Indigenisation is about patriotism, not greed

expressing mixed views about the implications of the exercise.
This is bound to weigh heavily upon the policy formulation as targeted firms are expected to take positions ahead of the speculative exuberance to be absorbed by our gyrating market where foreign currency is now domestic currency.
Reports indicate that most Zimbabweans are anxious to see how the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act will be implemented.
Their major worry rests on how a penniless resident in the Chikwanda district of Gutu will benefit from the programme.
It will also help to know how corruption and multi-ownership of business would be stemmed.
The authorities should use lessons learnt from the land reform programme, which was implemented in 1999, to avoid the same mistakes and problems that tainted the exercise.
Any attempt to indigenise the multinational companies without appreciating how greed affected production on our farms through non-utilisation and under-utilisation of selected farms will be preposterous.
The indigenisation process must not be treated as a political programme if it is to be successful.
Zimbabwe has a unique opportunity of addressing inequality through its bold decision of redistributing wealth but a lot of vultures have potential to tarnish the programmes good intentions through greed.
It will be unfortunate for President Mugabe to continue being demonised by the Western world in his quest to empower his people if the programme fails to assist the intended beneficiaries and only benefits a few connected individuals.
Zimbabweans want to know if those who are more vocal about the programme are doing so out of patriotism or greed.
They do not want farmers who buy beef in the butchery to roast at their farms. These are the kind of people who cannot be entrusted with a US$5 million worth company as they are used to driving cars which are worth twice the value of their companies.
Zimbabweans are not resistant to this noble exercise as they seek empowerment in the midst of their poverty but they really fear alienation.
The indigenisation process surely must be implemented with a sober mind and treated as a process not event.
In his Mid-Term Fiscal Review Statement in July, Finance Minister Tendai Biti hinted on a US$700 million deficit.
This is evidence of how the inclusive Government is incapacitated in funding the Budget.
Any attempt by the Government to exercise leverage in the funding process will spike up the already usurious interest rate and increase the domestic debt, which is already above US$1,3 billion.
As the attempt to take measures on some foreign owned mines are being mulled, the contributions of such conglomerates in terms of royalties and employment levels has to be seriously considered.
It will take more than five years for a mining firm to recover from a setback.
Some of the mines have a thin lifespan in terms of reserves therefore if we are to indigenise them we need to be fully aware of the costs involved in engaging a new management team to extract the precious resources.
When it comes to mining, I believe Government should seriously weigh the possibilities of hiking royalties to boost its fiscus against those of introducing new ownership, which in some instances might not be fully conversant with mining.
I also believe that there has not been a total buy-in of the programme by all stakeholders.
When the land reform was mooted, almost every Government department was active in rallying behind the cause.
With indigenisation, a number of influential personalities are surprisingly silent about the programme.
It might be because they are simply not interested in the process or have disregard for the calibre of activists behind the exercise.
Indeed, it is true that experts are required in coming up with an objective mechanism to handle the empowerment programme, why are we alienating our local universities when even the developed world consult with experts from their fellow universities even before they engage in a war or socio-economic programmes.
How competent are the committee members driving the empowerment process because this is key to the success of the exercise.
Is the Anti-Corruption Commission which has just been sworn in going to be functional in its quest to nip corruption in the bud?
The active empowerment drive’s immediate threat will be corruption and nepotism and a committee has to be created to specifically deal with it.
Let it be an indigenisation campaign to uplift the poor and not continue consolidating the position of the bourgeois black class, which has benefited from past programmes.
Empower Ambuya Locardia at Mbare Musika so that she can own the market stall than to continue pouring resources in a bottomless pit.
Let the ongoing indigenisation debate open a window for demystifying all the perceptions, which are promoting disaffection amongst the investing community. Different opinions should be considered since a macho approach will not produce desired results in this campaign.