AAG Heads for Showdown With Property Owners

THE Affirmative Action Group is heading for a showdown with property owners at the AAG Commercial Rentals Indaba pencilled for June 3 in Harare.

AAG has indicated that the continued "bulldozing of our citizens by foreigners, out of the shops" had necessitated the Indaba.

In an interview last week, AAG secretary general Mr Tafadzwa Musarara said they had sought audience with the property owners to find a lasting solution to the "crisis".

Mr Musarara said Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment Minister Saviuor Kasukuwere would officially open the Indaba. They were also expecting speakers from Old Mutual, the Commercial Rent Board, various estate agencies, power utility Zesa and the City of Harare.

"We are very worried as AAG that our citizens are plying their trade in the flea markets because they have been pushed out of shops. So far we have about 3 000 indigenous companies that have been booted out of shops and as a result scores of people also lost their jobs.

"We cannot continue accommodating such disempowering acts which has never happened since independence. As the vanguard of indigenous empowerment, we will fight tooth and nail to make sure that our people are accorded the opportunity to do business under shelter," Mr Musarara said.

He said the Indaba was meant to avoid a "catastrophic" situation emanating from the "diplomatic warfare". Mr Musarara said they wanted to discuss with property owners. "We have decided to give dialogue a chance and we expect to find solutions at this Indaba so that there will be no need to employ other militant radical means. If they are not co-operative, we won't guarantee their safety because we have been too patient with them. Indigenisation will remain a pipe dream if indigenous companies have no space to operate from. If these property owners are not cooperative, we will also ask Government to compulsorily acquire the buildings so that they can rent them out," he said.

Mr Musarara also said they were concerned with Old Mutual, which was "charging high rentals to push indigenous people out of their properties". He said they were also concerned with how the company had paid off pensioners to get them out of the shareholding. "Old Mutual is arguably the second largest property owner in the country after Government and the way they have been treating our people is a way of challenging the Government.

"They have raised their rentals so that they cannot be affordable and they have premises that have been empty for over a year now. The reason for investing is to make sure that one gets money but they have been comfortable having no tenants at all. "We now suspect that they have a hidden political agenda meant to outdo the empowerment drive and we are saying Government should defend the empowerment programme through whatever means," he said.