ZIMBABWE’S military splurged vast amounts of money,
exceeding US$90 million, on undeclared and opaque transactions to acquire new
and refurbished armaments from 2000 to 2016 at a time the country was gripped
by a debilitating economic crisis and political turmoil, Zimbabwe Independent
can reveal.
New data from international security think-tanks provide a
rare glimpse into the spending patterns of the powerful and influential
military in a country where even legislators are clueless about how the army
budget is structured.
According to the Stockholm International Peace and Research
Institute (Sipri) — a military intelligence think-tank — the defence forces
spent US$92 million between 2000 and 2006 and a total of US$647 million from
the country’s Independence in 1980 to date to acquire military hardware.
The Sipri report, titled Transfer of Major Weapons: Deals
with Deliveries or Orders Made From 1995 to 2019, for the first-time sheds
light on Harare’s acquisition of arms from Asia and Eastern Europe at a time of
economic collapse, while neglecting social service delivery and clocking up
massive debt.
Fearing potential mass protests that could be triggered by
the deteriorating economy, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration —
which came to power through a military coup in 2017 — in June last year bought
50 000 mortar bombs and 58 500 grenades.
At that time, the Independent also revealed that government
reinforced its arsenal through the acquisition of 3 343 AK47 assault rifles, 2
000 CZ pistols, 500 P1 pistols, 500 Steyr-223 rifles,500 Uzi submachine
guns, 500 Moseberg guns, 500 RPT guns,300 mortar tubes, 1
500 Tokarev guns,100 rocket-propelled grenade launchers and 22 943 AK47
magazines.
Although Zimbabwe has spent heavily on boosting its
arsenal, the country desperately needs a substantial financial bailout package
to rescue the troubled economy.
In 2016, the country received 85 refurbished units of
“large-calibre artillery” from neighbouring South Africa, the reports from the
think-tanks shows.
While it is not standard practice for nations to disclose
their armament acquisitions, Zimbabwe’s huge military spending — running into
millions of US dollars in that period — is being disclosed for the first time
by arms dealers, mostly from Eastern Europe. China, which upgraded its
bilateral relations with Zimbabwe to “strategic partnership and cooperation”
status in 2018, also sold an array of weaponry to Harare.
During the period when the country was experiencing
catastrophic economic turbulence, which saw Zimbabwe’s inflation rising to 1
500% in 2008 before there was relative stability the following year on the back
of a power-sharing agreement with the opposition parties, government spent huge
amounts of money to fortify Harare’s arsenal.
According to Sipri, Zimbabwe ordered 60 units of M43
(120mm) mortar in 1999 from Bulgaria and took delivery of the shipment in 2000
at a cost of US$1 million.
Notably, the report shows that the United States has not
exported arms to Zimbabwe since the country’s independence in 1980.
In that period, Zimbabwe’s economy suffered unprecedented
decline, triggered by chaotic land seizures, unbudgeted disbursement of
millions of dollars in compensation to veterans of the country’s liberation war
and the costly foray into the Democratic Republic of Congo’s civil war.
In 2000, gross domestic product shrunk to a new low, while
inflation quickened to 55,22% before peaking at 598,75% in 2003.
According to Sipri, Zimbabwe, isolated by Western
governments, paid US$55 million between 2004 and 2006 to China to bolster its
military arsenal. It bought a range of fighter aircraft and infantry fighting
vehicles (IFVs) in 2004 that included 10 units of Type 85 IFVs, five units of
Type 89/ZSD 89 armoured personnel carriers and six K-8 Karakorum jet trainer
aircraft. The purchases were made in 2004 at a time when the British government
refused to sell crucial spare parts to Zimbabwe for the maintenance of Hawk
fighter aircraft.
Zimbabwe had last received a shipment of military hardware
from the United Kingdom (UK) in 1992 at a cost of US$22 million, Sipri reports.
It has also emerged that in 2000, Harare, battling to
contain hyperinflationary pressures, bought six units of a self-propelled
armament known as the Stalin Organ in military parlance — technical
specifications RM-70 (122mm) — from Slovakia at a cost of US$1 million. A lot
of this weaponry was deployed in the DRC to keep the beleaguered Laurent Kabila
regime in power.
According to the report, the purchase of a fleet of six K-8
Karakorum jet trainer aircraft from China in 2006 cost Zimbabwe US$21 million.
Three years earlier, Harare had taken delivery of three
Mig-230M aircraft for US$15 million from Libya during the rule of Muammar
Gaddafi, who was later deposed.
According to Sipri, all the countries which sold arms to
Zimbabwe declared the transactions, but Harare did not.Sipri also shows that
Zimbabwe was active in the arms bazaars of Eastern Europe, where it bought a
range of aircraft accessories from Ukraine in 2006. They included 12 units of
AL-25 turbofan engines for the K-8 Karakorum aircraft. From 2001 to 2006,
Harare shelled out US$17 million to Kiev for military hardware, Sipri reveals.
Before 2000, when Zimbabwe still enjoyed cordial relations
with the West, the country purchased six SF.260 jet aircraft from Italy and 23
units of Almat APC (armoured personnel carriers) from France in 1998 and 1996
respectively at a cumulative cost of US$15 million.
In 2000, Harare took delivery of a fleet of six MI-24P
combat helicopter gunships from Russia for US$22 million.Sipri’s disclosures
follow revelations by the Independent in January that Zimbabwe was on the verge
of taking delivery of new fighter jets from Moscow in an arms-for-minerals
deal.
Under the murky deal, Zimbabwe would parcel out to Russia
vast mineral claims that include lucrative platinum mining rights in exchange
for Mig fighter jets.
Zimbabwe and a Russian conglomerate, including state-owned
arms manufacturer Rosetec, entered into a joint platinum mining venture in a
deal worth US$3 billion. This deal is not part of US$647 million purchases.
In 2014, the Zimbabwe National Army entered into a
contract, which is still running, with Boomslang Logistics for the
refurbishment of EE9 armoured vehicles, known as Cascavels in military
parlance.
Boomslang Logistics, headquartered in Dubai with a presence
in Zimbabwe and South Africa, has, according to its website, also sold
armaments to Somalia, Senegal and the DRC, among a long list of clients.
At the time of going to print, both Defence minister Oppah
Muchinguri and Army spokersperson Overson Mugwisi had not responded to
questions sent to them on the vast arsenal acquired, mostly from Eastern Europe
between 2000 and 2016.
A separate 2018 report by the International Institute of
Strategic Studies titled Military Balance lists Harare’s armaments, including
armoured vehicles, fighter jets, air-launched missiles and a paramilitary wing,
three years after the military toppled the country’s then long-time leader, the
late Robert Mugabe.
The report casts uncertainty on the future role of the
military in Zimbabwe’s polity.The think-tank notes: “In an overnight operation,
the army secured key operations in Harare and placed President Mugabe under
house arrest.
“The future political role of the military was uncertain as
of late November, though key officers were given ministerial positions. High
inflation and economic problems continue to be potentially destabilising . . .”
Since Zimbabwe’s Independence in 1980, the military has
enjoyed significant budgetary support, even as the fragile economy plunged into
catastrophic decline due to deep-seated corruption and mismanagement. Zimbabwe
Independent
0 comments:
Post a Comment