Linking State politics, economy

has been shown to be subservient to the profit motive and rather to the ulterior motive of building socialistic society.
What has happened in this century has put paid to these social ideals with the collapse of the fabric of communism as advanced by some thinkers.
A case in point as that of China which, purports to stick to the ideology of communism while practicing what many experts, term State capitalism. The State decides on the exchange rate of their currency to enhance their earning power through exports of cheap goods rather than succumb to the volatility of the market forces. At the end of the day, China is practicing capitalism rooted in the belief that capital must produce profits. Many parables in the Bible give examples of the Jewish profit motive where investment must be made to produce profits rather than money being kept locked up.
This brings me to the politics of nationalisation which, in actual fact, is trying to advance state capitalism. The major draw back of this kind of politics is the lack of capital to exploit the abundant resources available to the country. What China did was to open up its economy to the outside world to attract investors that brought in capital as well as advanced technology.
But the profit motive was at the back of the minds of these investors since all they wanted was cheap labour abundant in China. China welcomed these capitalists especially their technology and transformed it to build their nation. What about Africa? Firstly, Africa was colonised for the purpose of providing cheap resources to be shipped to Europe to build their economies. This was different from the Chinese experience where capital and technology was shipped to China. China is not interested in colonising Africa, that is to subject the people of Africa to their rule but to purchase Africa’s resources to build its economy using the technology it has been advanced by western countries.
The politics of Africa has to adapt to that of the profit motive if a sustainable economy has to be built. Political instability in Africa has been the main cause of poverty for its peoples. One would have expected the continent of Africa to wake up to the realities that the profit motive is what sustains an economy.
Yes, like our politics of indigenisation and black ownership of the resources, be they be land, minerals etc. the theory of profit motive must govern the exploitation of this undeveloped wealth for the benefit of the people. Are we going to promote state capitalism like China has done? If the management of parastatals and local government entities is anything to go by, then our state capitalism has failed to bring any benefits, late alone any profits to build a sustainable economy.
The politics of indigenisation and empowerment to the people, is premised on the assumption that individuals, previously marginalised by a colonial political system, will have a burning ambition to make profits from the political dispensation. Are there any of these individuals with such profit motive burning in their bellies? If this policy of indigenisation and empowerment is combined with that of state capitalism, then only then, can the country move forward in developing a sustainable economy.
But the major difficult, which already exist, is the prevalent incompetence in the system. No amount of political correctness can overcome that. A case in point is that of Air Zimbabwe which is whole owned by the State. Yes it is patriotic to own a national airline but if it is not viable, which means it is not making a profit and the country does not have the finances to subsidise a loss making company.
Therefore, even selling off state companies will cure the disease of incompetence in either running state companies nor private sector companies. The collapse of even companies in the private sector cannot be entirely be blamed at the door of our politics but at the incompetence of individuals and management of these companies. At this time of the year, academic results show clearly that the country has talented children. What is lacking is the capacity to utilise this abundant talent being churned from our education system from the high school and university or college levels. Where can engineers go and work if Air Zimbabwe is not flying? Where can engineers go and make a difference if municipalities are badly managed with sewerage flowing into the streets while some high ranking officials are helping themselves to the money paid by residents?
It is like the Shona saying that: “You are thirsty while you are standing in water.” We are standing in the wealth of this country and yet we are poor. While the profit motive is very important in developing an economy, many people have complained about the excessive profit motive that drives business in this country.
It is like there is no tomorrow. Even the introduction of the multi-currency system has not stopped the get rich quickly syndrome of the business people in the country. What then is the political motive if all what the policy making establishment wants is to look after themselves at the expense of the people?
What then may be the solution if incompetence in the system is due to politics? The desire to make a profit should cut across politics. In the end, like what one Chinese leader said: ” It does not matter if the cat is black or white, as long as it can catch mice.”