News / National
The days of 'colonial looting of natural resources' in Zimbabwe are over
04 Nov 2011 at 04:53hrs | Views
SAVIOUR 'Tyson' Kasukuwere, Zimbabwe's Minister for Youth, Indigenisation and Empowerment, has been compared to South Africa's own flag-bearer for youth, Julius Malema, President of the ANC Youth League.
And there are some similarities.
In an interview with Miningmx, Kasukuwere railed against the 'colonialists'. Commenting on the heavy-legged approach of foreign mining firms to the Zimbabwean government's indigenisation policy, Kasukuwere said the days of 'colonial looting of natural resources' in Zimbabwe were over.
That's reminiscent of Malema's comments about white people in South Africa having behaved like criminals and that the land had been stolen and ought to be returned. It's emotive and polarising, but it sure guarantees political traction in certain quarters.
Says Kasukuwere on indigenisation: 'This law cannot be ignored. It represents the aspirations of the people,' he said. 'It provides for a just economic model. It provides the people with equity.'
But in other ways, Kasukuwere is unlike Malema. Favoured by Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe for his hardline approach to foreign investors, Kasukuwere increasingly occupies a middle ground approach between Zanu-PF and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
In a Wikileaks dispatch, the US Embassy in Zimbabwe comments: 'Realising that the future may not lie exclusively with Zanu-PF, he [Kasukuwere] is on a charm offensive, reaching out to both MDC factions and to Western diplomats.' It continues: 'He's an important player given the political importance of youth and the economic importance of investment.'
Jonathan Moyo, a Zanu-PF politburo member, told Finweek in August that as the youngest member of the cabinet, Kasukuwere had brought fresh impetus to indigenisation.'He has been given a serious mandate,' he said.
Moyo added, however: 'But the jury is still out on him, although he has already shown some skills people didn't think he had. He's truly in the category of so-called Young Turks.'
But who really is Kasukuwere and where did he come from; moreover, how did he rise through the ranks?
Kasukuwere originally hails from the Marondera district where his family were involved in the liberation war in the Seventies. He attended the University of Berlin before joining Zimbabwe's Central Intelligence Organisation, where he served for nine years.
In 1995, he joined the president's office before being elected to parliament in 2000. He owns a trucking business but keeps these private interests separate from his political career. One Wikileaks cable describes him as 'a thug', but adds: 'Kasukuwere is young, smooth and ambitious.'
And there are some similarities.
In an interview with Miningmx, Kasukuwere railed against the 'colonialists'. Commenting on the heavy-legged approach of foreign mining firms to the Zimbabwean government's indigenisation policy, Kasukuwere said the days of 'colonial looting of natural resources' in Zimbabwe were over.
That's reminiscent of Malema's comments about white people in South Africa having behaved like criminals and that the land had been stolen and ought to be returned. It's emotive and polarising, but it sure guarantees political traction in certain quarters.
Says Kasukuwere on indigenisation: 'This law cannot be ignored. It represents the aspirations of the people,' he said. 'It provides for a just economic model. It provides the people with equity.'
But in other ways, Kasukuwere is unlike Malema. Favoured by Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe for his hardline approach to foreign investors, Kasukuwere increasingly occupies a middle ground approach between Zanu-PF and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Jonathan Moyo, a Zanu-PF politburo member, told Finweek in August that as the youngest member of the cabinet, Kasukuwere had brought fresh impetus to indigenisation.'He has been given a serious mandate,' he said.
Moyo added, however: 'But the jury is still out on him, although he has already shown some skills people didn't think he had. He's truly in the category of so-called Young Turks.'
But who really is Kasukuwere and where did he come from; moreover, how did he rise through the ranks?
Kasukuwere originally hails from the Marondera district where his family were involved in the liberation war in the Seventies. He attended the University of Berlin before joining Zimbabwe's Central Intelligence Organisation, where he served for nine years.
In 1995, he joined the president's office before being elected to parliament in 2000. He owns a trucking business but keeps these private interests separate from his political career. One Wikileaks cable describes him as 'a thug', but adds: 'Kasukuwere is young, smooth and ambitious.'
Source - www.miningmx.com
