It ain't the 'sanctions' dammit

Those who are familiar  with Zimbabwe  history and Zanu-PF  rule for the 34 years  can agree with me the so called  sanctions have little effects than what Zanu-PF  has done to squander the economy as it is now.

In these passages I am going to trace why the economy of Zimbabwe  implored regardless of what the Zanu-PF  inner circle purport  that it was by sanctions.

The problems that we have in Zimbabwe  right now stretches back in the 1990s. And corruption  and poor decision  making and poor policy formulation  and implimentation  plays a major role in the economy  deterioration.

One for the  first destructive  policies  was Economic Structural Adjustment  Programme  (ESAP) nicknamed "Extreme Suffering  for African People " this aimed at 25% cut in civil  services, removal  or reduction of labour restrictions , price controls etc. Financial indiscipline and unbridled political interference  in economic and fanancial  matter of Mugabe  collided with the drought which resulted in imports of food at high costs and government indiscipline  derailed the programme. Average economic  growth fell from 4% to 0.9% in 1991 and unemployment  was 45% in 1993. Clearly this is way before we had sanctions  in Zimbabwe.

A series  of scandals such as GMB  and Air Zimbabwe  where Zanu-PF  officials  diverted funds to their pockets were recorded.

The crucial year that lead to the situation  we are right now was 1997, we all remember  that war veterans  were paid Z $50 000 (about US $2500) plus a pension of Z $2000. This was a way of buying off angry war veterans, but however this expenditure was unbudgeted. It was the start of inflation  and a resort of printing press which lead to the destruction of the Zimbabwean  currency and individual  saving on the following  decade.

In 1998 yet again unbudgeted  Zanu-PF  send between 11000 and 20000 troops to DRC. At that time treasury  in Harare  was finding difficulty in paying public servants this was a mistake. In September  1999 IMF confirmed  that it costed US $ 166 million in 6 months. Certainly  like the war vets payment the Congo expedition had not been budgeted for in advance, and it was the reason why in the late 1990s multilateral agencies lost faith in the economic policies of Zanu-PF government.

In as much as the land issue needed to be addressed  the way it was done was a big strike to the economy  of Zimbabwe. This was done with strong human rights violations  which saw only the Zanu-PF  cronies getting the farms and Whites farmers  being chased of their farms. Crops were burned and animals were often  slaughtered  to feed the Green Bombers who were campaigning  for Mugabe in the 2000 and 2002 election. Food production   was cut. And GDP was at -8.2% by 2004.

As we have seen situation  was worsened by unbudgeted  war vets compensation in 1997 and 1998 military  involvement  in Congo that drained hundreds  of millions on the economy.  Inflation was 32% in 1998 and it touched 622% in 2003. Commercial  farming was not only damaged but wiped out as the traditional sources of exports and foreign  exchange and as a provider  of more than 400 000 Jobs.

Is it the Sanctions, the targeted restrictive measured that was put on 110 individuals  that causes all this? I do not think so.

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Part 2 Coming