via The Sunday Mail misfired | The Herald May 27, 2014 by Godfrey Dzirutwe
Headline writers at The Sunday Mail no doubt gave themselves a pat on the back after the publication of Sunday’s issue. The Government, we were told, was in the process of a “major climb-down” regarding the indigenisation policy while Dr Gideon Gono was cited as a major victor in a policy debate he actually has had no input in.
It would be interesting to know how many additional newspapers the deliberately sensationalist headline added to sales.
The problem is that there is in fact no such “climb-down” specifically because the interview on which the headline was purportedly based states quite clearly that Government is in fact digging in and has actually “climbed-up” in requiring that Zimbabweans will in fact own 100 percent of their resources under the proposed Production Sharing Model.
Gloating foreigners, immediately seized upon this headlining oversight, if not deliberate mischief. Most vocal in that crowd were white South Africans (understandably fearful for their own cake) who took to social media to celebrate the so-called climb-down.
The gloating reached hysterical levels and came closer to home with inane headlines from the usual suspects at the Daily News yesterday morning.
“Thank you Mr President,” cried a celebratory headline in the offending copy.
The excitable editor of that paper then went on to explain that the newspaper had been proven right in its relentless criticism of indigenisation.
The paper was also at pains to laud the former central bank chief Dr Gono who it quoted extensively as saying (disingenuously I suspect) “don’t thank me” for the apparent possible policy shift by Government. This theme was carried online where many fans of the central bank chief pointed to the shift as a victory for his brand of moderate politics.
The Sunday Mail and the shallow readers taken in by its clever copy-shifting tactics miss one essential point: Gono never at any time advocated the Production Sharing Model. The record will show that he was championing a cheap sort of empowerment where Zimbabweans would be reduced to supplying implements to extractive companies while they carried gold and platinum out of the country.
His “Supply Chain Strategy”, which is freely available to anyone with access to the Internet, was unequivocal in its opposition to equity aspirations instead suggesting that it was better to supply mops, buckets and toilet paper to mining companies as a means to empower our people. He was rightly described as a “house-nigger” over the proposals.
Against this background, it is difficult to see how he can be said to be a victor when his proposed model is not mentioned anywhere in the suggested amendments to the indigenisation policy.
Some will say that Dr Gono deserves credit because he urged moderation and thus should be credited if there is any such movement towards moderation. It’s a weak line of argument. Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa has also urged moderation; as did Cdes Mzembi,
Chidhakwa and even President Mugabe himself when he persuasively argued that there was no merit for demanding 51 percent in non-resource sectors of the economy.
Why is a movement towards such moderation a victory for Gono in particular? It would have been outrageous to claim the planned amendments were a victory for Mzembi but it is clear that our friends at The Sunday Mail really wanted to sell lots of newspapers and decided to squeeze out a desperately contrived headline much to the delight of certain individuals with political ambitions.
Anyone who takes time to actually read through the extensive interview carried by the same newspaper will realise that there is (1) in fact no climb-down but in fact this is a major climb-up for all resource nationalists and that (2) this is not a victory for Gono because he never at any time advocated the Production Sharing Model.
COMMENTS
Headless confused buffoons. Utterly clueless idiots……and criminals to boot. Egghead moyo lurking somewhere
Production sharing with non contributing ZANU pigs is a non starter. Trusting anything written by Zimpapers is unlikely.
The entire indigenisation policy is rejected by those whose views actually count. ZANU contributes nothing and cannot grow the economy. This article and the alleged policy it purports to be reporting on indicate that the ZANU’s are no closer to reality than they have been for some time.
All in all this is another confirmation of what everybody knows. ZANU’s pigs must go. They are not wanted here in Zibabwe.
Again, it shows Mugabe is not in charge. What Mugabe said at independence is indeed a climbdown, but those who wish him to remain and die a failure are fanning contrary indications. The likes of Jonathan and his handlers are surely the enemies of Zimbabwe. Revise the adverse policies and see how quickly the country recovers. Whatever Mugabe said in his climbdown message is correct..impliment it.
I find it interesting that the Herald would write a whole piece attacking the The Sunday Mail.
Its amazing that in this day and age the Herald can still use this kind of language irrespective of whoever it is against. I expected a more mature and articulate debate like what happens in other countries.
I guess this stems from Mugabe who at every turn wants to insult other people even if he is the one at fault. Like in this case they want to look smart as if the old indigenisation policy was crafted by somebody else.
They are now replacing it with another half baked solution. Zimbabwean people surely deserve better.
Let Zanu tear itself apart. The right does not know what the left is up to and vice versa.
Zanu must go.
WHATEVER YOU CALL IT IN OUR PERCEPTION IT WAS A CLIMB DOWN. MONSIEUR CHINAMASA SAID THEY WANT TO CLIMB DOWN AND NORMALISE RELATIONS, OR SOMETHING TO THAT EFFECT AND ITS GOOD FOR THE NATION NAD EVEN FOR ZANU PF. ITS A CLIMB DOWN FROM A HARD-LINE STANCE AND, KNOW WHAT? iTS VERY WELCOME. THIS CLIMB DOWN. YOU CANT KEEP ON CLIMBING ON FOREVER UNLESS YOU ARE A MADMAN. THANKS FOR THE INDISPENSABLE CLIMB DOWN.WE LOVE YOU ALL FOR IT!
Let the siblings tear each other apart.
Herald you are destructive.The nation do not require you at this point of time. If Govt changes the way things must be done after realisation that the parth they have taken will not produce results thats a climp down. You did not touch that one size fit all policy on indengenousation has been proposed to be thrown away. Herald plse leave the destructive way you are reporting.
Racist nonsense.
You herald people, what is wrong with a climb down or in other words a rethink if the gvt has now realised that their policy has been stiffling investment. In strategic terms a climb down is the same as a retreat not defeat perse. Now you are bombarding your sister paper for telling it like it is. The sunday mail has transformed into a paper that calls a spade a spade, not a shovel, even in those cases involving the gvt which it used to blindly sing for. Keep on that good, informative jornalism sunday mail and ignore your partisan sister paper, the herald which sees no evil in anything that the zanu pf gvt does even if it is glaring clear that everyone including laymem are seeing evil. It was a climb down and will remain so except in the perception of the herald
Ok; “Climb-up” then!
For many years, I had stopped buying both the Herald and Sunday Mail. But of late, I have resumed buying the Sunday Mail. They are changing with time, to offer a more mature and objective perspective on policy and domestic issues. The Herald continues to bury it’s head in the sand, and prefers political expediency to objective, non biased, intellectually stimulating reporting. Sadly, it will be too late when they discover that Zimbabweans are not just fools. Even Jonathan Moyo is changing with time, adopting a diplomatic, realistic, and pragmatic perspective, albeit he still has a long way to go before he retains our confidence. Of late, I respect him, but I can never be fooled, when it comes to political agendas.