Empowerment, the coveted prize

two years.
With this year’s celebrations appropriately dedicated to the economic empowerment of ordinary people as captured aptly in the theme, “Indigenisation and Empowerment for Economic and Social Transformation”, it is conceivable that Zimbabweans would most appreciate and cherish this economic empowerment.
Economic empowerment of indigenous citizens is the climax of various struggles waged and won by the Zimbabwean people under the fearless, astute and altruistic leadership of President Mugabe. For it is the desire to have unfettered political sovereignty alongside economic freedom that thousands of Zimbabweans sacrificed their lives in the face of enemy weapons.
It is for the need to directly benefit from our gold in Mazowe, our platinum in Mhondoro-Ngezi, our coal in Hwange and our diamonds in Marange that the likes of Cdes Leopold Takawira, Nikita Alfred Mangena, Ziyaphapha Jason Moyo, Magama Josiah Tongogara,  Herbert Chitepo sacrificed and lost their lives in the struggle for Zimbabwe.
It is for the sake of having control over our waters in the Zambezi river, our fish in Kariba, our elephants in Gonarezhou and our mountains in Vumba that the likes of Comrades Joshua Nkomo, Robert Mugabe, Simon Muzenda, Maurice Nyagumbo and Joseph Msika dedicated more than half of their lives to the struggle for Zimbabwe.
As success after success continue to roll in the implementation of the indigenisation and economic empowerment programme the announcement of the full compliance of mining giant Zimplats with the 51/49 requirement represents a very significant milestone for our economy that has be celebrated. For, Zimplats’ capitulation did not come on a silver platter neither can it be equated to the falling of manna from Heaven for the Jews in the desert.
The slight anomaly that is increasingly becoming an irritant to the Zimbabwean people that needs to be addressed urgently by the Implats hierarchy is the failure by outgoing CEO David Brown to reconcile his previous retrogressive thinking and positive developments on the ground.
This thinking is reflected in his recent utterances in the media that he will not transfer shares to the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Fund (NIEEF) unless they are fully paid for in cash. He further added that he doubted if the Government is ever going to get that kind of money.
What Brown is refusing to recognise, acknowledge and eventually stomach is that the Zimbabwean people already own the platinum reserves that are beneath the grounds of Chegutu, Mhondoro and Ngezi. That Brown is insisting on the Zimbabwean people paying for mineral resources they own including the platinum reserves that his company apparently “released” to the Government is ridiculous at best and laughable at worst. What needs to be done now is a geological survey that will highlight the estimate value of the platinum reserves, reconcile that value with the current worthy of Zimplats and allocate the Zimbabwean people their actual equity. It will not surprise many that this survey might result in local citizens owning much more than the regulated 51 percent because of the high value of the mineral deposits.
In addition to the noted successes of Zimbabwe’s 51/49 indigenisation policy is strongly vindicated and recognised as a trendsetter when Asian giant and one of the most populous nations in the world Indonesia adopted it as a key economic policy as announced by its Energy and Mines minister last month.
Therefore, resource nationalism and the implementation of policies that put people first like the country’s indigenisation programme are the new wave breezing across the developing world.
l Innocent Hamandishe is the National Secretary for Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment in the Zanu-PF Youth League.