Bleak Workers Day Celebrations

Tomorrow, the working people of Zimbabwe will again converge to celebrate workers day or rather to interrogate the plight of the working people of Zimbabwe.

38 years after independence the people of Zimbabwe find their lives becoming worse by the day, workers day will just but be reduced to a platform to count the costs and question the benefits.

The costs of a relentless rise in poverty and the benefits of inequality all linked to the rise in unemployment.

95% percent of the Zimbabwean people are unemployed, more than 1000 companies closed shop since 2016 and tens of thousands of workers lost their jobs.

Deindustrialization continues unabated with the government making decisions that only serve to worsen the situation scoring many own goals in the process derailing any potential for an economic rebound.

There is massive informalization of the Zimbabwean economy with the abused working people of Zimbabwe disengaging and reorganizing their lives outside the influence of government.

Unashamed the government introduced several taxes on the informal sector disrupting survival efforts by the working people of Zimbabwe.

This is against the background that ZANUPF in its 2013 manifesto promised 2, 2 million jobs which they have failed to deliver or at least try.

Their current tenure has worsened the situation and reversed the gains attained by the bold steps taken by the MDC side of the Government of National Unity (GNU).

Instead the current government has chosen to insult the suffering masses of our people by repeatedly claiming that they created over 3 million jobs including those selling airtime on traffic lights.

The truth of the matter is that ZANUPF mismanagement of the economy has destroyed jobs, caused massive company closures, resulted in capital flight, discouraged savings and destroyed industrial capacity utilization.

Government spending has created a huge debt crisis and more importantly created a crippling financial and banking crisis.

The few formally employed people of Zimbabwe are unable to access their money from the banks and the cost of living continues to go up due to distortions of the bond note and exchange rates while wages remain the same.

In the midst of all this the handling of labor disputes by the state is by all standards a disaster.

The strike of medical doctors lasted a whole month and the Chiwenga's reaction of the nurses' strike was a disaster as result lives were lost unnecessarily.

As at today unions representing teachers have warned government of their intention to strike and threats have again come from government.

All this is a result of a failure to respond to the demands of state and economic management and the broken politics of Munhumutapa offices.

This economic crisis can only be ended by a government with a proper economic plan.

Our government in this regard makes the point that our plan to build a 100 billion dollar economy is a critical response to the plight of the working people of Zimbabwe.

This plan will create jobs and absorption capacity proportionate to the growing population, reduce inequality and alleviate poverty among the working people of Zimbabwe.

We commit to re-industrialize Zimbabwe, build an inclusively growing and shared economy in which everyone has an opportunity to live a happy prosperous life.

Together Another Zimbabwe is Possible
Jacob Mafume
PDP Spokesperson, MDC Alliance Information Committee