adminCritics of the policy commonly understand it as the same as “nationalisation” or “expropriation”. Well, the comparison does not fit the description of what we in Zimbabwe call empowerment and transfer of ownership of the means of production from the hands of foreigners to local indigenous sons of the soil.
Embracing this process of indigenisation now has come to be crucial as a local if you would want to participate, partake or benefit from the spell that we are about to enter into as a country.
Western countries, and foreign investors in general, as we move toward the second part of this year they will be flocking into this country looking for business.
This phenomena and trend has already begun to show off in Southern Africa, in general, with Zimbabwe set to also play a central role in terms of international trade in the mining sector, farming and tourism.
Robyn Curnow, an America correspondent, while writing for CNN under the business section focusing on Marketplace in Africa once asked a question: “Is indigenisation bad for business?”
An independent response to the question from an unidentified responded said: “Indeginisation is definitely great for business as it will ensure that commerce, trade and industry are more focused in the country and less likely to be manipulated by foreigners.
“This will avoid businesses acting as appendages of foreign countries in exerting influence and thus regime change doctrine. Either that or they should be taxed to the hilt to ensure that citizens benefit more.”
Another person representing the people responding to the same question said: “It is very important that as Africans we make sure foreigners do not own the economy of any developing country. The only reason these questions about indigenisation are raised is because it’s a black nation taking back resources that whites had no business owning in the first place in such a dominating fashion as they did.
“First, it was the land issue to be disputed which is bearing fruit now and will continue to do so for years to come; now it’s time for the companies that have been supporting developed economies with African resources to be indigenised so that the wealth stays in Africa.”
I believe the question whether indigenisation and empowerment is good for Zimbabwe is only informed and raised by elements whose objective is not to see a wealth transfer take place from foreign multinationals to local and indigenous black people.
The success of Government’s indigenisation policy at this juncture is largely going to depend on Zimbabweans embracing it, carrying it, believing in the policy and delivering it to the rest of the country through the ballot.
Government can only do but so much for its people in terms of policy formulation and introduction into the system, but when it comes to the full enforcement and implementation the power rests with the people.
As we go towards elections how we are going to be successful is through ensuring that the leadership that gets into power is the kind of leadership that will further the interest of the majority through indigenisation and not donations that last only but for a night when we have generations coming after us.
It is important to understand that indigenisation does not accommodate the element of greed but seek to permanently transfer resources into our hands so generations coming after us do not have to fight the same battles we are fighting.
If we have the capacity to fight for our future now, why seat on our laurels.
When asked to demystify the issue, Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere said: “Indigenisation is a continuation of the fight that was started way back by our ancestors and our leaders.
“From Mbuya Nehanda to President Mugabe, it is about the people of Zimbabwe, resisting subjugation, resisting being under other people in terms of the control of their own economy.
“It is about us standing up, self-determination, being the ones who decide our own destiny as Zimbabweans. We have achieved political independence. It was painful, but was achieved in 1980. We have gone on to score huge successes in education.
“We produced good teachers who went on to expand education in the country. And through this education policy, we created the human resources second to none, the capacity to say yes thank you to political independence we are now capacitated, but now we need to use that human capacity to master economic resources, to harness our national wealth for our own benefit as a people.”
For us as Zimbabweans it is time to embrace empowerment policies.
The impact has been self-evident for the youths through Old Mutual and CABS Kurera/Ukondla Youth Fund, CBZ, IDBZ and Stanbic Bank Wealth Creation Fund.
Across Zimbabwe, young people have been accessing opportunities to start or further their enterprise ambitions through cash injections into their business.
An example of how successful the indigenisation policy can be is the land reform programme.
With tremendous opposition from the international community against us as a country it took us a bit of time but we still delivered!
Earlier on in April, the Commercial Farmers’ Union finally figured it out that the land reform programme in Zimbabwe is not reversible and that they now wanted to be considered like any other Zimbabwean.
CFU vice president Mr Peter Steyl acknowledged that his organisation ‘‘could not continue swimming against the current” and finally he appealed for members of his union to also be considered for farming land.
“We have finally realised that the land reform is irreversible,” Mr Steyl said in an interview.
“There has been a change of heart. We have realised that we cannot carry on like this. The overall concept is to empower agricultural stakeholders and investors, past and present, in an inclusive way that will bring sustained benefit to all sectors of the Zimbabwean economy.”
Mr Steyl said adding that the union now wanted to work with the Government “in improving the agriculture sector” and was willing to assist with ideas on how best the sector could be revived.
Just as we were successful in the face of great opposition in the farming sector the nation must also continue to believe that we will be successful again in the mining, industry and banking sectors.
With these policies in place in the next 10 years, Minister Kasukuwere said he envisages and is working towards a Zimbabwe that will be bustling with rich miners, very rich tobacco farmers and well-off Zimbabweans who are proud to be Africans.
“It will be the envy of the region and the world, Zimbabwe shall start the next “economic tigers”. We shall be the impetus to the establishment of the “Africa leopards, or lions”, like the Asian Tigers whose economies define the world economy today. Watch us”.
The Minister agreed with a comment from the people who believed that as long as the majority benefit or have economical derivatives then indigenisation remains a noble idea but if it is for the sake of the rich cronies then shame on us.
With regards to young people and their interest to empowerment Government through the Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment and the Zimbabwe Youth Council has ensured and provided for the participation of youth in the economy across all sectors under Section 5.3.1 of the recently reviewed National Youth Policy which reads that Government shall;
- Ensure that Government approves a 25 percent quota of all economic indigenisation and empowerment facilities in agriculture, mining, commercial, tourism, and industrial economic activity is reserved and available for youth, paying particular attention to the empowerment of young women and young people with disabilities;
- Provide adequate information in appropriate mediums on economic empowerment and indigenisation to all youth and notably youth with disabilities and youth in rural areas;
- Facilitate the participation of children and youth in Parliament and other decision-making bodies in accordance with prescribed laws;
- Strengthen the capacity of children and youth organisations in peace building, conflict prevention, and conflict resolution through inter-cultural learning, civic education, human rights education and democracy, mutual respect for cultural, ethnic, religious and political diversity;
- Provide technical and financial support to build institutional capacity of children and youth organisations and in particular those with programmes involving female, rural, disabled and other marginalised children and youth;
- Give priority to policies and programmes including youth and children’s advocacy and peer-to-peer programmes for marginalised young people, such as out-of-school and out-of-work young people, young women, young people living with disabilities, to offer them the opportunity to re-integrate into the mainstream society.;
- Make provision for the appointment of youth representatives or focal persons in all government departments to ensure that youth issues are mainstreamed in all facets of development;
Where we are as a country in terms of the implementation of our empowerment policies we cannot afford to be disrupted or misguided by foreign ideologies who often suggest that indigenisation will never provide answers to our economic challenges.
What we need is a continuation in the implementation plan of our broad based economic empowerment programme and for the people to embrace the programme with an understating that this is not for the privileged few, but for the good of every Zimbabwean.
Innocent Katsande is the Communications Officer for Zimbabwe Youth Council. Feedback: [email protected]
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