Chinamasa urges Zimbabweans to change their mindsets, a person with 20 goats cannot say he is poor

Let me become specific to the contributions.  Hon. Sen. Gen. Nyambuya, thank you very much for supporting it, I agree with you entirely.  You said that we are thinking outside the box, not quite.  You know the people are already ahead of us, this is already happening on the ground.  Let me also say that when we talk about borrowing, you could actually be the lender to your brother.  It is very important.  It is not just the financial institutions we must look at as the lending institutions or the lenders.  Anyone of us can be a lender to all of us.  So, we must look at it in that light and we are now providing a legal framework so that you can lend in the comfort that there is security, in the event that things may go wrong.

We also need to change the mindset of our people in the sense that, when you borrow, things can go wrong.  That is the risk of doing business.  Hon. Senators, now, we do not want a situation where when things go wrong, when someone’s cow is being taken away, you then come and say it is not politically unacceptable, it is a contradiction in terms – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.] – When you borrow and have given security, you may not be able to pay for various reasons.  Some of the risks, you insure against but some you may not have insured or anticipated.  There are those other risks and causes of default where the person has just been fraudulent, those are different.

 However, in the majority of cases, I think that we need to change the mindset of the person who is borrowing and also us who are neighbours to say, when it happens, you must take it as it should happen.  If you default, someone must come and claim.  That is the contract, it is not new, but we always want to borrow and we do not want to see people suffer who are now being taken to court or something for failure to pay.  So, you are quite right thinking outside the box but I also want to say people are more advanced in terms of lending and borrowing.  What we are only doing here is providing a framework under which they can do so with the security that this will create.

There is no way we can create wealth and I am supporting Hon. Sen. Gen. Nyambuya’s statement here.  You cannot create wealth using own resources.  You cannot raise yourselves using your own boot straps. You can yes, but the journey maybe too long to a point where you never reach where you want to go until you are an old man.  So those who have initiatives cannot grow businesses without borrowing.

THE HON. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE: Old man or woman – [HON. SENATORS: Hear, hear.] –

HON. CHINAMASA: Thank you very much Madam President.  What I want to emphasise for both men and women, if we are to grow our businesses, our living standards – it could be building a house or even buying a cow, we cannot avoid always borrowing.  What is important is; for what purpose are you using the money you are borrowing?  Will it come back?  That is what the lender wants to know also.  If I give you money, what activity are you doing or undertaking which gives me comfort that it is generating cash flows which can pay back what I am lending to you.  That is the discussion.  I want to say to Hon. Sen. Gen. Nyambuya, thank you very much for your support.  This will help to broaden the productive base which is something that is very important to grow the economy.  It will also increase access to capital by a majority of our people.

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