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Zimbabweans decry white economic domination
Mugabe names 'minister of indigenisation'
September 8, 1996
Web posted at: 11:35 p.m. EDT (0335 GMT)HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- An extreme disparity in wealth is starting to emerge as a hot political issue in Zimbabwe.
Almost half of Zimbabwe's population is unemployed, and those who have a job make an estimated average of $64 per month. And of the country's total population of 11 million, the white minority of 150,000 controls more than 90 percent of the wealth, experts said.
The overall picture wasn't a whole lot different in 1979, the last year the country was a colony of Great Britain and was known as Rhodesia.
Back then, blacks were segregated into dilapidated and unsanitary townships. Now, 16 years after waging a bitter war for freedom, they continue to occupy the same neighborhoods, known as "high density suburbs," living in ramshackle houses surrounded by raw sewage and trash-strewn streets.
But pressure is building for change. Some black activists say that if the problem isn't solved, the country can expect the worst.
"There could be another Rwanda at any time, given the economic volatility," said Philip Chiyangwa of the Affirmative Action Group.
Zimbabwean activists seek government help
They're lobbying the government to implement a nationwide affirmative action program that would create business opportunities for native black Zimbabweans. In a country where blacks and whites have coexisted peacefully since the war against white minority rule in the early 1970s, it has become an increasingly pressing issue.
Some whites argue that they are also Zimbabweans, and have worked hard for that wealth.
"They're trying to say that the black Zimbabwean is downtrodden, hasn't got fair advantages. What they're actually saying is they want unfair advantages for Black Zimbabweans," said a woman on a Harare street.
President promotes business partnerships
President Robert Mugabe recently appointed a "minister of indigenisation" who says that, for the time being, he's simply encouraging white-owned businesses in the private sector to enter partnerships with black entrepreneurs.
"We want indigenous people to play a more active role in the economy," said Cephas Msipa, Zimbabwe minister of state.
The minister said the government will be earmarking some public sector industries to be sold to blacks. But he concedes real parity can only be realized with black inclusion in the private sector.
The program has its skeptics. "It cannot move at the right pace simply because, at the end of the day, there simply are so many people wanting business opportunities, and there's relatively little opportunity to put that into practice," said Roy Lander of Anglo American Corporation.
Someday, somehow, Zimbabweans must confront their yawning disparities. "If you cannot have an answer when you go knocking on the door, you smash it down and look what's inside. And that's what's going to happen." Said Chiyangwa.
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