Chinese Companies And The Abuse Of Zambian Workers

Workers cutting timber at Zhengbang Deheng factory
without protective clothing -Pictures by Melody Mupeta

By Paul Shalala in Kalulushi

At the time when the talk in the country is on the debt the Zambian government owes China, something more serious about the Chinese isn’t being talked about.

The hundreds of Chinese companies operating in the country are paying their workers meager salaries and conditions of service are very worrying.

On top of that, the workers who are based in factories are not provided with safety attires.

This is an area which is rarely in the news: the bad side of Chinese investment in Zambia.

This week, I accompanied Kalulushi District Commissioner Kenny Siachisumo and Kalulushi Mayor Rashida Mulenga who stormed Zhengbang Deheng Investment, a Chinese furniture company which keeps its 70 Zambian workers in slave like conditions.

The visit caught the Chinese owners by surprise.

The factory, which is located along Sabina road, is barricaded by high walls and people outside cannot see the atrocities happening inside.

What we found was shocking, workers handling raw timber with bare hands.

They wore torn shorts, no safety boots or overalls.

"We were given our last safety gear last year, its over a year now," said one of the male workers. 

At the far end of the factory is a machine which mixes chemicals which they later apply on the planks.

The chemical whose name is not know, chocks the workers daily 

"I have worked here for three years and this chemical chocks us daily. Even tears come out, its too strong," said one of the female workers.

Asked if they are given milk to try and neutralise the chemical, the lady said the Chinese supervisors do not respond to requests for milk and advise them to buy their own from their meagre salaries.

In terms of sanitation, the place is not in good condition.

The 70 Zambian workers share pit latrines which are filthy.

They are not stocked with tissue or any chemical to distill them.

"According to the Public Health Act, this situation warrants the closure of your company. Only 12 people are allowed to share a single toilet, but what you have here is wrong," warned Christopher Mtonga, the Chief Health Inspector from the Kalulushi Municipal Council.

Mr Mtonga went further to give the company 21 days to build a new ablution block which must have a provision for changing rooms where workers can change from work suits to normal clothes after working.

"But for the safety gear, am only giving you 24 hours to buy and give all your workers. We shall come back to check and if you do not do so, we shall close this company," said Mr Mtonga.

But the Zhengbang Deheng Investments Manager Wei Le hesitated to commit to building an ablution block in 21 days.

She threatened that if the Council insists on a new ablution block, she may close the company.

And a check at the toilets used by the six Chinese supervisors revealed flushable toilets with clean running water which is in contrast with the filthy pit latrines for the 70 workers.

The toilets are fitted with lights, as opposed to the pit latrines which are darkened due to lack of lights.

In terms of salaries, workers at the company make K25 ($2.5) per day and they get as low as K438 ($43) as salary per month.

According to a pay sheet which the manager availed to the inspectors, most workers are paid between K400 and K700 per month.

"The problem you have here is that you have no safety officer and a human resource officer. Urgently employ an HR officer, a Zambian who should be stationed here to resolve all these issues," said Kalulushi District Commissionner Kenny Siachisumo. 

And Kalulushi Mayor Rashida Mulenga added that the recruitment of a safety officer and human resource officer must be prioritised.

Kalulushi Mayor Rashida Mulenga talking to one of the
female workers at Zhengbang Deheng factory

But despite all these challenges, Zhengbang Deheng Investment has all updated permits from the Zambia Environmental Management Agency, the Kalulushi Municipal Council and elsewhere.

At the factory, the Chinese supervisors keep eight dogs.

The dogs bark at every person entering the factory and it is not known whether the dogs are pets or they are kept for food since the Asians include them on the menu.

Zhengdang Deheng Investments is not the only Chinese company where Zambian workers are abused.

Two weeks ago, a 42 year old Chinese national shot a female employee in a shop managed by the Chinese in Kitwe's Chimwemwe Township.

Gaoen Ming appeared in the Kitwe Magistrates Court on Monday and pleaded not guilty to unlawful wounding 17 year old Rhoda Mumba.

The case has been adjourned to next week Monday when trial will commence.

The shooting led to riots in Chimwemwe Township after rumours went round alleging that the victim had died.

This incident prompted authorities in the mining town to have a consultative meeting with the Chinese community over their business practices.

The meeting resolved that all Chinese retail shops in townships must be closed immediately and be moved to the Central business district.

"This move is aimed at ensuring that Zambians who run small shops are not disadvantaged. The Chinese are investors, they shouldn't be competing with our people in the compounds," said Kitwe Mayor Christopher Kangombe after the meeting.

And in the eastern Zambian town of Chipata, another Chinese national who owns a restaurant was arrested on Wednesday for shooting one of his worker.

Police are yet to avail him in court to answer for his actions.

These are just a few cases of the many cases of abuse of workers by Chinese nationals in Zambia.

Rashida Mulenga: Kalulushi Mayor With An Ambitious Plan

Kalulushi Mayor Rashida Mulenga (Center), Town Clerk
 Seke Mbulo (left) and Deputy Mayor Modester Kabwe
 (right) before a Full Council meeting last week

By Paul Shalala in Kalulushi

At 33 years old, Rashida Mulenga is one of the youngest Mayors in the country.

She was elected last year as Kalulushi Mayor during the general elections.

Rashida was not a surprise candidate for this position.

She has been an active member of the ruling Patriotic Front since 2011.

In 2015, she was elected PF Kalulushi Constituency Women’s Chairperson.

This is how her ambitious plan to serve the people of Kalulushi was born.

“Initially, I wanted to serve people at a different level, but the people themselves asked me to stand as a Mayor. This is because we did a lot of community work in Kalulushi,” said Rashida in an interview at her home.

She leads a male dominated council.

Out of the 22 Councilors in Kalulushi, only two are women.

One councillor, Febby Mulenga Simwanza of Lulamba ward is serving her second five year term while the other female councillor Maureen Mwape of Lukoshi ward is in her first term.

Kalulushi Councillors during a Full Council meeting last week

                                                             

Despite all this, Rashida dreams big for Kalulushi.

“We want to transform Kalulushi into an industrial town. We have already identified land east of the town where we want to take the Central Business District. We will move most government departments and construct shopping malls and hotels in the new CBD.”

Late last year during the Local Government association of Zambia (LGAZ) annual general meeting held in Ndola, Rashida was elected unopposed as the LGAZ Vice President for the Copperbelt Province.

This propelled her to the national executive committee of the organisation which represents Zambia’s over 1,600 Councillors, Mayors and Council Chairpersons.

Aside of politics, the Mayor of Kalulushi is a mother.

She has seven children to take care of.

Rashida is married to prominent Copperbelt businessman Godfrey Kangwa, who is popularly known as Shi Mumbi.

But how does she share time between family and politics?

“When am at home am a mother who helps the children with home work and I also cook for my mother. I need to do these house chores because as a wife, I need to do my traditional duties despite being a politician,” said Rashida.

Today, she maybe living her dreams, but the road to success has not been all rosy.

She at one time was homeless in Lusaka before she made it in life.

Kalulushi Member of Parliament Kampamba Mulenga

“Life has not been easy to me. After the death of one of my parents, we witnessed real property grabbing. I became homeless and guess who gave me shelter: the girlfriend to my stepfather. I want to encourage people who are suffering, you do not know what God has for you, stay strong and pray to him.”

At 33 years of age, Rashida may have achieved a lot in politics.

But she also has educated herself with the highest paper being a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Management Institute of Southern Africa which she completed last year.

This year, she enrolled at the same institution and she is now pursuing an Honours Degree in Public Administration.

For now as she continued being driven in her official mayoral vehicle whose number plate is KMC 1, the preoccupation of the first resident of Kalulushi is to see her town graduate from a municipality to a city in the near future.

Kalulushi only has one constituency and the Member of Parliament is also a lady Kampamba Mulenga, Zambia’s Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services.

Despite sharing the same surname, the Kalulushi Mayor and MP are not related.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was originally aired on TV1's Morning Live program on 9 March 2017. The TV report can be viewed on this YouTube link. 

Kampamba Mulenga: Copperbelt's Only Female Member of Parliament

By Paul Shalala in Kalulushi

She is the only female Member of Parliament among the 22 lawmakers on the Copperbelt.

Newly elected Patriotic Front Kalulushi Member of Parliament Kampamba Mulenga has fought her way to Manda Hill.

She was among several female parliamentary candidates on the Copperbelt who were adopted by various political parties to contest the August 11 parliamentary elections.

However, all her friends lost and she pulled through alone.

Her victory is good news for gender activists but the fact that she is the only female MP in the second largest province in terms of registered voters, is a source of worry to people who follow women politics closely.

Between 2011 and 2016, the Copperbelt had four elected female Members of Parliament in Kabushi (Ndola), Chifubu (Ndola) Chililabombwe and Lufwanyama.

Back to Kampamba, her election has proved that being consistent in politics can also take one to the national stage.

At a personal level, she is a mother of three who still does household chores like any other mother.

When this blogger met her for an interview, the Kalulushi MP was busy in the kitchen preparing food for her family.

Her rise to national prominence is out of hardwork.

"I was first elected party District Treasurer. Later i was elected the first District Chairperson for the Patriotic Front in 2011. At that time, it was difficult to win such a position as a woman and we were still in opposition," said Kampamba.

She says her hard work in the party led to late President Michael Sata recognising her and making her part of his government.

"President Sata later appointed me District Commissioner for Kalulushi."

It is this civil service position which helped position Kampamba well with the people of Kalulushi, a town which has one constituency.

In that role, Kampamba was one of the few female District Commissioners on the Copperbelt.

And even after leaving the office a few years ago, she went back to politics and stealthily prepared for the adoptions ahead of the 2016 parliamentary elections.

As usual, she was pitted against men within the ruling party but she prevailed.

During the actual elections, she beat all the five men who stood against her.

Now that she has been elected, she has a few words for women on the Copperbelt.

Rashida (left) and Kampamba celebrating their victory

"I will work hard and inspire more women to stand as MPs in 2021. We need more women to take up leadership positions. And for the people of Kalulushi, i want to assure them that i will not disapoint them, i will work towards my campaign promises and develop our constituency," she said.

As she embarks on her five year tour of duty at Manda Hill, the hopes of people in Kalulushi is that she will carry on the mantle and deliver where men could have failed to deliver.

Kampamba is not the only woman elected in Kalulushi.

A number of coucillors are female and the new Mayor of Kalulushi Rashida Mulenga is also female.

Despite sharing the same surname, Rashida and Kampamba are not related.

Their own relation is the quest to develop Kalulushi.