Patience and Positivity required to reach Vision 2030

Every African leader has a vision.  Every president has a slogan. But some leaders are actually doing something about reaching their vision.  ED, for all the impatience the Twimbos are showing him, is making massive moves for our economy, and for our country. He is not only talking the talk, he is walking the walk.

Vision 2030 is bold. It is big. And it won't be achieved today; it won't even be achieved tomorrow. That is why it is called Vision 2030. It is a long-term vision. And a long-term vision is built on a strategy. Let us not forget the wise words of Sun Tsu, "Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat."

And underpinning Vision 2030 is a real strategy. It is a strategy about doing things right. It is a strategy which requires balancing the books, stabilizing the economy, and putting the new Zimbabwe back on its feet.

Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube has come into office all guns blazing. And ED should be complimented for bringing in this internationally respected academic. It can't have been easy for the new president with all the pressures from the party and from those who supported him in his rise to power, many of whom were coveting the position. But ED chose to do what is right to for the country, what is right the economy.

And it was the right move to make. For Ncube has come in and is smashing up the broken system.  In economics they call it creative destruction. First you must destroy the broken, inefficient old ways of doing things, before true innovation can spring forth. Zimbabweans are an impatient people. We want to race forward, we want to run before we can walk, fly before we can drive. But first we must stabilize, fix what is broken, only then can we fly. Privatise and liberalise; open up our stagnant system!

By demanding a balanced budget, cutting spending and bringing in smart taxation Mthuli Ncube has shown he is not your average politician. He says, I don't care about the headlines, I care about doing right for the economy. In fact, no politician who cares about his popularity raises taxes!  But that is precisely the point, if we are to reach the golden ticket of Vision 2030, we have to get through the hard times. We have to have a strategy which is not based on PR points, but on real long-term macro and micro economic policy.

ED deserves a great deal of credit for standing by Ncube.  At times our new finance minister has been too honest (another trait not associated with politicians). In other cases, Ncube has simply said too much. But the new president knows and understands that perhaps at this delicate period in our history, an economics professor, making tough financial decisions, is just what this country needs.

Likewise, if we are to look abroad, Ncube is well received wherever he goes.  For Vision 2030 to succeed, we need to see ED's policy of opening a new diplomatic page on full power. We need to make friends in capitals, where previously we had none. And Ncube's inoffensive, charming professorial style helps this cause. It helps the national cause.

So as we move forward as a nation at a speed which inevitably causes some turbulence we should all be patient.

Vision 2030 is a marathon and not a sprint. That means we must prepare our muscles carefully, train hard, and pace ourselves. And by breaking through all the pain barriers on the way, Zimbabwe, with responsible leadership and hard work will reach the finish line and the prosperity upon arrival!