Tuesday, January 14, 2014

In None But Ourselves and Zim-Asset We Believe

In none, but ourselves and Zim-Asset we believe

January 14, 2014 Opinion & Analysis
Panganai Kahuni
Zimbabwe Herald

Speaking at the burial of one of the most illustrious sons of Zimbabwe, Rtd Lt-Col Harold “Go Bhora” Chirenda, Acting President Cde Mujuru last week implored Zimbabweans to proudly embrace the concept of “None-But-Ourselves” for Zim-Asset to succeed.

She translated this concept into the “iwe neni tine basa”, ”mina lawe silo musebenzi” slogan that was popularly used during the liberation struggle.

In the field of international affairs, Zimbabwe decided to embrace the policy of being a non-aligned country.

This policy allowed Zimbabwe not to be entangled in the great ideological conflicts of the world powers as was manifested in the Cold War which divided the world into East and West – power blocs which were suspicious of each other’s motives and intentions.

The policy of non-alignment, however, did not mean that Zimbabwe would choose to play the role of a silent spectator in world affairs or in matters which affected our national interests and the need to empower black people.

Zimbabwe’s policy of positive neutrality is not a passive or neutralist policy that is open to manipulation by any bloc for any reason; whether in politics or economics.

It is a positive policy based upon our belief in positive action of self-determination.

In this policy, the Government of Zimbabwe, guided by the revolutionary party, Zanu-PF, sought to cultivate a philosophy of friendship with all nations and wanting to be enemy of none.

It is a policy that made it easier for the country to refuse to be manipulated either politically or economically by any power that asymmetrically or demonically pleasured to align Zimbabwe in order to be favoured to exploit its resources.

In Zim-Asset, every Zimbabwean is accorded the opportunity to be economically vigilant, for neo-imperialism or neo-colonialism may come to haunt Zimbabwe in different guises such as FDIs, the need for credit loans, employment creation, investment confidence and so forth.

People of Zimbabwe, particularly captains of industry, must understand that Zim-Asset does not inhibit foreign direct investment but seeks partnership with foreign investors who see it as an opportunity to engage in non-exploitive business with Zimbabwe.

Zim-Asset is an economic renaissance which seeks to create capital that can then be borrowed by other countries as investment capital.

Every Christian sees hope in worshipping hence the faith and beliefs they attach to religion.

It is the faith and belief in worshippers that makes every one of them see hope in Jesus Christ. Many worshippers flock to various churches to seek spiritual guidance and protection which enable them to fight against demons and committing sins in order for them to remain spiritually clean so as to live an everlasting life.

Like true worshipping Christians, Zimbabweans must have faith in Zim-Asset as the only economic strategic document that is capable of navigating Zimbabwe from poverty to posterity.

For Zim-Asset to succeed, suspicion and scepticism must be removed from every one of us. For this economic blueprint to achieve its economic objectives, greed, elitism, selfishness, corruption must be cleansed from every Zimbabwean worth his/her economic salt.

Also to be cleansed from all those of weaker economic minds is their fear, doubt, lack of wisdom and belief in the success of Zim-Asset as an economic blueprint capable of creating wealth for Zimbabwe.

It can be submitted that all those seen to be fighting Zim-Asset should be regarded as economic saboteurs who only deserve to be protected the by walls of a prison until the time death removes them from the surface of the earth.

It is time all politicians understood that political imperialism is no different from economic imperialism.

It is through imperialism the enemies of African freedom hope to dominate Africa, while at the same time making Africans believe that they are, in fact, free and independent.

The West, especially Britain and America, who are never ashamed of claiming to be messiahs of human rights, are in the habit of swaying neo-liberal politicians and academics to rubbish targeted nations in the name of democracy, when, their agenda is protection of Western interests.

Think of it, American money is inscribed “In God We Trust”, when, in fact, America uses the same money for evil things such as paying agents of regime change to commit murderous acts.

The American dollar has been used for many evil things in the world such as funding civil societies and donor agencies to carry out America regime change agendas on targeted nations whose leadership America dislikes.

And yet the same dollar is supposed to be an American symbol of trusting the Almighty.

An independent state which does not control the levers of its economy is worse than a colonised state as the gap between the poor and the rich goes wider than in the times of colonisation.

The weaker and less stable an African state is economically, the easier it is for the former colonial power to dominate the affairs and fortunes of the new state even though it is supposed to have gained independence.

In Zim-Asset, a new Zimbabwean economy is emerging and the majority of its citizens are dedicated to the task of ushering in economic emancipation for generational posterity.

All Zimbabweans must appreciate the immeasurable sacrifices of our liberation heroes and heroines by not resting until the last vestiges of colonialism, economic domination and discrimination of any form have been obliterated from our country.

Thus, captains of industry must get out of the nightmarish philosophy that regards development as a preserve of the West where their role is to produce semi-finished products.

It is time to stop haemorrhaging Zimbabwe’s wealth by exporting raw products instead of finished goods.

It is also time for business leaders to believe in themselves and embrace the concept of value addition and product beneficiation as prescribed in Zim-Asset.

It must be clear that the former colonial powers and their imperialist allies are beginning to advance a new subtle theory to safeguard their positions in Africa in general and particularly in Zimbabwe.

Their main objective is to beguile and bamboozle Africans using such things as grants and donor funds as well as humanitarian aid.

This grand neo-colonial concept is code named “the promise and practice of the new donor approach”.

This strategy is going to be used against Africa’s home grown economic strategies such as Zim-Asset.

For the donor approach to work some sections of the media are going to be used to advance the iniquitous and vicious claims that will be made by loud-mouthed donor-funded neo-liberal academics, politicians, some business leaders, and civil societies that Zim-Asset is unattainable.

This propaganda is going to be crafted in a manner that denies Africans economic freedom and ability to walk with their heads high in human dignity.

Panganai Kahuni is a political and socio-economic commentator.

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