Opinion / Columnist
If ZANU-PF regime cracked down on gold smugglers as they do small businesses, Zimbabwe would prosper
10 hrs ago | Views
This morning, while in town, I had a fascinating encounter with a lady entrepreneur who owns a small clothing business.
After recognizing me as the author of articles she regularly reads, she shared her grievances about the ongoing government crackdown on informal businesses, ostensibly in search of smuggled goods.
The operation, launched recently by President Emmerson Mnangagwa's administration, claims to target the smuggling of illicit items such as basic groceries and second-hand clothes.
Just yesterday, the government pledged to intensify this multi-agency operation against small businesses and cross-border transport operators involved in "smuggling and unethical business practices".
Measures include 24-hour roadblocks along major highways, impromptu inspections, and demands for documentation proving that stock was imported legally.
The operation also targets businesses indexing prices to parallel market rates and selling counterfeit or unlabelled goods.
To directly receive articles from Tendai Ruben Mbofana, please join his WhatsApp Channel on: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaqprWCIyPtRnKpkHe08
Spearheaded by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the task force involves the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the Consumer Protection Commission, and other law enforcement agencies.
The lady described how many informal traders have seen their products confiscated, and themselves charged, for selling smuggled goods after failing to provide proper documentation.
As a result, numerous small businesses have been forced to shut down, leaving many without a livelihood in an economy where unemployment is over 70%, and survival depends heavily on the informal sector.
While I firmly believe in upholding the rule of law as a foundation for any country's development, this approach raises serious concerns.
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube argues that smuggling undercuts compliant businesses by bypassing duties and taxes, creating unfair competition.
He contends that the operation will close revenue leakages, reclaiming approximately $1 billion annually lost to smuggling and boosting development in infrastructure, healthcare, and education.
This argument, while logical, exposes glaring inconsistencies in the government's priorities.
While the loss of $1 billion annually to smuggling is significant, the government's own data and reports suggest far greater losses from the smuggling of natural resources, particularly minerals like gold, diamonds, and lithium.
Zimbabwe reportedly loses $3 billion annually to smuggling and undervaluation of these resources.
In fact, renowned economist Eddie Cross revealed that Zimbabwe has produced over $30 billion in raw diamonds since 2008.
Yet, official statistics on the country's diamond revenues remain conspicuously absent, highlighting limited transparency and inconsistent reporting.
Zimbabwe, despite being the seventh-largest diamond producer globally, has failed to translate this natural wealth into economic prosperity.
For instance, the country produced approximately 4.5 million carats of diamonds in 2022, a 7.14% increase from the previous year.
However, the revenue from these sales remains unclear, with allegations of mismanagement and looting casting a long shadow over the industry.
Villagers in Marange, home to the diamond fields, have frequently protested against the opaque handling of diamond revenues.
These issues are not limited to diamonds.
Minerals such as gold, lithium, coal, and black granite are being smuggled out of Zimbabwe daily, often by foreign companies, particularly Chinese-owned entities.
Despite a 2022 government ban on the export of unprocessed lithium, reliable reports indicate that truckloads of lithium continue to cross the border into Mozambique.
The Al Jazeera documentary Gold Mafia exposed the brazen smuggling of gold and money laundering by Zimbabwe's elite, with billions of dollars funneled to Dubai.
This smuggling has left Zimbabwe impoverished, with 70% of the population living in poverty and half surviving on less than $2.15 per day, the international poverty line.
The consequences of these illicit activities are devastating.
Zimbabweans endure collapsing healthcare, with thousands of women dying annually from preventable diseases like cervical cancer due to inadequate diagnostic and treatment facilities.
The Cancer Association of Zimbabwe reports over 2,000 deaths from cervical cancer each year, while another 2,500 women die during childbirth because of poor maternal healthcare.
The education system fares no better.
Rural schools lack basic learning materials and qualified teachers, leading to repeated zero percent pass rates.
This systemic failure condemns an entire generation to hopelessness.
Chronic malnutrition affects 23.5% of children, and over half a million suffer stunted growth.
Many families cannot afford three meals a day, normalizing hunger for countless Zimbabweans.
Despite these dire conditions, the government prioritizes cracking down on small businesses rather than addressing the smuggling of minerals worth billions.
Where is the same enthusiasm from the Ministry of Mines, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, and other agencies in combating these massive losses?
Why is there no aggressive operation targeting the powerful individuals and corporations enabling this looting?
The government's approach appears selective and unjust.
Small retailers, struggling to survive in a collapsing economy, are easy targets for the authorities, while the wealthy and powerful enjoy impunity.
If the Mnangagwa administration were genuine in fighting smuggling, it would target those at the top of these mineral smuggling syndicates with the same zeal as it does informal traders.
Instead, this operation against small businesses feels like a bullying tactic, deepening poverty for those already marginalized.
Ordinary Zimbabweans, trying to survive in an economy destroyed by those in power, are being pushed further into destitution.
Meanwhile, the ruling elite and their foreign collaborators amass untold wealth.
This double standard reflects the Mnangagwa regime's cruel disregard for ordinary citizens.
If the government were serious about economic recovery, it would channel its energy toward curbing the smuggling of natural resources.
Reclaiming the billions lost annually could fund critical development projects, improve healthcare and education, and restore hope for Zimbabwe's future.
Until then, the crackdown on small businesses will remain a hollow gesture, exposing the government's misplaced priorities and its complicity in the very smuggling it claims to fight.
The prosperity of Zimbabwe lies in addressing these systemic issues, not in scapegoating the powerless while protecting the powerful.
© Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to WhatsApp or Call: +263715667700 | +263782283975, or email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com, or visit website: https://mbofanatendairuben.news.blog/
After recognizing me as the author of articles she regularly reads, she shared her grievances about the ongoing government crackdown on informal businesses, ostensibly in search of smuggled goods.
The operation, launched recently by President Emmerson Mnangagwa's administration, claims to target the smuggling of illicit items such as basic groceries and second-hand clothes.
Just yesterday, the government pledged to intensify this multi-agency operation against small businesses and cross-border transport operators involved in "smuggling and unethical business practices".
Measures include 24-hour roadblocks along major highways, impromptu inspections, and demands for documentation proving that stock was imported legally.
The operation also targets businesses indexing prices to parallel market rates and selling counterfeit or unlabelled goods.
To directly receive articles from Tendai Ruben Mbofana, please join his WhatsApp Channel on: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaqprWCIyPtRnKpkHe08
Spearheaded by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the task force involves the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the Consumer Protection Commission, and other law enforcement agencies.
The lady described how many informal traders have seen their products confiscated, and themselves charged, for selling smuggled goods after failing to provide proper documentation.
As a result, numerous small businesses have been forced to shut down, leaving many without a livelihood in an economy where unemployment is over 70%, and survival depends heavily on the informal sector.
While I firmly believe in upholding the rule of law as a foundation for any country's development, this approach raises serious concerns.
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube argues that smuggling undercuts compliant businesses by bypassing duties and taxes, creating unfair competition.
He contends that the operation will close revenue leakages, reclaiming approximately $1 billion annually lost to smuggling and boosting development in infrastructure, healthcare, and education.
This argument, while logical, exposes glaring inconsistencies in the government's priorities.
While the loss of $1 billion annually to smuggling is significant, the government's own data and reports suggest far greater losses from the smuggling of natural resources, particularly minerals like gold, diamonds, and lithium.
Zimbabwe reportedly loses $3 billion annually to smuggling and undervaluation of these resources.
In fact, renowned economist Eddie Cross revealed that Zimbabwe has produced over $30 billion in raw diamonds since 2008.
Yet, official statistics on the country's diamond revenues remain conspicuously absent, highlighting limited transparency and inconsistent reporting.
Zimbabwe, despite being the seventh-largest diamond producer globally, has failed to translate this natural wealth into economic prosperity.
For instance, the country produced approximately 4.5 million carats of diamonds in 2022, a 7.14% increase from the previous year.
However, the revenue from these sales remains unclear, with allegations of mismanagement and looting casting a long shadow over the industry.
Villagers in Marange, home to the diamond fields, have frequently protested against the opaque handling of diamond revenues.
These issues are not limited to diamonds.
Minerals such as gold, lithium, coal, and black granite are being smuggled out of Zimbabwe daily, often by foreign companies, particularly Chinese-owned entities.
Despite a 2022 government ban on the export of unprocessed lithium, reliable reports indicate that truckloads of lithium continue to cross the border into Mozambique.
This smuggling has left Zimbabwe impoverished, with 70% of the population living in poverty and half surviving on less than $2.15 per day, the international poverty line.
The consequences of these illicit activities are devastating.
Zimbabweans endure collapsing healthcare, with thousands of women dying annually from preventable diseases like cervical cancer due to inadequate diagnostic and treatment facilities.
The Cancer Association of Zimbabwe reports over 2,000 deaths from cervical cancer each year, while another 2,500 women die during childbirth because of poor maternal healthcare.
The education system fares no better.
Rural schools lack basic learning materials and qualified teachers, leading to repeated zero percent pass rates.
This systemic failure condemns an entire generation to hopelessness.
Chronic malnutrition affects 23.5% of children, and over half a million suffer stunted growth.
Many families cannot afford three meals a day, normalizing hunger for countless Zimbabweans.
Despite these dire conditions, the government prioritizes cracking down on small businesses rather than addressing the smuggling of minerals worth billions.
Where is the same enthusiasm from the Ministry of Mines, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, and other agencies in combating these massive losses?
Why is there no aggressive operation targeting the powerful individuals and corporations enabling this looting?
The government's approach appears selective and unjust.
Small retailers, struggling to survive in a collapsing economy, are easy targets for the authorities, while the wealthy and powerful enjoy impunity.
If the Mnangagwa administration were genuine in fighting smuggling, it would target those at the top of these mineral smuggling syndicates with the same zeal as it does informal traders.
Instead, this operation against small businesses feels like a bullying tactic, deepening poverty for those already marginalized.
Ordinary Zimbabweans, trying to survive in an economy destroyed by those in power, are being pushed further into destitution.
Meanwhile, the ruling elite and their foreign collaborators amass untold wealth.
This double standard reflects the Mnangagwa regime's cruel disregard for ordinary citizens.
If the government were serious about economic recovery, it would channel its energy toward curbing the smuggling of natural resources.
Reclaiming the billions lost annually could fund critical development projects, improve healthcare and education, and restore hope for Zimbabwe's future.
Until then, the crackdown on small businesses will remain a hollow gesture, exposing the government's misplaced priorities and its complicity in the very smuggling it claims to fight.
The prosperity of Zimbabwe lies in addressing these systemic issues, not in scapegoating the powerless while protecting the powerful.
© Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to WhatsApp or Call: +263715667700 | +263782283975, or email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com, or visit website: https://mbofanatendairuben.news.blog/
Source - Tendai Ruben Mbofana
All articles and letters published on Bulawayo24 have been independently written by members of Bulawayo24's community. The views of users published on Bulawayo24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Bulawayo24. Bulawayo24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.
