Opinion / Columnist
Conspiracy of silence on company grabs must end
25 Aug 2011 at 10:10hrs | Views
It is very distressing to note the conspiracy of silence by the international community on Zimbabwe's company grabs supposedly for black economic empowerment.
There is no difference between robbing a bank at gun point and threatening companies with the withdrawal of licences. Some firms have been trading under difficult circumstances to provide jobs and tax revenue when unemployment is about 85%.
Since 2000, Zimbabwe dramatically turned into an importer of staple foods like maize and wheat when it used to be the breadbasket of Africa before the looting frenzy took over as the new ideology of the post-independence era.
Companies whose collapse has been attributed to indigenisation are many, however prominent ones are said to be David Whitehead Textiles, Lobels Bakery, Jaggers Wholesalers, Zimalloys's Great Dyke and Inyala underground mines and many others.
Looking at a snapshot of headlines since 2001, one gets a sense that there is a fundamental problem in Zimbabwe that cannot be solved overnight by lines of credit, as long as it is unresolved.
That fundamental is arguably good political governance or having a stable and constitutionally elected government elected through free and fair, non violent elections, which upholds the rule of law and respects human rights and property laws.
At the height of the land grab similar to what has resumed in 2011, in one year alone 400 companies folded up in 2000, of these 141 were in the motor trade industry, 92 in steel manufacture and 45 in clothing and textile industry (CZI study, Zimbabwe Independent 16/04/01).
A $Z1bn Loan Facility for Distressed Companies which was described by the State-owned Herald as a "noble initiative" was reportedly misused leading to more firms folding up (The Herald, 05/08/03).
There is a great possibility of capital flight as a result of the indigenisation regulations. Already, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) is said to be battling to rescue firms as 70 companies have closed operations in Bulawayo, while Mutare, Gweru and other towns have suffered the same fate (ZBC, 21/06/11).
However, there are some important characteristics of the 21st century revolutions which Zimbabwe should not ignore. One is their unpredictability, another is the classless nature of the uprisings in being waged by an angry cross section of the society including disaffected and unemployed youths, bankers, office workers, peasants, doctors, nurses, engineers, dentists, teachers, housewives, school children and so on. Nobody foresaw events now unfolding in Libya despite its high Gross Domestic Product.
A third aspect is the "30 years plus" characteristic meaning the revolutions are occurring in dictatorships which are 30 years old plus; where there is no respect for constitutional means of regime change through free and fair elections; freedom of expression, freedom of the press, human rights and the rule of law and so on.
Another significant characteristic relevant to Zimbabwe is the communication aspect.
According to the UK's Evening Standard, the Libyan revolution has relied on word of mouth and mosques for communication unlike the jasmine revolutions of Tunisia and Egypt which were fuelled by the internet and mobile phones.
That aspect is very interesting because press reports say that one of Gaddafi's sons owned all the mobile networks in Libya although that was not easy to verify.
In the case of Zimbabwe, despite state censorship of video footage of the Libyan uprising, the people already know that there is a possibility that Gaddafi may soon join Mengistu as the guest of Robert Mugabe.
The conspiracy of silence risks driving the country further back to pre-GPA days of hyperinflation, food shortages, cholera epidemic, violence and a mass exodus of skilled people.
Among diplomatic measures that can be used to register disquiet against Zimbabwe include the issuing of high level policy statements, sending of special envoys, recalling of ambassadors, sacking of the regime's ambassadors before closing embassies completely.
No jobs are guaranteed by indigenisation as presently formulated. Foreign intervention should not always be preceded by civil unrest and bloodshed. The conspiracy of silence on company grabs must end.
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Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London, zimanalysis2009@gmail.com
There is no difference between robbing a bank at gun point and threatening companies with the withdrawal of licences. Some firms have been trading under difficult circumstances to provide jobs and tax revenue when unemployment is about 85%.
Since 2000, Zimbabwe dramatically turned into an importer of staple foods like maize and wheat when it used to be the breadbasket of Africa before the looting frenzy took over as the new ideology of the post-independence era.
Companies whose collapse has been attributed to indigenisation are many, however prominent ones are said to be David Whitehead Textiles, Lobels Bakery, Jaggers Wholesalers, Zimalloys's Great Dyke and Inyala underground mines and many others.
Looking at a snapshot of headlines since 2001, one gets a sense that there is a fundamental problem in Zimbabwe that cannot be solved overnight by lines of credit, as long as it is unresolved.
That fundamental is arguably good political governance or having a stable and constitutionally elected government elected through free and fair, non violent elections, which upholds the rule of law and respects human rights and property laws.
At the height of the land grab similar to what has resumed in 2011, in one year alone 400 companies folded up in 2000, of these 141 were in the motor trade industry, 92 in steel manufacture and 45 in clothing and textile industry (CZI study, Zimbabwe Independent 16/04/01).
A $Z1bn Loan Facility for Distressed Companies which was described by the State-owned Herald as a "noble initiative" was reportedly misused leading to more firms folding up (The Herald, 05/08/03).
There is a great possibility of capital flight as a result of the indigenisation regulations. Already, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) is said to be battling to rescue firms as 70 companies have closed operations in Bulawayo, while Mutare, Gweru and other towns have suffered the same fate (ZBC, 21/06/11).
However, there are some important characteristics of the 21st century revolutions which Zimbabwe should not ignore. One is their unpredictability, another is the classless nature of the uprisings in being waged by an angry cross section of the society including disaffected and unemployed youths, bankers, office workers, peasants, doctors, nurses, engineers, dentists, teachers, housewives, school children and so on. Nobody foresaw events now unfolding in Libya despite its high Gross Domestic Product.
A third aspect is the "30 years plus" characteristic meaning the revolutions are occurring in dictatorships which are 30 years old plus; where there is no respect for constitutional means of regime change through free and fair elections; freedom of expression, freedom of the press, human rights and the rule of law and so on.
Another significant characteristic relevant to Zimbabwe is the communication aspect.
According to the UK's Evening Standard, the Libyan revolution has relied on word of mouth and mosques for communication unlike the jasmine revolutions of Tunisia and Egypt which were fuelled by the internet and mobile phones.
That aspect is very interesting because press reports say that one of Gaddafi's sons owned all the mobile networks in Libya although that was not easy to verify.
In the case of Zimbabwe, despite state censorship of video footage of the Libyan uprising, the people already know that there is a possibility that Gaddafi may soon join Mengistu as the guest of Robert Mugabe.
The conspiracy of silence risks driving the country further back to pre-GPA days of hyperinflation, food shortages, cholera epidemic, violence and a mass exodus of skilled people.
Among diplomatic measures that can be used to register disquiet against Zimbabwe include the issuing of high level policy statements, sending of special envoys, recalling of ambassadors, sacking of the regime's ambassadors before closing embassies completely.
No jobs are guaranteed by indigenisation as presently formulated. Foreign intervention should not always be preceded by civil unrest and bloodshed. The conspiracy of silence on company grabs must end.
---------------
Clifford Chitupa Mashiri, Political Analyst, London, zimanalysis2009@gmail.com
Source - Clifford Chitupa Mashiri
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