Let’s focus and be among the best

The Centre predicts that by 2020 the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) will dominate the top six but this will exclude our neighbour South Africa who are currently ranked number 29 and will be ranked 28 by 2020. The ranking will be in the following order: United States, China, Japan, Russia, India and Brazil. By 2050 China will be the largest economy. The question is where will we be. Such issues trigger emotions among development enthusiasts like me, who have a passion for the development of our country.

We have just discovered diamonds in our midst and yet our people are still poor or at least rated as poor by international economic research organisations. Are these diamonds a curse? Is it not possible to harness them for the total transformation of our country and the transformation of the quality of the 15 million lives that make up Zimbabwe?
I believe we can if we correct our political stance and differentiate between mere criticism and constructive criticism and work together starting 2012 on matters in which we have a common interest irrespective of our political persuasions. We have to recognise that certain positions such as resource nationalisation and the setting up of a sovereign fund are crucial for our national development whether such ideas come from Dr Obert Mpofu or from Mr Tendai Biti.

We have to accept that the development of our communication infrastructure is very crucial for the future of our children whether or not credit will go to Zanu- PF or the MDC, whether our name is Mr Nelson Chamisa or Cde Nicholas Goche. We need to work together on these crucial national issues that will affect the current and future generations. We owe it to posterity that we do the right thing today. Let us listen to our consciences and not our egos.
As a country our human resource capital is unparalleled in Africa and beyond. Let us harness this for the establishment or reinforcement of the existing research and development institutions such as Sirdc.

Avoiding falling over each other scrambling for glory on party political lines will do a lot more for us than would be the case should we fight on the way to the desired national goal. The education sector must remain crucial as we budget resources and allocate these resources to such strategic national requirements to make our institutions of learning compete with the best of the world.
Agricultural institutions for instance require to be funded so that they support agriculture and enhance our food self-sufficiency. It matters not whether it is an MDC activist or a Zanu PF commissar who will benefit. Zimbabwe must come first in everything we do in our various capacities. Mining training institutions must be established and our small to medium mining establishments must be funded adequately.

Our national mineral resources require that we establish a fund, as these minerals are finite resources. We need to either set aside a fund or invest in critical infrastructure such as roads and telecommunication infrastructure. We have a robotics professor in our midst who must now start working and perhaps start to spearhead a national research unit. Politics may not be his best field. We have diamonds and there are claims that we could be sitting on 25 percent of all world deposits and that we could be the largest producer of diamonds.

We stand to benefit more from these minerals if there is peace and stability and transparency in the way we allocate proceeds from these diamonds. Indeed we should recognise that the United States consumes 35 percent of the world’s diamonds. It thus accounts for 35 percent of diamond sales. Hong Kong takes 26 percent, Belgium 15 percent, Japan six percent and Israel four.

Most welcome is that Hong Kong represents China. India is also moving fast to be a major market. It is my personal opinion that we need to be cautious as much as we are a proud people in the manner in which we deal with the hostile policy of the United States towards our diamonds. Should we completely ignore this market or should we continue to court them after they slapped Mbada and Marange Diamonds with sanctions? It is my hope that sanity will prevail and we may be selling diamonds to the largest market within the twelve months in the year 2012. Most of the so-called Asian Tigers have developed from their small to medium enterprises. These are known to create employment, which in turn increases disposable incomes thus creating demand for goods and services. They may be answer as to why the GDP may be said to be understated.

Are we accounting for everything in terms of goods and services that emanate there from? How much employment is being created in these so-called informal businesses? Is it not therefore incumbent upon our authorities to ensure that these are funded?

Banks must rise to the occasion and fund our small mines, small manufacturers and small farmers so that we keep the momentum and our GDP soars to greater heights. Let us not allow brother to fight brother over ideological differences. Instead let our energies be channelled towards national development.