Beneficiaries are actors too.pdf - Southern Institute of Peace ...

whether to invest or not. Simply put, the indigenisation policy in
Zimbabwe lacks firm political backing and, plagued with
conflicting sentiments from the coalition partners, the
programme might not 'sell' in the international community.
Who benefits?
It is common knowledge that whatever policy the government
comes up with should be intended to benefit the generality of the
people in that particular country. Likewise, the intended
beneficiaries of the indigenisation drive in Zimbabwe are 'the
people'. The policy might be shrouded in controversy and might
also be a victim of conflicting agendas of the inclusive government
partners but the real aim is to alleviate poverty and raise the
standard of living among ordinary Zimbabweans. According to
the Ministry of Youth Development, Indigenisation and
Empowerment, 'the programme guarantees participation of
locals which also safeguards foreign investment' (The African
Report, 2011). It was also envisaged that the policy has a broad
based approach and intends to benefit even the grassroots. On a
general level and without looking too deep beyond the stated
interests, the objectives appear very noble indeed.
It is however worth noting that some of the envisaged targets are
rather too simplistic and somehow qualify for political election
talk. In Zimbabwe at the present moment, the talk of industrial
indigenisation is mostly heard in the circles of the well to do,
either in terms of educational or economic capability. It is again
mostly the urban dwellers who seem to be privy to the
particularities of the indigenisation drive. To most rural dwellers
it is gibberish that comes from the boulevards of Harare,
Bulawayo, Gweru and other towns. It is the kind of talk that
almost often accompanies election periods but without tangible
benefits to the rural folk. This is where elitism starts. Elitism is
not only a process characterised by domination and control of
national processes by political or other elites; rather, it is also a
process that categorises people into various classes defined by
economic and social status, area of habitation, race and other like
characteristics. For those poor classes whom Frantz Fanon would
call the 'Wretched of the Earth' (Fanon, 1982), if they are lucky,
131