ANALYSIS: Of industrialisation, vendors and religion

24 May, 2015 - 00:05 0 Views

The Sunday Mail

About a month ago, there were two particularly interesting events in Southern Africa: the Sadc Extraordinary Summit and International Workers’ Day.

The Sadc Industrialisation Strategy, which Summit adopted, operationalises the bloc’s running theme, “Strategy for Economic Transformation: Leveraging the Region’s Diverse Resources for Sustainable, Economic and Social Development through Beneficiation and Value Addition”.

The strategy seeks to utilise the region’s diverse natural resources to foster sustainable economic and social development.

Industrialisation particularly refers to economic activity, which is based on manufacturing and production, and which ultimately grows economies and creates employment. Some of the preconditions of industrialisation are labour force, markets, access to raw materials and investment.

While critics have pointed at de-industrialisation in Zimbabwe as an indicator of the Summit’s futility, perhaps it is important to note that de-industrialisation is a global phenomenon.

Firstly, de-industrialisation refers to the falling in unemployment, particularly in the manufacturing sector, and according to the IMF, during the last 30 years employment in the manufacturing sector has fallen dramatically in the world’s most advanced economies, particularly the United States and Europe.

In fact, if one looks at France (a country with an enviable industrial heritage) as an example, some 350 000 manufacturing sector jobs have been shed since the mid-2000s.

Even if we look at research from Brazil, we’ll notice that “since the late 1980s, Brazil has begun to de-industrialise, a process which recent growth has done little to stop or reverse. India presents an even more striking case: Manufacturing employment there peaked at a meagre 13 percent in 2002, and has since trended down”.

The reason behind de-industrialisation in these countries is arguably that their domestic costs of manufacturing make it difficult for them to compete globally.

Zimbabwean manufacturers are in a similar situation.

The vast amounts of foreign goods on our shelves make it obvious that our manufacturers are failing to compete with South African, Chinese and other goods, and it is in this light that regional industrialisation spearheaded by South Africa is the way forward.

Take Pick ‘n’ Pay as an example.

It is already clear that Pick ‘n’ Pay is contributing positively to our economy in terms of creating jobs and providing goods and services. If Sadc’s Industrialisation Strategy and Roadmap materialises, it will certainly create jobs regionally.

Imagine if companies like Vodacom, MTN, Shoprite, Checkers, Sasol and Mediclinic set up shop in Zimbabwe.

Such a situation can only be positive, considering that last year South Africa’s top 50 corporate brands had a combined valuation of US$34,3 billion.

The arrangement would have to be mutually beneficial, of course.

International Workers’ Day

The May 1 holiday is based on “the International Workers’ Congress held at Paris in July 1889 (which) called upon workers around the world to hold a one-day demonstration to fight for the 8-hour day”.

“Originally intended only as a single day of solidarity, May Day captured the attention of working people around the world. A century later, May Day was recognised as an official holiday in 107 countries.”

Interestingly, some so-called labour activists tend to lament the state of Zimbabwe’s workforce, particularly the levels of unemployment, yet it is those very labour activists who are consistently lobbying for higher wages.

Let me remind them here that Karl Marx referred to the unemployed as the “industrial reserve army” and that when unemployment is high, wages should remain low in order to create jobs for this reserve army.

Conversely, when unemployment is low, wages should remain high.

Religion and the ‘musika’ phenomenon

I am particularity curious about a new slogan which is being used by certain labour activists and politicians who are referring to Zimbabwe as “a nation of vendors”.

In order to verify the validity of this term, I took time to walk through Harare’s CBD.

There are two things I found peculiar.

First, Town House – Harare City Council’s administrative centre – is literally encircled by vendors.

I can only imagine what the mayor and his cohorts discuss in their chambers when a few meters away they can hear a megaphone marketing rat poison.

Second, my observations in the CBD diminished the doctrine that it is solely economic forces that create the informal sector, or what I will refer to here as the “musika” phenomenon.

Let us consider that Western industrialisation produced classic social theorists like Karl Marx, who, among other things, referred to religion as “the opium of the people”, and the enemy of the proletariat.

On the other hand, Max Weber, an economist wrote “The Protestant Ethic”.

In simple terms, Max Weber’s work argued that religious forces precede economic forces. In other words, during his time, preachers transmitted a doctrine that hard work and frugality allow a believer to save money and increase wealth, and that wealth itself is an indication of God’s blessing and an assurance that a believer will go to Heaven.

Today, the “Protestant Ethic” has culminated into what is often referred to as “prosperity gospel”.

If we take Max Weber’s “Protestant Ethic” as an analytical tool and apply it to the “musika” phenomenon in Harare’s CBD, we may reach some significant conclusions.

First, let us agree that it makes no economic sense for a person to travel into town in order to sell tomatoes and rat poison, given that tomatoes can literally be found anywhere.

Second, I want to draw attention to the African Apostolic Church, or what we commonly refer to as “Vapostori”.

It is not a secret that the Vapostori doctrine often encourages self-employment and enterprise. It is also not a secret that Vapostori are perhaps the fastest-growing religious group in the country.

I recently dealt with a labour dispute that involved a follower of the “Vapostori” church who quit his job as gardener in order to run a “musika” full-time.

Consequently, using Max Weber’s social theory as a tool, I put it forward that while the “Musika” phenomenon in the CBD is somewhat a consequence of economic forces, it is also inspired by religious forces, particularly in the forms of self-employment doctrines of “Vapostori”.

I challenge anyone who disputes this to base their arguments on empirical evidence, which is drawn from a research survey on vendors in town.

I am particularly keen to conduct that study because for a nation as educated as Zimbabwe, it makes no sense for anyone to travel into town to sell tomatoes and rat poison.

Further, why doesn’t Harare City Council enforce by-laws and regulations that prohibit the selling of meat, tomatoes and rat poison on the side of the road in the CBD?

Ultimately, industrialisation is the way forward, and the Sadc Chair should be commended for the initiative.

 

Tau Tawengwa is a Harare-based researcher and holds a Master’s degree in Industrial Sociology and Labour Studies

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