By
Bernard Bwoni
“We
shouldn’t be running away from China, lets stick together. Whether the
headlines, regardless of the challenges we should work together to make the UK
China’s best partner in the West”. British Chancellor George Osbourne said this
when he was speaking at the Shanghai Stock Exchange in China. He described
China as “a phenomenal part of the world economy” and he was absolutely right.
Most countries throughout the world include the EU and USA adopted a Look East
policy since the economic boom in China started. The British, EU and USA have dispatched
several business delegations to China. The thing about the West is that they
understand money and hence why they have it. They respect money more than those
in the developing world who do not have that money. The West will do what it
takes to ensure that they get the business and they bring in the money to
maintain their consistent high standards of life. They know how to separate
business from ideology and politics. Mr Osbourne said “we raise human rights,
but we do it in the context of also talking about issues like economic
development. Of course we’re two completely different political systems and we
raise human rights issues, but I don’t think that is inconsistent with also
wanting to do more business with one-fifth of the world’s population”. They
understand business and they follow it where it is and human rights are just
words when it comes to business. They follow it in the mud, the desert, the
Muslim backyards or any muddle you can just about imagine. Money is just money
even if it comes from the mud, you always clean it up and life goes on. On the
other hand there are some from Zimbabwe and other African countries busy at
each other’s throats about trivia whilst neglecting the things bring in money
into their economies. Whilst George Osbourne is busy molly cuddling the Chinese
and looking east some in Zimbabwe are busy dismissing the ruling party’s look
east policy as a gimmick. This is what separates those who get ahead in this
world and those who lag behind. With China pledging to cancel debts to
developing countries how can a look east policy be a bad policy surely?
It is
interesting that some are urging the government to look west when the west is
looking east. That is a redundant argument and hence why Africa always ends up
having to play catch up. A more convincing argument would be a look everywhere
policy because there is no point in looking to a west that is looking east.
Zimbabwe can look east, west, north and south. It does not matter as long as
the benefit is going to be mutual. There is nothing wrong with being
economically aggressive to get ahead in this world. Zimbabwe’s economy is on
the verge of a major economic take-off and the only tone that should be coming
from Harare is ‘business coated’ and economic savvy. As long as no aggressor is
physically manhandling the country then business tone should remain business
tone. The Conservatives in Britain are Zimbabwe’s best hope of mutually
respectful engagement. The tone from Tories has remained largely positive and
the reciprocity of delegations suggests a major shift towards full engagement.
There has been a number business delegations from Zimbabwe have been to London
and other EU capitals as part of a move to improve reengagement strides. The
Minister of Industry and Commerce Mr Mike Bimha recently led a delegation to
London to woe potential investors. Zimbabwe has a cause (historical
inequalities) and that has now been addressed. That can now be put in the
background and the prevailing tone has to be business and business alone.
The
biggest threat to Zimbabwe’s economic revival now is more internal than external.
The continued bickering, backstabbing and confusion is bad for business. A tone
that does not offend, frustrate or confuse is crucial. It is about striking the
right tone; it is about being diplomatic and understanding the country’s
audience can mean the difference between off-putting potential business and
building important business relationships. It can mean the difference between
getting the desired result and being ignored in place of those who speak the
right language of business with the right tone. Politics and economics are
interlinked and they both have an equal place in any country. However it is
always important to separate the two when communicating for business. Osbourne
discussed business with the Chinese and at no point did he focus on the alleged
human rights abuses. The talk of human rights abuses does not bring money to
Britain’s economy. There is a time and place to talk about human rights for it
is morally right to do so. It is quite reassuring to note that in Zimbabwe
Minister Chinamasa has been talking the language of finance as per his
ministry’s remit. The key to constructing business communication is to consider
the audience, the purpose and type of information to be disseminated. There is
a certain tone that can be uninviting to others and for sure some will sit on
the fence instead of engaging fully.
The
tone that the country present can easily become a subject or target of
international frustration if mismanaged or the bridge that business crosses
over if well managed. The tone should aim at establishing and maintaining
positive relationships with all business partners from the east to the west,
the north to the south. In some countries business tone is in fact incorporated
in national culture. Zimbabwe is a hospitable country and all those who come
into the country should get that sense. We may disagree on the politics, but we
live off the business and as such business tone should be recognised of one of
the country’s official languages. Money should transcend political divisions.
The Conservatives in Britain through their Chancellor Osbourne are looking
beyond the ideological and political differences with China and putting
business ahead of that. Zimbabwe does have ideological and political
differences with the West and there is nothing wrong with that for that is what
makes each country unique. However these differences should not be allowed to
be the obstacles to Zimbabwe’s quest to attract new business into the country. People
are shaped by an ideology, but they do not ‘eat ideology’ and Mr Osbourne is
clearly aware of that hence his call to “make UK China’s best partner in the
west”. The tone of business should be cascaded nationally from top to bottom.
There is value and relevance in presenting the right business tone as opposed
to what is perceived as an aggressive closed-door style. The right tone should
be the natural way of communication throughout the country. If George Osbourne
can grovel for Chinese business, Zimbabwe and Africa as a whole have to create
the most hospitable conditions for those who are likely to bring money or
investment into the country.
All
investors, domestic and foreign need to be strongly reassured that Zimbabwe is
indeed open for business. Zimbabwe has the right policies in place, but those
need to be communicated in a manner that reassures those who want to bring
money into the country. Policies can easily be misunderstood or misinterpreted
and thus the need for clarity beyond any reasonable doubt that Zimbabwe is ready
to embrace all business irrespective of country of origin. The ruling party
knows that Zimbabwe is open for business and the ruling party is clearly
sending the signals that the country is prime for investment. However it is
imperative to look at it from outside, the perception and how the country is
viewed from the outside and then allay some of the misconceptions in a manner
that reassures. The right tone and information would go a long way in doing
that.
Zimbabwe
like most African countries is rich in mineral and other natural resources.
However the country’s capital markets are quite restricted and currently have
limited capacity to finance the development, the beneficiation and value
addition of the country’s vast resource potential. Foreign investment is
essential particularly from the Chinese, the Russians, the EU, Africa, Asia,
and the USA. There are potential national threats tacit in some foreign
investments and rightly so the need for Zimbabwe to be cautious and vigilant in
protecting its national interests. Any investor though, would understand the
need for Zimbabwe to protect her national interests but the tone and how this
is communicated can be the difference between wooing in and wadding off
potential investment.
The
challenges to attracting FDI are huge in particular because many developing
countries, emerging economies and even the developed countries are all actively
seeking to attract the elusive FDI. This is intensifying global competition
among governments and this is where it becomes crucial how the country is perceived.
Africa as a whole has to buckle up to be able to compete. The propensity to
invest in Zimbabwe has been severely affected by internal economic challenges
and perceived political risks. This is a distortion that Zimbabwe has to work
at correcting. Our tone is important when trying to correct this distortion.
Sometimes there is no need to shout, but rather to just provide the right
information consistently and at the right time. The effectiveness of the
government’s response is key to creating favourable conditions to attract
foreign direct investment. The priority should be on improving the environment
for investment, the functioning of capital markets and consistencies in
business tone and clarity in communicating the terms of legal guarantees for
people’s investments. It is one thing to direct them to the Indigenisation and
empowerment Act, and it is another thing actually sitting down and allaying
their fears. It is the right information presented with the right tone that
will allay those fears.
bernardbwoni.blogspot.com
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