THE recent bold investment commitment into Zimbabwe by Nigerian magnate Aliko Dangote, barely a week after the Chinese had pledged unlimited funds towards the transformation of our economy should make even doubting Thomases think again.
While the then American Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Chester Crocker was predicting a ‘screaming economy’, African billionaire Dangote was talking in terms pouring billions into that doomed economy.
But now it looks like the envisaged ‘scream’ eagerly awaited by regime change advocates will soon turn into a hearty cheer.
For apart from the Nigerian billionaire and China, the Russians have promised to invest billions in platinum mining and refinery.
More investors are expected from the Middle-East and India.
Already the President has been invited to Japan where more mega deals are expected.
What with Britain and the European Union already warming up towards our country, we should brace for a scramble for Zimbabwe for investments.
With this a clear picture comes to the fore.
The illusion by Crocker that America would become the sole superintendent of the world determining the fate of the economies of smaller nations like Zimbabwe has been laid bare.
The unipolar world imperialists like Crocker imagined is now an unfulfilled dream.
What with billionaires like Dangote from ‘little’ Africa coming to the rescue of a fellow ‘cursed’ African state despite the ill intentions of big brother America.
When President Mugabe was elected the African Union (AU) Chairman at the beginning of the year, in his inaugural speech he reminded the Summit of the dream of the founding fathers.
A dream in which Dr Kwame Nkrumah and his peers saw Africa evolve into a united polity with each country bent on supporting each other and less dependent on our erstwhile colonisers.
With people like Dangote, the message clearly sent to the West and the rest of the world is that Africa has come of age, and is now capable of competing with the rest when it comes to investment.
A key element of the ZANU PF policy is that of empowerment.
It stresses how as individuals or groups we can use the resources at our disposal, no matter how meagre, to empower ourselves.
With the land reform, a lot of people have already transformed their lives.
Dangote, a black African like most of us who prospered through hard work, should be a source of inspiration to emulate.
Let’s raise our bar and let the sky be our limit.
Dangote should be a good example to Zimbabweans and other African would-be billionaires that there is virtue in investing in your own country and the rest of Africa.
We have a good example of people like the late Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi, who was prepared to pump money into the AU for the good of Africa.
As Zimbabwe readies for an influx of investors, let’s prepare the ground to make the investment environment attractive.
That’s why the amendment of the labour laws with both the worker and the investor in mind was a necessary exercise.
Another major area of concern is the ease with which to do business with investors.
Complaints of red tap where a proposed project takes months before it is approved as it has to go through several hands should be a thing of the past.
This tends to encourage corruption as some officials are said to demand a substantial fee for their signatures.
Investment deals should not be allowed to wait forever and a day like what we are witnessing with the Essar deal at NewZimsteel.
Dangote was here earlier this week and already Cabinet has approved his deals and as early as next week we are expecting implementation talks to begin.
That’s how we expect business to be done.