Fool's Gold and ZimAsset

Gold or diamonds its all there as promised in Zimbabwe's super economy

If it sounds too good to be true-it is too good to be . The Zimbabwean government is promising economic salvation on the back of Zim Asset. Zim Asset reminds old Zimbabweans of the early 1900s, history surely does repeat itself.

In those olden days, The Chartered Company, or  British South Africa And Company (BSAC), promised everyone Zimbabwe had very large deposits of easily accessible, high quality gold. By 1920, it became obvious Zimbabwe did not have this promised gold. The Chartered Company had over-promised and to preserve its investments BSAC had to move heaven and earth to create a 'bread basket' of Southern Africa.

The so called mineral holdings backing Zim Asset, like the mythical King Solomon's mines also supposedly located in Zimbabwe, do not exist in the promised quantity and quality. Zim Asset is a dream built on the myth of 'mineral wealth'. Such fool's gold economics will not deliver development. As demonstrated in the 1920's, no amount of mineral marketing can save a poorly designed economic strategy.