By Takura Zhangazha| Zimbabwe now has its first publicly self confessed “tenderprenuer’ in the form of a rather religious and nationally well-known businessman, Kudakawashe Tagwirei. “Self confessed” because at a recent meeting at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, he did not mince his words.

To quote verbatim and at length for clarity, snippets from his key note and guest of honour address he said,

“ If you are not a tenderpreneur you are foolish…There is the biggest buyer or seller in this country is government. So if you do not want to get a tender from the biggest supplier, the biggest buyer, where are you going to get your business from? So anyone who tells you, you must not get tenders is foolish. You must actually strive to get a tender from government. Those who are saying these ones are tendreprenerus are jealous because they don’t get the tenders. Because if you have the tender you will not say you are a tenderpreneur. In fact I would rather be called a tenderpreneur. Let me tell you this…do you know a gentlemen by the name Elon Musk?… Elon Musk the richest man in the world is a tendepreneur. Because his biggest contracts are with the American government. So he won those contracts…That coining of that word was done by white people to discourage black people from gaining access to business from government…”

I will end the quote there for the purposes of brevity. And besides the full video clip has already gone viral on Zimbabwe’s favourite social media platforms (crosscheck X, Facebook and Whatsapp).

The term tenderpreneur as he outlines in his speech and also as originating from South African political lingo refers to businessmen who are positioned to provide services to the state or government.

It is not necessarily a positively considered term as it comes with allegations of either corruptly awarded tenders or complicity between government officials and businessmen in feeding off what should be national wealth. With the added arrogance of opulent displays of what the public may consider their suspiciously acquired wealth.

Or in the case of Tagwirei, quite arrogantly giving his audience the impression that this is normal business practice. Even by making reference to Elon Musk and his contracts with the USA government as an example of the normalcy of pursuing this line of acquiring wealth and interacting with the state for more opulence.

And like the example he citied with Musk, he is closely associated with our own Zimbabwean government both economically and politically.

On the economic side of things he is in charge of a large state investment fund (Mutapa Holdings) and a new land tenure commission that is in charge of new title deeds after the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP).

While on the political side of things he is now a member of the ruling Zanu Pf’s central committee and has been going around the country donating vehicles to same party’s provincial leaders. Among other things such as being closely associated with its youth league. He has however also publicly denied any ambitions to be president stating that there is no vacancy until 2030 in the Zanu Pf presidency.

Yet it all makes for a good show where he appears to be combining his evidently strong links to the government with his business interests and what are clearly well-choreographed public rallies.

Since he called some of us who are not tenderprenuers ‘foolish’ we also have a right to assess his Musk led model also as ‘foolish’.

For at least three key reasons.

First the state that is called Zimbabwe does not belong to private capital and tenderprenuers. It belongs to the people of Zimbabwe. It does not need to follow the warped and thoroughly undemocratic model that is the Trump-Musk linkage that is now found in the USA.

Historically Zimbabwe is not a country that places individual greed above collective national well being and equitable redistribution of same said national wealth. Hence we continually remember and reflect on the values of our liberation struggle and also post independence programmes that sought to make the country a fairer one for all who live in it. Across multiple political divides. That is the first ahistorical foolishness of Tagwirei’s utterances.

The second foolishness of Tagwirei is the implication that contemporary political power can function in a vacuum that is controlled by solely by wealthy people like him and their proximity to the presidency. A foolishness in which he assumes the people of Zimbabwe are pawns to be played around with in any political direction as and when the ruling party and businessmen like him will it. This includes the 2030 slogan that he touted at his recent meeting in Bulawayo. It does not work like that. This is not America.

Even if there may be envy of his wealth and connections with the presidency. Or how he works closely with young Zanu Pf linked businessmen and their new consumption/ materialist culture that they do not hide. There are limits to which money, the state can create a false sense of political legitimacy. And no matter how hard he may try, he is likely out of his depth with how money while able to influence an electoral process, does not give legitimacy.

The third foolishness that he has exhibited is his assumption that dealing with Zimbabwe’s young population, its poverty and unemployment issues in such a populist and money motivated fashion is both politically and economically sustainable.

In wanting to create a money motivated youth support base for himself and others in the ruling Zanu Pf party, he forgets that money can be as ephemeral as youthful age.

And that it does not create a long term political value based progressive future for the country. In fact it is dangerous in that it intends to create oligarchies out of Zimbabwe’s political economy. A development that portends political and oligarchic economic instability in the future.

Where Tagwirei acts like a godfather in our national political economy via entities like Mutapa and special advisory roles to the presidency, he would do well to go back to seperating business and the church from seeking to impose their repressive values on the people of Zimbabwe. And not being deluded by Musk, Trump and a false messianic approach to how Zimbabwe can and move forward only in his own image.

*Takura Zhangazha writes here in his personal capacity.