‘Independence liberalised economy in favour of blacks’
THE attainment of independence from colonialism in 1980 liberalised the economy in favour of indigenous black Zimbabweans who now own and manage big businesses in sectors that were previously dominated by the white settler minority.
Through policy interventions and empowerment programmes, which have been scaled up under the Second Republic, a majority of Zimbabweans, including women and the youth are now actively involved in economic activities in various productive sectors.
Unlike the pre-independence times when the levers of the economy were in the hands of whites, with Africans only limited to owning small businesses like grinding mills, general dealers’ shops and rural buses, the coming in of independence saw the rise of black entrepreneurs who have created massive job opportunities for many locals.
As Zimbabwe readies to celebrate 44 years of independence, analysts say black empowerment is one of the major milestones brought about by the liberation struggle. They noted that sectors such as tourism, mining, banking and energy, which were controlled by whites are now run by blacks.
Bulawayo businessman and Zanu PF secretary for business development, Cde Elifasi Mashaba, said during the colonial era the economy was structured to benefit whites with the black majority used as cheap labour.
“The country’s economy has always been agro- and mining-based, that is why whites never wanted to let go of the land. Today we speak of mushrooming of small scale gold miners, but this does not mean that gold has just been discovered,” he said. “In these farms, the whites were conducting mining but pretending to be involved in agriculture only. That is why they had airstrips in the farms as they would smuggle our mineral wealth outside the country without being detected.
“But the Land Reform Programme changed all that, and that is why now young black millionaires have emerged as they are involved in the mainstream economic sectors,” said Cde Mashaba.
He said while only a few conglomerates such as Total, PB, Caltex, controlled the petroleum sector in pre-independence, post-independence saw the Government liberalising the sector and now there are over 143 indigenous players in the energy business.
“The banking sector was wholly controlled by whites but now at least 90 percent of the country’s banks are run by indigenous people. Even the manufacturing sector is now controlled by indigenous players,” said Cde Mashaba.
“But we continue fighting the economic battle as the whites, in a bid to stifle our progress, imposed sanctions on the country and the economic battle is worse than before.”
The tourism and hospitality industry is the third highest foreign currency earner and in an independent Zimbabwe, indigenous people are heavily involved in the sector, not just as employees, but employers.
Tourism and Hospitality Industry Deputy Minister Tongai Mnangagwa said the country’s liberation struggle empowered blacks to penetrate the sector, which was a no-go area for Africans.
“From the advent of our independence we have managed to open the space for indigenous black Zimbabweans in hunting and conservancy business, which was a preserve for the white people,” he said.
“All the big tourism players were whites. But now we have black people owning hotels, we have got black people running state-of-the-art restaurants in different resort areas. We have black people owning boats that are hired in areas such as Lake Kariba and Lake Chivero,” said Deputy Minister Mnangagwa.
He said Africans have been mainstreamed into the main levers of the economy and this is a result of the liberation struggle that ensured equal opportunities for all.
The Deputy Minister said it was pleasing to see that some of the blacks were thriving in the business and offering quality services in the sector. He said the Government has established a revolving fund to grow the sector.
“As a Government we came up with a revolving fund which players can access to expand their business. It is available in all the major banks and after submitting all the required papers. We help these players so that they can offer international standards,” said Cde Mnangagwa.
Hospitality Industry expert and former Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe president Mr Farai Chimba said unfairness in tourism can be traced back to the early 1900s where indigenous Zimbabweans mostly participated in the sector as labourers.
“As a people we were mainly exposed to the tourism sector in menial jobs such as cooks and serving staff for the greater post-independence. The 2000s saw more senior roles in decision making and administration in tourism being taken up, bringing a generation of managers and owners, culminating in the takeover of some of the country’s private hotel groups by locals,” said Mr Chimba.
“The shift to the service industry was from a realisation of the low hanging fruit and the potential it bears, while exposure in travel also brought in new products and ideas to invest back in Zimbabwe.”