Financial Gazette (Harare)
Njabulo Ncube
5 December 2011
analysis
BROAD-BASED empowerment, reminiscent of the controversial land redistribution programme of early 2000, is taking shape in rural communities under the banner of Community Share Ownership Trusts (CSOT).
World number one platinum miner, Anglo American Corporation, ceded a 10 percent stake in its Unki project to locals last week as it moved towards complying with the country’s controversial empowerment law, which seeks to transfer majority ownership of all foreign-owned firms to locals.
In October, the Zimbabwe Platinum Mines Limited (Zimplats) rolled into life a similar scheme by releasing 10 percent of its equity to the community.
A similar model has worked in South Africa where Impala Platinum Limited (Implats), the parent company of Zimplats, is in partnership with the Bafo-keng community. But, unlike in Zimbabwe, the Bafokeng community contributed towards their stake.
Other similar projects have been lined up in Matabeleland and elsewhere in Zimbabwe.
“This is our policy. We do not hide it. We want empowerment of our people. Those who do not want, we say go now, if not yesterday,” President Robert Mugabe was quoted telling guests when he unveiled the Unki CSOT.
Be that as it may, questions abound whether the drive to economically empower Zimbabwean communities leaving within the vicinity of mineral-rich deposits is genuine or a sheer political gimmick as the country slowly but surely trudges towards fresh polls likely to be held next year or in 2013.
On paper, unlike previous empowerment transactions that got the thumbs down for enriching a few individuals at the expense of the majority, CSOT are broad-based as they directly benefit the communities and employees.
Depending on the companies’ performance and their dividend policies, the surrounding communities are on the threshold of massive transformation in terms of their infrastructure namely roads, irrigation facilities to support agriculture, schools, clinics, and dip tanks, among other things.
Critics of President Mug-abe claim the CSOT are intended to hoodwink voters.
Okay Machisa, the director of ZimRights, said while the schemes presented opportunities to develop the communities it would be unfortunate if the initiative was to be transformed into a platform to score political points in the wake of talk of fresh elections to bring closure to the troubled inclusive government.
“There are fears this empowerment issue is benefiting a small group of ZANU-PF people who surrogate the party’s propaganda. If we need genuine empowerment let us involve all Zimbabweans regardless of their political affiliation,” said Machisa.
But proponents of black economic emp-owerment argue that communities around mines have not benefited much from the mining companies and yet their activities impact negatively on their health and environment.
So gestures by Anglo Am-erica Corporation and Zim-plats are being seen as pay-back time.
Phillip Chiyangwa, the founding president of the Affirmative Action Group, says it was about time Zimbabwe shakes off traditional economic models meant to feed minority settler economic interests and the attendant dependency that goes with post-colonial economic orders.
While the CSOT have been welcomed by the communities, much of the work, going forward, rests on the shoulders of their trustees who must quickly understand the business they are now invested in to avoid killing the goose that lays the golden egg by making unrealistic demands.
By its very nature, mining is a no-go area for bargain hunters or speculators chasing instant riches. It has a long gestation period and requires substantial investment in latest technology and skills.
Those who think short-term must be advised to consider other options that are not mining.
Of particular importance to the communities is to leave no room for opportunists, who might want to gain seats on the board of trustees in order to dictate how the community trust should be run.
Zimbabwe has had several cases of well-meaning projects that have collapsed on the altar of political expediency and insatiable greed after those that were appointed to lead them lined their pockets at the expense of the ordinary people who, to this day, continue to wallow in abject poverty.
The biggest culprits have been politicians and other influential members of society whose pre-occupation has been to enrich themselves first before empowering their cronies.
It is this reprehensible greed and selfishness that has made people doubt the government’s black economic empowerment initiative, whi-ch has so far produced a few filthy rich individuals in a country where 90 percent of the population live below the breadline.
In order to make CSOT foolproof, it is incumbent upon the local chiefs, working in conjunction with their subjects and headmen, to constitute them with people whose credibility and integrity is beyond question.
Ideally, it would make sense for the community leadership to appoint trustees who are professionals in their own right and have walked straight and narrow in their respective disciplines.
Disciplines open for consideration include acco-unting, legal and mining to give the much-needed professional touch to the management of public funds.
Eric Bloch, an economic commentator, perhaps sum-med it up well. He had this to say:
“It’s difficult to reach any conclusion at the moment about the CSOT.
What we can only hope for is that there will be no undue political interference of the trusts by those in high offices and thereby tarnish their purpose”.
AllAfrica – All the Time