An Appraisal of Zimbabwe's Post
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DECOLONISATION, CLASS STRUGGLES AND ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT IN POST-COLONIAL STATES: AN APPRAISAL OF ZIMBABWE’S POST- INDEPENDENCE INDIGENIZATION PROJECT IN THE MINING SECTOR BY SIZO NKALA 210550713 A Thesis Submitted in Fulfillment of the Academic Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Political Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. SUPERVISOR: DR KHONDLO MTSHALI MAY 2019 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The financial assistance of the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, in collaboration with the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) towards this research is hereby acknowledged. Opinions expressed, and conclusions arrived at are those of the author and are not necessarily to be attribute to the NIHSS and CODESRIA. Special thanks to my supervisor, Dr Khondlo Mtshali, whose encouragement and constructive critique ensured that this work is of high quality. I further acknowledge the support I received from family and friends as I embarked on this academic journey. From their support, I drew the strength to carry on. I want to thank the UKZN School of Social Sciences and the International and Public Affairs Cluster in particular for providing a conducive environment for the completion of this study. Above all I want to thank God for granting me the strength and the guidance to persevere throughout what has been a challenging but fulfilling academic journey. iii ABSTRACT This study is an exposition of Zimbabwe’s post-independence indigenization and economic empowerment policy, with a specific focus on how the policy unfolded in the country’s mining sector. The indigenization policy was adopted as a conscious strategy towards overcoming Zimbabwe’s historical legacy of settler colonialism. The colonial government’s systematic racial discrimination and policy of separate development meant that the post-colonial government inherited a society characterized by gross economic and social inequalities along racial lines. In this, black citizens played a marginal role in the country’s economy and were scarcely represented across the main sectors, particularly in the minerals industry. Hence the government’s insistence that the indigenous population, defined as those and the descendants of those who experienced systematic discrimination before independence in 1980, control at least 51 percent of the major economic enterprises across all sectors of the economy. As such, through the lenses of state power, class relations and Zimbabwe’s position in the world-system, this study problematized the conceptualization and the implementation of the policy as it unfolded in the country’s mining sector. It sought to identify the factors that determined the process and the outcomes of the indigenization policy in the said sector. The study used a qualitative methodological approach. Data was gathered through in-depth interviews and email correspondence with government officials, private sector players, academics, mineworkers, activists and journalists. Purposive sampling was used to identify and reach key participants. Documentary and online material including government reports, videos, social media statements from verified accounts of government officials and scholars were also key sources of data. The findings of the study demonstrate that the indigenization policy in the mining sector was, by and large, unsuccessful. The large-scale mining sector is still dominated by an oligopoly of a few powerful foreign-owned companies. Numerous attempts at indigenous takeover (dominated by politicians) of foreign-owned mining failed because of lack of capital. Out of the 61 Community Share Ownership Trusts (CSOTs) established as vehicles through which rural peasant communities could gain 10% share ownership in mining companies, only one Trust actually had shares transferred to it. Further, only one mining company transferred shares to the workers under the Employee Share Ownership Trust (ESOT) scheme. The artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector which comprises predominantly indigenous players has been thoroughly disempowered and disenfranchised by the state. The study cites the weak state, and Zimbabwe’s position in the world-system as a peripheral player among some of the major determinants of these outcomes. An absent indigenous bourgeoisie and the disorganized working class, ASM players and peasant communities immobilized by state repression meant that the politicians dominated the indigenization policy. Key words: Indigenization, Empowerment, Decolonization, Class, Zimbabwe iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AAC – Anglo-American Corporation AAG - Affirmative Action Group ACR - Africa Consolidated Resources AFFEC - Anhui Foreign Economic Construction Group Co Limited AFZ - Airforce of Zimbabwe AIPPA - Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act AMWUZ -Associated Mineworkers Union of Zimbabwe ASM - Artisanal and Small-scale Mining BBBEE - Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment BBC - British Broadcasting Corporation BEE - Black Economic Empowerment BSAC - British South Africa Company BSSMA - Bubi Small-scale Miners Association CEE - Citizen Economic Empowerment CID - Criminal Investigation Department CIDA - Canadian International Development Agency CIF - China International Fund CIMGC - China International Mining Group Company CIO - Central Intelligence Organization COMZ - Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe CSC - Cold Storage Company CSOTs – Community Share Ownership Trusts DDE - Dubai Diamond Exchange DMC - Diamond Mining Corporation EGM - Extraordinary General Meeting EIA - Environmental Impact Assessment EMA - Environmental Management Agency EPO - Exclusive Prospecting Order ESAP - Economic Structural Adjustment Programme ESOTs – Employee Share Ownership Trusts v FINDECO - Finance and Development Corporation FPR - Fidelity Printers and Refineries FYNDP- Five Year National Development Plan GDP - Gross Domestic Product GEM - Global Emerging Markets GNU - Government of National Unity HCCL - Hwange Colliery Company Limited HRW – Human Rights Watch IBDC - Indigenous Business Development Centre ICA - Industrial Conciliation Act IEEA – Indigenization and Economic Empowerment Act IMF - International Monetary Fund INDECO - Industrial Development Corporation ITDG - Intermediate Technology Development Group JOC - Joint Operations Command JSE - Johannesburg Stock Exchange KPCS - Kimberly Process Certification Scheme LAA - Land Apportionment Act LSM - Large-scale mining MDC - Movement for Democratic Change MIDF - Ministry Industry Development Fund MILF - Mining Industry Loan Fund MINDECO - Mining Development Corporation MMA - Mines and Minerals Act MMCZ - Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe MNCs - Multi-National Corporations MP - Member of Parliament MTD - Messina Transvaal Development Group NEPB - Nigerian Enterprises Promotion Board NEPD - Nigerian Enterprises Promotion Decrees vi NIEEB - National Indigenization and Economic Empowerment Board NIEEF - National Indigenization and Economic Empowerment Fund NIET - National Investment and Empowerment Trust NIT - National Investment Trust NMWUZ - National Mineworkers Union of Zimbabwe NPA - Native Purchase Areas NRMC - Nkululeko Rusununguko Mining Consortium NRZ - National Railways of Zimbabwe NSSA - National Social Security Association OECD - Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development PDL - Poverty Datum Line PGMs – Platinum Group of Metals PPC - Pretoria Portland Cement RBZ - Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe RCM - Rhodesia Consolidated Mines RDCs - Rural District Councils RNLB - Rhodesian Native Labour Bureau SEDCO - Small Enterprises Development Corporation SMEs - Small and Medium Enterprises SMM - Shabanie Mashava Mines SMMEs - Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises SWF - Sovereign Wealth Fund TNDP - Transitional National Development Plan UNIDO - United Nations Industrial Development Organisation UNIP - United National Independence Party ZANU-PF – Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front ZAPU – Zimbabwe African People’s Union ZCDC - Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company ZCE - Zimasco Consolidated Enterprises ZCTU - Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions vii ZDF - Zimbabwe Defence Forces ZDI - Zimbabwe Defence Industries ZDWUZ - Zimbabwe Diamond Workers Union of Zimbabwe ZIA - Zimbabwe Investment Authority Zimasco- Zimbabwe Mining and Iron Smelting Company ZIMCO - Zambia Industrial and Mining Corporation ZIMRA - Zimbabwe Revenue Authority ZISCO - Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company ZLHR - Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights ZMDC - Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation ZMF - Zimbabwe Miners Federation ZNA - Zimbabwe National Army ZRP - Zimbabwe Republic Police ZSE - Zimbabwe Stock Exchange ZSM - Zimbabwe School of Mines viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1: Number of interviewees from various organizations Table 4.1 Pre-independence foreign investment in mining up to 1978 Table 4.2: Distribution of mines, employees and gross output Table 4.3: Zimbabwe’s economic performance (1980-1985) Table 4.4: Zimbabwe’s economic performance: 1986-1990 Table 4.5: Percentage distribution of national income Table 4.6: Dominant mining companies in Zimbabwe 1989 Table 4.7: Economic performance during 1985-1990 and the ESAP period Table 5.1. Ownership of large mines in Zimbabwe Table 5.2: Indigenization deals of Zimbabwe’s platinum mines Table 5.3: Distribution of indigenous shareholding in Blanket Mine Table 5.4 (a): Dividends advanced to indigenous partners $000s Table 5.4 (b): Payments accrued to indigenous partners $000s Table 5.5 shows