By Valerie Karimakwenda MDC Alliance Youth Assembly Organising Secretary UK and Ireland

Who gets to sell vaccines to Zimbabwe? China. Who gets to construct power plants in Zimbabwe? China.

Who can violate local graves to exploit coal? China.

Who gets to make tiles and bricks cheaply, with exploited labour, and without environmental assessment impact certifications, whatever that means for corrupt Environmental Management Agency (EMA)? China.

These, while mentioning a few of economic activities, dominated by colonial China should be among significant reservations for Zimbabweans, but since it is not in the interest of Zanu pf, it is not so.

Decades of besieging Zimbabwe, Zanu pf is finally realizing that certain subsectors ought to be reserved for Zimbabwe. This however is nothing but mockery of suffering and miserable Zimbabweans. Zanu pf has no locus standi nor legitimacy that is consequent of locus standi it has an acute deficiency of, to actually think that it can, successfully and genuinely implement reforms that ensure a transition of theory to practice of having actual subsectors being reserved for Zimbabweans. This is so for a number of reasons below.

Apparent perpetual centralization of power by Zanu pf, which stimulates impunity, and necessitates rule by law as preferences for Zanu pf, aiding to its unconstitutional prolonged detention of people’s power is one such reason, why Zanu pf erroneously classifying minimum wage jobs, mediocre income sole proprietorships as reserved for Zimbabweans.

Owning a grain grinding mill, a saloon, or being an artisanal miner does not nor will it ever attract the Chinese, Pakistanis or Indians. Its mediocre to them, and the returns at best are discouraging. 

Anyone can operate a grinding mill, anyone can work in a saloon, but this classification by Zanu pf as sectors reserved for Zanu pf is strategic, although futile in that Zanu pf, in the eve of 2023 elections, suddenly appears as a people’s welfare sensitive government, that in the past did not neglect the people’s welfare for its preference for primitive accumulation.

It is futile because Zanu pf is admitting, not by design but by default, that the people it has been holding hostage for decades cannot specialize for instance, with regards to high level technology, research and innovation, which would have been critical for research in and subsequent manufacture of vaccines needed to combat the pandemic for instance, a sharp contrast to outsourcing from China.

Instead of buying retired airbuses on grounds of safety, Zimbabwe would have been able to manufacture or at least assemble its own fleet, crucial for the tourist sector for example. These just serve as illustrations, of the incompetence of Zanu pf, and the level of economic mediocrity, significant in Zanu pf classifications of so-called economic subsectors.

Zanu pf hostages, which are the generally miserable and suffering Zimbabweans cannot specialize, nor can they raise, attract capital needed for capital intensive but highly lucrative opportunities, which Zanu pf has reserved for the Chinese, its colonial masters, to whom it owes allegiance for protection from onslaught of international sanctions, passed by a United Nations Security Council Resolution. Sanctions that would coalholes Zanu pf to reform and thus leave power, democratizing Zimbabwe in the process.

Without capital and specialist skills, the hostages are condemned to a life of mediocrity and poverty, which Zanu pf paints as reserved economic subsectors. A fancy word, meant to stimulate the parochial, uninformed and non-participating but frustrated people.

During the only golden era to ever dawn on Zimbabwe, negotiated and supervised by the democratic and progressive West, which was a temporary salve to Zanu pf decades old but festering, ugly burns, not once did the only genuine opposition, sensitive to the needs of the public, denigrate Zimbabweans to the level of reserving almost none profitable but nearly charitable economic subsectors, grinding mills or saloons. Unlike Zanu pf, the opposition ensured broad based inclusivity where everyone was involved and participated, in addition to being equally treated and considered fir economic opportunities exploitation, be it private or public sector.

Foreigners were not prioritized as greedy Mnangagwa and Zanu pf are doing now.

Given the proximity of Zanu pf decision of sudden classification of so called reserved economic subsectors for Zimbabweans, to 2023 elections, one cannot help but be concerned about Zanu pf grooming of partisan distribution of so called reserved economic subsectors. There is no way Zanu pf can be expected, given its past record, to equitably distribute so called reserved economic subsectors opportunities, while ignoring perceived political affiliation, perceived or imagined.

This means those not affiliated with Zanu do not get any economic inclusivity exposing them to so called reserved economic subsectors.

Zanu pf does not need to classify so called reserved economic subsectors for people it is holding hostage, it needs to implement reforms which are an existential threat to it, paving way for tranquil transition of the opposition into power.