Foreign capital can’t develop Zim

LOVE it or hate it, the success of the Command Agriculture programme should force local banks to revise the long-held view that ties loans to collateral.

If they identify bona fide indigenous people with projects that have good prospects, there is absolutely no need to ask for collateral.

If banks fix that warped mindset, there will be less hustlers on the streets engaging in illegal deals.

So for me, all those guys selling Bronco, grocery smugglers and makorokoza, are doing so because our banking system is designed for those fortunate enough to have been born as “trust fund” babies with title deeds to properties.

It is downright stupid to expect the populace to escape poverty as long as we have a banking system that was designed to cater for the privileged few.

Ask yourself why is it that the only time we had black business tycoons birthed in this country was when we had the following financial institutions in place: Trust, Time, Century, Intermarket and Kingdom, among others.

The honest truth is that foreign capital will never develop Zimbabwe.

How many foreign-owned banks are supporting local projects? They just reap profits and ship them to their parent countries.

Locally-owned banks know our aspirations, they are bound to support local projects.

In short, we, as Zanu PF, need to bring back home-grown banks and not these foreign capital-backed banks.

Let us allow our celebrated home-grown bankers to come back into the space and properly support government programmes. I really miss the late Finance minister Bernard Chidzero because he understood this crucial imperative.