Opinion / Letters
Open letter to Finance Minister Ncube - Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
24 Sep 2018 at 07:18hrs | Views
You may remember the ever-popular Hollywood film Groundhog Day. (It seems to shown every day!) The film tells the story of a man who had to repeatedly relive the previous day until he finally learnt to live it properly. We fear you face the same predicament.
You must have learnt a lot in the few short weeks you have been in office - for instance that it is not as easy as you thought to ditch the odious bond money. And that the Herald's daily reports of mega-billions of dollars about to pour into the country are Groundhog news.
In fact, as you must be aware by now, things are getting worse by the day. The economy continues to deteriorate, prices rise inexorably and the difficulty of getting foreign exchange is ever more acute.
Reports of your visit to New York with President Mnangagwa say you favour a 'big bang' fiscal shock to spur a programme of economic reform, but fear being constrained by politics. Your fear is justified. The International Monetary Fund seems (every day!) to have offered to help Zimbabwe but Zanu PF (every day!) spits out the medicine it prescribes.
Next month sees the 16th anniversary of the weekly Vigil outside the Zimbabwe Embassy in London. During this time we have recorded in our diaries what has been going on in Zimbabwe. The diaries have been published in our book 'Zimbabwe Emergency'. Since you have not been in Zimbabwe for much of this time we are sending you a copy of this book so you can see what happened in your absence.
You will read, week by week, of the madness of Zanu PF in plunging the country into violence and destitution. Our view is that until the Zanu PF philosophy of smash and grab is expunged Zimbabweans in general will be unable to realise the riches endowed on our country.
If you glance through the book you will read of one disastrous mistake after another, from the chaotic land reforms to Murambatsvina, from the 2008 cholera epidemic and the collapse of the health system to the 2010 indigenisation law and Mugabe's bland statement in March 2016 that $15 billion had been looted from the diamond mines.
The lesson is that nothing changes under Zanu PF. Welcome to Groundhog Day.
You must have learnt a lot in the few short weeks you have been in office - for instance that it is not as easy as you thought to ditch the odious bond money. And that the Herald's daily reports of mega-billions of dollars about to pour into the country are Groundhog news.
In fact, as you must be aware by now, things are getting worse by the day. The economy continues to deteriorate, prices rise inexorably and the difficulty of getting foreign exchange is ever more acute.
Reports of your visit to New York with President Mnangagwa say you favour a 'big bang' fiscal shock to spur a programme of economic reform, but fear being constrained by politics. Your fear is justified. The International Monetary Fund seems (every day!) to have offered to help Zimbabwe but Zanu PF (every day!) spits out the medicine it prescribes.
Next month sees the 16th anniversary of the weekly Vigil outside the Zimbabwe Embassy in London. During this time we have recorded in our diaries what has been going on in Zimbabwe. The diaries have been published in our book 'Zimbabwe Emergency'. Since you have not been in Zimbabwe for much of this time we are sending you a copy of this book so you can see what happened in your absence.
You will read, week by week, of the madness of Zanu PF in plunging the country into violence and destitution. Our view is that until the Zanu PF philosophy of smash and grab is expunged Zimbabweans in general will be unable to realise the riches endowed on our country.
If you glance through the book you will read of one disastrous mistake after another, from the chaotic land reforms to Murambatsvina, from the 2008 cholera epidemic and the collapse of the health system to the 2010 indigenisation law and Mugabe's bland statement in March 2016 that $15 billion had been looted from the diamond mines.
The lesson is that nothing changes under Zanu PF. Welcome to Groundhog Day.
Source - Zimbabwe Vigil Diary
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