Opinion / Columnist
Zimbabwe Communist Party statement on Monetary Policy
21 Feb 2019 at 19:04hrs | Views
The underlying position of the ZCP on any government policy declaration including this one is neither to automatically oppose nor to automatically endorse. Our task is to defend the interests of the workers, peasants and poor and as such to study each proposal and its implementation on its merits. In considering the proposals made by the RBZ Governor in his Monetary Policy Statement for 2019 we can make the following comments:
1) The RTGS dollar has correctly been characterised as an electronic extension of the Bond Note dollar and not separate from it. We welcome this clarification.
2) The separation RTGS/Bond Note dollar from the fictional 1:1 parity rating with the US dollar is also welcomed. The ZCP sees this as a minor victory for the working-class and for common sense.
3) This move will now reveal the true extent of the deterioration of workers' wages. Our trade unionists must study both the proposals and the implementation of these proposals when pushing forward their demands for a living wage. Wage demands now need to be related to earlier agreements stipulated in US dollars
4) As we have pointed out previously, there is very strong evidence to suggest that the currency black market is linked to officials at RBZ. Although the new regulations should restrict the black market, we need to monitor closely how it will continue to operate. We are concerned that no investigative or disciplinary action has been taken concerning individuals previously implicated in corruption.
5) In Section 2.1. vii p.11 of the Statement, it says"
"Foreign currency requirements for Government expenditure and other essential commodities that include fuel, cooking oil, electricity, medicines and water chemicals shall continue to be made available through the existing letters of credit facilities and/or
the Foreign Exchange Allocations Committee."
In other words, certain necessities will be given priority when using Forex and will not be subject to the same regulations. Under other conditions, this provision would be commendable, but in Zimbabwe, we have state capture by the multi-national oil company, Trafigura, headed in Zimbabwe by Kudakwashe Tagwirei. Trafigura has a monopoly on the oil pipeline running from Beira, Mozambique and built with public funding. For Trafigura to have special access to Forex under the current conditions becomes problematic.
6) The ZCP was the first to call for a National Economic Dialogue and continues to do so. But we reject any notion of dialogue which does not include organised labour, at present led by the ZCTU. In this context, we demand from the government.
a) The dropping of all charges against trade unionists arrested in the recent disturbances over fuel price increases.
b) The inclusion of organised labour in the National Economic Dialogue.
The ZCP blames the world capitalist system, particularly capitalism in its neo-liberal form, for our crisis. We identify both the general deterioration of the living standards of all but the very rich across the globe and the destabilisation of society since the domination of neo-liberal political economy and ideology dating from the early 1980s. Had the pre-ESAP policies remained in place at the time of the imposition of sanctions by the US/UK led Axis powers, the effects of those sanctions would have been negligible.
The ZCP also blames most of the specific problems of Zimbabwe on the greed of our leaders who dropped the Marxist-Leninist ideology which had informed the actions which brought them to power in 1980 as soon as it became convenient. Instead of empowering and uplifting the masses through the socialisation of production, soon after the introduction of ESAP, they introduced the policy of "Indigenous Empowerment" which led to the formation of a parasitic bourgeoisie engaged in an orgy of looting and ultimately to economic collapse.
On behalf of the ZCP Secretariat
Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena
General Secretary
+27 83 340 1000 (South Africa)
generalsecretary@zimbabwecommunistparty.org
Ian Beddowes
National Political Commissar
+27 60 440 3137 nationalcommissar@zimbabwecommunistparty.org
Bongani Mkwananzi
National Spokesperson +27 73 984 0241
spokesperson@zimbabwecommunistparty.org`
1) The RTGS dollar has correctly been characterised as an electronic extension of the Bond Note dollar and not separate from it. We welcome this clarification.
2) The separation RTGS/Bond Note dollar from the fictional 1:1 parity rating with the US dollar is also welcomed. The ZCP sees this as a minor victory for the working-class and for common sense.
3) This move will now reveal the true extent of the deterioration of workers' wages. Our trade unionists must study both the proposals and the implementation of these proposals when pushing forward their demands for a living wage. Wage demands now need to be related to earlier agreements stipulated in US dollars
4) As we have pointed out previously, there is very strong evidence to suggest that the currency black market is linked to officials at RBZ. Although the new regulations should restrict the black market, we need to monitor closely how it will continue to operate. We are concerned that no investigative or disciplinary action has been taken concerning individuals previously implicated in corruption.
5) In Section 2.1. vii p.11 of the Statement, it says"
"Foreign currency requirements for Government expenditure and other essential commodities that include fuel, cooking oil, electricity, medicines and water chemicals shall continue to be made available through the existing letters of credit facilities and/or
the Foreign Exchange Allocations Committee."
In other words, certain necessities will be given priority when using Forex and will not be subject to the same regulations. Under other conditions, this provision would be commendable, but in Zimbabwe, we have state capture by the multi-national oil company, Trafigura, headed in Zimbabwe by Kudakwashe Tagwirei. Trafigura has a monopoly on the oil pipeline running from Beira, Mozambique and built with public funding. For Trafigura to have special access to Forex under the current conditions becomes problematic.
6) The ZCP was the first to call for a National Economic Dialogue and continues to do so. But we reject any notion of dialogue which does not include organised labour, at present led by the ZCTU. In this context, we demand from the government.
a) The dropping of all charges against trade unionists arrested in the recent disturbances over fuel price increases.
b) The inclusion of organised labour in the National Economic Dialogue.
The ZCP blames the world capitalist system, particularly capitalism in its neo-liberal form, for our crisis. We identify both the general deterioration of the living standards of all but the very rich across the globe and the destabilisation of society since the domination of neo-liberal political economy and ideology dating from the early 1980s. Had the pre-ESAP policies remained in place at the time of the imposition of sanctions by the US/UK led Axis powers, the effects of those sanctions would have been negligible.
The ZCP also blames most of the specific problems of Zimbabwe on the greed of our leaders who dropped the Marxist-Leninist ideology which had informed the actions which brought them to power in 1980 as soon as it became convenient. Instead of empowering and uplifting the masses through the socialisation of production, soon after the introduction of ESAP, they introduced the policy of "Indigenous Empowerment" which led to the formation of a parasitic bourgeoisie engaged in an orgy of looting and ultimately to economic collapse.
On behalf of the ZCP Secretariat
Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena
General Secretary
+27 83 340 1000 (South Africa)
generalsecretary@zimbabwecommunistparty.org
Ian Beddowes
National Political Commissar
+27 60 440 3137 nationalcommissar@zimbabwecommunistparty.org
Bongani Mkwananzi
National Spokesperson +27 73 984 0241
spokesperson@zimbabwecommunistparty.org`
Source - ZCP
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