Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front leader Robert Mugabe will have to brace up for tougher times to fulfil his promises to empower locals once he is sworn in and takes charge of the country.
According to an opinion piece in the RT, the last thing multinationals want is for other African leaders to look at Zimbabwe and Mugabe as a positive point of reference.
Mugabe won the 31 July elections on the platform of indigenising the economy, something that has not gone well with the West which has ruled that the results of the elections did not reflect the will of the people.
African observers including the African Union and the Southern African Development Community have cleared the elections with the presidents of South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania congratulating Mugabe on his victory.
Botswana is so far the only African country to dispute the results and might table its complaint at the SADC meeting this weekend.
According to the RT article: “One consequence of indigenisation reforms may result in a sharp decline in capital inflows and foreign-investment, simply because few investors, be they from the West or elsewhere, want to be stripped of half a business after pouring in the capital and know-how.
“Just as the land seizures created short-term instability and eventual normalisation, there is a strong possibility that further reforms will create turbulence and economic insecurity if ZANU-PF fails to ensure a smooth and harmonised investment environment. That foreign-investment in the first quarter of 2013 amounted to approximately $36 million, compared to about $136 million in the same period in 2012 is telling. “
The article says with the West refusing to accept the outcome, Mugabe could be in a tight spot as former United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Chester Crocker once told the US Senate “To separate the Zimbabwean people from ZANU PF, we are going to have to make their economy scream, and I hope you, Senators, have the stomach for what you have to do.”
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