By Thandiwe Garusa
FORMER Energy minister Fortune Chasi has called on Zimbabweans to stop blaming Chinese for environmental degradation, arguing that local corruption and weak governance are at the heart of the country’s mining-related ecological damage.
Chasi was responding to growing outrage over the ongoing destruction of Christmas Pass Mountain in Mutare, where the Chinese reportedly working in collusion with political elites are accused of tearing apart the landmark for mineral extraction.
There have been various videos on social media showing the destruction going on in the Christmas Pass Mountain with locals accusing the Chinese of damaging the scenic environment.
This comes at a time when mountains, monuments and escarpments are being destroyed countrywide by Chinese companies in the mining sector with examples being Boterekwa in Shurugwi, Muvaradonha Wilderness in Muzarabani and now Christmas Pass.
Responding to one of the debates on X, Chasi said while Chinese investors are often vilified for destructive mining practices, the real problem lies with local officials who enable such activities for personal gain.
“For years, we have blamed the Chinese for destroying our environment through mining, but the truth is harder to face, the real culprits are locals.
“Local officials sign the licences, local elites pocket the ‘facilitation fees’. Local silence allows rivers to turn into sludge. The Chinese did not corrupt our system, they found it already for sale,” Chasi wrote.
The former energy minister argued that environmental destruction in Zimbabwe reflects a broader governance crisis rather than foreign exploitation alone.
“This isn’t a ‘Chinese problem.’ It is a governance problem. If rules can be bought, someone’s selling,” he added.
“Every destroyed riverbed tells a local story, a signature, a bribe, a blind eye. Foreign miners only exploit the vacuum we created.
“Blaming outsiders has become a fashionable, convenient self-deception. Environmental destruction thrives because enforcement is selective and oversight compromised,” Chasi wrote.
“The reform we need is not about nationality; it is about integrity.
Until our institutions stop trading ecological integrity for quick cash, nothing will change. The Chinese did not destroy our mountains and rivers. Our signatures did,” he added.