Opinion / Columnist
Mthuli Ncube, a force to be reckoned with
09 Oct 2018 at 18:43hrs | Views
These days are not easy, for any of us. But they have to be excruciating for our Minister of Finance, Mthuli Ncube, carrying on his shoulders the full weight of the responsibility of the well-being of our nation. Especially in this in such a stormy time But luckily, he only knows one way, and that is forward.
I have to admit that I am impressed by his boldness. He goes to places and puts fingers in wounds that haven't been touched since the GNU, or even since our independence. Tackling the state's low revenue while also cutting its bloated expenses, Ncube takes the most crucial action needed now to set us back on a course of economic growth.
While the easiest way to cut expenses is streamlining such things such as salaries and civil servants, there are much bigger fish that are hiding deeper in the dark sea. I am talking about public enterprises running up a huge deficit every year. These enterprises are a remnant of a socialist past that is just unfit for the 21st century.
As such, it is about time that we start to privatise, which means that we are cutting the deficit while at the same time cashing in by selling businesses the state has neither an interest nor the means to run efficiently. Every year, we are spending $500 million (!) to support companies that would not survive in the free market. To add insult to injury, these state-owned companies and parastatals are a primary source of corruption, further weighing our economy down.
I laud Prof. Ncube's announcement, showing that he'll leave no stone unturned to get us back on track. I also laud ED's wisdom in appointing a highly competent Minister of Finance, and giving him the freedom to begin the process of rescuing our economy. The decisions being taken may be politically unpopular, and we should all applaud the president for putting economics ahead of politics.
We are lucky to have a Minister of Finance who is a well-experienced technocrat, and not a party-militant caught in the web of corruption these state-companies helped create. We should all support his bold steps to turn our economy around.
I have to admit that I am impressed by his boldness. He goes to places and puts fingers in wounds that haven't been touched since the GNU, or even since our independence. Tackling the state's low revenue while also cutting its bloated expenses, Ncube takes the most crucial action needed now to set us back on a course of economic growth.
While the easiest way to cut expenses is streamlining such things such as salaries and civil servants, there are much bigger fish that are hiding deeper in the dark sea. I am talking about public enterprises running up a huge deficit every year. These enterprises are a remnant of a socialist past that is just unfit for the 21st century.
As such, it is about time that we start to privatise, which means that we are cutting the deficit while at the same time cashing in by selling businesses the state has neither an interest nor the means to run efficiently. Every year, we are spending $500 million (!) to support companies that would not survive in the free market. To add insult to injury, these state-owned companies and parastatals are a primary source of corruption, further weighing our economy down.
I laud Prof. Ncube's announcement, showing that he'll leave no stone unturned to get us back on track. I also laud ED's wisdom in appointing a highly competent Minister of Finance, and giving him the freedom to begin the process of rescuing our economy. The decisions being taken may be politically unpopular, and we should all applaud the president for putting economics ahead of politics.
We are lucky to have a Minister of Finance who is a well-experienced technocrat, and not a party-militant caught in the web of corruption these state-companies helped create. We should all support his bold steps to turn our economy around.
Source - Joice Tsitsi
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