Maravi

(HERALD) Indigenisation no new phenomenon

Indigenisation no new phenomenon
By Ray Mawerera

THE story of "The 51 Percent Law" has been going on for several years. It is, therefore, somewhat surprising that the debate being played out in the media appears to treat the matter as a new phenomenon suddenly visited upon unsuspecting investors. Could it be that some of us thought that the proponents of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Bill (then) were mere empty vessels, "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"?

Several months and parliamentary sessions down the line (and an inclusive Government to boot), the Bill has morphed into an Act. Now the disaffected are in a frenzy of emotion, crying foul and offside and any sporting adjectives and expletives that suggest they are quite grieved. Their main point appears to be a mixture of sentiment that the law is hasty, unjust in some areas and could be open to abuse. They advise caution.

I am not about to debate the Act lest I, too, be ruled offside. In any case, there are better people qualified for that. My contribution is merely to endorse the suggestion by the Herald Executive Editor for Business Victoria Ruzvidzo that the points around this "hot subject", as she calls it, need a massive and aggressive awareness campaign so that people debate from a position of knowledge, rather than emotion. For me, they present a critical case study on the importance of communication, often taken so much for granted.

As a way of contextual introduction and to put my contribution in perspective, let me explain that I am a consultant in the area of communications — specifically media and corporate communications, what I prefer to call reputation and image management, or what is loosely referred to as public relations. That ought to explain my fascination with the debate.

I have often quoted the following to different audiences and students of public relations: "We know perfectly well that business does not function by divine right but, like any other part of society, exists within the sanction of the community as a whole . . . Today’s public opinion, though it may appear as light as air, may become tomorrow’s legislation — for better or for worse." That quote is attributed to a president of General Electric Company (one of America’s big businesses) quite a long time ago. It demonstrates an awareness of the importance of the connection between public support and an organisation’s heightened attention to social responsibility and conforming to the dictates of the society within which the organisation has decided to operate.

If organisations are insensitive to changes occurring around them, they may become dysfunctional as they start to grow increasingly out of step with their environments.

When legislators enact laws, much of the time they are reacting to certain stimuli, what the GEC president referred to as "today’s public opinion" — regardless of which public is making the opinion. In politics, if the political parties made promises (which they always do), for example, that the people shall be given land and control of the means of the economic production, there shall come a time when, with the prospects of new votes looming, the promises will be audited.

The process may start with women and youth constituencies, for instance, agitating and reminding the parties: "Inga makamboti . . .?" Anyone who has a child will understand this: "But, daddy, you promised!" – which rather puts the parent in a corner. The debate starts to pick up, appearing at first "as light as air" and, as the pressure mounts, it finds itself in parliamentary caucus. Before you know it, a Bill has been passed. Before you know it, it’s before Cabinet for endorsement. Before you know it, it has the President’s assent and, soon enough, is gazetted into law! This is what is going to happen with the current debate around ownership of houses in the townships, because even politicians themselves operate "within the sanction of the community as a whole".

Showing a sound grasp of the essence of public relations, she said: "Understanding the environment should . . . motivate Government to undertake a massive awareness campaign by any measure, on the actual provisions in the Indigenisation Act and areas that are amenable to change, to prevent investors and other stakeholders from making decisions from uninformed positions."

Public relations makes information available to various publics through the public information systems.

The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act is not going to go away, as we heard from President Mugabe the other day. But nothing is ever cast in stone and sections of it can be amended and improved to suit the requirements for business to operate successfully, bearing in mind (as we heard) that they do not function by divine right but exist within the sanction of the community in which they operate.

l Ray Mawerera is managing consultant of a Harare public relations firm and formerly twice president of the Zimbabwe Institute of Public Relations. You may contact him on rayma*** wordsandimages.co.zw or ray.mawerera*** gmail.com

Also send feedback to victoria.ruzvidzo *** zimpapers.co.zw

Labels: INDIGENIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT ACT (ZIMBABWE)

posted by MrK @ 4:05 PM