Zimbabwean govt to control key economic sectors

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-12-21 19:28

HARARE -- The Zimbabwe government will soon establish an Economic Revolutionary Council which will be tasked with crafting home-grown strategies to tackle socioeconomic challenges brought about by sanctions the West imposed on the country, New Ziana reported on Sunday.

Addressing thousands of delegates at the ruling Zanu-PF's 10th Annual People's Conference on Saturday, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe said socioeconomic challenges the country is facing requires the government to take action of a revolutionary nature.

"We are not in a normal situation," he said.

"It is a situation of emergency and we must use emergency measures," he said.

Mugabe said it was imperative that the government formulates home grown solutions to tackle the effects that illegal sanctions are causing on the economy.

He said the Politburo has since approved the model that the government has crafted to tackle economic challenges the country is facing.

He said the government is working on the document which will be presented to the Politburo and Central Committee for consideration.

"We are working on a document which will be submitted to the Politburo and Central Committee on what we propose on establishing a real economic revolutionary council," he said.

Mugabe said revolutionary measures that the government will implement involve taking control of key sectors of the economy such as mining, manufacturing and banking.

He said the government is finding it difficult to reduce the effects of illegal sanctions since the countries that imposed them control the key sectors of the economy.

Gaining control of the key sectors will be the next stage of economic independence after the government reclaimed ownership of the land from the minority whites and redistributed it to the black majority, the president said.

Mugabe noted that while blacks are at the helm of subsidiaries of most multinational companies in the country, they are in alliance with the parent countries of the companies bent on destroying Zimbabwe's economy.

"We should also find means of countering that but we cannot do that before we take control of those sectors," he said.

"That is where we want to take action of a revolutionary nature," he said, adding acquiring stakes in multinationals will prevent externalization of foreign currency.

The government passed the Economic Empowerment Act that makes it compulsory for all multinationals to cede at least 51 percent of their equity to indigenous ownership.

Meanwhile, Mugabe expressed concern at ownership of safari areas by individuals, saying wild life is a national asset that should benefit everyone.

He noted that safari areas are different from agricultural land where people grow crops which they tend and harvest. "Animals are sacred, they are not grown. They are ours. They should not belong to individuals. Let us preserve these animals," he said.

Concerns have been raised over individuals that are allocated safaris and are killing the animals .Zimbabwe is home to a variety of wildlife that attracts tourists from different parts of the world who bring much needed foreign currency.