After Finance Minister Chinamasa gave assurances that the indigenisation policy would be clarified to encourage foreign investment there was hope that one of the main obstacles to economic growth was to be removed – only for new Indigenisation Minister Christopher Mushowe to say foreign investors would be lucky to get a 49% share in their business. It could be as little as 1%. Is that clear enough Mr Chinamasa?
The other main economic problem, agriculture, is subject to the same government whims. Mugabe told the party congress last month that remaining white farmers should be driven off – only for Minister of Lands and Rural Resettlement Douglas Mombeshora to say resettled farmers were free to form joint ventures with while commercial farmers (see: http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/news/zimsit_w_zimbabwe-in-land-policy-u-turn/ – Zimbabwe in land policy U-turn). Predictably his statement was immediately rubbished by other Zanu PF elements.
With Dr Grace openly defying party policy – let alone the law – to grab ever more land in Mazowe, few investors would have much confidence in any assurances given by such a rudderless regime except, of course, for Western governments which, in spite of everything, speak blithely of ‘progress’ in Zimbabwe. The American Ambassador to Harare Bruce Wharton has tweeted ‘Zim makes the New York Times list of places to go!’ The British Ambassador to Zimbabwe Catriona Laing has picked this up and tweeted ‘Great news! @BruceWharton Zim makes the New York Times list of places to go!’
So the Western diplomatic community is having a whale of a time mixing cocktails in Harare. Ms Laing in her latest newsletter says: ‘I have had a fascinating first three and a half months in Zimbabwe . . . a truly inspiring place (see: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/391172/UK_in_Zimbabwe_Newsletter_December_2014.pdf).
Were Mr Wharton and Ms Laing at the ZimRights meeting which gave an award to the notorious farm invader Joseph Chinotimba, who led a group which invaded the Supreme Court and demanded: ‘kill the judges’? Perhaps they joined in singing for he’s a jolly good fellow. (See: http://allafrica.com/stories/201501050748.html – Zimbabwe: 'Chinotimba Not a Rights Defender'.)
Other points
· No one knows how many Zimbabweans are in the UK. Estimates range widely. Now the House of Commons Library has put the figure at 52,000. This, of course, will be an underestimate because ‘illegals’ are obviously under the radar. But it provides a considerable constituency which could help sway the knife-edge general elections in May. Zimbabweans are classed as Commonwealth citizens and can vote here because the UK government hasn’t bothered to update the law since Zimbabwe pulled out of the Commonwealth twelve years ago. We urge you to express your opinions of the UK’s policy on Zimbabwe in the elections.
Post published in: News