Time to say no to economic plunder

But investors perceptions of Zimbabwe are obviously of little concern to President Robert Mugabe whose main pre-occupation these days seems to want to prove that he alone remains in charge of Zimbabwe. To prove that he still has a firm grip on Zimbabwe, Mugabe, barely 24 hours after Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirais office announced that the plan to compel foreign-owned business to cede 51-percent stake to indigenous Zimbabweans had been suspended, took to the podium to announce the scheme was going ahead. There is no nullification of the indigenisation and economic empowerment law. What is there is that the regulations are being studied by a committee of Cabinet just to improve on them,” Mugabe said.

We do not know what improve means to Mugabe. But we know how he was able to improve the lot of Zimbabweans with his last empowerment programme the so-called fast-track land reform programme. A proud and self-sufficient people were in a short 10 years reduced to a nation of paupers, escaping mass starvation only because international relief agencies were quick to chip in with food handouts. An economy that was one of Africas most brilliant shrunk by a frightening 40 percent as its agricultural base curved in under the weight of murder, robbery and violence on farms.

For the record, we will be the first to call upon the nation to rally behind an economic empowerment plan meant to place control of the economy in the hands of Zimbabweans and by that we mean all citizens of this country whether black or white. But we cannot support the empowerment plan championed by Mugabe which in reality is merely an excuse by the old man to extend to industry the same chaos that destroyed agriculture with so much painful consequences for all of us.

What Mugabe and his minion Saviour Kasukuwere are calling economic empowerment is nothing but ruse to transfer ownership of foreign-owned firms into the hands of Zanu (PF) loyalists, especially in the military and security establishment, as reward for continuing to back the party. The same old boys and girls who were out looting commercial farms will soon be back in town to plunder industry and finish off the little that remains of our economy. This we say not to and we believe every Zimbabwean should!