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NewsDay

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Indigenisation: Are the gatekeepers serving Zim?

Opinion & Analysis
The revolution has its own faces and voices and in 2013 it cannot be argued that after 33 years of independence, the values and principles of the liberation struggle find better and only credible expression through President Robert Mugabe.

The revolution has its own faces and voices and in 2013 it cannot be argued that after 33 years of independence, the values and principles of the liberation struggle find better and only credible expression through President Robert Mugabe.

Report by Mutumwa Mawere

So when he says go and get shares in productive companies on the basis of the resources provided generously by the Creator, it should be expected that the term “vendor financing” will not be applicable.

Notwithstanding, at the eleventh hour before the elections, the President finds together with the nation that the messenger either twisted the message or authored his own template.

As the debate rages on whether the indigenisation deals concluded so far conform to the values and principles of the revolution, it is important that we capture the words of the President on this defining issue of his legacy.

On Saturday March 2 2013, President Mugabe, during his 89th birthday celebrations, urged youths to vigorously defend Zimbabwe’s independence, saying the empowerment programmes being championed by Zanu PF and “not by government” are a fulfilment of the fight against the colonial regime.

The President believes that the transfer of land title deeds to blacks is an integral part of the revolution: “Ian Smith eventually agreed to have majority rule because of the struggle and we said ivhu kuvanhu (land to the people). That is how we managed to restore our dignity as human beings and that must be safeguarded.”

The above message was valid in 1980, but the fact that it remains valid to people looking for a better and prosperous life after 33 years of independence may very well be the albatross of Zimbabwe.

He proceeded to say:  “The 21st February Movement should not waver in defending the gains of the liberation struggle. The gains of independence should not be negotiated. That is why we took our land. All the resources that are beneath or above that land are ours.”

President Mugabe believes that there is, and should be, a causal link between Zimbabwe’s resource endowment and development of the whole country forgetting that the world has examples of developed nation states that do no boast of mineral resources.

Informed by the logic that God intended for Zimbabwe to be rich by depositing mineral resources in the country, President Mugabe said: “This is our heritage all of us as Zimbabweans irrespective of the area they are found and should be used to for the development of the nation.”

He the said publicly that: “I have told ministers Mpofu and Kasukuwere that for us to have total control of our resources we should have our own companies. That is real empowerment, but some are resisting that.”

He is reported to have castigated people who are fronting for whites in their business ventures to subvert the requirements of the law.

Against this above background one would expect the President to understand the true nature of the Nieebgate scandal since it would appear he is the real General of the revolution.  However, the facts on the ground suggest that there are new gatekeepers of the revolution in action that the President may not be aware of.

Jonathan Moyo has sought to argue that the real issue is the manner in which the Zimplats Indigenisation Transaction was designed, structured and negotiated. He makes the point that the transaction has not been concluded and, therefore, it would be premature and mischievous for anyone to draw conclusions of any impropriety at this stage.

It would appear that he honestly believes that the engagement of Brainworks as a gatekeeper raises no public policy or corruption issues.  The role of Brainworks in the indigenisation transactions has to be seen in the context of the revolution that President Mugabe talks passionately of.

We now know that the only formal document that exists establishing the relationship between Brainworks and the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board (NIEEB) is the mandate letter authored by Brainworks and not by NIEEB dated June 8 2012.

We also know as stated by Brainworks in the letter that “we can also confirm that as at the date of this letter, we had been verbally appointed and have already started to discharge our services to you as follows” confirming that the company was already at work in the trenches working presumably for the people.

How Brainworks alone knew of the need for the services by NIEEB has to be part of the discovery to ensure that the values espoused by the General are adhered to.

Be that as it may, we learn from the same letter that Brainworks is commercially married not just to Zimplats as the scandal seems to suggest, but to seven sisters including Zimplats.

“Seven sisters” was a term coined in the 1950s by Enrico Mattei, the then-head of Italian State oil company, Eni, to describe the seven oil companies which formed the “Consortium of Iran” cartel and dominated the global petroleum industry from the mid-1940s to the 1970s.  The seven sisters controlled around 85% of the world’s petroleum resources.

The link between the indigenisation programme and the forthcoming coming elections is quite obvious hence the careful selection of words by President Mugabe, who makes no distinction between Zanu PF and the State of Zimbabwe although the revolution promised a clear separation.

He sees Kasukuwere and Mpofu as gatekeepers of the revolution and, therefore, their actions and choices have to be seen in the context of the quest to place all Zimbabwe’s children on an equal footing in terms of accessing opportunities.

It would appear in this matter that Brainworks has been placed on a footing of its own in terms of realising the economic dream that independence promised.

Brainworks identified seven foreign companies as follows: Pretoria Portland Cement; Anglo American Zimbabwe (incorporating Unki Platinum); Caledonia (incorporating Blanket Mine); Zimplats; Mimosa; British American Tobacco and Lafarge.

It is stated in the letter that: “This letter serves to formalise appointments to advise on these mandates and any other future mandates.”

What the President forgot to tell the youths is that the revolution promised the equality principle and doctrine.

Surely, it could not have been the intention of the revolution to make Brainworks a commercial polygamist, let alone a monopolist.  In this case, the commercial marriage between Brainworks and the seven sisters above is by virtue of the operation of the indigenisation and economic empowerment legislation.

If Brainworks was a member of the Salvation Army, one would understand, but in this case the relationship opaquely brokered through the State and its actors produces income for the company that may people would only dream of.

There is no doubt that members of Zanu PF would want to know the beneficiaries of Brainworks and how it has become that this company and this company alone has now occupied a central position in the people’s struggle against economic oppression.

It is evident that Brainworks is an insider not in Zanu PF, but in the State.  Can President Mugabe defend this kind of gatekeeping?  Even President Mugabe would agree that at the very least, Brainworks should have competed for the right to marry the seven sisters.

The focus has been on the marriage with Zimplats, forgetting that Zimplats is only the latest bride.  The question is whether money has already passed hands between these brides and Brainworks.

Moyo and NIEEB chairman Retired Lieutenant-General Mike Nyambuya have focused their spirited defence on the fact that the Zimplats transaction has not been completed, but have not been generous with the information pertaining to the other deals.

Does the President know that Brainworks has been placed in the value chain by his trusted colleagues?

What is important are the rewards that Brainworks’ polygamous marriage brings to the table.  The identity of the people at the table when harvesting takes place is important for the nation to know.

Normally it is the Emperor who is the last to know what time it is. It is after all Brainworks’ time!

Mutumwa Mawere is a businessman based in South Africa. He writes in his personal capacity.