It’s payback time for MDC-T to its Western handlers

outburst by the MDC-T leadership against the indigenisation and economic empowerment programme.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is attacking the national programme claiming to have a better one that will attract investment and create jobs.
Yet the indigenisation and economic empowerment programme is given legal authority by an Act of Parliament, which was passed with the full support of MDC-T.

Yes, the programme was initiated by the Zanu-PF Government before the formation of the inclusive Government and is consistent with the party’s thrust of economically empowering indigenous Zimbabweans who were disadvantaged during the colonial era.
Zanu-PF has made it clear that it believes that indigenous Zimbabweans should exercise dominion over their resources in partnership with foreign investors where they cannot do it alone.
The programme was subsequently adopted by the inclusive Government and the Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment was mandated to implement it. MDC-T seconded a deputy minister to the ministry, first Thamsanqa Mahlangu and later Tongai Matutu, implying they accepted the need to empower indigenous Zimbabweans as stated in the Act.

Now that the programme has gathered steam and real wealth is beginning to change hands as shown by the community share ownership trusts that were launched last week when the Chegutu-Mhondoro-Ngezi-Zvimba Community Share Ownership Trust took control of 10 percent shares from Zimplats, MDC-T is singing a different song.
The trusts are a vehicle for broad-based participation in shareholding in businesses by communities living in areas where foreign companies are exploiting natural resources, and will spread throughout the country.

It appears the transfer of the shares from Zimplats rattled the Western capitals as it proved that Zimbabwe is forging ahead with its plan to empower its people.
What the detractors of the programme had hoped would happen is that the political elite in Zanu-PF would grab the shareholding of all the foreign companies without anything going to the people. This would have been a perfect opportunity to discredit the programme.

But now that shares are actually going to communities there is no denying the fact that the people are being empowered.
Just as happened during the land reform programme, it is payback time for MDC-T. It has to stand up and fight in the corner of its Western handlers.
Whilst it was easy for them to fight black empowerment from a platform of an opposition party, it takes a lot of guile for them to do so now when they are part of the government implementing the programme.

They are fully represented in Cabinet where the policies that give substance to the programme are discussed and agreed before implementation.
Which means PM Tsvangirai finds himself in an invidious position where he has to be part of the discussion in Cabinet and then play to the gallery of his Western masters at his party’s rallies.
No wonder Zanu-PF is pushing for elections so that it is freed from the albatross that is around its neck in the form of the political partners it has in Government.

MDC-T says it has an alternative plan that it is going to launch which is centred on attracting investment and creating jobs. It is obviously being hurriedly put together as a response to the results that the indigenisation and economic empowerment programme is bearing on the ground.
There is no doubt that it will be a Western-authored document, destined to serve the interests of foreigners.

The challenge for MDC-T is to come up with an original programme for the people of Zimbabwe that does not bear Western birthmarks.
It simply cannot find an answer to economic empowerment of the people of Zimbabwe. Given a choice between being an owner of a company and being a worker any reasonable thinking person will opt for the former.

Attracting investment and creating jobs is a desirable objective of any country but it cannot supersede the need for locals to own the companies that are exploiting our finite natural resources.
Negotiations between the Government and the various companies with majority foreign shareholding were progressing well and the rate of compliance with the law was increasing every week.

Now if part of the same Government begins to advocate non-compliance with the law by championing a different programme, seeds of confusion are sown and this hardly attracts investment.
Investors want to hear the Zimbabwe Government speaking consistently with one voice on the terms and conditions of investing in Zimbabwe so that they can make long term plans.

Those investors who attended the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Cape Town a few months ago where Mr Tsvangirai articulated the Government position on indigenisation and economic empowerment with clarity and boldness would be surprised to read his weekend attack on the same programme.

This is the confusion that any serious investor would not want to hear.
Consistent, principled leadership is clearly not an attribute of our Prime Minister. And that does more harm that good to Zimbabwe.