Fatal blow to the AAG as new kid is launched

Hosia Mviringi

The launch of the Economic Empowerment Group in Harare on Thursday has come as the fatal blow to the Philip Chiyangwa owned and controlled Affirmative Action Group as a mass exodus of membership has begun in earnest.

"Zimbabwe will never be the same again from today as we launch EEG, the only inclusive empowerment initiative since the country's independence in 1980."

These were the words of Mr Mike Chimombe, the founding President of the Economic Empowerment Group (EEG), at the launch of the organisation in Harare 

The new kid on the block was conceived and launched on the ashes of the former gigantic Affirmative Action Group (AAG).

Unlike the AAG which was registered under the Philip Chiyangwa's Family Trust, whose Constitution empowers Mr Chiyangwa to hire and fire anyone at will, targeting only the rich and famous, the EEG comes with a new mantra, "To the People, for the People, by the People" is inclusive as no membership fee is required for one to be a member.

The recent discovery that AAG was a money spinning venture for Mr Chiyangwa and his family inspired the formation of EEG by ex-members of the AAG who included former President of the AAG Mr Mike Chimombe,  Seke Member of Parliament Munyaradzi Kashambe,former AAG S.G C Hhlupeko and all of its provincial chairmen in all 10 provinces.

Things came to a head earlier this year in March when Mr Philip Chiyangwa unilaterally dissolved the whole leadership of the AAG. This prompted the other members to search for and discover his source of power. That is when they discovered that in fact the grouping was registered in the family trust and that no one else had a say in the running of it's affairs except Mr Chiyangwa alone.

That is when it became clear that the AAG was a self-enriching project by Mr Chiyangwa contrary to claims of being a lobby group which represents the marginalised citizens. To remedy this glaring deficiency, the EEG was formed.

 

The Economic Empowerment Group (EEG) is a product of deep soul searching and introspection on the part of the founding members, most of whom were part of the AAG top leadership after an exposé earlier this year, which pointed to glaring personalisation and “eliticisation” of the organisation.

"Unlike the AAG, which we left, EEG will have an inclusive structure which goes down to the grassroots, instead of focusing on the well-to-do elite class of citizens, most of whom are already empowered. The EEG will be a people's organisation where true empowerment of the black majority is championed," continued Chimombe.

Mr Munyaradzi Kashambe vowed to make the EEG better and different from the AAG, on whose ashes it was formed.

"There will be no subscriptions to join EEG. Why do you need to pay money to be empowered?" questioned Kashambe at a press conference after the launch.

"This is a new baby. It is constitutionally guided and we have a concept paper as to how we will be operating. We will hand our blueprint to the highest office in the land," said Hon. Kashambe.

The EEG, said Mr Mike Chimombe, will hit the ground running, to create an environment that advocates and promotes the empowerment of the formerly disadvantaged black indigenous people. The group will focus on awareness programs that encourage people to take advantage of government empowerment programs in mining, agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, and to work through many funding facilities in special banking institutions such as Empower Bank, Women’s Bank etc.

"EEG is going to be very radical in pushing for economic empowerment policies that are deliberately biased towards the marginalised blacks," said Chimombe.

The AAG descended into a crisis when the founding President Philip Chiyangwa fired its President Mike Chimombe and replaced him with Mr Scott Sakupwanya while both men were in the dark.

Mr Scott Sakupwanya made his intentions clear that he never agreed with Chiyangwa to be Chimombe s successor in the AAG.

His intentions became crystal clear when he held a closed door meeting with the founding leader of the new EEG outfit Mr Mike Chimombe on the sidelines of its launch in Harare.