“They say you can only know the true state of a car when you lift its bonnet and look inside. And so it was back in September, when I was appointed Minister of Finance, and got to take a look at the true state of our nation's finances,” wrote Finance Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube.
It is not everyone who claims to be a car mechanic who knows what they are doing. It is not all who see who perceive and it is not all who hear who understand. Yes Minister Ncube, you opened the bonnet, looked inside but sadly came up with the wrong diagnosis and thus wrong cure.
“The budget deficit was huge, and growing at a rate of hundreds of millions of US Dollars per month, causing spiralling domestic debt and inflation with negative spillovers to the rest of the economy,” continued Minister Ncube.
“If we were to have any chance to resurrect the Zimbabwean economy and build a better life for the people of this country, we would have to take tough decisions, and fast. What was required was to cut unnecessary spending, while at the same time seeking new revenue sources.
“One of the key elements of our strategy to get our finances back on track was the Intermediated Money Transfer Tax (IMTT), popularly referred to as the 2 percent Tax, which we introduced six months ago in October 2018, to replace the previous flat tax of 5 cents per transaction.”
What touch decisions did you make to cut unnecessary spending such as the endless and expensive overseas trips for health care, begging, etc. by the ruling elite? The minister was himself on the high power entourage accompany President Mnangagwa on the 10 day jaunt to Asia and Europe in January 2019 in a hired 787-8 Dreamliner Jet costing the nation US$25 million.
Indeed, Mnangagwa announced the150% fuel increase, tough on the impoverished majority, before jumping on the luxury jet. When the people protested the fuel increase, the regime ruthlessly crashed the protests.
The 2% tax Minister Ncube is boasting about above, was specifically targeting the 90% unemployed who were not paying income tax. Most of these people are subsisting as vendors earning a misery US$30 per month or less in a country with the Poverty datum line set at US$ 650 per month. Minister Mthuli Ncube wanted his cut from their meagre earning, his pound of flesh, just like the William Shakespeare’s Shylock.
“Government policies in Zimbabwe are worsening the country’s economic crisis, causing immense hardship to those less well-off, and crushing the human rights of those who dare complain, a group of UN experts* has warned,” report The Zimbabwean, quoting the ReliefWeb.
“We are gravely concerned that, as the situation in Zimbabwe deteriorates, the Government is pushing people further into poverty,” the experts said.
“We are not aware of any Government measures to provide even minimal safety nets for those who are already living on an economic cliff-edge and who will suffer the most from these regressive policies
“The impact of economic reforms on human rights must be assessed against international norms and standards, in line with the Guiding Principles on human rights impact assessments of economic reforms.”
Zanu PF rigged last year’s elections, corruption is rampant in Zimbabwe, there is brutal repression, there is criminal waste of resources by the filthy few rich ruling elite who are not democratically accountable to the filthy poor masses, etc. These are economic and political realities behind Zimbabwe’s economic mess and anyone who thinks the country can ever achieve any meaningful economic recovery without addressing these problems first is naive.
Professor Mthuli Ncube has pointedly refused to accept the elections were rigged, that corruption is rampant, etc. He is naive but, worst of all, he is arrogant!
“In just six months, the 2 percent tax has helped us to cut the deficit, invest in vital infrastructure, and put aside a sizeable sum that is being used to mitigate the effects of Cyclone Idai,” boasted Minister Ncube.
“We knew that the actions we needed to take would not necessarily make us popular, but they were necessary nonetheless.
“I was comforted in this realisation by the wise words of Albert Einstein, who famously wrote that "What is right is not always popular and what is popular is not always right."
Minister Ncube, you are not Albert Einstein! Einstein’s ‘right’ was based on sound scientific observation and logic and even then he was accepted vigorous peer review of everything as a matter of cause. Ncube’s ‘right’ is founded on voodoo economic and blatant lies such pretending rigged elections were free, fair and credible.
Minister Mthuli Ncube, your economic policies are NOT popular because they are voodoo policies which are causing untold human suffering but for no real economic gain. After 38 years of the same voodoo economic policies it is an insult to be told policies are right when we know otherwise!
9 comments:
The 2% tax is hurting the poorest of the poor with no hope of any meaningful economic recovery as long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state ruled by corrupt and vote rigging thugs. Zimbabwe is a pariah state.
Einstein was right, "right is not always popular" but to apply this to these voodoo Zanu PF policies is nonsensical because we already know that the policies are not just wrong, they are down right foolish and impose on the nation by a tyrannical regime!
End of Empire (1985), Chapter 14: Rhodesia
Msvetov –available on youtube
http://spotlight-z.com/news/end-empire-1985-chapter-14-rhodesia/#comment-7551
It was the intensifying civil war that forced the stubborn white regime to give up power. It is the intensifying economic meltdown that is forcing Zanu PF to give up power. Unemployment has soared to dizzying heights of 80% plus, 3/4 of the people now live in abject poverty, most basic services such as supply of clean water and health care have all but collapse, etc. This is socially, morally and politically unsustainable.
If Zanu PF thinks that the people will suffer and die quietly like sheep in a slaughter house, the party is naive. The Zanu PF reign of terror has run its course and it will be swept aside. Mnangagwa knows that what is happening in Sudan will happen in Zimbabwe too, if is just a matter of when and not if!
End of Empire (1985), Chapter 14: Rhodesia
Msvetov –available on youtube
http://spotlight-z.com/news/end-empire-1985-chapter-14-rhodesia/#comment-7551
Zimbabwe's first elections were not free, fair and credible and Zanu PF leaders and everyone else involved in the 1980 elections have all readily admitted that this was indeed the case. The tragic reality for the country is that this was a curse that the nation has suffered from ever since. The nation has been stuck with a corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF regime for the last 38 years dragging the nation deeper and deeper into this economic and political hell-on-earth.
It was the intensifying civil war that forced the stubborn white regime to give up power. It is the intensifying economic meltdown that is forcing Zanu PF to give up power. Unemployment has soared to dizzying heights of 80% plus, 3/4 of the people now live in abject poverty, most basic services such as supply of clean water and health care have all but collapse, etc. This is socially, morally and politically unsustainable.
If Zanu PF thinks that the people will suffer and die quietly like sheep in a slaughter house, the party is naive. The Zanu PF reign of terror has run its course and it will be swept aside. Mnangagwa knows that what is happening in Sudan will happen in Zimbabwe too, if is just a matter of when and not if!
Ngarivhume, who is the leader of Transform Zimbabwe, was invited to lecturer on Christian leadership. He said leadership entails four critical components which when followed will deliver positive results. He said;
"Firstly, you need to establish a clear and distinct vision. Then secondly, you should be able to share your vision so that people will follow willingly. You cannot cheat, intimidate or threaten people to lead them as some are doing."
"Thirdly, you need to provide information and methods as to how your vision is to be fulfilled. Then lastly, leadership is all about coordinating and balancing conflicting interests of your people. Conflict resolution becomes very important to a leader."
This is a sick joke! Ngarivhume was one of the opposition leaders who did not even have the common sense to demand that ZEC should release the verified 2018 voters’ roll as demanded by the law. How can someone with no common sense then give a lecturer on leadership!!!!! I do not blame him for having no common sense, I blame those who invited him for them too clearly are idiots too!
Zimbabweans have not taken the problem of searching for quality leaders with the seriousness the matter demands. But until we do, this country is not going to get out of this mess!
"Remember this government has only been doing this since the 4th of October 2018. Most people forget that. That is when the TSP was launched; so you are evaluating us over a period of just six months," said Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube.
"Give us time. Give the policies time to work and we are going to see positive results of the policies. That is what the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) says."
Ncube's austerity measures, by rule of thumb, have failed as they have triggered steep price increases and acute shortages of basic commodities including fuel.
Zimbabwe is a pariah state ruled by corrupt and vote rigging thugs. As long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state, the country will never achieve meaningful economic recovery. Minister Ncube’s 2% tax is squeezing the few dollars from the poorest in society which doing nothing to stop the criminal waste of billions of dollars through corruption and mismanagement by the ruling elite. One does not need a degree in economics to see this will never work! It is infuriating that he is demanding the poor to endure this austerity another two years!
People are dying because they have no food, no medicine, no drinking water, etc. and he is not going to raise them from the dead! Death is too high a price for the nation to pay especially for voodoo economic policies we can see are not working and never will!
Long fuel queues have resurfaced all over the country and have irked citizens who have to stop their productive lives and spend the time queuing for the precious liquid.
Zimbabweans have taken to social media to vent their experiences at the fuel queues.
"I had a nasty experience at Rhodesville Puma today. They had fuel but there were two queues. One which was a frighteningly long one and a very short one. As a Puma card holder, I smugly joined the short queue. I had a rude awakening. They told me point blank: this queue is ONLY for "pre-paid" i.e. coupons." Journalist Brezh Mala recounted.
As long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state ruled by corrupt and vote-rigging thugs there is no hope of a meaningful economic recovery.
If the people of Zimbabwe are serious about ending the worsening economic meltdown complete with the myriad of shortages then we must do something to ensure Zimbabwe ends this curse of rigged elections and pariah state status. We need to make sure the country implements all the democratic reforms necessary for free, fair and credible elections. The only sure way to ensure the reforms are implemented is appointing an interim administration tasked to implement the reforms.
Zanu PF must be forced to step down to create the political space for the interim admin. Zanu PF rigged last year’s elections and so the regime has no democratic mandate to govern.
If Zanu PF is still in power in 2023, the party will rig that year’s elections guaranteed!
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube is travelling to the United States next week, but before then he will announce that the government is ready to pay out $53 million compensation to former white land owners displaced during Zimbabwe's fast-track land reform programme.
It is the first step in a slow reform process which President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government hopes will lead to the eventual lifting of United States sanctions on Zimbabwe
There is the little matter of Zanu PF rigging last year’s elections. The sanctions were imposed because of Zanu PF contemptuous disregard for basic human rights including denying people their right to a meaningful vote, property rights and even the right to life! Zanu PF blatantly rigged last year’s July elections and has since murdered 24 innocent civilians in its effort to silence all dissent to the rigged elections and worsening economic situation.
It is pleasing to see the regime is moving to compensate the former white farmers whose farms were seized by the regime and its cronies. The only compensation the millions of Zimbabweans whom the regime has denied the free vote want is for the regime to step down so the nation can finally implement the reforms designed to end this curse of rigged elections.
The regime is offering to pay the $53 million squeezed from the taxpayers in which the Zanu PF leaders who benefited from the seized farms will not contribute even one dollar. Asking the regime to step down and give up its dictatorial power will constitute a real sacrifice by the ruling elite. Zanu PF must not be allowed to cherry pick which human rights it will respect and which it will continue to deny.
Minister Ndlovu said it was folly for businesses to link price increases to the exchange rate as prices should be only be determined by inflation trends.
"Prices should not really be a reflection of the exchange rate. This is not a foreign exchange market we are talking about.
"We are talking about our economy and we are busy subjecting our people to abuse on this basis . . . we have this mentality of wanting to import everything so we want to price our products on what we believe will be the rate when one is importing," he said.
This is semantics, government is just looking for an excuse to introduce price controls to cover for its own failure to revive the economy. The truth is the economic meltdown is getting worse and these semantics are not going to change anything.
Zimbabwe is a pariah state ruled by corrupt and vote rigging thugs and as long as nothing is done to end this, the country’s economy will never recover. After 38 years of corrupt and tyrannical rule the Zimbabwe economy is now in ruins and the situation is socially, politically and morally unsustainable. The only way out is for Zanu PF to step down. Zanu PF will step down, of that we can be certain.
During his visit to Harare, Mr Vervaeke met Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi and Foreign Affairs and International Trade permanent secretary Ambassador James Manzou.
Minister Moyo said the meetings were both "frank and progressive".
"The visit was a good step forward. That is why all these special envoys who are coming from organisations such as EU are coming to engage Zimbabwe. It's a process and we believe we are going in the right direction.”
This is just Zanu PF spin, the re-engagement process has stalled. After Zanu PF rigged the elections, the process should be dead in the water, the only reason the EU is still talking to this pariah state is greed. EU countries like Belgium are keen to renew relations for the sake of joining other nations like China, Russia, Israel, India, etc. who have been looting Zimbabwe’s resources.
Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown has reached new depths of depravity. Unemployment has soared to 90%, basic services such as supply of clean water and sanitation have all but collapsed, etc. Even big referral hospitals like Mpilo and Parerenyatwa are running out of basic items such as bandages! The economic situation is now unsustainable and the only way out is for Zanu PF to step down.
The EU is re-engaging the region for no other purpose than to prop up this Zanu PF regime and frustrate efforts to get the regime to step down. The EU should know that this is morally and politically unacceptable!
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