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Prosper Ndlovu Business Editor
REVERSING the legacy of nearly 100 years of colonisation is no small task. As Zimbabweans look back to 1980, the year when the country attained its independence from British oppression, it would be a mistake to overlook the agonising journey the country has walked through in an effort to reverse the entrenched colonial inequalities on the economic front.

Economic freedom is at the heart of the fierce liberation battles that our heroes fought, whose cap is total ownership of resources by indigenous Zimbabweans.

Outside this achievement, the political independence we boast so much about would be meaningless.

With 35 years in independent Zimbabwe – no doubt so much has been done to empower the previously disadvantaged masses through creating an enabling policy framework that supports participation of black people in the mainstream economy.

The historic and successful land reform programme at the turn of the millennium has demonstrated Zimbabwe’s unapologetic stance towards empowering its people economically.

Land is a much coveted resource the world over, no wonder why Rhodesian settlers dispossessed indigenous people of their prime land when they arrived in the country in the 1890s.

In the belly of this land are precious mineral resources whose exploitation determines the development of the global economy at large.

This justifies the crafting of the indigenisation and economic empowerment policy by the government and now the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (ZimAsset), which have come in handy in the quest by ordinary Zimbabweans to take charge of the economy.

Yes the economy is presently not doing well but certainly Zimbabwe is poised for a brighter future that is hinged on total ownership of its resources and participation of locals in the mainstream economy.

“Before independence no black person could run a business in towns. Black people, especially women, were only allowed to sell goods at beer halls and were not allowed anywhere else. In rural areas it was only bottle stores and butcheries,” recalled Cde Sithembiso Nyoni, the Minister of Small to Medium Enterprises and Co-operative Development.

She said during the colonial era farmers, who constitute the dominant economic players, grew crops and kept livestock but could not sell anywhere except through the Cold Storage and the Grain Marketing Board.

Black people could not run meaningful businesses then except being substantive farmers and seeking employment in white owned firms in towns.

“Independence has allowed Zimbabweans to grow and sell crops where they want and to determine prices. We now have thriving small to medium enterprises that, according to the World Bank, account for over three million people in both rural and urban areas,” said Cde Nyoni.

“Today most rural areas are alive with profitable co-operatives in farming, fishing and so forth. Independence has helped us a lot. We only need to buttress these gains and take them forward to ensure blacks have a total control of the economy.”

A Bulawayo businessman, Jabulani Nkomo said the coming of independence opened vast opportunities for black entrepreneurs who are now in charge of big corporates as shareholders and as top executives.

“Through robust government policy we’ve taken over the economy. This economic freedom has given birth to indigenisation and empowerment that gives local power to own means of production. Sadly this has provoked the anger of certain quarters of the world who’re no longer willing to assist us with anything,” said Nkomo, son to the late Vice President Landa John Nkomo.

“No wonder why our programmes seem to be failing because of lack of funding due to the effects of economic sanctions. This explains why we’re suffering today because our economy isn’t performing well.”

The closure of white owned firms in the last decade also features under the illegal sanctions plot.

He said going forward, Zimbabwe should forge ahead with its empowerment thrust and seek capital injections that would facilitate speedy economic revival.

“All we need is capital support, moral and emotional support from all of us as Zimbabweans. Some of us aren’t doing things sincerely. As we celebrate independence we look back with a pen to tick the achievements but we need to focus strongly on the economy now,” Nkomo added.

“This, we should do together with everyone participating than being fragmented. A lot of good proposals have been made but need to up the pace in implementation.”