We in the Zimbabwe Social Democrats call on the Paris
Club, IMF, WB and all the other Financial Institutions and governments all over
the world, particularly the Chinese, to stop extending financial assistances to
the Zimbabwe government until President Mugabe has implemented meaningful
democratic reforms.
The Zimbabwe is facing a serious economic meltdown,
unemployment has soared to 90% and government is failing to pay its workers let
alone pay for other necessities like consumables for hospitals and schools. The
economic situation is clearly unsustainable.
It should be noted that this situation is of government’s
own making following decades of gross mismanagement, corruption and lawlessness
that have destroyed the country’s robust and promising economy it inherited at
independence in 1980. President Mugabe’s regime borrow heavily during the first
twenty years of our independence to fund its reckless spending and yet had very
little to show for it.
The country’s debt ballooned to $10 billion and only stopped
growing when the international financial institutions like the Paris Club, IMF,
WB and individual nations in government to government funding stopped granting
the Zimbabwe government more financial assistance because Harare was failing to
service its existing debts.
There is increasing talk of IMF, WB and Paris Club
renewing financial assistance to the Zimbabwe government. Tomorrow, 30 June
2013 a Zimbabwe government team led by Minister of Finance, Right Honourable
Patrick Chimanasa, will be attent a Paris Club Conference in France to discuss
the details of re-engagement.
We believe the Paris Club, IMF, WB and all the other key
players are asking the Zimbabwe government to pay off all the outstanding
interest changes on the existing debt, a sum of $1.8 billion. As noted above,
the Zimbabwe government is failing to pay civil servant wages and so will never
raise the $1.8 billion from its own sources. The regime is set to borrow the
$1.8 billion so it can be allowed to borrow even more to pay for its bloated
recurrent expenditure.
There is no evidence on the ground to suggest the Zanu PF
government has abandoned is reckless spending, mismanagement and corruption of
yesteryears that landed the nation in this financial and economic crisis.
The is no evodence of the Paris Club, IMF, etc.,
demanding an undertaking by this Zanu PF to carry out meaningful economic
reforms to ensure the renewed financial assistance is used well and not end up
increasing the national debt with nothing to show for it as before. If the
Paris Club was to demand an end to corruption, for example, the country would
be able to pay off its entire $10 billion debt straight away. President Mugabe
admitted in March that $15 billion of Marange diamond wealth had been looted!
We in the Zimbabwe Social Democrats believe the only sure
way to deliver meaningful economic recovery is by ensuring Zimbabwe has a
competent government that can be trusted to tackle the economic problems of
mismnagement and corruption that are killing the Zimbabwe economy. The only
sure way to get a competent government is by ensuring the country has free,
fair and credible elections.
During the 2008 to 2013 GNU, Zimbabwe had the political
opportunity to ensure the next elections are free and fair, all the MDC party
led by Morgan Tsvangirai had to do was implement the agreed democratic reforms.
Sadly, after five years not even one reform was implemented and so President
Mugabe was able to blatantly rig the 2013 elections and stay in power.
Since the 2013 elections the country‘s opposition parties
have promised to implement the reforms so the next elections in 2018 will
finally be free and fair and produce the competent and accountable government
the nation solely need. Sadly this has not happened.
This week Tendai Biti, himself a former MDC Minister of
Finance in the GNU, admitted that no reform will be implemented before the next
elections. So, unless there is some other way of pressuring Zanu PF to accept
political reforms, Zimbabwe is set for yet another Zanu PF rigged election.
The only other viable way of forcing Zanu PF to accept
political reforms is what we have right now – the worsening economic situation.
The regime must be told in no uncertain terms that the only way to end the
soaring unemployment, cash shortage, etc., is by implementing the democratic
reforms and have free and fair elections.
What the Paris Club, IMF, etc.,are offering by opening
the taps for new funding is allow this Zanu PF regime to resume its reckless
spending, increase the national debt burden without delivering any real
meaningful economic recovery. The arrangement will certainly buy Zanu PF time
to keep the economy ticking to the next elections which the party can rig and
secure another five years in power.
What the people of Zimbabwe need is an end to the
economic and political chaos that has cause so much suffering and misery and
deaths. They need a cure to the present corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical
system of government and implementing the reforms is that cure. They would be
better off enduring another year of the present economic meltdown or whatever
it takes to force this Zanu PF regime to accept meaningful political reforms than
take the painkillers Paris Club and friends are offering
There is no doubt
whatsoever that renewing financial assistance to this corrupt and oppressive Zanu
PF regime at this point will help the regime avoid the pressure to implement meaningful
political reforms whilst increasing the nation’s debt burden. We, in the Zimbabwe
Social Democrats, therefore call upon the Paris Club and their friends to ask themselves
whose interests they are serving in granting financial assistance to President Mugabe
because it is certainly not the interests of the long suffering people of Zimbabwe.
Signed
Wilbert Mukori
Secretary General
Zimbabwe Social
Democrats.
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