Opinion / Columnist
Chinamasa's letter to IMF proves Zanu-PF is set like concrete never to change!
02 May 2015 at 19:51hrs | Views
Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa's recent letter to the IMF promising reforms only served to confirm that this Zanu-PF regime is not serious about implementing the tough reforms necessary to end the serious economic crisis the nation is facing right now. The letter (available through a link on The Telescope website) made sorry reading it should carry a health warning, because one is bound to be depressed after reading it.
The reality is Zanu-PF are so set in their ways they are not going to change, the national economy is in free fall and they continue on their set course and talk about change knowing fully well they are not going to change.
The country's indigenisation law has no place in a civilized nation; Zanu-PF passed the law to bolster its sinking popularity in 2007. It was a reckless and irresponsible thing to do and should have been scrapped a.s.a.p. in the life of the GNU. And yet the law still remains on the statute and the regime continues to ditcher about scrapping it.
"The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act seeks to foster mutually beneficial partnerships between Zimbabwean and foreign investors. This Law, however, continues to be perceived as an obstacle to foreign investment purportedly for lack of simplicity," wrote Minister Chinamasa. In other words the regime is not convinced it is an obstacle!
The regime been promising to restructure the country's parastatals since way back in the mid1980s and it is still making the same promise to this day but, of course, doing nothing.
"We have started work on restructuring parastatals to reduce fiscal costs, improve accountability and service delivery. We have identified 10 state-owned enterprises that, after restructuring, will play a more important role in the implementation of ZIM ASSET," promised the letter.
Corruption in these parastatals has now become so rampant it is truly shocking. Last week there was a report of how the fat cats top managers in the National Railway of Zimbabwe (NRZ) are so well paid they are sending their children to Malaysia for school at NRZ expense. Meanwhile the lowly paid NRZ workers have not been paid their pittance wages for FIVE YEARS!
It is hard to see which parastatal has been "restructured" because they are full of stories of unparalleled avarice and greed by the few at the top whilst those at the bottom suffer all paid for by the long suffering public who poor or no service!
"Over the medium term, we expect that the timely and full implementation of our economic blue print, ZIM ASSET, would accelerate growth substantially," stated Minister Chinamasa's letter. ZimAsset is dead because the regime failed to get any donors to bankroll it, the Minister of all people knows that; so there is no plan to be implemented and therefore there will be economic growth.
The economy is sinking fast and this is therefore set to continue!
It is not surprising that the IMF stopped giving Zimbabwe any financial assistance back in 2 000. After 20 years of promises to restructure and reform that are never kept; they gave up. Minister Chinamasa returned from his recent begging visit empty handed; his letter told the IMF what they already know about this Zanu-PF regime it is set in its ways, it will not change!
The IMF, WB, the West and everyone else know Zanu-PF will never change, but it is none of their business to tell us Zimbabweans that much less what to do about it. We have to figure that for ourselves.
We need to address the serious underlying economic structural flaws in the Zimbabwe economy as a matter of urgency to stop the economic meltdown. It is naïve to expect President Mugabe and Zanu-PF to address these flaws; they lack the political will to do so because the regime is set in its ways.
If we are therefore serious about ending the economic crisis, we have to force Zanu-PF to step down. We have to demand change with the urgency and resolve the situation demands, so far we have not done this!
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Patrick Guramatunhu can be contacted at patguramatunhu@gmail.com
The reality is Zanu-PF are so set in their ways they are not going to change, the national economy is in free fall and they continue on their set course and talk about change knowing fully well they are not going to change.
The country's indigenisation law has no place in a civilized nation; Zanu-PF passed the law to bolster its sinking popularity in 2007. It was a reckless and irresponsible thing to do and should have been scrapped a.s.a.p. in the life of the GNU. And yet the law still remains on the statute and the regime continues to ditcher about scrapping it.
"The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act seeks to foster mutually beneficial partnerships between Zimbabwean and foreign investors. This Law, however, continues to be perceived as an obstacle to foreign investment purportedly for lack of simplicity," wrote Minister Chinamasa. In other words the regime is not convinced it is an obstacle!
The regime been promising to restructure the country's parastatals since way back in the mid1980s and it is still making the same promise to this day but, of course, doing nothing.
"We have started work on restructuring parastatals to reduce fiscal costs, improve accountability and service delivery. We have identified 10 state-owned enterprises that, after restructuring, will play a more important role in the implementation of ZIM ASSET," promised the letter.
Corruption in these parastatals has now become so rampant it is truly shocking. Last week there was a report of how the fat cats top managers in the National Railway of Zimbabwe (NRZ) are so well paid they are sending their children to Malaysia for school at NRZ expense. Meanwhile the lowly paid NRZ workers have not been paid their pittance wages for FIVE YEARS!
It is hard to see which parastatal has been "restructured" because they are full of stories of unparalleled avarice and greed by the few at the top whilst those at the bottom suffer all paid for by the long suffering public who poor or no service!
"Over the medium term, we expect that the timely and full implementation of our economic blue print, ZIM ASSET, would accelerate growth substantially," stated Minister Chinamasa's letter. ZimAsset is dead because the regime failed to get any donors to bankroll it, the Minister of all people knows that; so there is no plan to be implemented and therefore there will be economic growth.
The economy is sinking fast and this is therefore set to continue!
It is not surprising that the IMF stopped giving Zimbabwe any financial assistance back in 2 000. After 20 years of promises to restructure and reform that are never kept; they gave up. Minister Chinamasa returned from his recent begging visit empty handed; his letter told the IMF what they already know about this Zanu-PF regime it is set in its ways, it will not change!
The IMF, WB, the West and everyone else know Zanu-PF will never change, but it is none of their business to tell us Zimbabweans that much less what to do about it. We have to figure that for ourselves.
We need to address the serious underlying economic structural flaws in the Zimbabwe economy as a matter of urgency to stop the economic meltdown. It is naïve to expect President Mugabe and Zanu-PF to address these flaws; they lack the political will to do so because the regime is set in its ways.
If we are therefore serious about ending the economic crisis, we have to force Zanu-PF to step down. We have to demand change with the urgency and resolve the situation demands, so far we have not done this!
-------------
Patrick Guramatunhu can be contacted at patguramatunhu@gmail.com
Source - Patrick Guramatunhu
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