Old Mutual says its investments are dictated by profit and not political considerations.
The insurance giant was reacting to a call to shed its investment in the Zimbabwean company that prints the Mugabe government’s propaganda mouthpiece, The Herald newspaper.
“Our investments are made for the benefit of our policyholders, meant to meet needs and expectations in terms of return and not contingent upon political consideration,” OM Zimbabwe group chief executive Luke Ngwerume said in a statement on Wednesday.” (Sapa)
Anyone who has been living in Southern Africa for more than an hour would be aware of the atrocities that have been committed by the Zanu-PF and President Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe in order to cling to power.
One of the most important cogs in the machinery that they employ in order to achieve this is the Mugabe mouthpiece The Herald.
It ensures that only the information and disinformation he wants circulated goes out to the people through the major newspaper of that country.
Moreover the government censor, to a large degree, anyone who dares to take up an anti-government position.
This is not rocket science and everyone knows it.
Accordingly Old Mutual is acutely aware that this particular investment of theirs is occasioning untold hardship on the people of that country.
Personally I was shocked to hear that one of our major corporates was involved with a Mugabe propaganda machine.
It is totally unacceptable.
What is worse is that they try to justify the indefensible by saying that they have a duty to their shareholders to ensure that they retain profitable assets and anyway it’s an investment dictated by money not politics.
What a load of crap.
There are many corporate monsters that have tried singing the exact same song before and their conduct was equally disgusting. Let’s look at one example.
Zyklon-B was a commercial rodenticide and pesticide in common use before World War II. The active lethal ingredient in the product is hydrogen cyanide, which is deadly to warm-blooded animals in very low concentrations, and to insects in considerably higher concentrations.
DEGESCH (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Schädlingsbekämpfung mbH / German Vermin Controlling Company), a subsidiary of IG Farben 4, licensed two German companies for the manufacture and distribution of Zyklon-B: Tesch und Stabenow (Testa) and Heerdt-Lingler (Heli).
Zyklon-B was also manufactured in one of its forms in the United States by the American Cyanamid Company 5 under licence from the patent holders, I.G. Farben.
Hydrogen cyanide has historically been employed for the destruction of rodents and insect pests.
When, however, the Nazis were looking for an effective method of gassing the Jews and other undesirables in their concentration camps they chose Zyklon-B as the most suitable for that purpose.
As a result huge orders went out to the suppliers who naturally also considered themselves indebted to their shareholders and only interested in profits and not politics.
Or that’s their version and they’re sticking to it.
If the comparison makes anyone uncomfortable it’s meant to.
In Zimbabwe we have 5 million people on the brink of starvation, political murder, millions in exiles and on and on.
The part that The Herald has played in promoting Mugabe and the Zanu-PF can never be underestimated. Despite millions starving, other millions leaving the country and their countrymen’s terrible suffering they simply keep pumping out the “good word”.
Old Mutual is an insurance company which weighs up risk very carefully before spending their money. In order to do this they need information in depth.
Accordingly if they invested heavily in The Herald they know far more about the horrendous goings on in Zimbabwe than almost anyone else.
Yet they say they are not concerned about politics merely profits.
I hope they’ve heard of Dormicum or falling asleep every night must be a bitch.
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56 Responses to “How can Old Mutual defend the indefensible?”
Pesticide, Nazis… You left out Stalin, Nero and the atom bomb. Michael, a little over the top. What about the million or so ordinary Zimbo’s who will be left without their savings if OM pull out. Mugabe will eventually exit and what will they be left with to rebuild their lives?
This is an old story and has been doing the rounds for years - why weren’t you indignant then?
And if Old Mutual wants to reduce everything to profit/loss, do they really consider that helping to keep Mugabe in power is a financially sound thing to do, at least for South Africa? Having Zimbabweans flood across the border can’t be good for SA’s economy - I’m not an economist (what I know is probably dangerous) but to me this seems logical. And Mugabe is badly damaging Africa’s image, and therefore not encouraging investment.
I have portfolios with Old Mutual and I’m horrified - I must now consider moving them to a company who puts humanity above profit. If there is such a thing.
Best they come up with something a lot better than the current explanation. Alternatively people of conscience should move their insurance and investments elsewhere. This is outrageous and completely immoral. That’s what greed does I’m afraid - time to change our moral, ethical drivers.
Bravo, Traps, bravo! This is a slam-dunk of if the sandal fits wear it. Problems is Old Mutual has sandal cupboards that make Imelda Marcos’ shoe closets look positively frugal by comparison. Which means more blogs - we’ll keep watching this space!
Janice - Old Mutual only needs to stop supporting the newsparers, Mugabe and Mugabe propaganda - this is sensible. Currently OM has no credibility left. As a policy holder I feel they have deceived all policy holders by supporting a brutal regime - without any regards for those who suffers. It is indefencible, immoral and utterly shocking. OM and share holders cannot afford a boycot against them - or is Mugabe worth risking all - maybe OM can ansewr this for us.
The worst thing about any public company is that they are beholden to their shareholders, not their customers. Therefore it is their duty to milk their customers to ensure the shareholders get dividends. The worst sort are in the insurance, investment and banking sectors, where people take retirement policies, RA’s, investments etc. The duty of these organisations is to make money off their customers to pay their shareholders dividends. There is much right with capitalism but this obscene greed is not .
I agree. Old Mutual’s attitude is dispicable. Have they never heard of compassionate capitalism, as in ethical capitalism. I’m now very uncomfortable about my holdings in Old Mutual stock. Its no longer an ethical investment. Shame. Its been rising nicely.
If old Mutual thinks the public won’t react, they need to be reminded of the recent Nestle’s response and the public’s immediate activism which forced them to change their own business approach very quickly. There are lots of chocolate bars to choose from and lots of stock as well.
“Old Mutual is an insurance company which weighs up risk very carefully before spending their money. In order to do this they need information in depth. Accordingly if they invested heavily in The Herald they know far more about the horrendous goings on in Zimbabwe than almost anyone else.”
That contains a few pretty nimble inferential leaps.
It is an insurer that needs to do proper risk underwriting in writing insurance business. So it needs to understand things like the AIDS incidence in specific groups, the risks inherent in certain occupations and so on.
As an investor it is really no different to any other investor in how it judges the quality of different investments.
It simply does not follow that “…if they invested heavily they know far more than anyone else”.
As an institutional investor Old Mutual Zimbabwe has always been caught between a rock and a hard place. For starters OMZ invests pension contributions of Zimbabweans and is a Zimbabwean company in every sense of the term inspite of the fungibility of its share price.
It is not only the domonant investor but is also the largest holder of shares on the ZSE prompting one ZANU PF zealot (a minister unfortunately) to say the stock exchange is controlled by foreigners with the gold watch spotting one also spewing similar nonsense.OMZ owns significant real estate properties in Zimbabwe. It owns a life business and a short term business. It owns one of the most significant financial institutions the building society known as CABS as well as the joint venture with Nedbank MBCA. It is a company that has always been seen with Mugabe’s tinted eyes of conspiracy. The whole thing about Zimpapers is too much of a storm in a tea cup. In fact if my memory serves me correct it is a shareholding that has been in place for years having been taken a few years after the Nigerian government gave Mugabe money as an independence gift to purchase the Argus Company’s ownership of the stable. The gist is the commercial merit of holding a share of a newspaper whose readership has declined inspite of the eradication of competition. I guess OM is loyal to all counters.
Talk of Zyklon-B and the Nazis only serves to alienate people who might otherwise have considered the above article a legitimate call to action. This incites further emotional, and equally senseless comments and comparisons.
If OM is forced out of Zim by activists there would be real consequence for locals, and Mugabe would simply inherit the proceeds and further prop up his regime.
Given the economic construct in Zim there can be few private enterprises not interwoven in the mess in some way and are probably wondering if it’s worth waiting around until they are attacked in social media. For the legitimate businesses operating in Zim the returns, compared to other markets, are meagre to loss-making - and the operational and personal harassment extreme. Many simply remain out of concern for their staff & clients. If you’ve worked in Zim you’ll know that talk of “profit” as a motivator, for all but the illegitimate few, is groundless. I doubt OM’s Zim portfolio amounts to more than a percent of its world holdings. They don’t need more reasons not to be there.
Zyclon-B oratory is not going to solve this one, nor take away the sickening feeling whenever one thinks of Zim. I think engagement with OM and other companies should proceed talk of Nazis. Incitement is such a blunt instrument and blurs the line between the oppressors and the activists. If you want to change things Michael get thinking people on your side.
So glad you have finally noticed SA’s role in propping up the regime in Zimbabwe.
How come two million rounds of ammunition, 300 million rands of taxpayers money to a non existent organisation and a non-existent General’s report into “Free and Fair” elections, didn’t tip you off to that one?
The train stopped fo Luke Ngwerume- the man is not going to give up his seat on this here gravy train for nobody.He wil cling on- for to even contemplate closing down OM means he joins the unemployed .he will defend Om to the death
It can be said Old mutual an the diamonds are the only gravy trains now let going in zimbabwe
While on the subject of the indefensible by OM, why did OM appoint a (black) CEO with no experience in the industry over its own experienced (black) senior managers? And why, as an OM shareholder, did I not get an opportunity to attend the AGM and have an opportunity to vote out the directors that made that decision? It kinda gives the lie to their claims
Best comment I heard on this nonsense came from Darren Mann of Radio Algoa. It went along the lines of, ‘What would people have said during the height of apartheid if foreign firms in SA had said the same thing?’
Mr Trapido, have you heard about the ‘rumour’ printed in Business Day Nov 5th.
“New Reclamation, a Johannesburg scrap metal company part owned by Old Mutual , will manage mining on the deposit through it’s at least 50% owned Grandwell Holdings in partnership with Marange Resources, a unit of the state- owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation. Two members of the decision making body of President Robert Mugabe’s political party confirmed the terms of the agreement, declining to be identified because it is confidential.”
Yep, investments are for profit not ‘contingent upon political consideration”. Gives capitalism a bad name. Too bad Old Mutual doesn’t have the testicular fortitude of the SA dock workers.
Welcome to the world of capitalism which you serve, Mr. Trapido. Profit is what it’s about.
Of course you are morally above such things, which is why you are opposed to freedom of speech (wanting a newspaper shut down because you don’t like the people it supports).
So your model is Jimmy Kruger? Makes a lot of sense in the post-Polokwane ANC.
Would that old mutual guy kindly explain what profit they made in a loss making company. Zimpapers in which Old Mutual is a major shareholder has not made any profit since 2000. If Old Mutual made some profit for their involvement with zimpapers and that toilet paper which is read by no sane zimbabwean, it must be somewhere else. Having held numerous policies with Old Mutual in Zimbabwe prior to 2002, I never received a single payout for my investiments. Old mutual received a lot of money from policyholders, but, because of the economic erosion of the zimdollar, they managed to get away with not paying out anything to their policyholders yet most of their investments where either in real estate or foreign currencies which were not affected by the economic destruction.How on earth did they manage to get away with this kind of robbery? Here is the genuine reason for their supporting Mugabe’s propaganda.
Old Mutual should not desert the people of Zimbabwe. No SA monies go to Zim and currently this investment could not be sold but one day it may be worth something so I don’t think OM should pull out. OM can do more by influencing Zim leaders to change. This is not SA money, it is all Zim investments from more than 30 yrs ago. Lets all be more vocal about how to improve things in Zim.
Old mutual is spot on. We investors demand Old Mutual produces top profits at all costs. If Old Mutual starts to lag behind the competition we will take our business elsewhere, sell Old Mutual shares and by someone elses shares. If its CEO does not produce profits at all costs, he will be fired or at least miss out on his bonuses, we investors will make sure of that.
Old Mutual is not meant to have a conscience, it is not human, it is made up of a set of contracts.
If we investors are worried about how corporations operate in Zimbabwe, we must set new global rules for corporations, not just for Old Mutual, otherwise Old Mutual will lose out to the competition who will maximise profits in Zimbabwe.
An excellent book on this subject is “Supercapitalism; The Battle for Democracy in an Age of Big Business” by Robert Reich
Janice talks of savings. What savings? Hello? If profits are the real issue for OM it would be better advised to invest in fire-lighters. The returns would certainly be better.
So ask Old Mutual what investment would be or woudl have been sufficiently heinous for them to reconsider.
Is there anything?
What about printing documents for other governments guilty of large scale genocide? Like Sudan maybe, or perhaps Rwanda?
Let Old Mutual say where they would draw the line.
The Old Mutual has been added to my list, along with Nestle! Boycott them.We cannot support this and there is no justification for the Old Mustal supporting murder for the sake of shareholders. Blood money turns up all over the place. Its disgusting - fire the board.
I cannot comment on whether OM should pull out of their investment or not because I have insufficient knowledge of the facts. But to make a ridiculous statement that the Company is driven by profit and not politics places the Company on a list of no-no people to invest with. All Companies in today’s world need some ethical and moral guidelines to govern them and to form the basis of their decisions. I am expecting OM to retract the statement or I will consider removing my investments small as they may be.
glen merryweather on November 13th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Is this supposed to make it better?
“This shareholding in Zimpapers of 19% is held in trust on behalf of our Zimbabwean customers (policyholders) and therefore is a portfolio investment and not a shareholder investment. As a result, we do not influence or involve ourselves in the operational policy or practice of Zimpapers or any of their subsidiaries.” (from OM website)
They hold a large block of shares, but do nothing to influence policy / practice.
And people shout themselves horse to convice us Zimbabweans that our country in not under economic/trade sanctions, but just “travel bans on Mugabe and his cronies”. How does disinvesting from a public company, listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange “punish Mugabe and his cronies”? Taken, the Government of Zimbabwe, through the Zimbabwe Mass Media Trust, does have a majority shareholding, but surely this hurts the very same Zimbabweans that “our friends” want us to believe that you want to protect. People just amaze me. It’s like your doctor prescribing medication that not only kills your ailment, but also kills you in the process. People must really think Zimbabweans are idiots!
By the way, the funds that Old Mutual (Zimbabwe) invests in Zimbabwean conpanies is from premiums paid by us Zimbabweans. So where the hell is the big deal.
Totally agree with you - its disgraceful and to my way of thinking ,verging on criminality.
But,I think you are being selective Trapido:-Question:- How can Old Mutual defend the Indefensible !?
Answer: Perhaps the same way the ANC and its criminal goons,Mbeki etc, that you support….defends Mugabe !
I quote, your quote: “This is not rocket science and everyone knows it”.
@Mkwananzi how true. I am in my twilight years who at the height of my working life did the prudent thing and invested in all manner of policies that Old Mutual Zimbabwe offered. At the beggining of the economic crisis I was offered some paltry amount from Old Mutual as it was ‘no longer viable’ for them to receive my contribution. I am sure I my contributions bought a door frame or two at the various shopping malls and office building Old Mutual invested in. I just refuse to believe Old Mutual lost all our contributions to inflation since it would have been folly on their part not to have invested our contributions. What to do? Now knowing that a portion of my money went to this sorry excuse of a mouth piece for ZANU PF adds injury to an already sore wound. I have actually wondered if I dont have a case against Old Mutual.
Old Mutual not for the Old on November 13th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
D Mudiwa says “People must really think Zimbabweans are idiots!”
He/she is right about one thing - I do think any Zimbabwean who supports Mugabe and his cronies is an idiot. He/she also misses the point - I have no problems with investment in Zimbabwe where it benefits the people of Zimbabwe, but I definitely have a problem with supporting a government mouthpiece like the Herald.
Anne, when/if Zimpapers, the holding company for The Herald declares a dividend to its shareholders, the Government of Zimbabwe - NOT ZANU-PF, gets the largest share. And by the way, MDC-T is part of government! Now, how do you determine which part of any money that is received by the govt of Zimbabwe would end up in Mugabe’s pocket and which would end up in Tsvangison’s pocket? In the inclusive govt, MDC-T’s Secretary-General, Hon Tendai Biti is our Minister of Finance. So in any event, he would receive and manage any dividends received by govt!
I get tired of people who cry more than the bereaved.
OM has a great investment in ZimPapers. Where else could invest in a man made monopoly where a dictyaorship bombs opposition media house’s printing press? It’s almost like writing your own cheque!! Who cares about human rights and human rights abuses when you have investment policies like Old Mutual. Indirectly, I suppose we could almost assume that Old Mutual for helping Mugabe create the flood od Zimbabweans into South Africa. I suppose it is also fashionable these days to have a stake in blood media which preaches hate speech every single day, including sundays!!
Roger P, you say “While on the subject of the indefensible by OM, why did OM appoint a (black) CEO with no experience in the industry over its own experienced (black) senior managers?”
Luke Ngwerume is in fact one of the most experience insurance experts in Zimbabwe, and is an OMZ-groomed executive. I am not sure I understand what you mean by “..oer its own experienced (black) senior managers”? I get the impression that you think this debate concerns OM SA, no. This is about OM Zimbabwe, with a Zimbo CEO investing funds from Zimbos in a Zimbabwean company.
You’re right to condemn OM for keeping the Mugabe propaganda machine afloat.
But how do you reconcile that with your voting for the ANC who supplied arms to Mugabe’s militia and made sure Chinese shipments made their way safely into his hands?
Are you not more like the shareholder of Zyklon-B, than a printer for Goebbels?
La Quebecoise: and the best bit about New Reclamation, if I remember correctly, is that it is a scrap metal dealer…however do they find the skills to mine a diamond field where human rights are so abused? Perhaps they are simply disposing of all their rusty metal pipes up north…
It,s all about return on investment. The board of Old Mutual have an obligation to their shareholders and they better perform or be replaced.
Now that this has been highlighted they will do the ethical thing, just as Nestle did and everybody will be happy; but they will not clean out their closet.
Some time in the future another case will be reported and if the outcry is loud enough the moral response will again be applied, and so the story will continue.
For investors ignoring political considerations is not new. China, for example, invests in Africa and has proclaimed the exact same policies. However, the disinvestment drive that swept over America during apartheid times was the efficient cause of apartheid’s collapse. Even if Margaret Thatcher was against it saying that it would only hurt poor people.
@D Mudiwa,
Zimbabweans are idiots. Any people who let Mugabe and his cronies get away with murder, etc. are idiots. They were OK fighting a few whites, but let them face up to Mugabe and they are cowards and idiots.
Anne says “….I do think any Zimbabwean who supports Mugabe and his cronies is an idiot.”
I think our dislike of each other’s political leanings is mutual, because I think any self-respecting black Zimbabwean (or African) who supports a supposedly african political party that champions white interests, and is almost-entirely financially supported by white capital is an idiot. Is it not odd that , of all +50 African countries only one country (with a national population less than that of Soweto) finds it difficult to identify with African values. Could this have something to do with the fact that the leader of this odd country has part of his family ancestry embedded in Britain?
Unfortunately, most of my Zimbabwean compatriots have been thoroughly hoodwinked into believing that our economic condition is due to mismanagement, and therefore now vote with their stomachs, with the hope that if MDC-T wins, then white capital flight is reversed, and economic sanctions imposed on the country would be lifted. We are also supposed to believe that this economic mismanagedment started in 1980, and that Mugabe was a dictator from 1980, yet the same Western govts that now denounce him were falling over each other to award the same Mugabe with degrees and awards. This is a case of selective amnesia on the part of the anti-Mugabe campaigners.
It seems Old Mutual has got themselves in a terrible mess - blood media and blood diamonds. It is fine to say it is only OM ZIM - but they form part of OM international (Nestle tried the same did they not?) Does OM international now approve of all this under their “brand” - what is their moral and tehnical view point ? - profit above human right abuses ? I cannot see how they can have any moral grounds to do do so - including OM SA - except if they foresee the same future for OM SA policy holders as part of some long term strategy. Can I trust this company any further as policy holder? I am becoming scared, really scared !
What I find fascinating is that the Herald is clearly a very good investment option or Old Mutual would not even glance in its direction. Makes me get back to an earlier observation which is that almost half the citizens of Zim still support Mugabe and ZANU PF and proved this by voting for him in the first 2008 election. There have to be a few million in Zim reading the newspaper for it to be such a profitable media house. And not just reading it but being comfortable and confident that the views expressed therein are balanced and fair!! Amazing! That is what makes Zim such an untenable situation to assist in resolving from the outside - the Zim people have to come to a place where way more than half the population actually WANT CHANGE and when that happens, change will come one way or another. Until then it is going to limp along in fits and starts I’m afraid. None of this excuses OM’s decision to keep the rag afloat – but that’s business for you – the bottom line is more important than anything including human life.
All (most I know of) businesses are driven by profits. Corporations do not have morals, they are a bundle of contracts. Once we realise that we can move forward and set up rules and regulations to govern corporations by which coporations do business in a socailly acceptable manner.
As long as we blame the corporation and its executive staff we are not addressing the real problem. The CEO will continue to sail as close to the wind as he can to the most profitable option without getting enough bad publicity as to harm business i.e. affect profits.
@Jeff
Any black Zimbabwean who lets Tsvangison and his cronies get away with inviting calamity on their country to protect 4,000 white farmers against 13 million black Zimbabweans is an idiot. The only reason why the white world supports Tsvangison is because he promises to restitute to the dispossessed white farmers their land when/if MDC-T comes to power. On the other hand, the only reason why blacks support the MDC-T is simply because they believe, quite correctly unfortunately, that having the MDC-T in power is the only way the white world will let go their strangulation of the Zimbabwean economy.
Mr Mudiwa, do you hate your black skin so much as to think that “4000 white farmers” are so powerful as to pose a threat to “13 million black Zimbabweans”?
p.s. I believe that the Zimbabwean population is estimated to be around 5 million at present and personally I appreciate the artisan skills many of them bring to SA.
D Mudiwa - there are only around 100 white farmers operating in Zim - land grabs have seen the demise of food security and resultant starvation not because blacks have taken over but because inexperienced, unskilled people have - and not often people who are motivated to feed the nation -too often land is given to politicians who are benefitting from Mugabe’s reward system. From the bottom of my heart I believe in land restitution and a just and equitable distribution of wealth. Redistribution of land is not an issue - to whom it is distributed and what they do with it, that is what is important. Motivations are too often driven by selfish, greedy ambitions but it is naive and dangerous to insist that every person rooting for a change of leadership in Zim is driven by negative sentiments or is racist or even that they would want the MDC to govern in place of ZANU PF. That is just silly and misguided really. At this time the MDC is the only alternative but who knows what the future will bring.
@D Mudiwa,
Calamity has already struck the country. It happened the day Mad Bob started to drive the white farmers from the land so he could give it to his cronies, who wouldn’t know a tractor from Formula One race car.
If the “White Imperialists” wanted to take Zimbabwe, they would have done it a long time ago.
Let’s face it all Zimbabweans are idiots. If you support Mugabe and the ruination of the country, you are an idiot. If you don’t stand up against him and overthrow him for ruining the country and killing his opponents, you are an idiot.
You are obviously an idiot of the first kind.
Zim is kept afloat by the Chinese and blood money from the Congo. Best of luck with the Chinese mate, they are even more ruthless than Mugabe once they get their hands on a country.
The question which still remains unanswered is why is there a lot of fuss about this investment which was made in the 60s. Pre-independence no-one seemed to have an issue, now some 40 plus yrs later it is a problem.
To assume that this paper can be used as an effective propaganda tool is to relegate the majority of the readership of this paper to beings incapable of sifting through fact & fiction.
Consider this the bulk of the readership are urban folk who happen to be black people & inspite of the so called cheap propoganda machine progressively vote more and more for the opposition to the point where all urban consituiences are now represented by the opposition. Suggesting that this is evidence of the fact that the readership are politically educated enough to think straight & know what is good for them anyway.
A cold objective assessment of the paper will reveal that local political issues make up 25% of the paper, the remaining 80% covers international stories from various correspondents quoted verbatum, sport & commercials ads from individuals & corporations. The latter being the main reason people in Zimbabwe read this paper apart from the need to know the psych of ZANU.
I suggest that the few of us raging over this topic pause for a minute to reflect on the ability of the Zim people to make rational decisions on matters that concern them.
OM’s investment activities in this country have touched the lives of millions.
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By trade a criminal attorney he is now a politcal commentator and journalist full time.
"Traps Report" on the Richmark Sentinel is probably the largest news aggregator in the world. That includes Google, Huffington Post and Drudge.
If you click on the links of the Traps Report you should be up to date on all the latest news worldwide as well as local.
He is a director of the firm Turnbull and Associates.
He was born in Johannesburg and attended HA Jack and Highlands North High Schools. He married Robyn in 1984 (Mrs Traps, aka "the government") and has three sons (who all look suspiciously like her ex-boss).
He was a counsellor on the JCCI for a year around 1992.
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Pesticide, Nazis… You left out Stalin, Nero and the atom bomb. Michael, a little over the top. What about the million or so ordinary Zimbo’s who will be left without their savings if OM pull out. Mugabe will eventually exit and what will they be left with to rebuild their lives?
This is an old story and has been doing the rounds for years - why weren’t you indignant then?
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