cally bankrupting all independent business.
They are doing so by denying them the right to produce and market their
products at a profit.
2. They are fully anticipating wholesale company closures and collapse
across the country. No distinction is made for local and foreign
controlled companies.
3. As soon as a company folds they will move in through the IDC and the
State Trading Corporation to take control. Resources will be made
available to fund the operations and then price controls will be relaxed and the
companies allowed to resume production.
4. A process of transferring control to local Zanu PF individuals and
companies will then ensue in a similar fashion to the Olivine take
over.
This was effected by a payment of US$6,8 million by Cotco – working
with the IDC. The company will warehouse the shares until it is decided who will
get this plum.
5. The great danger of this process is the same as was the case in
respect of the farm invasions. The loss of skills and experience that takes
place during the transition might actually render the enterprise
unmanageable. The loss of skills will be permanent because most will leave the country.
The scale and audacity of this exercise is mind boggling. They are clearly
in a hurry to do this – I call it the Neutron Bomb exercise – you kill the
enterprise without destroying the infrastructure which you then take
over.
6. The private sector are not fools – they know what is going on and
many are now asset stripping their operations – the financial cost of this
operation will place a huge new burden on the State (Reserve Bank
printers) and will drastically reduce all form of State revenues. We can
therefore anticipate that this will further exacerbate inflation.
Nearly all the companies known to me are vunerable to this operation –
no matter how large. Its side effect wil be to drive at least 2 million
Zimbabweans out of the country into South Africa, the only destination
that is close enough and large enough to absorb this number of people in a
short period of time (three to six months).
Eddie Cross