Zimbabwe MP says we must be mad if we think people can invest in our country when we continue attacking them.

Full contribution

HON. CHIMANIKIRE: Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir. Allow me to thank the mover of the motion Hon. Dr. Mashakada, that is what it means to be a doctor. Mr. Speaker the people out there are angry. Angry at politicians whom they now think do not represent them properly and they think we do not represent them anymore; because like Hon. Dr. Mashakada quoted in summing up of his presentation., we seem to be concentrating inwardly towards ourselves as politicians and not looking out there as to what we can contribute to the nation of Zimbabwe in terms of how to run the economy.

We need visionaries in this House and we need visionaries as politicians to lead this country. We must move beyond the past because we seem to be bogged in the past and not looking towards the future of where we want to take this country. Mr. Speaker, this country can never be called a developing country when the infrastructure is stagnant it can never be called a developing country. For example, we should be tunneling into the future – just next door in South Africa, someone is talking about sanctions here we have drills and we have got everything, and you  now have the underground train in Johannesburg, but what have you got here – a few TelOne wires going under Julius Nyerere Way and maybe Mukuvisi river going underneath Julius Nyerere Way.  That is the only thing we have got. We do not seem to be recognising what is happening in other developing countries. We could be generating jobs and incomes for various people if we were to indulge ourselves in the development of our country through our own ideas.

I would like to reiterate what Hon. Dr. Mashakada said. I would like to challenge any Member of this Parliament to point a finger at one single millionaire who is as a result of the Indigenisation Policy that was passed in this Parliament several years ago. There is not a millionaire  who is as a result of Indigenisation Policy that was passed in this Parliament several years ago. Has anyone benefited and there is no evidence and yet that is  the key issue that is locking out Foreign Direct Investment into this country, it is not the sanctions. How can we go for 51%/ 49% when you do not even have the money? Even our banks do not have the money.

We are supposed to have created   a Sovereign Fund that is supposed to fund people who want to buy shares into Indigenisation but we do not have it. So, where are we going? Mr. Speaker, history and experience has taught us that if we were to lower the threshold, some of the companies would even give us as a present 25%. Why go for 51% when there is no one who has got 51% to be able to buy shareholding not even into NRZ? I will come to that. We must Mr. Speaker, if we are going to end shortages of cash, be able to create and build alliances.

We are too aggressive towards those who could invest and help improve the performance of our economy. All we are doing is we send Hon. Chinamasa to Paris, London and the following day we are saying the French are actually conspirators into demonstrations that are going on in this country. Good Lord! Why did you send  that man there to look for money and the news the previous night was saying the French are going to invest in agriculture in joint ventures.

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