A voice of reason from a Zimbabwe businessman

Property and land issues
must be addressed sooner
rather than later in Africa
because uncertainty is bad
news for future investment.
According to Dr Nigel
Chanakira, non-executive
chairman of the Zimbabwe
Investment Authority
(ZIA), there is no denying
the long-term negative
impact when the rules of
the game are just changed.
“When licences are
terminated or not renewed
for any apparent reason
it creates uncertainty.
It spooks people when
you violate property
rights,” he said. “These
types of actions have very
real impact on foreign
investment in countries.
If governments need to
expropriate land there has
to be prompt and adequate
compensation. We have to
find that midway in Africa
where we are doing what is
best for the people but not
at the same time scaring
investors away.”
He said at the same time
there was a need to guard
against fronting.
“We need to create
stable environments where
investors have certainty
– be it over land rights or
operating licences,” he said.
In his view it is also
important that business in
Africa becomes far more
involved and vocal about
what they want to see on
the continent.
“If we don’t want a
political talk show then
we as business have to get
involved and let our voices
be heard. We must be part
of the dicussions. Business
needs to consistently lobby
governments.”
He said the private sector
could not afford to sit on
the sidelines any more and
needed to increase their
involvement.
“We need to speak up
about what we want, what
we need and how we see it
happening.”
He said far too often the
power of the private sector
was underestimated.
“In Zimbabwe the private
sector proved that they had
a powerful voice when they
successfully lobbied for
40% of the content for an
infrastructure project that
will see a ring road created
around Harare to go to
local suppliers.”
He said it was now time
for the local players to
prove that they could do
the task at hand and had
the capability to deliver.
“There have been some
major lessons in Zimbabwe
that many countries can
learn from. One of the most
important lessons I believe
is that each stakeholder
needs to do their part. It is
the business of government
to set policy and create
environments that are
conducive to business.
Governments should not
be in the business of
running business. The
private sector must do that.
That is how we grow our
economies.”