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

envisaged fund is an idea still in its gestation stages and it might
be too early to talk about its implementation. In a show of the
fund's infancy (either as an idea or actual programme), the
ministries of finance and economic planning did not include it in
their recent policy reviews. The expectation is that in the current
dispensation, policies should be crafted and implemented from
the same table and anything to suggest the opposite will be a sign
of discord in the government. However whatever set up the
government comes up with should also benefit the grass roots,
not merely in talk but in reality.
Besides benefiting the grassroots, it is highly imperative that the
indigenisation drive also benefit small communities in the
country which are by definition Zimbabwean. The coloured
community, for example, has not been too enthusiastic about the
empowerment projects in the country, from the land reform to the
current industrial indigenisation drive. This indifference is
caused either by a lack of a sense of belonging by the community
itself or by the lack of political will on the part of government to
integrate the community and provide it with a share of the
national economic cake. Though the Indian community as well
seems reluctant to partake in national programmes because of
the above mentioned or other reasons, they have at least shown
signs of enthusiasm. The government should however ensure the
communities' effective integration into national empowerment
programmes to ensure that every Zimbabwean benefits. The
danger is that if such communities are continuously neglected
the nation building project in the country would eventually fail to
achieve goals of social justice and equality among the people.
The real fear
The real fear that hangs on the minds of many a critical thinker is
that those who benefited most from the land reform programme
are the same people who are destined to benefit again from the
current phase of empowerment. There have been unproven
revelations that mostly senior officials in government
departments amassed more than one farm in the prime farming
areas of the country during the fast track land reform programme.
Assuming these allegations are true, it is highly imperative that
133