Evan Mawarire
The so-called cleric-turned-opposition functionary Evan Mawarire should know that investors are not gullible. Mawarire claimed on Twitter to have met with Nigerian billionaire Mr Alhaji Aliko Dangote in the United States. We are not privy to how they met, whether it was a proper meeting or some kind of door-stepping by the activist who skipped the country a few months ago to exile himself in the United States.Also, we are not told how Mr Dangote responded to Mawarire’s overtures. While we hold no brief for Mr Dangote, we are keen to at least educate the misguided Mawarire about how investors and general corporate governance works, otherwise other innocent youngsters may be led down the dangerous path to doom.
Mawarire gloats that he told Mr Dangote that “in Zimbabwe Government ministers loot investors (sic) money”. How shallow and misguided.
If unchecked the world may interpret the Zimbabwean society based on Mawarire’s myopic and ridiculous actions. The world may paint all of us simpletons based on this shocking thinking by someone who does not understand how business works. Before making a decision on an investment opportunity, investors conduct what is known as a due diligence exercise.
In simple terms, the potential investor looks into the environment and specific business he/she intends to buy or invest into to evaluate its commercial potential, among other issues.
In fact investors worth their salt see opportunities where small minds like Mawarire see imagined looting. It follows, therefore, that before Mr Dangote even came to Zimbabwe he had done some significant research and investigation about Zimbabwe, the political environment, economic situation and specifically on the economic areas in which he had interest. We say this because Mr Dangote is no small investor and more importantly, no stranger to investing in other countries other than Nigeria.
His business empire spans across Africa, in Benin, Ethiopia, Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana, South Africa, Togo, Tanzania and Zambia. By the way, this is Africa’s richest man. We are very clear that Mr Dangote, like many other investors, knows who to listen to and engage before making any investment decision and therefore elements of regime change such as Mawarire are small fish in his line of business.
Coming from one of the biggest economies on the continent imagine what Mr Dangote gets to hear on a daily basis? Again, Mr Dangote has invested in rougher terrains when compared to peaceful Zimbabwe. Apart from attempting to drag Mr Dangote into his lawlessness, the renegade Mawarire committed a cardinal sin which the people of Zimbabwe must judge him by.
Mawarire claims to have told Mr Dangote that Zimbabwe Government minister loot investors’ money. By extension Mawarire is attempting to drive potential investors away from Zimbabwe.
But what evidence does Mawarire have to prove this? Why is he not sharing the evidence of the looting with the people so that the law may take its course? Again, why is this claim only surfacing from the comfort of the Americas?
Is this not part of an elaborate campaign to mudsling Zimbabwe designed to please his way into the hearts and pockets of his handlers? Could this be just the behaviour of someone singing for his supper?
Critically, does Mawarire even understand the impact of keeping investors away from Zimbabwe? This we ask not because we believe that potential investors such as Mr Dangote would give heed to Mawarire’s malicious claims, but just so he knows what he is calling on Zimbabwe.
In short, Mawarire is calling for sanctions against the people of Zimbabwe. Sanctions against the Zimbabwean youths who are unemployed and against those in colleges who are ready to graduate! He is calling for sanctions against mothers who are toiling day and night to earn an honest living, trying to raise even school fees that Mawarire shed crocodile tears for.
In other words, Mawarire is telling potential investors to take their money elsewhere so that the unemployed may remain unemployed, so that those gainfully employed may lose their jobs because without fresh capital for retooling and expansion, companies may be forced to cut down on staff!
Is this not criminal?
By his actions, Mawarire wants Zimbabwe to dry up in terms of foreign direct investment. But, do we not see the opposition narrative here?
The old adage that birds of the same feather flock together is spot on when describing Zimbabwe’s opposition leaders. Isn’t this the same narrative with MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai when he also called for sanctions against Zimbabwe?
Mawarire has decided to walk the Tsvangirai road and we all know where it leads! We do not want to one day quote the famous saying; “hoist by own petard” in Mawarire’s face. Investors of repute will always come to Zimbabwe despite Mawarire’s campaigns and those of his handlers. We see clearly the hand of Mawarire’s benefactors in all this. We know that investors are smarter than social media campaigns of dwarfish clerics in giant robes.
They are not gullible.