Mangoma should mind his business

The leader of opposition party, Renewal Democrats of Zimbabwe, Elton Mangoma must concentrate on his party business and stop making false claims against President Emmerson Mnangagwa who is working extra hard to resuscitate the country's economy.

In a recent interview with the NewsDay, Mangoma claimed that the President had not done anything tangible since he assumed office in November last year. Contrary to Mangoma's claims, President Mnangagwa has so far undertaken a lot of positive economic revival activities to boost the economy. Most of the programmes are being successfully implemented and the fruits are there for everyone to see.

Mangoma's utterances show that he is politically myopic and suffers from selective amnesia. Who is not aware of the good works that President Mnangagwa is doing to restore economic order in the country? A number of projects are being done to fulfill the successful achievement of the 2013 - 2018 economic blue print, Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset). Most of these projects are being implemented for the betterment of Zimbabwean citizens.

For instance, the successful completion of expanding construction of Kariba South power station Units 7 and 8 will increase access to electricity as 300 MW of power are now being fed into the national grid. This will certainly reduce load shedding and improve the production of goods in the manufacturing sector.

Mangoma, who is also the Coalition of Democrats (Code) leader, should stop wasting his energy in lambasting the efforts that President Mnangagwa is putting in turning around the economic fortunes of this country. Mangoma, who is also seeking political relevance, should be reminded that it doesn't take three months for one to recover a country's economy which has been in the doldrums for close to two decades.

The President is quite cognizant of the economic challenges that are currently bedeviling the country. One of the challenges affecting the manufacturing industry is the lack of adequate foreign currency to revive some of the struggling firms, hence the calling of local and international business people to invest in the country by the President.

The President introduced new policies to re-engage with the world and attract foreign investment. One of the policies that the President has been always preaching since he took oath of office was that Zimbabwe is open for business.

However, President Mnangagwa, who recently attended the African Union Extraordinary Session of Heads of State and Government in Rwanda, told Zimbabweans living in that country that the economy has improved as a result of Statutory Instrument 64 and that the rate of foreign currency earnings has grown by 23 percent in a period of three months.

"…we now know within the first quarter, whereas we would be spending something like $6 billion for imports against $4 billion exports, I understand now we have reduced the import bill by $2 billion as a result of SI 64," said President Mnangagwa.

On the other hand, Mangoma imprudently alleges that President Mnangagwa is paying no attention to the issue of corruption. Is Mangoma living in la la land and doesn't know what is happening in our motherland? A lot is happening on the ground and only a fool can say otherwise. A number of Parliamentary enquiries are being done. Most people accused of underhand dealings are appearing before the relevant Parliamentary Portfolio Committees for hearing and explanations.

For instance, Wicknell Chivhayo was quizzed by the Parliamentary Portfolio on Mines and Energy which is chaired by Honourable Temba Mliswa on the issue of the US$5million tender for the Gwanda Solar Power Plant. Since the payment of the tender, there has been no noticeable progress made by Chivhayo's Intratek Company.
Therefore, Mangoma should be warned against passing reckless sentiments which undermine the efforts that the new administration is putting in revitalizing the economy.