Opinion / Columnist
Mugabe begging EU for FDI in a nonsensical cat and mouse game
15 Aug 2014 at 10:50hrs | Views
The Zanu PF government has made a major climb-down and pleaded with the European Union (EU) to urge its members to bring in the much-needed foreign direct investment (FDI) to save the ailing economy," reported Newsday.
"They should not fear anything. Not at all. The Head of State is seized with the matter of revising laws which may be an impediment to FDI. Our ambition is to make sure that we are the best destination for FDI," said Foreign Affairs deputy minister Christopher Mutsvangwa.
Mugabe may be "seized with the matter of revising laws which maybe an impediment to FDI" what matters here is that no one will ever trust him to want to invest for three good reasons:
- What "seized" him to pass those laws in the first place? Whatever it was (we all know it was political expedience, he needed loot to dish out to his ever wasteful cronies and to assure them that there was more if they continued to pledge their undying and blind loyalty to him); what is there to say it will not seize him again (Zanu PF will never ever win free and fair elections and therefore the party will need to buy loyalty with the only currency it have left – looted wealth)?
- It is not just a matter of unfriendly existing laws that worry would-be investors; the regime is notorious for disregarding laws and agreements in its maniac pursuit of political power. It has violated Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements and has blatant rigged of national elections committing treason. Mugabe has even boasted of "The British did not know what hit them" in reference to his vote rigging exploits.
If the regime can commit treason with such arrogance and indifference can it be trusted to uphold any property law affecting an individual in the heat and chaos of Zimbabwe politics?
- Even if there was to be massive FDI in Zimbabwe, assuming the two issues were sorted, the Zimbabwe economic will not take off because there are still serious fundamental internal problems like gross mismanagement and rampant corruption which the regime has ignored for decades and, like cancerous tumours, have since grown to the point they are killing the economy.
The regime has pointedly refused to address these problems because to do so would mean dismantling its own political patronage system without which Mugabe and Zanu PF will be out of office.
Naturally, no investors would want to invest in a country knowing they will be expected to spend a fortune in direct or indirect subsidies to corruption and wasteful public and government controlled institutions!
Some of the EU countries notably Belgium - who do not give a damn about human rights and the suffering of Africans, never did – want relations with Zimbabwe normalised so they can get their hands on Zimbabwe's diamonds. If Zimbabwe thinks that in EU investors are going to flood in the country then dream on.
Those Belgians would want to come in the country get as many diamonds as they can, pay the bribe and get out; which is the mundus operando of the Chinese, Israelis, Lebanese, etc. already in the country.
The only way to get the three issues above meaningfully addressed is for Zimbabwe to hold free, fair and credible elections; the government so elected will have the electoral mandate to carry out the tough reforms needed to put the country back on a sound political and economic footing necessary for economic recovery.
The Mugabe regime cannot do this because it has no political credibility and it has an invested interest in maintaining the status quo. Mugabe and Zanu PF are the authors of this political and economic mess; all they want now is to create the illusion that things have changed to attract investors whilst keep them the same to protect their political interests.
The economic meltdown is now so serious that millions of our people are already living in abject poverty; hundreds of thousands of human lives are at risk of starvation or disease and the threat of rioting or worse hangs over the nation like the Sword of Damocles!
Zimbabweans have waited for 34 years to have a meaningful vote, to have a fair share of the nations' riches and to have hope. Mugabe and Zanu PF have denied them these basic human rights and expectations others the world over including the EU and Belgium take for granted.
It is not right for EU to keep the people of Zimbabwe waiting for the restoration of their human rights and dignity whilst they play their cat and mouse, FDI and diamonds, game with Mugabe.
"They should not fear anything. Not at all. The Head of State is seized with the matter of revising laws which may be an impediment to FDI. Our ambition is to make sure that we are the best destination for FDI," said Foreign Affairs deputy minister Christopher Mutsvangwa.
Mugabe may be "seized with the matter of revising laws which maybe an impediment to FDI" what matters here is that no one will ever trust him to want to invest for three good reasons:
- What "seized" him to pass those laws in the first place? Whatever it was (we all know it was political expedience, he needed loot to dish out to his ever wasteful cronies and to assure them that there was more if they continued to pledge their undying and blind loyalty to him); what is there to say it will not seize him again (Zanu PF will never ever win free and fair elections and therefore the party will need to buy loyalty with the only currency it have left – looted wealth)?
- It is not just a matter of unfriendly existing laws that worry would-be investors; the regime is notorious for disregarding laws and agreements in its maniac pursuit of political power. It has violated Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements and has blatant rigged of national elections committing treason. Mugabe has even boasted of "The British did not know what hit them" in reference to his vote rigging exploits.
If the regime can commit treason with such arrogance and indifference can it be trusted to uphold any property law affecting an individual in the heat and chaos of Zimbabwe politics?
- Even if there was to be massive FDI in Zimbabwe, assuming the two issues were sorted, the Zimbabwe economic will not take off because there are still serious fundamental internal problems like gross mismanagement and rampant corruption which the regime has ignored for decades and, like cancerous tumours, have since grown to the point they are killing the economy.
The regime has pointedly refused to address these problems because to do so would mean dismantling its own political patronage system without which Mugabe and Zanu PF will be out of office.
Naturally, no investors would want to invest in a country knowing they will be expected to spend a fortune in direct or indirect subsidies to corruption and wasteful public and government controlled institutions!
Some of the EU countries notably Belgium - who do not give a damn about human rights and the suffering of Africans, never did – want relations with Zimbabwe normalised so they can get their hands on Zimbabwe's diamonds. If Zimbabwe thinks that in EU investors are going to flood in the country then dream on.
Those Belgians would want to come in the country get as many diamonds as they can, pay the bribe and get out; which is the mundus operando of the Chinese, Israelis, Lebanese, etc. already in the country.
The only way to get the three issues above meaningfully addressed is for Zimbabwe to hold free, fair and credible elections; the government so elected will have the electoral mandate to carry out the tough reforms needed to put the country back on a sound political and economic footing necessary for economic recovery.
The Mugabe regime cannot do this because it has no political credibility and it has an invested interest in maintaining the status quo. Mugabe and Zanu PF are the authors of this political and economic mess; all they want now is to create the illusion that things have changed to attract investors whilst keep them the same to protect their political interests.
The economic meltdown is now so serious that millions of our people are already living in abject poverty; hundreds of thousands of human lives are at risk of starvation or disease and the threat of rioting or worse hangs over the nation like the Sword of Damocles!
Zimbabweans have waited for 34 years to have a meaningful vote, to have a fair share of the nations' riches and to have hope. Mugabe and Zanu PF have denied them these basic human rights and expectations others the world over including the EU and Belgium take for granted.
It is not right for EU to keep the people of Zimbabwe waiting for the restoration of their human rights and dignity whilst they play their cat and mouse, FDI and diamonds, game with Mugabe.
Source - Wilbert Mukori
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