Direct Education system towards Entrepreneurship- Zimbabwe entrepreneurial infrastructure series

One of Africa’s leading science and business universities National University of Science and Technology (NUST) in Bulawayo Zimbabwe pioneered the development of widespread acquisition of practical skills through the implementation of the degree programs with a mandatory one year industrial attachment.

This was a critical and transformational approach to higher education as it immediately equipped students with practical real world work experience and most graduates easily secured jobs after completion of studies. But the times have changed the jobs are no longer readily available therefore Universities need to increasingly focus on moulding students into Entrepreneurs.

This could include creation of technology parks and business incubation centres which will naturally form part of the entrepreneurial infrastructure which is missing in most of Africa generally and Zimbabwe in particular.

According to Wikipedia “Business incubators are programs designed to accelerate the successful development of entrepreneurial companies through an array of business support resources and services, developed and orchestrated by incubator management and offered both in the incubator and through its network of contacts. Incubators vary in the way they deliver their services, in their organizational structure, and in the types of clients they serve.”

These services offered by Business incubators are clearly needed and can be offered through-out the country from the various Universities. Universities and Technical colleges must take the lead in this area as graduates transform from job seekers to job creators.

The Zimbabwe Educational system needs to step up and now move with the times and evolve to start churning out graduates who are ready to create jobs and not seek jobs which are non-existent. This is not an easy challenge but it can be done over the medium term with proper planning and strategic focus.

Zimbabwe’s educational system needs to be in line with the national vision of economic empowerment and indigenization. The system needs to be properly developed and enshrine values which do not encourage looting, grabbing or seizing businesses as a way to acquire wealth. This has to be done at an early age and through out the educational system which will make it clear that economic empowerment is here to stay but it must be achieved to legitimate and acceptable means which individuals properly equipped with entrepreneurship skills backed up by an appropriate entrepreneurial infrastructure.

Some of the challenges as witnessed by business invasions and enterprise disturbances are a result of limited information and education on how one can legally and legitimately build a business even when faced by an uneven playing field.

It is clear there are informational gaps and execution shortfalls which has led to a majority of individuals to believe that the only way into big business is through political patronage and other dubious means. These gaps have to be addressed in form of proper education curriculum which focuses on creating entrepreneurial candidates who will become part of the entrepreneurial infrastructure.

Such educational programs can not assume that everyone can be an entrepreneur but should give every student a chance to choose that path and also acquire the critical entrepreneurial skills at early stages such that once one completes studies they have all options on the table.

Entrepreneurial skills are now a critical survival skill in the current Zimbabwe especially given the drive towards economic empowerment. The idea of economic empowerment is ideal and noble but can not succeed if the potential beneficiaries are not properly trained and equipped to handle the challenges that comes with running any enterprise.

Any effort which ignores the need for the educational system to close informational and skills gap will result in the program failing and creating a vicious poverty circle instead of empowering.

Disclaimer
All information on this site is provided "as is" for informational purposes only, not intended for trading purposes or advice. Prior to execution of any security trade, you are advised to consult your authorized financial advisor to verify the accuracy of all information. Neither GMRI Capital nor any independent provider is liable for any informational errors, incompleteness, or delays, or for any actions taken in reliance on information contained herein.
This article was prepared exclusively for 3MG MEDIA by GMRI Capital a Division of the ENG Capital Group.
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You don’t have to be old to start a business!! - Zimbabwe entrepreneurial infrastructure series

Entrepreneurs are a source of great economic activity and prosperity in many communities and nations. Africa needs to do a lot more to develop entrepreneurship from a very early age.

There has been a mistake to try to link age to competence or success when it comes to business and this has resulted in Africa in general having depressed entrepreneurial activity due to the open hostility shown to young entrepreneurs in Africa generally and Zimbabwe in particular. There is a general tendency to try and shut out and block young people who are seeking to enter into business. Often one is encouraged to seek a job and not to create one.

An entrepreneur is widely defined as a person who has possession of a new enterprise, venture or idea and is accountable for the inherent risks and the outcome. That individual is prepared to launch a new venture or enterprise and accept full responsibility for the outcome ,accepting both the risk and the reward. Such people are in great demand in Africa generally and Zimbabwe and South Africa in particular due to the macro-economic conditions prevailing in those 2 countries which require entrepreneurs to create new ventures.

It is important for Zimbabweans from a very early age to be properly equipped with necessary entrepreneurial skills and spirit backed by the necessary entrepreneurial infrastructure needed to ensure success. From an early age it must be instilled that value and wealth is created from utilizing resources and skills around you and not from looting , grabbing or invading.

There a certain common words frequently used to describe individuals with entrepreneurial flair and spirit these include mavericks, innovators, failures, Tycoons, pathological liars, risk takers, self made business people, successful, charismatic. It is clear in these words age really has nothing much to do with it. In short you don’t need to be any particular old age to start a business and succeed.

There are well known qualities which are usually found in most entrepreneurs ,these include creativity, risk taking, uniqueness, business savy, developing potential, adaptability. It is these qualities which makes one a successful entrepreneur and not one’s age. Age clearly has no direct bearing on the success of true entrepreneurs even though experience may be relevant. One tends to get more experience the older they get but that alone can not make one a great entrepreneur.

African Governments should devise policies to develop a culture of entrepreneurial thinking. This can be done in a number of ways: by integrating entrepreneurship into education systems, formulating laws which legislate to encourage risk-taking ,provide funding , and national campaigns which are targeted at the young and youthful who form a pool of potential entrepreneurs and generally create the required entrepreneurial infrastructure.

It appears there are two natural age peaks correlated to entrepreneurship – mid to late twenties and mid-forties ,even though there is no general rule. Some studies note that being a younger founder greatly improves your chances of success in a venture. It’s normally easier to get free press coverage when you’re younger which gives the individual free publicity and helps build a brand and that encourages people to invest in you or your venture.

According to Wikipedia “Entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur, which can be defined as "one who undertakes innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods". This may result in new organizations or may be part of revitalizing mature organizations in response to a perceived opportunity. The most obvious form of entrepreneurship is that of starting new businesses (referred as Start-up Company);” .

From the above definition it is clear one must still be very young to take such risks and have the energy and drive to see through an economic adventure meant to create value and wealth. This points to the conclusion that Africa should invest more at a very early age possibly from 9 years old to instil values and the spirit of entrepreneurship in its population.

From a very early age children must be taught and encouraged to become entrepreneurs.
According to various studies and empirical evidence acts of entrepreneurship are often associated with true uncertainty, particularly when it involves bringing something really valuable to the world, whose market never exists.

In addition, even if a market already exists, there is no guarantee that a market exists for a particular new player who is being promoted by the entrepreneur. This indicates that the African society must be willing to teach and accept risk taking as normal and productive behaviour.

If the various Economic empowerment as defined by BEE Laws in South Africa and Indigenization laws in Zimbabwe are to succeed entrepreneurship and business concepts need to become part of the vocabulary and curriculum at very tender age preferably before children enter high school. They need to clearly know that entrepreneurship is acceptable as a way of life and society will accept young people who venture into it and they will be rewarded once they succeed.

Disclaimer
All information on this site is provided "as is" for informational purposes only, not intended for trading purposes or advice. Prior to execution of any security trade, you are advised to consult your authorized financial advisor to verify the accuracy of all information. Neither GMRI Capital nor any independent provider is liable for any informational errors, incompleteness, or delays, or for any actions taken in reliance on information contained herein.

This article was prepared exclusively for 3MG MEDIA by GMRI Capital a Division of the ENG Capital Group.
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Zimbabwe Successful entrepreneurship never an accident - Entrepreneurial Infrastructure Series

The world over including Zimbabwe and Africa Entrepreneurship is rarely a solo enterprise, it requires a solid support ecosystem built to encourage and nurture risk taking and enterprise creation. “Smart” people learn from each other, and an infrastructure for entrepreneurship naturally encourage connection between aspiring entrepreneurs and like minded individuals.

For Africa and Zimbabwe to properly leap into global competitiveness there is greater need to raise awareness of what has been lacking over the last 50 or so years . As an example Ghana and South Korea and Malaysia were almost at equal stages of development 50 years ago .

Yet today they are worlds apart with Korea being home to a host of world leading firms such as Daewoo ,LG, Samsung, Hyundai and many others. Africa has not managed to create such huge corporations despite having serious natural resource base.

Partly the answer lies in the lack of entrepreneurial infrastructure. These are social, economic, and political factors influencing entrepreneurship. These involve creation of an enabling environment and support system to allow entrepreneurs to flourish with minimum hindrance.

This entrepreneurial infrastructure includes:
(a) public resource endowments of basic scientific knowledge, funding mechanisms, and a pool of competent and educated labour,
(b) proprietary research and development, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution functions by private entrepreneurial individuals and firms to commercialize their ideas for profit.
(c) institutional arrangements to legitimate, regulate, and standardize a new ideas (products) goal should be to attract a large number of “smart “ individuals and then to get out of their way and let them focus on building great ventures.

Risk taking will and ability has to be encouraged and nurtured. Unplanned creativity is a natural trait of entrepreneurship which should not be controlled by the state or Government Authority in as far as an entrepreneur is creating an enterprise which provides a service or product that serves a need.

Unplanned creativity can be the most critical driver of economic prosperity success. African governments need to put their faith in the ability of smart people to build their own economic futures through building businesses that serve the community they live in. As noted above smart people learn from each other and through that process new ventures and businesses are formed from simple interaction between smart people who are driven.

Zimbabwe in particular and Africa in general should encourage aggressive and imaginative local entrepreneurs in creating an infrastructure for the new knowledge-based economy. This must be targeted at encouraging local home grown entrepreneurs and not flooding the economy with foreign traders whilst preaching local economic empowerment.

On the cultural front encouraging the development of an entrepreneurial culture, tolerant of risk and cognizant that honourable failure is the price of ambition has to be accepted.

Sound policies and investment in infrastructure attuned to market and environmental needs will have an entrepreneurial return. Entrepreneurial infrastructure encourages and supports creative, innovative behaviour attracts smart, entrepreneurial people.

Once those entrepreneurial people come to live in an area, they will help to maintain and improve upon the “smart” physical infrastructure they need to succeed and connect with other innovative individuals and entrepreneurs to share ideas and encourage each other.

Strong commitment by Business-friendly government and established businesses to support entrepreneurs.

The creation of entrepreneurial infrastructure has the benefit of rubbing shoulders with globally competitive talent. Studies indicate that entrepreneurs who run in packs will be more successful than those that go it alone to develop their innovations.

Whilst the legal framework for Economic empowerment is being put in place there is need for Mentorship programs and entrepreneurship classes in public schools provide other means of connecting entrepreneurial individuals and nurture their talent .

Disclaimer
All information on this site is provided "as is" for informational purposes only, not intended for trading purposes or advice. Prior to execution of any security trade, you are advised to consult your authorized financial advisor to verify the accuracy of all information. Neither GMRI Capital nor any independent provider is liable for any informational errors, incompleteness, or delays, or for any actions taken in reliance on information contained herein.

This article was prepared exclusively for 3MG MEDIA by GMRI Capital a Division of the ENG Capital Group.
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Commodity Exchange in Zimbabwe a positive development for Zim financial and Agric sectors

The long awaited Commodity Exchange in Zimbabwe (Comez) was finally launched last week after more than two years of planning .This is a major positive step for Zimbabwe’s financial and agricultural sectors as it will greatly assist in mobilizing financial resources required in funding agricultural products and eliminate monopolies enjoyed by various entities in marketing and purchase of agricultural products.

This development will also deepen and broaden Zimbabwe’s financial markets as the Comez is expected to start trading commodity based derivatives. This presents fresh opportunities for the financial sector.
Comez will be the clearing house that provides clearing and settlement services for financial and commodities derivatives and securities transactions.
Comez will essentially stand between two clearing participants (also known as member firms or clearing participants) and its purpose is to reduce the risk of one (or more) clearing participant failing to honour its trade settlement obligations.

Comez presence and capacity reduces the settlement risks by netting offsetting transactions between multiple counterparties, by requiring security deposit or collateral deposits (refered to as margin margin deposits held in margin accounts), by providing independent valuation of trades and collateral, by continuously assessing and evaluating the credit worthiness of the market participants , and in many cases, by providing a guarantee fund which is a back up pool of capital that can be used to cover losses that exceed a defaulting clearing participant's deposit.


The newly launched Comez is expected to play a key role in unlocking funding for agriculture and facilitate the orderly trading of commodities in Zimbabwe. Commodity Exchange in Zimbabwe (Comez) will offer spot markets, where the payment as well as delivery is immediate while there is also a futures market.
According to Wikipedia “Futures contracts, or simply futures, (but not future or future contract) are exchange-traded derivatives. The exchange's clearing house acts as counterparty on all contracts, sets margin requirements, and crucially also provides a mechanism for settlement”

Exchange-traded contracts which will be traded by Commodity Exchange in Zimbabwe (Comez)are standardized by the exchange. The contract details what asset is to be bought or sold, and how, when, where and in what quantity it is to be delivered. The terms also specify the currency in which the contract will trade, minimum tick value, and the last trading day and expiry or delivery month.

This is an agreement between two parties to buy or sell an asset at a certain time in the future for a certain price. a futures contract is a standardized contract between two parties to buy or sell a specified asset (eg. wheat ,beans ,oranges, oil, gold) of standardized quantity and quality at a specified future date at a price agreed today (the futures price)

For agricultural commodities, trading will be on the basis of warehouse receipts issued by the exchange operated or approved warehouses which guarantee the quality and quantity of products.
Comez will greatly assist in an accurate price discovery process which helps farmers and other market participants to plan and allocate resources. The Exchange will provide information and hints as to which crops have a deeper market and greatest profit margin before investment is made by the farmer or market participants.
The key advantage of the market is that it brings in more players and reduces monopoly power since new players are attracted into this market due to the increased liquidity presented by the presence of a clearing house (The Comex).
In addition the Comex is expected to bring some level of standardization related to futures markets the world over. And according to Wikipedia these include
“Futures contracts ensure their liquidity by being highly standardized, usually by specifying:
 The underlying asset or instrument. This could be anything from a barrel of crude oil to a short term interest rate.
 The type of settlement, either cash settlement or physical settlement.
 The amount and units of the underlying asset per contract. This can be the notional amount of bonds, a fixed number of barrels of oil, units of foreign currency, the notional amount of the deposit over which the short term interest rate is traded, etc.
 The currency in which the futures contract is quoted.
 The grade of the deliverable. In the case of bonds, this specifies which bonds can be delivered. In the case of physical commodities, this specifies not only the quality of the underlying goods but also the manner and location of delivery.
 The delivery month.
 The last trading date.
 Other details such as the commodity tick, the minimum permissible price fluctuation.”



Disclaimer
All information on this site is provided "as is" for informational purposes only, not intended for trading purposes or advice. Prior to execution of any security trade, you are advised to consult your authorized financial advisor to verify the accuracy of all information. Neither GMRI Capital nor any independent provider is liable for any informational errors, incompleteness, or delays, or for any actions taken in reliance on information contained herein.
This article was prepared by ENG Advisory Services and GMRI Capital (www.gmricapital.com ), Divisions of ENG Capital Group.
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Zimbabwe ready for an Alternative Investment Exchange market

The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) has had a very few new listings over the last 24 months ,a situation that is likely to continue if now proactive steps are taken to encourage more Companies to list of the ZSE. One immediate and practical step which should be considered is the development of an Alternative Investment Market to list firms which do not meet ZSE requirements but have potential and ambition to list in the short to medium term. This market will act as a preparatory stage for an eventual listing on the ZSE .

This market will allow small to medium sized companies ability to raise cheaper capital in form of equity and raise their public profile whilst preparing for an eventual listing on the main ZSE Board .

Exchanges provide several ways in which to take a company public which include:
• Initial Public Offering (IPO)
• Reverse Takeover (RTO)
• Direct Listing ( market introduction)

The best option for a company will depend on its financial, legal, auditing and business strategy requirements. Normally team of advisors led by the lead advisors( Investment Bank) assist the firm with this decision.

There are few areas which the firm to be listed must consider and work towards in order to be listed on the Stock market

Creating an established business with a track record is normally the starting point towards a public listing. Other relevant and important areas include ;
• Strong management team must be in place
• Growth prospects must look good for medium to long term
• Solid business plan must be in place
• Sound financial plan has to be developed
• Strategic marketing plan to keep revenues growing

The proposed alternative investment market will provide a unique trading forum for listed companies that are below ZSE ongoing listing standards. This gives small firms an opportutnity to access resources which are normally reserved and accessed by blue chip companies ;

Whilst preparing for a listing on the Alternative Investment market the entrepreneur and his team need to carefully work on the following.


• Are the key management positions filled by experienced and qualified individuals?
• Is the management team experienced and balanced, with sufficient directors and senior executives with a proven record in managing a public company who can protect investing public funds interests?

Zimbabwe’s small to medium companies will benefit from the support and visibility provided by a listing and trading environment tailored to their needs on the proposed Alternative investment Exchange market.

Zimbabwe’s financial markets are well regulated and rank amongst the top in Africa and emerging markets. The establishment of the Securities Exchange Commission has further provided more oversight and increased supervision on the capital markets which makes it ripe to add an Alternative Investment exchange since there are sufficient resources and expertise from the Securities Exchange Commission ,The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the ZSE.

The alternative investment market will have simple, easy-to-read rules and streamlined filing obligations, which reduces the complexity of complying with exchange policies - giving these companies more time to focus their efforts on strengthening and growing their businesses.

Whilst seeking a listing on the proposed alternative exchange market, prospective listing candidates need to consider the following leads ;

• Is the market size for the company’s product or service sufficient to attract broad investor interest to make share value reasonable and stable?

• Is the company profitable, or has its product reached commercialization with evidence of market acceptance that can be enhanced by greater access to more resources?

• At the time of listing, will the company have sufficient working capital to carry out its business plan and meet its daily capital requirements?

Zimbabwe’s small to medium scale firms remain underfunded mostly due to the liquidity shortage in the market. This is further worsened by the listing requirements of the ZSE which are exclusionary and not inclusionary. This helps build a strong case for the need to urgently set up an alternative listing market to serve that niche of firms that are keen to list but do not yet meet the ZSE listing requirements.

Disclaimer
All information on this site is provided "as is" for informational purposes only, not intended for trading purposes or advice. Prior to execution of any security trade, you are advised to consult your authorized financial advisor to verify the accuracy of all information. Neither GMRI Capital nor any independent provider is liable for any informational errors, incompleteness, or delays, or for any actions taken in reliance on information contained herein.

This article was prepared exclusively for The Zimbabwean Newspaper by ENG Advisory Services and GMRI Capital, Divisions of ENG Capital Group.

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Mutumwa Mawere and SMM Case a perfect opportunity to encourage Zimbabwe Investment

Mutumwa Mawere and SMM Case a perfect opportunity to encourage Zimbabwe Investment

Whilst the media continues to feast on the SMM and Mr Mutumwa Mawere saga it appears the whole nation is now too heavily invested in blame apportioning whilst missing a clear and perfect opportunity to show the whole world that Zimbabwe welcomes investors and the environment is changing for the better.

The way forward really is for Mr Mutumwa Mawere to be given back his business empire or whatever remains of it since its widely reported that the empire is now in ruins. This case presents an opportunity to send a clear message to investors and the international community that Zimbabwe has rule of law and investors are secure.

The economic empowerment and indigenization message will seem like a mere political slogan and empty ploy if the Mutumwa Mawere and SMM case is left to keep dragging on and on without any end in sight .Mr Mawere is an experienced business person whose skills ,contacts ,network and experience are desperately needed as Zimbabwe embarks on the economic empowerment and indigenization revolution.

When such sagas unfold normally the key participants feel the need to accuse and counter accuse but no-one really benefits from counter accusations flying all over the Media. This matter has been well documented and its never short of new twists and new revelations.

However there has been a dramatic loss of jobs reportedly around 19,000 jobs were lost in the whole Mawere specification, SMM reconstruction and Mutumwa Mawere de-specification drama. Is it not time that a new leaf be turned in the Saga and let Mr Mawere focus on rebuilding his business and create jobs?

It is imperative to note that job creation must be central to poverty alleviation in Zimbabwe. Jobs are created under a certain secure investment environment. Zimbabwe’s decline over the last decade has been blamed on politicians and politics. There hasn’t been a clear effort to seek to properly avoid the blame game which is counter production and only serves to increase tension whilst leading to a deteriorating investment climate.

As Zimbabwean we have to commit ourselves to economic freedom in our lifetime. This economic freedom can only be brought by a broad based economic empowerment revolution led by such experienced individuals like Mr Mutumwa Mawere.

In 1995, he founded Africa Resources Limited (ARL), an investment holding company incorporated under the laws of the British Virgin Island, before moving to South Africa. In August 1995, he approached T & N Plc the UK domiciled parent company of Shabanie & Mashaba Mines Private Limited (SMM) with a proposal to acquire the company's Zimbabwean subsidiaries i.e. the asbestos mines, two Zimbabwean industrial companies and a Zambian manufacturing company. Negotiations began in September 1995.
In November 1995, he formed a partnership with Investec Bank Limited, a South African investment bank, to structure and mobilize financing for a mining private equity fund.

While working on the private equity fund, he continued his negotiations with T & N that culminated in an agreement in March 1996 pursuant to which ARL, a company in which he is the sole shareholder, acquired the remaining mining and industrial assets of T & N in Zimbabwe and Zambia.

Since the acquisition of T & N's two UK based companies that were the sole beneficial owners of the Zimbabwean and Zambian companies, the ARL group of companies grew organically and through acquisitions to become one of the largest and diversified black controlled conglomerates with operations in South Africa, UK, Zambia, Namibia, and Malawi employing about 20,000 people and generating a turnover of about US$400 million.

The current calls by the Government of Zimbabwe to encourage investment ,broad based economic empowerment and indigenization must be complimented by visible positive steps such as resolving the Mawere and SMM for the benefit of the country and hopefully the 19,000 jobs can be re-created in the medium to long term.

Disclaimer
All information on this site is provided "as is" for informational purposes only, not intended for trading purposes or advice. Prior to execution of any security trade, you are advised to consult your authorized financial advisor to verify the accuracy of all information. Neither GMRI Capital nor any independent provider is liable for any informational errors, incompleteness, or delays, or for any actions taken in reliance on information contained herein.

This article was prepared exclusively for 3MG MEDIA by GMRI Capital a Division of the ENG Capital Group.
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The importance of the Rule of Law - the ENG case has been created.

Today, 1 January 2011, being the first day of the second decade of this African century provides another opportunity for us as Africans to reflect on what kind of Africa we want to see.

To the extent that the future is a product of human actions and choices, we can shape the future by the decisions we make today and more significantly by the actions that flow from the decisions made.

To me, the just ended year brought with it my de-specification. I was specified on 9 July 2004 together with Messrs. James Mushore and Francis Zimuto.

As I looked back at the 6 years, I am comforted that I have not been alone in the bus. The bus that I took a ride in 2004 already had passengers including Mr. Gilbert Muponda, a Zimbabwe-born entrepreneur who was forced to leave a country of his birth because of a real threat to his life; Mr. James Makamba who became the first high profile person to spend about 7 months in remand prison for a crime he did not commit.

As I sit today trying to understand the Africa that can be possible if the state is controlled by a few wise but evil persons, I just discovered that no attempt has been made to make a head count of all the people who were forced to ride on this bus.

I discovered that the majority of persons specified on allegations of externalisation were black. Some were professionals while others were business owners.

What is remarkable is that after 6 years of madness, no attempt has been made for the passengers to come together to exchange experiences and really to compare notes.

The experiences that we have been subjected to are now part of the heritage of Zimbabwe and yet very little has been recorded of this ugly period. Who was behind this onslaught on personal and property rights?

The first victim was Mr. Muponda and his colleagues at ENG. While it is easy to reduce Muponda's ordeal to a personal matter, it is important that the nation be told why if ENG was insolvent, Muponda and fellow directors were arrested and subsequently specified.

In a constitutional democratic order, it is not unusual that companies fail and the law has adequate protection for genuine creditors yet in the ENG matter we saw for the first time the emergence of a new order. Under this order, law enforcement authorities were called to action and new laws were introduced to allow for the persecution of targeted persons.

As we begin this year, we cannot escape from the sanctions debate as it relates to the GPA arrangement and yet the sanctions imposed on people like Muponda continue to exist well over 24 months of the existence of the GPA government.

When I read yesterday that Muponda had appealed to Hon. Chinamasa for his specification order to be revoked, I knew that Muponda was on his own.

It is often difficult for anyone to imagine what must be going on in Muponda's mind on this day. I am reminded that in the class of the specified persons, there remains a number of persons whose specification order are still in force. Such individuals include: Messrs. Jabulani Manyanga, Francis Zimuto among others.

Although Mr. Makamba was de-specified in May 2010, a warrant for his arrest is believed to be still in force notwithstanding the fact that he was acquitted by a court of law.

Mr. Muponda was specified in terms of the Prevention of Corruption Act (Act). This piece of legislation was intended to allow the state to investigate a specified person while preserving his assets. The legislation was not meant to legally disable a specified person from defending himself while his property was under attack.

Precisely who has an interest in preventing Muponda from returning to Zimbabwe? Surely it is not the creditors of ENG. Who was behind the arrest of Muponda? It could not be creditors of ENG whose protection could only lie in the laws existing at the time.

In the ENG matter, we saw for the first time the use of criminal law to regulate the relationship between a creditor and a debtor. This raises a question regarding the legal and constitutional order that would allow for the RBZ to interpose itself as a complainant in a dispute involving competent creditors and a vulnerable debtor.

As we stand today, there is creditor who has reported any financial loss from ENG. More significantly, Muponda finds himself with no access to the very assets that were meant to be protected under the Act.

During 2010, Interfin took control of CFX Bank, one of the assets formerly under the control of ENG before this bizarre saga. Muponda has sought to argue that the transaction was illegal and this found him at loggerheads with the shareholders of Interfin.

If the rule of law existed, should Muponda be at loggerheads with Interfin shareholders? When one looks at the timeline, it will be obvious that Muponda lost control of his empire at the hands of state actors and not creditors of ENG.

The law states that any transaction involving the disposal of the assets of a specified person during the period of specification is null and void and yet Interfin has sought to argue that notwithstanding Muponda's continued specification, the deal involving CFX is above board.

It is incumbent upon all of us to be the custodians of a just and equitable society. Should Muponda as a victim be left to his own devices to restore his rights or should it be our collective responsibility?

When Hitler targeted gypsies, many chose to ignore and as he gained confidence in undermining the rights of citizens no one was safe. If Muponda is not safe and the tolerance for abusive behavior exists, then we are all at risk and poorer for allowing absurd situations to define our generation.

As we look forward, we need to critically reflect on the journey traveled and draw lessons hopefully on how not to behave lest the strong of today will be the Mupondas of tomorrow.

The importance of the respect of the rule of law cannot be overstated. What happened to ENG can happen to any corporate citizen of Zimbabwe.

History will no doubt be the judge but it is important for our generation who are privileged to know what Zimbabwe lost by the collapse of ENG to register our distaste about the manner in which laws were used for improper purpose while the authors of this kind of behavior remain unaccountable even with the emergence of the inclusive government.