Joshua Nkomo would not have allowed relocation of companies

 

THE closure and relocation of companies from Bulawayo to Harare has become political as the people of Bulawayo are convinced that if the late Vice- President Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo was still alive today, unemployment would be low in the city
as Father Zimbabwe would not have allowed companies, that include quasi-Government companies, to move their businesses to the capital city.

VP Nkomo used to use his political clout to stop companies that were considering leaving Bulawayo from relocating. Companies that were blocked from moving by VP Nkomo include PG Industries and Hunyani Holdings Limited.
VP Nkomo would take the owners of the companies to task and blast them for coming up with unsatisfactory reasons to relocate. He would even threaten the companies with a Government takeover.
As a result of VP Nkomo’s hands-on and political approach to the eco-industrial problems of Bulawayo there was virtual no de-industrialisation.
However, since VP Nkomo died there has been no successful political intervention to stop companies from relocating.

This has seen residents of Bulawayo accusing the current political leadership of being spineless by standing and watching companies closing shop or moving to another city, rendering the sons and daughters of the city jobless.
So far the political leadership has been holding talks with the companies that have shut down pleading that they reopen but their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. The failure to stop the large-scale shutting down of industries through negotiations has seen people concluding that the leadership is not doing enough.

The people interviewed urged the political leadership in Bulawayo to approach the owners of the companies that have shut down and are in the process of shutting down and demand that they reopen the closed companies and stop the planned closures forthwith.
The chairperson of Bulawayo Residents Association (BURA), Mr Winos Dube, said unlike VP Nkomo the remaining political leadership in Bulawayo was not doing much to stop de-industrialisation.
“As much as we have a political leadership in the region they are no match to VP Nkomo. VP Nkomo used to go down to the industries and reason with them, he would stop companies from relocating. We would have wanted our current leadership to do the same. We have always said the leadership must do much. If they had the spirit of the Vice-President (Joshua Nkomo) the relocation of companies would have been stopped right when it began. There is still room for improvement, our leaders must search their souls,” said Mr Dube.

Zanu-PF Bulawayo Provincial chairperson Cde Killian Sibanda dismissed the accusation that the Zanu-PF leadership in Bulawayo does not have a firm position on what should be done to address the de-industrialisation affecting the city.
“We are doing a lot to stop the companies from shutting down and leaving. We have communicated with Harare for intervention and we are already getting a positive response. That is why we had a rally at Stanley Square weeks ago which was addressed by high ranking Zanu-PF and Government officials. The process of not only stopping but reversing the de-industrialisation of Bulawayo has started,” said Cde Sibanda.

On 26 January this year, Zanu-PF held a rally at Stanley Square with the main agenda being the revival of industries in Bulawayo. The rally was attended by Zanu-PF bigwigs who included Cde Ignatius Chombo, the Minister of Local Government, Urban and Rural Development, Cde Lazarus Dokora, the Deputy Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Cde Saviour Kasukuwere, the Minister of Indigenisation, Youth Development and Empowerment and Cde Absalom Sikhosana, Zanu-PF’s National Youth Secretary.
Cde Sibanda believes that the reasons the relocated companies have given for moving to Harare do not make sense. “We have questioned some of the companies and tell us that they are moving to cut the costs of transporting raw materials. They say they want to be closer to the raw materials because the bad performance of the economy is making it difficult for them to make profits. To me that doesn’t make sense. For 50 years those companies have been operating in Bulawayo and they have never complained about raw materials even during the hyperinflation period. We are now using the United States dollar, a stable currency, if they didn’t move when we were using our unstable currency, why are they moving now? What has changed? Some say they want to be close to ministers who make decisions but that is nonsense. The communication gap which used to make communication difficult has been closed by technology. They can communicate with ministers from Bulawayo, what they are doing is just sabotage,” Cde Sibanda said.

MDC-T Bulawayo provincial Chairperson Mr Gorden Moyo said his party is going to start turning around the fortunes of the economy of Bulawayo after winning elections in three months time.
“Right now in the inclusive Government we believe that Dimaf is the best way to revive industries in Bulawayo. We are working with the ministry of Industry and Commerce. We are not going to watch Bulawayo go down. We are not pleased at all to see companies relocating to Harare.
“As a party we have come up with an economic blueprint called Juice. We are clear on what we are going to do as soon as we take over Zimbabwe in three months time. We are going to have access to lines of credit from the international community. The investors who have shunned Zimbabwe will come in droves. This nonsense of companies relocating to Harare or shutting down will be stopped,” Mr Moyo said.
MDC Bulawayo provincial chairperson Mr Oscar Ncube believes that there is a hidden hand behind the relocation and closure of companies in the province.
“There is more to the de-industrialisation of Bulawayo than economics. The MDC thinks it’s a deliberate ploy to destroy Bulawayo for reasons we are not privy to yet. But without a doubt we know that it’s not an accident, it’s intentional. This is meant to discourage the people of Bulawayo. What other reason can we find? All these years the economy has been struggling but companies were not relocating. When Bulawayo was doing well, you never heard of Harare companies coming to Bulawayo but now that it’s Bulawayo they want to relocate,” said Mr Ncube.
Mr Ncube said it was difficult to halt the de-industrialisation of Bulawayo because the owners of the companies were unreachable.

“The shutting down of companies must stop forthwith. The people of Bulawayo are bitter, they are very angry. We have tried and we are trying to stop it. Professor Welshman Ncube (Minister of Industry and Commerce and MDC president) is working hard to reverse the trend. As a party we have approached the managers who run the companies but there is nothing they can do because they are just working under instructions. We want to talk to the owners but they are unavailable. We believe in talking to find a solution but our cries are falling on deaf ears,” he said

This article first appeared on  Bulawayo Sunday News compliled by  Stanford Chiwanga