Contributing to the debate on the 25th of September, Member of Parliament
for Harare North, Hon. Trudy Stevenson said the most notorious thing about
the Bill was that it was going to create two classes of citizens who would
be treated unequally. Said Hon. Stevenson, “Mr. Speaker, I speak as one of
the people as it is clear that this Bill is targeting whites. I am a
Zimbabwean citizen and in this Bill, my right as a citizen is being reduced
so that I am not going to have the same rights as a black citizen. Everyone
is a citizen and we have equal rights.” However, the Minister for
Indigenization and Economic Empowerment, Mr. Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana was
unmoved and adamant that the Bill was the right step towards empowering the
black community and was meant to correct past colonial imbalances. Stevenson
objected this by saying that everyone disapproves the colonial past, but
those past imbalances cannot be corrected by creating another imbalance on
racial lines. The fiery legislator reminded the Minister that such an action
was a clear deviation from the objectives of the liberation struggle. “In my
view this betrays one of the main objectives of the liberation struggle. I
will remind members on the opposite side, the liberation struggle was fought
for equal opportunities, equality for all. If you are going then to
disempower some, you are not going to have equal citizens. You are going
back to creating two classes of citizens. One class is going to have less
power and fewer rights and this is wrong, it is fundamentally wrong.”
Another MDC MP and Shadow Minister for Economic Affairs, Hon. Edwin
Mushoriwa of Dzivarasekwa, bemoaned the dire consequences the Bill was going
to have on our already dilapidated economy should it become an Act. Hon.
Mushoriwa reminded the House in general and the Minister in particular that
Zimbabwe was already being perceived to be an unsafe investment destination
by foreign investors and what the government was doing was tantamount to
fueling an already existing negative perception. “The perception at the
moment is that Zimbabwe is a hostile country in terms of investment.
Naturally many people run away. As we speak right now, with the news that
the Minister has brought this Bill to the House with this political thrust
that as Zimbabweans we want this as part of the revolution, asset stripping
is happening. Most industries and all those companies who wanted to reinvest
are now withholding their investments because the Minister does not
understand the timing for the economy.”
Mr. Mushoriwa queried the Minister’s wisdom of bringing the Bill in
Parliament 27 years after independence. He said what was important at this
juncture was for the Minister to bring a Bill that is in line with the
economic turnaround that the Central Bank Governor Gideon Gono is always
talking about. The MDC lawmaker added that it was worrisome that at this
time where our people are crying out for economic salvation, the Minister
has the guts to say “the Bill is more political than economic.” “You have to
ask, Mr. Speaker, 27 years after we attained our independence; we have the
Minister standing in this House to talk about political need rather than
economic need for Zimbabweans”, complained Mr. Mushoriwa. Because of all
these weaknesses, Mushoriwa said it was not proper for Parliament to support
the Bill as it was irrelevant in terms of economic recovery and
stabilization particularly the forecasted disastrous results it was going to
have on investment. Said Mr. Mushoriwa, “. As Parliament we should not stand
up and support such a Bill because in terms of investment, it is the
perception, which carries the most weight”
As has become the norm with ZANU PF parliamentarians, Minister Mangwana was
defensive and arrogant throughout the whole debate and insisted the Bill
would sail through. Opposition legislators were reminded they could go back
to school if they did not understand some aspects of the Bill. According to
Mangwana’s analogy, for a white MP to oppose the Bill was a sign of being
“More concerned with the colour of your skin than the essence of the Bill”,
while opposing black legislators were branded puppets as is the norm.
The Bill sailed through the House of Assembly on September 26 amid protests
from Hon. Job Sikhala that the House was not in quorum. Other MPs who hotly
contested the passage of the Bill include Hon. Willas Madzimure (Kambuzuma),
Hon. Gift Chimankire (Mbare) and Hon. Milford Gwetu (Mpopoma). The Bill has
been widely criticized by a host of economic analysts and it is expected to
have the same destructive impact on an already weeping economy as did the
chaotic land grabs in the turn of the millennium. Like with the land
invasions, there are reports that certain ruling party heavyweights are
targeting specific banks and mines. The country’s leading foreign owned
banks include Standard Chartered, Barclays and Stanbic; which is owned by
Standard Bank of South Africa. Stanbic has already warned it could pull out
if affected. Mining giants ZIMPLATS owned by South African platinum giants
IMPALA could also be affected. In an apparent reference to the Bill, Dr Gono
launched a scathing attack on the motives of some politicians and warned
them to stay away from the sensitive banking sector. “Those who want banks
must apply for their own licenses,” said Dr. Gono presenting his mid-term
monetary policy last month. – Chiwola is the MDC (Mutambara) National Youth Secretary for Information & Publicity
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