Comment: Business gulps from poisoned chalice
http://www.theindependent.co.zw/
e
Thursday, 03 March 2011 19:36
BUSINESS executives this week set themselves up as President Mugabe’s
surrogates when they stepped up to append their signatures on the
anti-sanctions petition.
The business leaders led by Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI)
president Joseph Kanyekanye perhaps meant well when they signed the petition
because, as they argue, sanctions are stifling business activity.
But they will find it difficult to reconcile their conscience as wealth
creators with President Mugabe’s speech at the anti-sanctions rally on
Wednesday afternoon that was unambiguously partisan.
Mugabe in continuing the mantras from his birthday party last weekend,
continued to wave his fist at industry threatening companies with
expropriation.
Mugabe said expropriating companies was part of the strategy to fight
sanctions imposed on him and his lieutenants by the West.
He wants to take over companies owned by businessmen from countries that
imposed sanctions on him. This is now highly personal.
One company he has singled out, Nestle´, is a prime target because it is
refusing to buy milk from his Gushungo Farm. How petty can he get!
His explanation for targeting Nestle´ is emblematic. It dispels some of the
myth that his party has been trying to give air to. There is nothing
national about this project of expropriation.
This is a narrow Zanu PF venture of dispossession which the party is
attempting to link to the national programme of indigenisation.
What does fighting sanctions have to do with grabbing a farm from a company
that is not buying presidential milk? This trade dispute is now an ugly
national fight.
Kanyekanye as leader of business in Zimbabwe should therefore be careful
about lending himself to a discredited party assignment which will not
benefit industry at all in the long run. In fact it will generate enormous
damage.
Kanyekanye is entitled to have a personal view on sanctions but as president
of the CZI he has a key role to protect industry from excesses of the state
and not appear to be fighting from the same corner as the gang of
expropriators that have been unleashed on industry.
Frankly speaking, Kanyekanye should have a view on the threat to take over
companies.
At President Mugabe’s rally on Wednesday we believe he saw posters
advertising the names of companies being targeted for takeovers.
The big irony about this whole saga is that in 2009 Nestle´ were awarded the
CZI exporter of the year award and last year they were the first runner up
in the same category. This is a company that has brought value to the
country and contributed to increased foreign currency receipts.
The CZI says during the days of hyper-inflation when farmers wanted to
access stock-feed but did not have the immediate resources to buy stock
feeds, Nestle´ stepped in and linked the farmers with the banks.
The farmers could access funding facilities from banks enabling them to
continue running their farm operations and have working capital. Nestle´
would purchase farm produce and repay the banks on behalf of the farmers,
with the remainder of the funds going to the farmers. This point has been
conveniently forgotten. Where is the CZI president to remind the president
of Nestle’s contribution to the economy?
We also want to know what he thinks about the president’s remarks on taking
over companies.
Mugabe’s template is definitely not the mode of indigenisation which CZI
believes in.The CZI believes there should be “consistency with
constitutional provisions such as property rights, the rule of law and the
avoidance of imposition of equity partners”.
Kanyekanye has been handed a poisoned chalice and unwisely gulped the
contents. Those business leaders and even service chiefs who have associated
themselves with this dubious campaign need to think carefully about
diminished public esteem. They have signed up to yet another Zanu PF project
which is likely to be as damaging as the rest and further the country’s
isolation.