Australia’s
Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Matthew Neuhaus, tells a SAPES conference that
investing in Zimbabwe was as dangerous and reckless as swimming in crocodile
infested Zambezi River.
“Investing
in Zimbabwe is like swimming in the Zambezi between crocodiles and hippos,” he
said, adding that “instead of policies to encourage foreign direct investment
(FDI), you have chosen indigenisation, especially in the mining sector.”
For
years Zimbabwe has failed to attract any significant FDI and even my aunt in
Zimbabwe's rural backwaters would understand Ambassador Neuhaus' pithy but
graphic explanation. To be fair to Mugabe and his cronies, they too now
understand the investors' concerns.
Ten
months of staring at that mockingly empty ZimAsset begging bowl have helped
focus minds – sadly, not on the right thing.
Finance
Minister Patrick Chinamasa, Mai Mujuru and even Mugabe himself have all gone
out of their way to assure would-be investors that the regime will not seize
any of their investments. Minister Chinamasa has even done to the extent of
calling Zanu PF’s 2007 indigenisation law, which forced all foreign owned
companies to cede 51% shares to black
Zimbabweans, as “nonsense” and that “it would never happen”!
Of
course none of the investors have found the regime’s words reassuring in any
way. They know that as long as Mugabe and Zanu PF remain in power, the regime
will re-activated the indigenisation law overnight and all the promises the
regime made are of no consequence.
To
paraphrase Ambassador Neuhaus’ graphic language, “Investing in Zimbabwe is like
swimming in the crocodile infested River. The only reassurance the regime is offering
is that all the killer crocodiles, as of now, are on a vegetarian diet!”
3 comments:
@ Guvhu
First things first; Mugabe's days in power are numbered if the economic melt-down continues. You clearly do not see it as a problem, at least not yet. However the penny has dropped for Mugabe, Chinamasa and the other Zanu PF leaders hence all this charm offensive to woo investors.
As long as Mugabe and company remain in power everyone knows that they will renege on all these promises to uphold the rule of law, protect property rights, etc. as readily as one can blink.
Mugabe and his cronies are the ones who passed the indigenisation law, seized the white owned farms and business, etc. in the past. Of course as long as they remain in power they will do the same again. Mugabe and his cronies are the crocodiles investors are scarred of. And having eaten everything them could eat the crocodile are enticing swimmers to jump into the river and telling the world the killer crocodiles are now vegetarian.
Even you do not believe Zanu PF is sincere about abandoning its indigenisation of mines. "Indigenisation will happen slowly and come what may as long as Mugabe is president mining will be indigenised," you said. And do you think the savvy and very wary investors do not know that!
So no investors are going to invest in Zimbabwe's crocodile-infested economy and without cash injection the economy will collapse. Mugabe and Zanu PF, the pilots, will not survive the economy crash
@ Guvhu
You are right Mugabe did "pull all the cards" to win the 2013 elections and one of those cards was to assure his crocodile followers that they will have the freedom to loot all foreign owned companies just as they looted the farms and other businesses in the past. His reckless gamble has backfired in that none of the foreign investors have been foolish enough to invest in Zimbabwe and so there is nothing for his cronies to loot!
Those crocodiles can co-exist in large numbers as long as there is plenty of food. When there is no food crocs are short tempered and vicious; not a safe place to be for feeble croc the rest hate with a passion!
“He (Mugabe) would, though, have a role to play in facilitating by freeing his comrades to act their convictions. He should unshackle his comrades in the politburo, in the Central Committee so that they can live what they believe,” said Simba Makoni the leader of Mavambo and former Finance Minister under Mugabe.
For all his posturing as an intellectual, Dr Simba Makoni has proven to be nothing but a shallow pretender to the throne. Here is a man who was at the very heart of the Zanu PF regime from 1980 to the time he resigned from that party in 2008 to form his own political party and now he is wit-tering about Zanu PF members being shackled. Mugabe did not have any shackles on him.
Makoni stayed in Zanu PF all these years and did his bit to establish, nourish and grow the Zanu PF dictatorship to the corrupt and murderous monster it became out of his own free wish same as those who have stayed on till today. Mugabe rewarded Makoni same as everybody with political power and material wealth.
People like Didymus Mutasa, Sydney Sekeramai and Mai Mujuru have enjoyed decades in power with all the comforts of life they know is way above their competence. How can anyone even suggest that they are shackled to the Zanu PF dictatorship?
Simba Makoni himself benefit from the tyrannical regime, the reason he resigned in 2008 was because he was no longer content with whatever Mugabe gave him; he wanted to be president, he wanted to be the top dog. Everyone else in the party would have left on mass to join Makoni if they had thought he was going to be president; they did not think so and so remained with Mugabe.
Zimbabwe’s worsen economic situation has left Mugabe with very little wealth to dole out to his ever demanding and corrupt party loyalists. The tyrant is running out of the glue that has held Zanu PF together all these years and already there are signs the regime and party is going to col-lapse. Dr Makoni is positioning himself and his party as the political party for disillusioned Zanu PF supporters to join; after all he is really one of them!
No Dr Makoni; you have notice the sun is setting on Mugabe and you want to inherit whatever will be left of Zanu PF; just say so and stop talking nonsense of Mugabe unshackling these Zanu PF goons!
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