If Zimbabwe wants to copy the Chinese model then start by hanging corrupt ruling elite

Former ZANU-PF lawmaker and political commentary chameleon Temba Mliswa recently took to social media to celebrate the passage of Constitutional Amendment Act No. 3 (CAA3).

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In his characteristic flourish, Mliswa argued that with presidential term limits successfully dismantled, Zimbabweans should abandon multi-party democratic friction and unite behind the ruling party.

His justification?

China.

China, Mliswa glibly noted, transformed itself into an economic superpower under a single-party state, proving that Western liberal democracy is not a “divine order.”

It is an old, tired rhetoric recycled by ruling elite apologists whenever they want to entrench authoritarianism: point east, wave at Beijing’s high-speed rail network, and declare that human rights and term limits are imperialist distractions.

But Mliswa and his cabal of tenderpreneur enablers are engaged in a staggering display of ideological dishonesty.

They want all the dictatorial unchecked power of Beijing without an ounce of its state discipline.

If Zimbabwe truly wants to adopt the Chinese model, let us start with the part our ruling elites convenient skip: Beijing’s ruthless intolerance for public corruption.

In China, economic success is built on state capacity, iron-clad discipline, and the terrifyingly real threat of accountability for public officials who abuse their positions.

President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive—targeting both high-level “tigers” and low-level “flies”—has investigated and disciplined millions of party members, cabinet ministers, executives of state-owned enterprises, and military generals.

Dozens of corrupt public figures and dishonest billionaires have faced execution or life imprisonment for embezzlement, bribery, and economic sabotage.

Now compare China’s fierce intolerance for corruption with Zimbabwe’s kleptocratic reality.

In Zimbabwe, corruption is not an offense; it is the primary revenue model of the ruling elite.

The very tenderpreneurs backing political manoeuvres like CAA3 thrive on inflated government supply contracts, illegal gold smuggling, central bank arbitrage, and state-subsidized plunder.

When money meant for public hospitals, roads, water infrastructure, and power generation vanishes into private offshore accounts and luxury vehicle fleets, nobody goes to jail.

Instead, the culprits are appointed to board positions, awarded higher national honors, or shielded by political patronage.

They are lauded as philanthropists and elevated into the ruling party’s highest decision-making bodies.

To invoke the “Chinese model” to defend a law designed solely to extend political tenure and shield an unproductive political class is pure hypocrisy.

China built a global manufacturing titan because its leadership enforced meritocracy, invested heavily in public infrastructure, and built state institutions capable of delivering tangible growth for over a billion people.

It did not achieve economic greatness by allowing politically connected elites to strip-mine the treasury while ordinary citizens starve under a high cost of living, power cuts, and collapse of basic services.

When Mliswa demands that Zimbabweans operate “in unison with the ruling party,” he is not asking for Chinese-style state capability or economic transformation; he is demanding total docility in the face of looting.

He is asking millions of citizens to surrender their constitutionally guaranteed right to choose their leaders, so that a handful of well-connected oligarchs can continue feast on national resources without the burden of opposition oversight, electoral accountability, or independent media scrutiny.

If ZANU-PF and its cheerleaders want to convince Zimbabweans that one-party hegemony is the blueprint for national prosperity, they must adopt the entire package.

Let us introduce China’s exact standards of public sector accountability.

Let us create a commission that strips the illicit wealth from every political tenderpreneur in Harare.

Let us pass laws that hand life sentences and capital punishment to politicians who siphon millions from the national treasury, inflate public works contracts, or embezzle public funds.

Until the ruling elite is ready to face the same severe consequences for corruption that Chinese officials face in Beijing, their invocation of the “Chinese model” remains a farce.

You cannot demand the absolute authority of China’s ruling system while practicing the absolute lawlessness of a banana republic.

Until our leaders match Beijing’s fierce anti-corruption execution, their talk of following China is nothing more than a cheap cover for permanent kleptocracy.

• Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to contact him on +263715667700 or mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com