admineconomic empowerment policies – indigenisation and the land reform programmes.
But he warned there were “security concerns” among potential US investors.
The envoy’s remarks appear to be a softening of his country’s hardline stance on Zimbabwe that emerged in line with the onset of the land reform programme in the late 90s.
Ambassador Ray spoke in Bindura during a tour of a irrigation scheme sponsored by Usaid.
Last month, Ambassador Ray attended the US-Africa Business Summit in Washington, DC, where he urged American investors to do business with Zimbabwe.
In the latest round of his “charm offensive”, Ambassador Ray advised that equitable and effective implementation of the programmes would yield broader positive results.
“Empowerment sometimes gets a bad rap,” he said. “But it is a good word for the expanding possibilities that we should all be thankful for.
“Neither American businesses nor the American government oppose empowerment or more equitable distribution of national wealth.
“But as Zimbabwe pursues these objectives, it is important to remember that true empowerment does not come at your neighbour’s expense.”
The Zimbabwean Government is currently in the process of implementing an indigenisation drive that requires foreign companies to dispose (at fair market value) at least 51 percent of the equity to indigenous Zimbabweans.
The indigenisation drive is an extension of the principle behind the land reform programme, aimed at equitable distribution of the nation’s wealth.
On land reform, the US ambassador said his country’s appreciation for the need of land reform in Zimbabwe pre-dated the onset of the programme.
“Long before Zimbabwe had A1 or A2 farmers, the US government recognised that land reform was necessary in Zimbabwe. Access to land for more people was clearly needed for Zimbabwe to achieve the human dignity people fought for,” he said.
He said the old distinction between communal and commercial farmers was no longer valid as an expanding market levelled out the playing field.
In terms of US investment into the country, Ambassador Ray said he would continue to engage potential American investors as “there is an information gap between international perceptions of Zimbabwe and what is actually transpiring on the ground”.
But he said most American businesspeople he had met had expressed concerns about security of their investments if they chose to invest in Zimbabwe.
“The American investors I speak to all have the same message: uncertainty around property rights is a deal-breaker. They see the opportunities that come with Zimbabwe’s economic recovery, but they worry about the security of their investments.
“As Zimbabwe moves into the future, perhaps its greatest challenge is to show foreign investors that their claims to property are safe,” he said.
US Census Bureau (Foreign Trade) data show that bilateral trade between Zimbabwe and the US increased by 18 percent last year. It also increased by 46 percent during the first eight months of the year, compared with the parallel period last year.
Online Reporter