adminindustrial sector in the country over the last decade.
Addressing his party supporters at a rally in Gweru after touring some companies operating in the Midlands province at the weekend, Mr Tsvangirai said the country should not be “fooled” by Zanu-PF that companies were crumbling because of economic sanctions.
He said the state of most industries in Gweru was sad given that some big companies such as ZimAlloys had shut down due to poor policies.
“Zanu-PF is doing everything to ensure that there is no progress. We have a problem of a culture of misgovernance. If there is any threat to the sovereignty of this country, it is Zanu-PF’s political culture of misrule not sanctions,” he said.
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Mr Tsvangirai also made a U-turn on his earlier remarks that he supported the country’s indigenisation policy saying he subscribed to what he termed “broad-based empowerment” policies.
While touring companies in Kwekwe and Gweru together with Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister, Saviour Kasukuwere last Friday, Mr Tsvangirai had said the Government’s economic empowerment policies were not meant to punish foreigners. Mr Tsvangirai said the indigenisation policy sought to ensure maximum participation by local people in the mainstream economy. He, however, told his supporters the following day that investors were being driven away by some of the policies announced by Government.
“Whoever wanted to invest in this country is discouraged by some of the policies announced by Government. I read in the newspapers recently that I supported indigenisation – I don’t subscribe to those regulations. I support broad-based indigenisation and not the word indigenisation,” he said.
This was after MDC-T’s Women’s Assembly chairperson Theresa Makone had also criticised the indigenisation policy. Mrs Makone who is perceived an ‘iron lady’ in the MDC-T circles had said Zanu-PF wanted to loot private property using the indigenisation laws.
“They have grabbed farms claiming they belong to their forefathers now they want to loot companies. They talk of 51 percent, 51 percent of looting,” she said. However, the business community comes out open on the issue of illegal sanctions saying the embargo was impeding economic growth.
In March this year the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries president, Mr Joseph Kanyekanye, told the delegates at the launch of the Anti Sanctions Petition that illegal sanctions had nothing to do with human rights as claimed by the Western media but were designed to cripple Zimbabwe’s economy. He said it was difficult to do business with the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act in place.
The law empowers the US Secretary for Treasury to direct any US executive director sitting on international financial institutions to vote against extension of loans to Zimbabwe and cancellation or reduction of indebtedness owed by Zimbabwe. Companies, banks and individuals had also had their monies frozen as a result of the illegal sanctions but the MDC-T still insisted that illegal sanctions were not affecting the economy. The business sector had come out openly on the issue of illegal sanctions and condemned them.
Although Mr Tsvangirai claimed that Zanu-PF policies, not illegal sanctions had killed industry in Zimbabwe, his secretary general, Mr Tendai Biti, according to recent disclosures by whistle blower cables, WikiLeaks, was reported to be working with some European Union countries to ensure that more Zanu-PF members and firms remained on sanctions list.
A Sadc delegation sent to Washington recently to call for the removal of sanctions was told by the US administration that MDC-T had told them to maintain the sanctions because they were their political leverage against Zanu-PF.
Online Reporter