One of the few things Professor Mthuli Ncube did as soon as he was appoint Zimbabwe’s Minister of Finance was to introduce the 2% electronic transaction tax. The tax was to raise some revenue from the country’s 90% unemployed who were not paying any income tax. The majority of these were vendors earning as little as US$ 40 per month.
These vendors should be on welfare and not to be helping government balance its books, especially when the same government was doing nothing to tax those earning millions if not billions for the wholesale looting much less do something to stop the looking.
In his recent $63,6 billion budget, Minister Ncube once again targeted the poorest of the poor.
"The current subsidy policy, whereby government funds the procurement of grain at market price and sell this to registered grain millers at subsidised price, has been open to abuse and placed a huge burden on the fiscus. At times, the intended beneficiaries do not enjoy the benefits of the subsidy from government," Ncube said in his budget statement.
"To address these distortions, government, will, with effect from January 2020 remove the existing grain marketing subsidies for maize and wheat that were being provided to grain millers through the Grain Marketing Board (GMB). The intervention will see GMB selling wheat and maize at market prices, with grain millers having an option to either import or purchase grain from GMB.”
The price of maize meal has already shot up to Z$100 (US$ 5) for 10 kg bag a fortune for family on US$ 40 per month. Once again the Minister has done nothing to held the poor! There are millions of Zimbabweans out there who are facing heart breaking economic hardships and when all is said and done this government is wholly responsible for their suffering and deaths because Minister Ncube and his team are responsible to the economic meltdown, hyperinflation, etc.
What makes the situation totally unacceptable is that all this tragic human sacrifice particularly by the poorest of the poor has all been for nothing as the desired economic recovery has never happened. Zimbabwe’s economic decline has been in steady decline for the last 39 years and that is not about to change.
Ever since Zimbabwe was first forced to reduce its excessive spending with the introduction of the country’s first Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP); Zanu PF has reduced government spending on the poor whilst the ruling elite loosen their belts! Whatever was saved the former was all soaked up by the later and more; no wonder the expected economic recovery never materialised.
As noted above, Minister Ncube economic policies have squeezed the last dollar from the poorest of the poor and yet he has done little to stop the jugular artery haemorrhage due to gross mismanagement and rampant corruption. And, worst of all, there was never a chance of any meaningful economic recovery whilst the country remained a pariah state ruled by corrupt and tyrannical vote rigging thugs. Of course, minister Ncube knew Mnangagwa rigged last year’s elections and thus confirming the country’s status as well established pariah state of long standing.
Of course, Professor Mthuli Ncube knew Mnangagwa rigged last year’s election making Zimbabwe a pariah state. Of course, he knew that the country’s set course of stead economic decline was certain to continue as long as the country remained a pariah state. He also knew that Zimbabweans were among the poorest of the poor so poor that many were already paying the ultimate price - paying with their very lives.
The minister knew the regime had head hunted him and other like him to give the corrupt, murderous and vote rigging regime a “human face!”
Above all, the minister knew all the negative things above and more and yet he still accepted the appointed because he could not say no the rock-star status, the generous salary and allowances that came with the job!
Successive Zanu PF government have been some of the most corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical regimes in human history and yet both Mugabe and Mnangagwa has never had any problems recruiting Zimbabweans professionals to spruce up the dictatorship’s tarnish image.
Zimbabwe love boasting about having “one of the highest literacy rates in Africa”. What is the point of being literate when one cannot benefit from all the wealth of knowledge out there? What is the point of being a Professor of one of the most illustrious Universities in the world when you lack the common sense to know taxing the poorest of the poor will not revive the nation’s economy especially when you doing nothing to end the criminal waste of resources through corruption!
1 comment:
Of course, Professor Mthuli Ncube knew, as did Kirsty Coventry, Trevor Ncube and all the other seemingly respectable Zimbabweans working for this Zanu PF dictatorship, that Mnangagwa and company rigged last year's elections and that the regime was still the same corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical pariah state of Mugabe days. They knew they were being asked to join the regime to spruce up it tarnished image. They had their eyes glued of the prestigious position and did not care they were propping up a corrupt and murderous dictatorship and thus undermining the fight to end the dictatorship.
Of course, Professor Ncube knew his economic policies were hitting hard the poorest of the poor and that the poor were being punished the harder because he could not tax the ruling elite - the untouchables.
Professor Ncube must know that the economic hardships he brought on is hitting the poor so hard they are now paying with their lives! Of course, he does not give a damn!
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