The Chronicle

BULAWAYO, Saturday, February 13, 1993 — VicePresident Nkomo has said that no meaningful development in Zimbabwe will take place unless the black majority is fully included in the running of the economy.

In an interview here on Thursday, Dr Nkomo said the lack of title deeds and leases for the black majority in most cases was a result of the country’s history extending over a century.

He said that after independence the Government started finding ways of trying to involve the people in the economy.

Historically, he said, when the settlers came they moved the blacks into “native reserves” which were non-productive and gave themselves good farming land, some of which they leased for periods of up to 99 years.

“We were pushed into native reserves and this was State land kept by the colonial government for the natives (blacks). So we could not have property on State land but those whites who had given themselves farms ran the economy and hence up to now they are still rich,” he said.

Dr Nkomo said that up to now in all urban areas, whites and Indians were in control of the economy and they also had the money to continue investing in the urban areas if given the chance at the expense of the black majority.

The most important thing, he said, was that blacks should also be uplifted in order to participate in the economy lest they resort to violence.

“In order to avoid a conflict between the blacks and the well-to-do who are mainly whites, Government has to deliberately assist the disadvantaged blacks,” he said. He suggested that if these blacks were given leases ranging from five, 10 up to 99 years they could then possibly be on the same level with their white and Indian counterparts.