Foreign investors need their due respect
The Zimbabwean newspaper of 7 June 2010 reports that the Minister Kasukuvere threatened foreign business people with unknown action if they continue working in areas designated for locals by the law. The paper quotes Kasukuvere as saying,
“Come the 30th of June if they are still operating in areas which are reserved for our people by the Indigenisation law they will see what will happen to them. They have come in our country and taken our buildings, displaced our people and even gone to our rural areas to displace our small business traders. How do you come from all that far and come sell milk here in Zimbabwe where do you want milk from our people to be sold to when foreigners are taking the market?”
The head of the Zimbabwe Indigenous Economic Empowerment organization, President Paddington Japajapa, is also reported to have promised to incite local business people to attack foreign owned businesses if Kasukuwere failed to chase them away.
From the look of these threats there are plans to chase these business people the Murambatsvina way, which is grossly inhuman. After all a months notice is unfair. It should be known that these people never entered through closed doors. Neither did they just swarm to occupy these premises without the consent of the owners of the buildings and the government itself.
These entrepreneurs only took advantage of a niche that existed – where were our local businessmen when the premises were taken over? Where were Kasukuvere and Japajapa? If they the foreigners are selling milk, it means no one was selling that milk before they came.
It seems our local entrepreneurs are not risk takers at all. They have watched the premises being taken by better innovative people. Now they are seeing success and are now resorting to the law to chase them away.
All I am saying is that there is no need to treat these foreigners without respect as if they raided our premises in our absence. There is no need to hate them as if they have not helped us in our times of need by investing in this country.