check http://www.zimvigiltv.com/
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