Oliver Kazunga, Senior Business Reporter
INDIGENOUS business associations have hailed the economic empowerment initiatives the country has embarked on since the attainment of Independence.
This, they reckon, was only made possible through the "supreme" sacrifices made by freedom fighters.
Zimbabwe attained Independence from Britain in 1980, after a protracted armed struggle by the country's gallant sons and daughters to emancipate the country from white colonial rule, which treated natives as second-class citizens in various facets of social and economic spheres, including the ownership of the means of production.
It is against this background that the Government, after the attainment of Independence, set aside Heroes Holiday, a day which is commemorated every second week of August, to honour and celebrate the sacrifices made by the freedom fighters, both living and departed.
Thus, Zimbabwe yesterday celebrated Heroes Day in honour of these selfless individuals.
Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) president Ms Henrietta Rushwaya said: "As a country, on account of the freedom that we cherish today as a result of the sacrifices made by both fallen and living heroes and heroines, we have made significant strides towards economic emancipation. This is evident in the sprouting of indigenous businesses, which previously were not there prior to the attainment of Independence in 1980.
"The mining sector was a preserve of the whites where black Zimbabweans were considered as labourers and not owners of the means of production. Since Independence we are seeing the propagation of indigenous businesses either as small-scale or medium scale enterprises, something that hardly happened before Independence," she said.
As a result of the small-scale mining operations, the country has over the years managed to improve on gold production volumes, with the miners in the sector now accounting for at least 60 percent of the mineral's total output.
"So, both living and departed freedom fighters have left us a legacy which we continue to cherish as we venture into various economic empowerment initiatives to further liberate ourselves from the yoke of colonial bondage.
"This is further buttressed by the Second Republic under the leadership of President Mnangagwa through affirmations such as 'Nyika inovaka nevene vayo/Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo," said Ms Rushwaya.
This year, the country targets 40 tonnes of gold from 30,1 tonnes achieved last year compared to 35,3 tonnes in 2022. The decrease in gold output has largely been attributed to power challenges and lack of sophisticated mining equipment and machinery by players in the small-scale mining industry.
In a separate interview, the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union president Dr Shadreck Makombe said: "In the past about 11 million hectares of land was in the hands of a few white commercial farmers, but as it stands right now, we are seeing most of that now in the hands of the indigenous people.
"So it's an achievement, because people went to war to fight for land, they got land so it's an achievement that people now have the land, the heroes and heroines died for a worthwhile cause.
"What's needed is for people to have the means to work on the land," he said.
The agriculture sector last year grew by an estimated 4,5 percent from 6,5 percent in 2022. The regression in the growth trajectory is on account of the El Nino-induced drought that has had severe impact on the country's agriculture output as crops were decimated, water sources diminished with a knock-on effect being 7,7 million people left in need of food aid.
President Mnangagwa has declared the 2023/2024 agricultural season a State of National Disaster following the El Nino-induced subdued rainfall pattern. The President has vowed that no-one will starve, adopting a principled approach that puts the welfare of all Zimbabweans above partisan interests.
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Construction Industry Federation of Zimbabwe (CIFOZ) chief executive officer Mr Martin Chingaira told this publication in another interview that after Independence, all professionals in the built environment, especially the natives with their savings, started construction companies, a preserve previously reserved for the white entrepreneurs.
"Now that we have attained Independence which came through a lot of bloodshed, indigenous blacks are now masters in their own right owning companies. Also under the current Government, they are able to participate in public tenders.
"And the statement that 'Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/ Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikhazi balo,' should not be taken as a mere rhetoric. It's a statement that approves economic empowerment to indigenous Zimbabweans and we have come to a point where we can now do our own things across all sectors of the economy due to the sacrifice made by our heroes and heroines," he said.
