PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe yesterday stole the show when he delivered an off-the-cuff speech that was six times longer than his host South African President Jacob Zuma’s address during a joint Press conference at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
BY STAFF REPORTER
According to South African media reports, both leaders had been allocated 10-minute slots each. Mugabe in his unscripted speech touched on many issues including the Rhodes Must Fall campaign, current political chaos in Libya and Iraq after the United States’ military intervention and bilateral relations between Zimbabwe and South Africa.
“We have his (Cecil John Rhodes’) corpse and you have his statue. What do you want us do with him? Dig him up? We cannot tell you what to do with the statue, but we and my people feel we need to leave him down there‚” Mugabe said.
The Pretoria trip is Mugabe’s second State visit to South Africa since 1994.
In his long and winding speech, Mugabe also said Zimbabwe can never enjoy equal trading with South Africa which is industrially well-developed and has a larger population than its neighbour as the trade deficit grew to an unsustainable R22 billion as at the end of 2014.
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Mugabe’s remarks were made soon after the two governments had signed some Memoranda of Understanding that include co-operation on water resource management, customs administration and trade.
“South Africa is more developed than Zimbabwe and is far larger than Zimbabwe. The balance of trade could never be in favour of Zimbabwe – we shall always have a deficit because we are smaller,” Mugabe said.
He added: “We can only narrow the deficit, but there is no way we can be equal.” Mugabe said the two countries would be working on how Zimbabwe could export freely some of her products to South Africa.
“Some of our products are not accepted and prevented from entering South Africa and we are going to see how trading of Zimbabwe products could be made easier where we produce unique products,” he said.
According to South African government statistics, during 2014 South African exports to Zimbabwe amounted to approximately R24,8 billion while imports from Zimbabwe totalled approximately R2 billion.
South Africa remains wary of Zimbabwe’s imploding economic situation due to geographical proximity. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Zimbabweans have illegally entered and settled in South Africa either as economic or political refugees.
Mugabe promised that the two countries would work around controlling border jumping that has put a strain on South Africa’s social services.
“We must find ways of controlling movement of people which is not sanctioned,” he said. “Our people (Zimbabweans) have offended by jumping the border and disrupting social services here. We thank you for your tolerance.”
The issue of Zimbabwe’s indigenisation policy will come under scrutiny today at the South Africa-Zimbabwe Business Forum that will look into opportunities for deeper economic co-operation in the fields of mining, water, energy, infrastructure development, transport and information communication technology, among others.
A number of South African companies like Nedbank, Impala Platinum, Standard Bank, Old Mutual and Tongaat-Hulett, among many others, have in one way or another faced challenges in meeting the indigenisation quotas. Of late Tongaat-Hulett has been under fire from government officials for not having an indigenisation plan and has been ordered to give up some of its land for empowerment credits.
Zimbabwe and South Africa since 1994 have signed more than 20 Memoranda of Understanding and Agreement thus creating platforms for regular interaction between the two governments’ officials.
Mugabe also defended the country’s indigenisation policy which obliges foreign-owned firms, including mines, to cede at least 51% of ownership to black Zimbabweans.
“The capital that is aimed at mining, for example, is drawing from my country a resource that cannot be replaced tomorrow, leaving holes in my country,” Mugabe said.
“What we say, therefore, is we, who are owners of natural resources, must have at least have 51% of the earnings of that company and we allow the company 49%.”
Western countries have withheld financial aid to Harare in protest over Mugabe’s policies and alleged electoral fraud, worsening an economic crisis that has driven millions of Zimbabweans to South Africa for jobs.