Incompetent boards letting us down

When one asks what really do the critics mean? There is no credible answer forthcoming. Maybe what is referred to is the downturn in economic fortunes that have affected many countries in the world.
I have discussed this issue with many stakeholders. Zimbabwe has enough human resources to undertake business and also other activities involved in the economic development of the country. Some want to pare it down to politics, which is just an escape mechanism for inaction.
What is at stake is whether the choices that are made for those to run business are beyond reproach. Zimbabwe has a highly educated workforce. But the management that is given the responsibility to make this workforce perform may leave a lot to be desired.
Who selects the management for companies? In many instances, we are told that it is the preserve of the company directors to headhunt for the best people capable of running a company or who have business knowledge.
This may be different from those businesses that are self-owned where the owner has the prerogative of choosing the management to run the business. If the owner makes the wrong choice, then the fault lies with the entrepreneur and investor.
The owner has every right to correct the situation if management so chosen does not perform to expectation. The major worry is the choice of management made by Government. The problem revolves on the allegiances of those chosen to manage Government entities.
What is the criteria used to come up not only with management but with the board of directors that are given the authority select a management team. Sometimes, over the years, a board of directors find an entrenched management team in place.
Many believe that it is the selection process for management that is abused mainly for political reasons that incompetent people find themselves running organisations for which they lack any business skills.
To come back and then claim that blacks cannot run businesses is cruel. Yes, it may be argued that blacks were never given a chance to excel in business or acquire business knowledge during the colonial era. A period of 31 years after independence is a long enough time for the country to have trained a pool of astute managers capable of taking responsibility expected from anyone entrusted with running a viable business.
No one can argue that the economic environment is not conducive to running a viable business with lack of capital and lines of credit. But, in the same vein, it is not expected of management, in these hard economic times to reward themselves with hefty salaries, bonuses and outrageous allowances at the expense of the hardworking workforce and the viability of the business.
I am reminded of the saying that a parasite does not kill its host. If it kills its host, then it will also die. Who benefits if both die? The same thing goes for running a successful business. An African scientist once said that it was wrong to milk the cow but not feed it.
Many in business behave in the same manner where they get hefty salaries but fail to feed the business. The business is fed by making sure that it is run efficiently by a management and workforce that believe that the survival of the enterprise depends on living or earning what the business can produce.
The Press is full of financial statements published by companies for their end of year results. Some make some sad reading where,  despite the efforts made by workers, the companies did not perform well. This has a direct bearing on what taxes can be collected by the Government to fund its operations.
If private run companies can face such difficulties where they post low performing results, what of the numerous parastatals that are facing a bigger challenge, not only of underperforming but of sheer lack of any business ethics. What comes to mind are not just parastatals but also local government councils and other entities that look to Government for their existence. Who chooses the management or supervises these low-performing entities? The failure of Government parastatals in running their businesses earns the label of black incompetence in business.
This may be too harsh but there are those that are well trained to run these parastatals who have been overlooked for one reason or another, mainly that they are not politically well connected.
This is the tragedy that a country has to correct. There are thousands of competent blacks who are made to sit on the sidelines waiting for a call which never comes, to rescue our country from underdevelopment.
In a nutshell, competent business executives are there but there are no boards of directors that have the ability to identify them. What happens all the time is the recycling of the same board members from one entity to another as though the country is short of competent manpower. The claim that blacks cannot run businesses is just mischievous, to say the least. But having said that, reports that there are those who are borrowing money from banks but failing to honour their loans, are very unfortunate.
Money in banks belongs to the depositors who can take their money out at any time. If banks abuse this trust, then the depositors will remove their money. For any business executives not to understand such a simple principle is very irresponsible indeed.
Whether one is a farmer or a business owner, loans have to be paid back with interest. These are the lines of credit that businesses are crying for and yet the repayment of these loans is critical to develop a symbiotic relationship between management and banks.