Story by Patience Nyagato
THE importance of investment knowledge came under the spotlight at the launch of a book titled ‘A cookie that did not crumble,’ in Harare this Saturday.
Alfonce Maketo authored the book which celebrates the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) Market, bringing to light its resilience even at a time when the economy was ailing due to the economic sanctions imposed on the country by the West, among other factors.
“The cookie that did Not Crumble is a book that was written out of the realisation that we have some positive aspects that are coming out of our country,” Maketo said.
“We are always hearing about the negative things but there are also some positive aspects that are coming and one of those positives is the resilience that is mainly shown by Zimbabweans in all walks of life. In this case, in this book, we are talking of the resilience of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, at a time when everyone expected the stock market to crumble, when everyone was crushing it, saying it was a scam, that it does not pay, does not give returns to investors, the ZSE, through measures that have been put by the government, that have been put by the ZSE management, and also some stakeholders who are involved in that space has remained resilient.
“Up to today, for the past decade or so, it has been under a lot of pressure, but it has managed to stack its head above the waters, hence its resilience. It is just a great story of resilience, how that institution managed to stay afloat when companies were delisting when companies were closing, when companies were migrating from the ZSE to the VFX, there were measures that were put in place by various stakeholders to ensure that our stock market still stands proudly in the world, against its peers,” Maketo said.
The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange is one of the viable investment markets open for Zimbabweans.
“Understanding the ZSE is a matter of education, other African countries including Tunisia and Morocco are doing well in such markets people because people understand. People want fast money where they lose all money but the chances of losing an investment in the stock exchange is low,” ZSE Chief Executive Officer, Mr Justin Bgoni said.
Secretary for Presidential Affairs and Devolution in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Engineer Tafadzwa Muguti who was guest of honour at the event highlighted the need for a culture shift from toxic politics to economic progress.
“As the Office of the President Cabinet, we are quite proud that we have young people who have been documenting what Zimbabwe went through. Zimbabwe’s economy is one of the great success stories of the world, from how we came from a hyperinflation period to now recording the fastest-growing economy in the region, it is quite fascinating that in the United States, 61 % of the population is very much aware of what happens on the stock exchange, but in Zimbabwe, according to research, we have five percent of the entire population that will participate from the small percentage, about two percent are literate on what happens on the stock exchange.
“The President keeps talking about investment culture in Zimbabwe and it is so liberal in the fact that anyone with any amount can actually participate on the stock exchange. We are also seeing that a number of companies are making it. If you look at the Econet counter, the Delta counter which still remains the strongest, Innscor, among other companies and one of the fundamental lessons of today which we are talking about was that as Zimbabweans we need to shift from toxic politics to economic progressiveness and that is surely something that us Zimbabweans are yearning for,” Engineer Muguti said.
The book joins the list of other articles that try and document the country’s economic history in the area of investment and stock markets.
