Euromoney conference missed the point

Economic Planning and Investment Promotion hosted the Zimbabwe Investment Conference.
While the initiative appeared to be a noble idea that could play a part in reinvigorating current efforts to rejuvenate the economy the underlying events and messages coming out of the forum undermined the success of the conference.
Firstly, the organisers hurried the event and did not take ample time to impress its supposed usefulness to colleagues in Government such that President Mugabe who was billed to officially opening it as is the norm with other high profile business occasion failed to make it.
This alone severely undermined the conference, as it appeared it had been organised without endorsement from the highest office in the land.
Thus, any agreements or resolutions coming out of the conference will still be subject to approval and endorsement by the Office of the President. This rendered the conference a gigantic and expensive talk shop.
Secondly and more critically the honest engagement of burning issues would have possibly offset the absence of the President.
The conference went on to blunder by trivialising the real issues central to the country’s economic policy, that is the negative impact of Western sanctions and the unequivocal demand of their immediate lifting and the implementation of the indigenisation and Economic Empowerment programme.
While the British are the driving force behind the imposition and maintenance of sanctions and opposition to the indigenisation programme, it is now common knowledge that other key world powers including some members of the European Union like Germany are open to doing business in Zimbabwe.
Furthermore, not all-British companies are supportive of the sanctions or are opposed the indigenisation process.
There was need for the conference to discuss and highlight the negative impact of sanctions and to outline and detail the requirements of the indigenisation programme so that those willing to invest in Zimbabwe would assess all the possible factors that can influence Zimbabwe’s investment environment.
They would then make a decision to either invest or not from an informed viewpoint.
Trying to trivialise these key issues as non-events and for the MDC and Zanu-PF ministers to present differing interpretations of the economic environment to potential investors and key financial institutions was a fatal blunder.
It did not go unnoticed by key stakeholders rendering the whole exercise futile qualifying into the accounting category of fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
That the conference was a monumental failure in trying to convince foreign companies to invest in Zimbabwe and key financial institutions to release money into the economy is reflected in the words the president of the African Development Bank Mr Donald Kaberuka.
After leaving Harare a disappointed guest and after taking in the sight of the welcoming glittering lights of Pretoria, South Africa, Mr Kaberuka had this to say on Zimbabwe’s investment prospects in full glee of the world media: “Zimbabwe’s economic progress is stuck because of lack of clarity on policy.
“Until there is clarity on property rights, fewer uncertainties and more predictability of policy it will be risky to invest in Zimbabwe’.
Mr Kaberuka, who equated Zimbabwe’s economic environment to that of the Ivory Coast where a civil war has been raging for years with two parallel governments claiming to be running the affairs of the state, urged Zimbabweans to clear the confusion over the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act.
That the conference organised by two key ministries in the Government’s economic cluster failed to provide clarity on such an important policy of the Government they are part of is a sad reflection on the state and working of the inclusive Government.
While there might be denial on acknowledging the negative impact of sanctions on the economy by those who assisted in drafting them in case they receive a backlash from the electorate, there should be consensus on the indigenisation programme.
It is a Government initiative directed by a piece of legislation known as the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act (Chapter 14: 33:) passed by Zimbabwe’s parliament comprising members of Zanu-PF, MDC-T and MDC-M.
Furthermore, the programme is being spearheaded by a ministry that was agreed upon by the negotiators from the three political parties that are part of Government and the two major parties are included in its leadership with Zanu-PF heading the ministry and MDC-T as the deputy.
Hence, for someone who is either a Member of Parliament or the Executive or anyone else to play to the international gallery by saying indigenisation and empowerment programmes are not Government policy, is both disingenuous and misleading.
There is therefore need to give would-be investors adequate, correct, unbiased and unconflicting information on Government’s policies so that they adjust accordingly so that their investments can be in line with the interests of Zimbabwean people.
Playing hide and seek with investors on critical information will certainly haunt those responsible like what happened to the organisers of the Euromoney Conference.
The Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry and the Zimbabwe Investment Authority among other arms of Government have demonstrated that Zimbabwe can be marketable without demonising each other.
International investors are mature enough to make sensible business decisions if the correct information is made available to them.
The least we can do as Zimbabweans is to trivialise our petty differences and speak with a uniform voice if indeed we want our economy to grow.
This is also critical for the success of the indigenisation and empowerment policy, which is in the interest of all black Zimbabweans regardless of creed, geographical location, language difference or political affiliation.
l The writer is CEO of ZvavaBudya Empowerment (Pvt) Ltd t/a ZV Empowerment He can be contacted on [email protected] or on 077 7 096 334.