Indigenisation: Let’s all be ready?

of the vision.
In any situation, leaders are the torch-bearers.
They get visions that guide them to deal with matters that affect their followers. The indigenisation vision targets to create an enabling environment to increase the participation of the indigenous people in the major economic activities of the country.
The vision challenges the current economic status whereby the majority of Zimbabweans are treated as spectators in their own game. The interesting thing is that some of the players themselves seem to be comfortable with the status quo as spectators and therefore it is the function of the visionary leadership to show up and provide the light.
When Jesus said to the first disciples, “Come and follow me,” he did not seek the blind, sycophants or Todies. He knew the path would be treacherous, rough and the decision to follow required personal discernment, accountability and commitment to God.
The command from Jesus forced the fishermen to leave their main source of income to follow the new vision which turned out to be the most cherished even up to now. However, it must also be noted that amongst the followers of the new vision, Judas was there, who finally sold him to the enemies and Peter who denied him three times at the eleventh hour.
This means that the commitment of followers to the vision of the leadership varies amongst the individuals despite the fact that they are the main beneficiaries.
In pursuit of the indigenisation vision, the following classes have captured my attention — the Disciples, the Doers, the Disengaged and the Disgruntled.
The class of Disciples are people with a strong and courageous followership and their commitment level is unwavering. They are open-minded, adaptable and principled.
The Doers have strong commitment to the cause and agenda of the leadership but they are go-getters who believe that the grass is always green and are prepared to jump out from the ship. The fact that they are committed means that if the resources are provided, and there are new programs, they will stay and remain focused.
The Disengaged are a category of followers with no interest at all in everything. Highly demotivated and not committed at all to the vision of the leadership, they only see threats in everything that is introduced by the leadership, but the funny thing is that they want to stay with their leader.
The Disgruntled consists of people that are angry about everything and highly demotivated. They are prepared to blame everything introduced by the leadership and are prepared to jump out from the ship anytime. In view of the above categories, who should be ready to take up the challenges of indigenisation?
The obvious answer is that the country should deal with the disciples and doers. The function of the leadership is to assist the disgruntled and the disengaged to join others. If the majority of Zimbabweans fall in the category of the disengaged and the disgruntled, the leadership needs to trace the root cause and this paper attempt to touch on some of the issues.
When Cecil John Rhodes, took over the leadership in Africa, history shows that he campaigned for an education system that had to produce great workers and great servants. He wanted the white man’s supremacy to be protected. He knew that one day someone in this African region will get inspired and try to change things and must face a strong resistance from the beneficiaries (His or her own people).
In this light, instead of worrying about the nitty-gritties of the indigenisation programme, the beneficiaries waste time treating the area as untouchable.
This is like when people cry for the fish instead of the rod to catch the fish. We should not blame them too much — we must remember that Rhodes designed the syllabus and cultured the people long back when this country was colonised, and therefore, the leadership’s vision must remain focused and assist the blind to see the direction.
The disgruntled and the disengaged in the subject of indigenisation are talking about corporate failures and investor threats associated with the move. Yes, it is true that an investor’s interest is mainly profit. The major issue rests on risk. Investors do not want to lose their money but they may be committed to the vision.
In this light, it is not the duty of the investor to be ready or to establish a positive attitude to our cause as Zimbabweans, the matter rests on our souls, our commitment and our attitude. When people blame themselves as the wrong people to take up the challenges associated with economic transformation of the country, how about the investors?
Their attitude is highly negative.
This is very obvious because the disgruntled and the disengaged create an attitude for the investor to adopt.
It is therefore the onus of our leadership to establish the credibility of investors in terms of their commitment because they should not continue to consider wrong information from the wrong people spreading the gospel of doom.
l Charles T Mavhunga is a part time lecturer of Leadership and Marketing at Women’s University in Africa’s Faculty of Management and Entrepreneurial Development Studies.