Opinion / Columnist
Zanu-PF will never deliver the Zimbabwe we want
06 Jun 2016 at 18:17hrs | Views
It must be now crystal clear to the majority of Zimbabweans that our economy is spiralling downwards and this spiral can only be arrested through a rapture from the past and a drastic change of political leadership and economic policy direction. Poverty, high unemployment, cash shortages, continued theft by ministers and their cronies are now normal as Zimbabwean families disintegrate through abuse and lack of money. That cannot be sustained.
As PDP we have continually warned that Zanu-PF has no solution to this disaster which they have manufactured over the last 36 years. What they have been successful at, is to continually lie to Zimbabweans and create false hope that the economy is on the mend while diverting our attention to their endless internal succession battles which benefit nobody but Mugabe.
Zimbabweans from all walks of life can no longer be duped by Zanu-PF and are saying enough is enough. We at PDP fully support them in their quest for substantive change. We stand ready to reinvent Zimbabwe and offer sustainable and well informed solutions to attract investments and create jobs because that is the only way out of this quagmire.
Zimbabwe is now at the bottom of the rung in Africa when it comes to GDP growth and we expect negative growth to continue for the rest of 2016 due to continuing cash shortages and the corruption which is now being exposed daily. The country risk perception continues to increase each day as long as Mugabe holds onto power and this is creating negative perceptions to potential investors and/or traders.
Zimbabwe has become the poorest country in Africa, thanks to Mugabe who has become the modern Vasco Da Gama but with nothing to offer anyone whether in Zimbabwe or in Africa. He has blown $80 million travelling like a man who has no home and that money could have been put to better use to alleviate the suffering of ordinary Zimbabweans.
As he travels all over the world proffering moribund ideas to international problems, he appears oblivious to the fact that his Ministers are busy looting, as recently admitted by Samuel Undenge, who actually sees looting as normal by defending his profligacy and saying that all of them ministers are doing it anyway. That is now their core business because they know their time is up.
The pending introduction of worthless bond notes by the RBZ is a foolish attempt to address the symptoms of a cancer which has spread and has become terminal. As we continually stress at PDP, you cannot address productivity and structural issues through monetary policy and you cannot build confidence overnight. You cannot build castles in the sand and expect them to last.
It was easy for Zanu-PF and Mugabe to destroy our economy but it is never easy to re-build it, especially when you still leave the very culprits who destroyed it in power.
The RBZ has done enough damage already by announcing the idea of bond notes prematurely before doing their homework. Speculation of all sorts is now rife as those who have US$ are now "selling" them at a premium, while shops have already re-priced their goods in anticipation of shortages due to a clamp down on imports.
In addition those with money outside the country are holding back and will not bring it back into the country any time soon. On the other hand, businesses are now banking as little as possible locally to avoid being limited by the RBZ on how much, where and on what they can spend their money. That is a normal reaction by the market place to exchange controls.
As PDP, we are saying that the de facto foreign exchange controls suggested by the RBZ are the wrong policy measures at the wrong time for the wrong reasons. Exchange controls never work well alone to increase liquidity but always work in the opposite direction.
The message is clear-Zimbabweans do not want Mugabe's bond notes they want him to go. Our youths are clearly fed up, and they have every right to be. We all want fresh brains at State house and a new approach to both politics and economics if we are to re-invent Zimbabwe.
We once again insist on the establishment of a National Technical Transitional Council (NTTC) now to arrest the situation and get Zimbabweans out of the streets and pubs and back to work. We also insist that Mugabe resigns immediately as he has nothing more to offer Zimbabweans.
Another Zimbabwe is possible!
Vince Musewe
Secretary for Finance and Economic Affairs
As PDP we have continually warned that Zanu-PF has no solution to this disaster which they have manufactured over the last 36 years. What they have been successful at, is to continually lie to Zimbabweans and create false hope that the economy is on the mend while diverting our attention to their endless internal succession battles which benefit nobody but Mugabe.
Zimbabweans from all walks of life can no longer be duped by Zanu-PF and are saying enough is enough. We at PDP fully support them in their quest for substantive change. We stand ready to reinvent Zimbabwe and offer sustainable and well informed solutions to attract investments and create jobs because that is the only way out of this quagmire.
Zimbabwe is now at the bottom of the rung in Africa when it comes to GDP growth and we expect negative growth to continue for the rest of 2016 due to continuing cash shortages and the corruption which is now being exposed daily. The country risk perception continues to increase each day as long as Mugabe holds onto power and this is creating negative perceptions to potential investors and/or traders.
Zimbabwe has become the poorest country in Africa, thanks to Mugabe who has become the modern Vasco Da Gama but with nothing to offer anyone whether in Zimbabwe or in Africa. He has blown $80 million travelling like a man who has no home and that money could have been put to better use to alleviate the suffering of ordinary Zimbabweans.
As he travels all over the world proffering moribund ideas to international problems, he appears oblivious to the fact that his Ministers are busy looting, as recently admitted by Samuel Undenge, who actually sees looting as normal by defending his profligacy and saying that all of them ministers are doing it anyway. That is now their core business because they know their time is up.
The pending introduction of worthless bond notes by the RBZ is a foolish attempt to address the symptoms of a cancer which has spread and has become terminal. As we continually stress at PDP, you cannot address productivity and structural issues through monetary policy and you cannot build confidence overnight. You cannot build castles in the sand and expect them to last.
The RBZ has done enough damage already by announcing the idea of bond notes prematurely before doing their homework. Speculation of all sorts is now rife as those who have US$ are now "selling" them at a premium, while shops have already re-priced their goods in anticipation of shortages due to a clamp down on imports.
In addition those with money outside the country are holding back and will not bring it back into the country any time soon. On the other hand, businesses are now banking as little as possible locally to avoid being limited by the RBZ on how much, where and on what they can spend their money. That is a normal reaction by the market place to exchange controls.
As PDP, we are saying that the de facto foreign exchange controls suggested by the RBZ are the wrong policy measures at the wrong time for the wrong reasons. Exchange controls never work well alone to increase liquidity but always work in the opposite direction.
The message is clear-Zimbabweans do not want Mugabe's bond notes they want him to go. Our youths are clearly fed up, and they have every right to be. We all want fresh brains at State house and a new approach to both politics and economics if we are to re-invent Zimbabwe.
We once again insist on the establishment of a National Technical Transitional Council (NTTC) now to arrest the situation and get Zimbabweans out of the streets and pubs and back to work. We also insist that Mugabe resigns immediately as he has nothing more to offer Zimbabweans.
Another Zimbabwe is possible!
Vince Musewe
Secretary for Finance and Economic Affairs
Source - Vince Musewe
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