HARARE (Zimbabwe), Aug 23 – President Robert Mugabe on Thursday said his incoming government had its work cut out, especially restoring the economy to buoyancy, Zimbabwe’s news agency, New Ziana, reported.
In a keynote address after taking his oath of office for a new five year term, Mugabe said political freedom without accompanying economic emancipation was worthless.
Hence, he said the new government will focus on empowering the majority blacks through a variety of ways, chiefly ensuring much of the country’s mineral wealth remained in Zimbabwe.
He said although the country gained independence in 1980, it remained in bondage economically as its citizens were yet to fully enjoy the benefits of her abundant natural resources.
He said having land to farm alone, through the land reform programme he spearheaded, was not enough, and wanted ‘our dominion’ to extend to the country’s vast mineral resources.
“With elections now behind us, we can now focus on rebuilding our nation which has been ravaged by illegal sanctions imposed on us by the West,” he said.
“The time has now come for us to extend our dominion to all those resources which the Almighty has been so generous enough to give.”
Mugabe said Zimbabweans ought to have faith in their abilities, and leverage their intellectual capacities to exploit the country’s vast natural resources.
He said the new government will pay particular attention to the mining sector, which he saw as the anchor of the entire economy in the short term.
“The mining sector will be the centerpiece of our economic recovery and growth. It should generate growth spurts across sectors; reignite that economic miracle which must now happen. The sector has shown enormous potential but we are far from seeing its optimum,” he said.
However, Mugabe said Zimbabwe on its own had limited capacity, both technical and capital, to exploit her natural resources independently, and therefore welcomed foreign investment.
But he said any partnership with foreign investors will strictly be on terms provided in the country’s indigenization laws which stipulate a 51/49 percent shareholding in favour of locals.
“Where we can, we go it alone. Where we cannot do so, we seek partners on a 51/49 percent shareholding principle,” he said.
“We reject totally as skewed the economic principle which puts capital, technology or expertise before natural resources. It is a principle of imperialism, the source of unequal agreements which have been the bane of our ever exploited Africa,” Mugabe said.
He implored Western countries, which imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe over its land reforms, to lift the penalties, and open a new page in relations between the two sides.
“Zimbabwe is an open, friendly country. We seek friendship across geographies, across cultures, and quite often against past wrongs. We seek partnerships with all nations of goodwill, but partnerships based on sovereign equality and mutual respect,” he said.
“If yesterday the pretext for imposing those sanctions was to do with a deficit of democracy here, today we ask those culprit nations what their excuse is now. Whose interests are those sanctions serving?”
Several current and former African leaders attended Mugabe’s swearing in ceremony, which followed his emphatic victory in the July 31 elections.
– BERNAMA
