White Zimbabweans returning in droves, Chinese expanding operations in Zimbabwe
Food for Thought
There’s a quiet reversal happening in Zimbabwe that few are talking about. White Zimbabweans are returning, Europeans are investing, and the Chinese are expanding their foothold. They’re buying farms, opening lodges, mining, building, and trading. What they’re not doing, is talking about politics.
Meanwhile, many Black Zimbabweans, especially those in the diaspora, remain frozen by frustration and distrust. Politics has become a reason not to engage. Every opportunity is interrogated through the lens of who’s in power rather than what’s possible.
Understandable, perhaps, but increasingly costly.
Is it Politics Paralysis? For many Black Zimbabweans, the trauma of past politics still runs deep. Corruption, marginalisation, and broken promises have turned optimism into suspicion.
But this paralysis has created a vacuum. While we debate online about rigged elections and bad governance, others are on the ground, leasing farms, setting up ventures, and quietly rebuilding industries.
The difference is simple.
Others see Zimbabwe as a business proposition. We see it as a political battlefield.
This is a Pragmatism Gap. White and Chinese investors treat risk as part of the deal. They build relationships, make pragmatic compromises, and focus on returns. Many Black Zimbabweans, by contrast, are waiting for a “clean” system before they move, a perfect government, a fair policy, a reset. But perfection never comes.
South Africans, Nigerians, and Kenyans invest in their countries despite political chaos. Why can’t we?
There is Irony in our Absence. The land our ancestors fought for is slowly being rejuvenated by outsiders. Diaspora Zimbabweans, meanwhile, invest heavily in Johannesburg, London, and Perth, anywhere but home.
Every year, we surrender a little more ground, not by force, but by neglect.
It’s an irony of history. Those who once owned and lost Zimbabwean land are back tilling its soil, while those who inherited it are waiting for “change.”
The Real Question is not whether the Chinese or Europeans are clever or bold. It’s whether we still believe in our own country enough to take risks on it. Economic power changes nations faster than slogans.
So, maybe it’s time to stop waiting for political reform and start writing business plans. Time to stop asking who’s in power and start asking what’s possible.
Because the truth is simple.
Zimbabwe is far from perfect, but it’s still ours. And if we don’t claim its future, others will, as they already are.
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