Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Hebert Zharare
16 November 2009
Rome — President Mugabe yesterday said the Government will not nationalise foreign-owned companies, but will insist on the 51 percent local ownership on all companies according to the country's indegenisation laws.
The President, who is the Head of State and Government as well as Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, said this while addressing Italian business representatives at a luncheon hosted by Harare's embassy here
"We have not nationalised companies. We have many companies that are in the mining, agro-industry and manufacturing sectors. We will not nationalise them because that has not been our policy. We have our indigenisation laws that say for all the companies, at least 51 percent of it must be locally owned.
"This is the law we should apply in respect of all the new investments in the country. We have never offended against this pledge," said the President.
He assured Italian businesspeople that the Government would render whatever assistance to enhance foreign investment.
The President, who is here to attend the Food and Agriculture Organisation's summit starting today, told the Italians that his office was always open to them.
He paid tribute to Italian businesses for their continued support during a time when some Western nations were vilifying the country and its leadership for implementing the land reform programme.
The land reform programme has economically empowered many Zimbabweans who have become proud owners of land.
"Before the land reform programme, about 70 percent of Zimbabwe's arable land, was owned by a minority 4 000 whites.
"However, after the rationalisation of the land tenure system in the country, over 300 000 Zimba-bweans now own good farming land.
"Come and invest and make profit. You are aware that some European countries and America have imposed some sanctions on us. As for you, you have defied that because you know what is morally right. It is that understanding that we praise you for.
"During that time when others were imposing sanctions on us, you worked with us as if you were a humanitarian organisation because you wanted to see Zimbabwe grow," he said.
President Mugabe said there was no way the Government would seize their investments because it had no such policies.
He chronicled the history of the land reform programme and how it led to a bilateral dispute between Zimbabwe and Britain.
President Mugabe said his Government took the fast-track route after the British government under former prime minister Tony Blair had reneged on earlier pledges to support the programme by paying compensation for the land.
He said there was nothing wrong with taking land from white former farmers because it was done according to the laws of the land. After the British government had refused to pay for the compensation, President Mugabe said the Government was left with no option but to take the land from former commercial farmers.
He said Italian businesspeople should not fear investing in Zimbabwe because of land reforms.
The President told the delegation that the inclusive Government formed by Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations was working but reiterated that illegal sanctions were hurting the people.
He said it was unfortunate that some countries such as France joined Britain in the imposition of sanctions on the country.
President Mugabe said former French president Jacques Chirac failed to explain why his country was imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe. "He just said it's unfortunate but we have to work as a group (European Union)," he said.
The Italian delegation that met the President included the president of their International Chamber, Mr Gianni Simoncini, and his vice, Mr Alessadro Pigato.
Other members of the delegation were from the tourism, dam construction and farming sectors.
These included an old supporter of the liberation struggle in Africa, Mr Dina Forti. Mr Forti -- who is now 94 years old -- mobilised support for the liberation struggles in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia and other Southern African countries.
Earlier in the day, President Mugabe met FAO director- general Mr Jacques Diouf at the organisation's head office. Briefing journalists after the meeting, Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development Minister Joseph Made said the two leaders discussed what could be done to ensure food security.
Minister Made said President Mugabe paid tribute to FAO for helping the country raise US$70 million worth of inputs to assist about 700 000 smallholder farmers.
"Water provision is key to unlocking agriculture potential. It is against this background that it was agreed to make sure that no crop was lost after harvesting. About 40 percent of the crop is lost through post-harvesting problems," said Minister Made. He said a specialist had been sent to Zimbabwe assist in minimise post-harvesting crop losses.
An Italian company built Kariba Dam in the 1950s.
The President also attended mass at the Vatican.
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2009 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
Correction:
"OK. 49% ownership by one foreign entity - especially one entity aligned with foreign agents harbouring malice against the people of Zimbabwe, is too much ownership. We declare that 51% local participation meets with minimal requirememnts for presence in Zimbabwe's business environment , BUT it does not qualify the company to be referred to as 'locally-owned'. For that classification, we shall call for at least 80% ownership. And that there will be distinct advantages enjoyed by 'locally-owned' companies.
.
We must go further than the the 51% participation by locals in foreign companies minting monney in Zimbabwe. In additions to 51% control, we shall look forward - far into the future: We need to seed, incubate and 'grow' locally-owned companies - fast - in the high-return sectors in which foreign-owned companies currently thrive .."
.
Come to think of it, why are foreigners still in control of the lucrative tourism sector in Zimbabwe? . [Do foreigners, any foreigner, know how to manage hotels better? And if so, how long does it take to train a local Ndebele how to manage a hotel? Surely, the Shona know how to, and can, advertise and promote tourism all over the world .. [And any racist tourist who does not wish to visit Zimbabwe because the locals control tourism - is, frankly, more welcome in South Africa .. ]
Chokora you fingers must be all bent by now for all the time it has taken you to count those percentages and still coming short. Plotting and conniving to steal your way into other people's enterprises is typical of you shameless thieves and hooligans. You will remain there sitting on your arse still counting your fingers and picking your nose because no one is going to invest in your Mugabe termite infested country, and those already there will be happy to say "In your face" as they leave your country.
Why does he play these word games? Why doesn't he say what he really means?
Mugabe is thinking, "Please bring your money here to invest so that once it's here within our country, we can take it away from you to give to our wife to go shopping during UN conferences. It worked with all of the white farmers who decided to invest here after independence because they thought their money was safe. It should work again now. So long as I control the courts, you can squeal like a pig but I'll still take your money away from you. So come on, get out your checkbook brother!"
He's a snake in a suit.
Yes let the foolish whites come and give us some more money that we can steal. Let them set up new businesses so that once they are up and running we can again steal the businesses and give it to my friends. Let them make profits so my friends can nationalise their businesses and I can give Grace and her illigitimate offspring some businesses as she is tired of farming on her 6 farms stolen from the whites. Let the white businesses flourish then in 10 years time we will again take them back, by which time I will have trained anew Gono to steal the dividends and profits from those companies. Your sincerely, Robber Mugabe.
Hahahahahahahahahahaha!
"Come and invest in Zimbabwe so we can take your money too!" is what he is actually saying!
As it pertains to "indigenization", where exactly is the "Kapital" for the Zimbabwean 51% going to come from? Are you actually asking for foreign investment to only be 49% of the needs of the nation's investment? Zimbabwe does not have 51% of the $8 BILLION U.S. it estimates it needs to "re-empower" itself.
THAT is what "indiginzation" means.......... if you want a minority partner in an investment vehicle, then you cannot expect them to put up the majority of "Kapital" to capitalize the investment!
Who exactly is thinking up these moronic economic policies? Why would ANYONE invest a greater amount of Kapital to obtain a lesser amount of return? What is the rate of return on investment these days in Zimbabwe if you're not somehow "connected" with ZANU-Poof? My guess would be ZERO!
But here are some amusing excerpts from the birdcage-liner that is the Herald..........
Bloodstained Bob said, "The land reform programme has economically empowered many Zimbabweans who have become proud owners of land."
How "economically empowered" they must feel! How many of them are ZANU-Poofs? How many of them are MDC-T supporters? That comparison, were it ever to be made known would be enlightening..........
Bloodstained Bob said, "Before the land reform programme, about 70 percent of Zimbabwe's arable land, was owned by a minority 4 000 whites." (True) "However, after the rationalisation of the land tenure system in the country, over 300 000 Zimba-bweans now own good farming land."
Actually Bob, they do not "Own" the land, but merely hold "offer letters" that entitle them to 99 year leases on the land.......... THAT is NOT ownership............
Question should be: After determining the party affliliation of those who have recieved "re-distributed" land, what is the current productivity of the land that has been "re-distributed" as compared to is production levels prior to "re-distribution"?
Another good question would be, how many Zimbabweans are currently employed in the agricultural segment of Zimbabwe's economy as compared to prior to the "re-distribution" of land?
Bloodstained Bob said, "Come and invest and make profit."
However, as a minority partner with only a 49% stake in any investment, the decision on what to do with any "profit" made on an investment does not belong to the minority partner, the person holding the 51% share determines where the profits are to go......... so if the 51% majority partner decides to "re-invest" their profits into "other" enterprises in Zimbabwe, the minority partner has no recourse..........
Again the idiocy of insisting that any FDI in Zimbabwe obtain only a minority stake in any investment deprives potential investors of any liquidity of their investment! What sort of idiot would buy into such a scheme.........?
Again, Zimbabwe needs over $8 BILLION U.S. in foreign investment but expects the supposed investors to obtain only a $3.92 BILLION equity stake per their "indigenization" "policy" in return............!
These guys didn't even properly learn their Marx when they were in Moscow!
President Mugabe said "there was no way the Government would seize their investments because it had no such policies."
For now............ Bllodstained Bob and his kleptocracy of ZANU-Poof bootlickers have previously shown their propensity to change their "policies" (like printing money) when it suits them, or profits them, to do so..........
Bloodstained Bob said, "there was nothing wrong with taking land from white former farmers because it was done according to the laws of the land (that he and his ZANU-Poof kleptocrats just happened to make). After the British government had refused to pay for the compensation, President Mugabe said the Government was left with no option (no option? How about giving the land from white owned farms to the employees of the white owned farms - at least THEY knew how to farm!) but to take the land from former commercial farmers."
"He said Italian businesspeople should not fear investing in Zimbabwe because of land reforms."
Translation: "Just because we stole from the British and tried to intimidate Nestle doesn't mean you should fear us - trust me......."
"The President told the delegation that the inclusive Government formed by Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations was working but reiterated that illegal sanctions were hurting the people."
Again - the unfortunate and incorrect use of the word "illegal", as expected from the Herald - as if sovereign nations don't have the same right as Zimbabwe to determine with whom they will and will not allow trade.........
"The President also attended mass at the Vatican."
Yeah? I've attended Mass at the Vatican and I'm not even Catholic! (I did NOT "take" Mass, I merely attended). No one is denied attendence at Mass - Osama bin Laden would be allowed to attend Mass, he just wouldn't be allowed to take communion.
The question here should be: Did Bloodstained Bob attend confession and recieve absolution BEFORE he attended Mass? If not, then that is a Cardinal Sin deserving God's punishment (in Catholic terms.....) Did he "take" Communion" while attending the Mass?
THOSE answers would tell us a lot more about this man than the other useless dribble the Herald continues to pour forth!
Sure, if the Italians want to want to invest in Zimbabwe, fine, but those same Italians will not be able to invest in the rest of the EU, or the U.S., and they'd get a better return pissing into the Tiber than investing in Zimbabwe under the master-kleptomaniac Robert Mugabe's reign!
"Total Empowerment!"
Kuenda kumusangano kunovata.... hehede president wedu zvedu
" .. Before the land reform programme, about 70 percent of Zimbabwe's arable land, was owned by a minority 4 000 whites. The land reform programme has economically empowered many Zimbabweans who have become proud owners of land. .."
Our glorious ancestors were invaded, tortured, raped, their ancestral lands commandeered, shipped into bondage and murdered. And unto today, their offspring are beseiged, sanctioned and thereby starved and killed.
There is unrest in the firmament still. Our ancestors still seek justice for the offspring, the African Child. Now and then there is a glimmer of hope. Zimbabwe, you have done our ancestors proud.
.
""We have not nationalised companies... that has not been our policy. " "
No need to nationalize all companies -0 just certain companies. But then, nationalization may not be the only avenue to achieve predominantly local participation in the economy and the crafting of the future of the land.
There are other policy instruments which are employed by democracies in the west to effectively ensure that the major players - or almost all players - in certain strategic sectors are the locally-owned ones. Zimbabwe MUST adopt similar democratic means towards that goal.
.
"We have many companies that are in the mining, agro-industry and manufacturing sectors. We will not nationalise them because that has not been our policy. ""
OK. But the policy can be crafted such that locally-owned Zimbabwean companies - perhaps defined as those with over 80% local ownership - have a distinct advantage when vying for registration or business. And special attention is to be paid to the "strategic industries" (recognized to be the ones where high rates of return on investment is realized.
[Google or search online for "cash cow" and "strategic industry"].).
Such attention would go into policies and regulations that set very specific - indeed prohibitive - entry requirements for companies that are not locally owned. [UK/USA do thus, so Zimbabwe can do it too. Of course the UK/USA will complain and severely sanction ZIM. So be it.]
.
The democratic land of "free enterprise", the USA, is a useful resource for Zimbabweans wishing to research on such policies and regulations that essentially restrict or deny participation to foreign companies. [Do not be deceived by pretenders who propose that because they studied in the USA for 5 years and worked there for 10 years then they are experts on USA's business and trade policies, regulations and business environment. There are many who have lived in ZIM for 30 years or more, yet they really don't know much about ZIM, its history, the people and their aspirations. Example: Tsvangirai...]
The USA does not say "DON'T" to foreigners and their companies but it says we have OUR regulations which you must meet. And Zimbabwe, indeed Africa, can adopt the similar regulations that benefit the locals - over the squeals of lackeys like Tsvangirai, who are made to believe that the native is here on her majesty's service.]
For instance, suppose you are a foreign company registered in Iran or Libya and seeking acquisition or entry into the banking, (advanced) computer, insurance, biotechnology, aerospace, communications, (advanced) machine tools, or pharmaceutical industry in USA ... Now suppose you want to get into sourcing and contracting for USA's defence department ...
A knowledgeable scholar of the USA policies and regulatory environment can give days of long lectures on the maze of restrictions which will come into play at the federal, state and local levels. How about an idea of the time- in years - spent filing papers, waiting for responses and attending many hearings at which the application may be denied. Of course, a locally-owned company may be exempt from certain time-consuming requirements and be on a fast-track to navigate the maze in a few months if not weeks ... ) The people of Zimbabwe can put in place similar requirements and regulations - to serve their land and the future of the people of Zimbabwe.
.
""We have our indigenisation laws that say for all the companies, at least 51 percent of it must be locally owned.""
OK.
We miust go further than that. We need locally-owned companies. Zimbabwe must use its wealtgh to benefit Zimbabweans - not British or European brood {who have yet to brutally pay their blood debt with Africa.}
The wealth and the future of Zimbabwe lies in its people.
We need companies - especially in the "strategic sectors" which are locally-owned.
We note that the foreign companies operating in Zimbabwe do not generate in-house the technology they use: They buy their technology/equipment on the foreign markets that is accessible to Zimbabweans. Many of the foreign companies in Zimbabwe shop for technical manpower and consultancy internationally.
Zimbabweans can shop too.
Zimbabweans can do the same too. [Indeed, Zimbabwe has successful companies in the high-technology communications sector...It can be done.]
Zimbabwe's literacy rate is comparable to that in the western countries - glory to Mbuya Nehanda.
Zimbabwe has the manpower - developed especially after the successful Chimurenga.
Zimbabwe has the capital needed to acquire the technology. [Go East, My Son .. GEMS]
Hand in hand with the indigenization policy goes the policy and effort - with milestones set - to develop the technical and managerial manpower - now and into the future.
[Needless to say, Zimbabwe's rhodie detractors and parasites have their long-term goals geared towards the victimization of the native.
The sustained destabilization of Zimbabwe and the shrill politicization of a government's policy for short-term ego-gratification of lackeys plays into the rhodie's age-old schemes in resource-rich Africa.]
GEMS