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Will elections solve the question of economic problems - ZCP
23 Oct 2017 at 13:30hrs | Views
Zimbabwe Communist Party has questioned if the much epxcted Zimbabwe electrions nextr year will solve the problems that the country has lived in for the past decade.
Party's secretary general Ngqabutho Mabhena said a General Election is scheduled for next year 2018. Whatever the outcome, will it be able to deal with the main problem facing Zimbabwe - the state of the economy?
"With industry largely closed down, more than 90% unemployment in the formal sector and queues at the ATMs for currency, Zimbabwe is not far away from a complete economic collapse. Whatever one does for survival, whatever political party or faction one belongs to, we are all faced with impending disaster," he said.
"The Zimbabwe Communist Party has made the decision that, rather than stand at the next election in contention with other parties, that it would call for a National Economic Dialogue and has already put forward its Political Economy Document which may serve as a basis for discussion."
He said ZCP is calling on all engaged in production whether workers or management, whether peasant farmers, commercial farmers, the informal sector in Zimbabwe or those in the diaspora who can assist with either skills or finance.
"Meltdown in Zimbabwe would not only affect Zimbabwe, it would pull down surrounding countries too, in particular South Africa, therefore the ZCP is calling for support for this concept from all governing former liberation movements in the region and from all progressive organisations in the region and in Africa as a whole," he said.
"The liberation of Africa from direct imperialist control, though of course mainly due to the efforts of the African people themselves, also owes a great deal to the philosophical and practical ideology and methodology of Scientific Socialism and more directly through military and other forms of aid by the Soviet Union, People's China and other socialist countries."
Mabhena said the abandonment of Scientific Socialism and the adoption of neo-liberal economic policy and ideology, has, in the opinion of the ZCP, created the basis for the economic collapse of Zimbabwe, which adopted ESAP in 1991 and has weakened economic planning and growth in other countries in the region.
"The growth of a political class which has become divorced from the people who put them into power is a continuing problem which has led to a form of reaction in which many of the just grievances of the people have been articulated by political formations backed by the imperialists and whose purpose is the reversal of the gains on Independence. This problem may be seen throughout Africa but is particularly acute in Zimbabwe," he said.
"As the People's Republic of China, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Republic of Cuba have demonstrated, real independence can only be maintained by the building of strong, autonomous economies. Such economies, above all else, require the confidence and the input of the people of the country concerned. They also require National Planning linked to Devolution of Power to the People and local planning."
He said the formation of the New Development Bank linked to BRICS give Africa an alternative funding model to that offered by the Western banking system - but no amount of funding from whatever source can be of benefit unless linked to a strong production plan and vibrant actual production.
"SADC can be a powerful tool in terms of building a regional economy independent of outside control. This is unlikely to have any real meaning, however, if a country central to the SADC region, Zimbabwe, does not build a production based economy," Mabhena said.
"The ZCP therefore calls on the governing party of Zimbabwe, and patriotic opposition forces in our country to embark on dialogue around economic revival, the former Inclusive Government is testimony to the fact that this can work in our favour."
"The ZCP calls on all former liberation movements in the region and all SADC countries to support us in this initiative. We further call on all countries which are part of BRICS for their support in this endeavour," he added.
He said but chiefly, we call on the support of the hard-working people of Zimbabwe to come together with the purpose of making Zimbabwe a beautiful, stable and prosperous country for us, our children and our children's children.
Party's secretary general Ngqabutho Mabhena said a General Election is scheduled for next year 2018. Whatever the outcome, will it be able to deal with the main problem facing Zimbabwe - the state of the economy?
"With industry largely closed down, more than 90% unemployment in the formal sector and queues at the ATMs for currency, Zimbabwe is not far away from a complete economic collapse. Whatever one does for survival, whatever political party or faction one belongs to, we are all faced with impending disaster," he said.
"The Zimbabwe Communist Party has made the decision that, rather than stand at the next election in contention with other parties, that it would call for a National Economic Dialogue and has already put forward its Political Economy Document which may serve as a basis for discussion."
He said ZCP is calling on all engaged in production whether workers or management, whether peasant farmers, commercial farmers, the informal sector in Zimbabwe or those in the diaspora who can assist with either skills or finance.
"Meltdown in Zimbabwe would not only affect Zimbabwe, it would pull down surrounding countries too, in particular South Africa, therefore the ZCP is calling for support for this concept from all governing former liberation movements in the region and from all progressive organisations in the region and in Africa as a whole," he said.
"The liberation of Africa from direct imperialist control, though of course mainly due to the efforts of the African people themselves, also owes a great deal to the philosophical and practical ideology and methodology of Scientific Socialism and more directly through military and other forms of aid by the Soviet Union, People's China and other socialist countries."
Mabhena said the abandonment of Scientific Socialism and the adoption of neo-liberal economic policy and ideology, has, in the opinion of the ZCP, created the basis for the economic collapse of Zimbabwe, which adopted ESAP in 1991 and has weakened economic planning and growth in other countries in the region.
"The growth of a political class which has become divorced from the people who put them into power is a continuing problem which has led to a form of reaction in which many of the just grievances of the people have been articulated by political formations backed by the imperialists and whose purpose is the reversal of the gains on Independence. This problem may be seen throughout Africa but is particularly acute in Zimbabwe," he said.
"As the People's Republic of China, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Republic of Cuba have demonstrated, real independence can only be maintained by the building of strong, autonomous economies. Such economies, above all else, require the confidence and the input of the people of the country concerned. They also require National Planning linked to Devolution of Power to the People and local planning."
He said the formation of the New Development Bank linked to BRICS give Africa an alternative funding model to that offered by the Western banking system - but no amount of funding from whatever source can be of benefit unless linked to a strong production plan and vibrant actual production.
"SADC can be a powerful tool in terms of building a regional economy independent of outside control. This is unlikely to have any real meaning, however, if a country central to the SADC region, Zimbabwe, does not build a production based economy," Mabhena said.
"The ZCP therefore calls on the governing party of Zimbabwe, and patriotic opposition forces in our country to embark on dialogue around economic revival, the former Inclusive Government is testimony to the fact that this can work in our favour."
"The ZCP calls on all former liberation movements in the region and all SADC countries to support us in this initiative. We further call on all countries which are part of BRICS for their support in this endeavour," he added.
He said but chiefly, we call on the support of the hard-working people of Zimbabwe to come together with the purpose of making Zimbabwe a beautiful, stable and prosperous country for us, our children and our children's children.
Source - Byo24News
