The 'ED effect' is already boosting our economy and saving us money

Since President Emmerson Mnangagwa came into office, he has brought a new way of thinking to the Zimbabwean economy. He has touted free trade principles and opened up the country to unprecedented investment, which is paying off in an increase in jobs and growth.

These are no longer mere promises or pledges, but it is now an established fact that the 'ED effect' is paying economic dividends for our country.

It was revealed a couple of days ago that Zimbabwe's economy is likely to grow faster that initially projected, largely driven by increased mining and agriculture. The Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday the economy would expand 6 percent in 2018, faster than previous forecast of 4.5 percent. The World Bank has in its latest forecast revised upwards Zimbabwe's gross domestic product to 2.7 percent from 1.8 percent it had projected in January this year.

A number of investments, which previously could not happen largely due to concerns around indigenisation and empowerment laws under the administration of former President Robert Mugabe were now being implemented.

President Mnangagwa declared Zimbabwe is open for business and repealed laws which stifled and put off foreign investment.

Zimbabwe will also register strong performance in the construction sector, driven by infrastructure projects, manufacturing and tourism.

Even institutions like the World Bank have sat up and taken notice of the positive economic and investment atmosphere, which had been conservative on Zimbabwe's growth prospects but has now observed the country is on a growth trajectory.

While the World Bank initially projected a mere 0.7 percent growth, they have now upped that to 2.7 percent. While it is still short of Zimbabwe's own internal prediction the fact that they raised their initial projection times by four demonstrates aptly the growing confidence in the new dispensation.

It is clear that something exciting is being witnessed in our country, and while some have yet to feel it, the indices and the experts are of one mind in saying that economic growth is on its way.

Almost all of this success can be put down to the 'Ed effect'. It was President Mnangagwa who immediately identified a new path for a new country, one which would need to restart the very economic foundations of Zimbabwe and undertake massively important reforms.

The investment is rolling in and even the foreign exchanges are up.

With these successes, the government is able to put extra cash back into the pockets of Zimbabwean citizens.

Only a couple of days ago, it was released that the cost of mobile and internet-based financial services is set for a significant drop after Government directed that the charge for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), the technology platform used to facilitate on-line transacting, was whittled by as much as 60 percent.

Consequently, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe has engaged all banks and other financial institutions to take note of the development and pass on the reduction to customers.

The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) said mobile data will cost 5 cents per megabyte, down from 12.5 cents.

This is just the start.

We will see more and more positive results from the 'ED effect', that will see all make real savings and real gains. When ED said that every Zimbabwean will feel the effects of the new Zimbabwe he is rebuilding, he is being true to his word.