The Zimbabwe we want
Chapter 10; Mining resources are the catalyst for future growth
Zimbabwe's mining resources have a huge potential to drive economic growth source of revenue to develop infrastructure and to start an industrialisation revolution, there is no doubt about that. Our mineral wealth can never be replaced once extracted and we only have one opportunity.
What the country lacks is visionary leadership and a consistent informed policy regime, courtesy of ZANU (PF) predatory capitalism. In the Zimbabwe we want to create, our resources must not be a curse but a blessing but this requires men and women of integrity and conscience who put Zimbabwe and its people first.
Our first point of departure is that Zimbabwe and its resources belong to all its citizens, black and white, who must be beneficiaries.
The first issue we therefore need to address in ownership. There is no point claiming full ownership of resources that we do not have the technology or the capacity and experience to extract. We therefore need partnerships with international mining companies. This partnership needs to take into account that large investments must first be done and we must therefore have policies that are attractive to whoever wishes to partner with us.