Outspoken independent legislator Temba Mliswa has asked why the government is dishing out resources to foreigners when President Emerson Mnangagwa’s mantra is “nyika inovakwa nevene vayo”.
Mliswa said he was advocating the return of the Indigenisation Act because the country had nothing to show for so-called billion-dollar investments including tothe Manhize project which is billed to become one of the biggest steel plants in Africa.
Under the indigenisation Act, locals were expected to own 51% of any major investments in the country.
Citing the example of Manhize Mliswa said: “If we talk about production in terms of resources, Manhize – we made a lot of noise there and we decided to keep quiet because at the end of the day you could see that Government is not involved. The biggest steel works in the entire of Africa which will be generating USD20 billion a year, we have nothing in it. We ask the Ministers what is in it for us, there was no answer. How do you build a country when you are not involved in the biggest resource you have in terms of steel – no one can give you an answer.”
Mliswa said former President Robert Mugabe had foresight.
“To me, it is important that we bring the Indigenisation Act back. That is where I am going to. For a very long time, people did not understand. One thing that you cannot take away from the former late President, R. G. Mugabe is, he could see further than we did. He understood the mentality of white people and foreigners. He was in it for a long (term). He was an accomplished Statesman, he was an accomplished historian, educated who was pro-black and believed the resources are for his people,” Mliswa said.
“The amount of the resources that have gone to people who are not ours cannot be compared. He was prepared to keep those resources for his people so that generations to come would enjoy them. He was more worried about being in power than plundering the resources for the people.”
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