The Economy is everyone's Responsibility

The Zimbabwean economy is facing some viability challenges due to vast array of negativities which are impacting on the macroeconomic environment. In that vein the Government has a mammoth task to defeat this predicament, though not insurmountable. Some of the factors affecting the economy are natural such as the impending drought due to erratic rains.

The prevalence of this natural calamity, spurred the government to take hyperactive measures to rescue the starving populations. Meanwhile, it is refreshing to note that some deserving families country wide are already receiving food hand-outs. As for the urban populations, millers are managing to access maize for making mealie-meal which is evidenced by the availability of the staple product in supermarkets.

The problem with natural disaster such as this bedeviling the country cannot be predicted easily. They normally catch people unaware. This comes to the country at a time when the over a decade long illegal sanctions imposed by the US and European Union governments have torn apart the national systems to the extent of forcing the nation to record negative growth for many years now. They caused excruciating pain to the local citizens who were forced to become economic refugees in the SADC region and beyond. An ugly economic recession ensued which forced industries to close down. This was precipitated by the decline of the local currency which was ultimately dumped. This resulted in massive job losses.

In spite the ploy and unbridled effort to defeat the regime, and cause anarchy in the country, the government remained resilient and committed to serving its constitutional mandate. In the face of all these militating factors, the government is managing to keep all its core systems up and running.

The recent delay by the government to pay civil servants' salaries gave an opportunity to government foes that felt that it was their prime time to feast over its failure. Fortunately, such erstwhile enemies of the state were shamed when the government managed to clear the back-log this week.

It is worth mentioning that resuscitation of the economy is everyone's responsibility which is not only confined to the government. The modern world is ruled by the principle of corporatocracy in which the business world is mandated to expand their business empires and create goods and services which are needed by the society while at the same they are making mega-profits. Before we turn to foreign direct investment, we need to focus at home and assess our capacity to transform our local economic landscape. In the process, the citizens will gain employment and rescue this unemployment taking a toll on the local people.

Local examples to that effect would challenge well performing corporates like Econet Zimbabwe. They have the capacity to diversify their business into needy areas such as the perennial loading shedding problems faced the nation. They can commit themselves to establishing new power generating stations which feed the national grid for the good of the whole nation. The same can also apply to similarly well to do local companies which can broaden their contribution to the economy.

Instead of being prophets of doom in this country, we need to deploy our energies towards positive ways of making our economy better. It is a pity that some of us take pride and comfort in denigrating our own situation with no practical input which can save us from further sinking into while we are watching.

 All Zimbabweans have a natural obligation to ensure that we work for the country to perpetuate the continuity of the nation state.