Zimbabwe: Who Is the Richest?

By Fanuel Kangondo

Everyone knows that there are people who are filthy rich in this country. But will we ever be able to know who really the richest person in Zimbabwe is? Or will it remain a subject for speculation as the big fish appear determined to swim in the darkest depths?There are stories of politicians who practically own some towns and church leaders who have gobbled up choice real estate in the best parts of Harare. Then there are the party animals like Wicknell Chivhayo and Genius Kadungure, who are known for hosting mammoth social events but do not seem to feature at the top of any formal profile of Zimbabwe's rich people.

Real wealth, as they say, speaks for itself and the real men and women of substance seem content to live their lives in quiet splendour behind their high mansion walls.

But if you do something well, people will notice and they will talk about your excellence and naturally your success will serve as an inspiration to many. Leading telecommunications mogul Strive Masiyiwa has been noticed on a global scale as one of the richest men in Africa with a net worth of over US$800 million. He is widely regarded as the richest man in Zimbabwe.

Judging people by the car they drive, the house they live in or the properties they claim to own seems a chancy yardstick in this debt-ridden world. There is no official list of Zimbabwe's richest men and women such as the one compiled by The Times and Forbes leaving the standings highly speculative.

While it is expected that entrepreneurs always head the list, there are some politicians, top civil servants and public company CEOs who seem to be enjoying the high life. But most are not willing to explain their expensive cars, holidays abroad, spoiled brats who reportedly go through pocket allowances of US$20 000 monthly and other expensive tastes.

After Masiyiwa, little known entrepreneur Takudzwa Razemba (in his early 20s) of Orbz Investment Corporation seems to be the next rich person in the country. His empire is valued at over US$780 million according to a list compiled by Zimdev.

Getting him to talk about his wealth has always been tough.

"There is a serious problem of the 'pull-him-down' syndrome in this country. When people see you climb the ladder or when they know how much you are worth, they want to see you down and destroyed," he said in an interview earlier this year. He added that you survive best when people know nothing about you.

"I don't want to be in the limelight, the media destroys people's lives especially when you are a public figure."

Razemba, however admits that he is a multi-millionaire and has plans of creating one of the biggest stockbroking firms in Southern Africa and also open a commercial bank. Some of his outfits are listed on the FTSE and the London Stock Exchange. The companies are operating in the Netherlands, Germany, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mexico, Dubai, and Canada.

British businessman with vast interests in Zimbabwe Nic Van Hoogstraten with an estimated net worth of US$729 million also has a standing among the country's richest with investments in the tourism, mining and property sectors. Mining and transport mogul Billy Rautenbach (US$568 million), whose empire spans across several African countries, is another wealthy Zimbabwean.

There is also room for TA Holdings and Joina Centre front- man Shingi Mutasa whose strategic acquisitions strategy propelled him from mere commodity broker to one of the richest businessmen in the country. He seems to be another publicity-shy fellow with his net worth of US$142 million believed to be understated.

He once said in an interview: "My success hinges on four words - name, value, integrity and vision." How insightful!

Businessman and politician Philip Chiyangwa refuses to be outdone and was recently in the newspapers when his wife of 25 years filed for divorce and demanded a significant share of his wealth valued at US$288 million. Among some of his listed assets are a Rolls Royce Phantom worth US$475 000, a Bentley (US$350 000), a Mercedes-Benz GLS (US$300 000) substantial shareholding in 39 companies and interests in over 100 properties.

Another rising entrepreneur dodging the limelight is Moses Chingwena of Croco Motors, Duly's, Premier Auto Services and Kia legacy who seems to have been steadily climbing the Zim richest ladder without incident. He also has interests in numerous other undertakings and counters on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. He, like most of his peers at the top, prefers to be in the background.

Women appear to be even more reticent than men when it comes to exposing their portfolios. But that is not to say that none of them are very rich. Some female politicians and women have also claimed their stake with many quietly building empires.

Prominent and not necessarily the richest, Divine Ndhlukula of Securico, reportedly collects annual revenue of US13 million with a staff complement of 3 400. There are no ready indications of her net worth. Corporate lawyer Florence Ziumbe, who is the founder of Professional Women Executives and Business Women's Forum, has also made her mark, but again, her pickings are not known.

Zimbabweans making waves in the region include MTN group chief executive and president Sifiso Dabengwa. His annual salary of R22,5 million makes him one of the most influential business executives on the continent. His counterpart, Ben Magara, the CEO of Anglo Coal South Africa, is also another leading light for Zimbabwe but again, his net worth is not known.

Do you need to be paranoid to be a Zimbabwean millionaire?

In Zimbabwe, learning Chinese is a lucrative investment

Ni hao, Chinese for “hello,” or ting bu dong, meaning “I hear you, but I don’t understand,” are two expressions one often overhears today in Zimbabwe’s capital. It is one of the results of tenacious efforts by governments, private companies and individuals across Africa, but in Zimbabwe particularly, to learn the Chinese language and understand China’s culture.

Learning Chinese as a second or third language has been a global trend in the last few years. In Africa, the rapid increase of Chinese investments and trade (China is currently the continent’s biggest trading partner) has spurred the trend.

Zimbabwe’s government has been very deliberate in enhancing its bilateral relationship with China. It launched the Look East Policy in 2003 to give priority to investors from China, Japan, Singapore and other countries from that region. As a result, trade between China and Zimbabwe has been growing exponentially – China is now the biggest buyer of Zimbabwe’s tobacco.
Although learning Chinese dates back to Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle in the late 1960s and 1970s when freedom fighters went to China for military training, the trend has now accelerated significantly, and for different reasons.

Confucius Institute
To spread the Chinese language and culture, the government of China is utilising a concept called Confucianism. Confucius was a great Chinese philosopher and educator born in 551 BC. The Chinese believe that his thoughts have tremendously influenced Chinese culture and even had an impact on other cultures. Chinese people refer to Confucius as “a greater teacher.”

Zimbabwe leads the rest of the continent in the training of local teachers of Chinese, having integrated the Confucius Institute into the University of Zimbabwe’s academic structures in 2007, as part of an expanding network of about 400 Confucius Institutes worldwide. The programme has largely been successful, and the university is poised to export surplus teachers of Chinese to other countries as well.

Professor Pedzisai Mashiri, the inaugural director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Zimbabwe, says that one of the institute’s goals is to promote the Chinese language and culture in Zimbabwe.

Because the government is yet to integrate Chinese into the national curriculum for primary and secondary schools, schools that host Confucius classes offer the Chinese language as an extra-curricular activity. More than a thousand students have received such language training through the institute since 2009. A few others are completing studies in China and will join the university soon.

A skill that pays
Observers say there has been a rising demand from organisations and individuals seeking to learn Chinese. Clarence Makoni, the founder of the Cendel Language Bridge, a private company that provides translations, interpretation and foreign language instruction, told Africa Renewal that there are huge benefits in learning foreign languages. Chinese, he says, is by far the most sought after.

“If you look at the rate at which the Chinese are coming into this country,” says Mr. Makoni, “you do not need to be a prophet to tell who is going to be the most significant employer in a few years to come… All the people we train are snapped up by companies as soon as they finish their courses, and they are paid very handsomely.”

He adds that the ability to speak another major language besides English is a great selling point in the marketplace. A Chinese-speaking interpreter can rake in a monthly salary of Z$5,000, while a bilingual secretary with the same capabilities can claim up to Z$3,000 – earnings deemed at the top range in Zimbabwe.

Laston Mukaro, a language consultant and lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe’s linguistics department, says that although his job grading has not yet changed, he is now earning much more after learning Chinese.

“It makes sense to learn Chinese now other than for the reason necessitated by the government’s Look East Policy,” he says. “Chinese is one of the United Nation’s official languages and if you look at the way China is expanding into the world, you can do better if you speak their language.”

Mr Mukaro also earns a lot of money from exchange programmes between China and Zimbabwe. In addition, he frequently consults for the local Confucius Institute. Other benefits include his current work on a handbook for translating between Chinese and Shona, one of Zimbabwe’s main indigenous languages. “For those who travel to and do business with China a lot, and are privileged to tap its diverse tourism, then learning Chinese is practically obligatory and has immense benefits,” he says with enthusiasm.

More expansion ahead
Professor Mashiri says there are plans to open at least five more Chinese teaching points in other parts of the country, and to construct a Confucius Institute building at the University of Zimbabwe. The Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe has also promised to build a cultural centre to strengthen cultural cooperation between the two countries.

The world is now a global village, requiring people to understand each other’s culture and languages, says Levi Nyagura, the University of Zimbabwe’s vice-chancellor. “We want to see Zimbabwean students get jobs in China. We will continue to work hard to institutionalise the Chinese language, as we have done with the other major world languages.”

There are also suggestions for introducing Chinese into the national curriculum. “The net effect,” argues Professor Mashiri, “is to have the teaching and learning of Chinese cascade from university to secondary and primary schools.”

This article was first published in Africa Renewal