When the then Minister of Finance, Bernard Chidzero, introduced the 1990-1995 Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) he assured the people adjustment was routine and necessary in gearing the nation for great economic prosperity. However, during the adjustment period the people would be required to make some sacrifices and “tighten they belts”.
Welfare policies such as free health and education, price controls, etc. were scrapped and the ordinary people suffered.
The Minister never doubted for a minute that ESAP would NOT deliver the economic recovery he projected. The Zanu PF controlled public media went into overdrive praising the regime and its implementation of ESAP. Everything good that happened was attributed to ESAP and was given as proof the programme was working. Everything bad that happened was swept under the carpet, it never happened.
By the end of the 1995 it was clear the much talked about economic recovery did not happen, the economy was still as sick as a parrot, and so ESAP mark-2, with even deeper cuts, was prescribed. The people were once again forced to tighten their belts even further. ESAP mark-2 too failed to revive the economy which has continued in its free fall to this day.
All the Ministers of Finance, since Bernard Chidzero, have come up with anything as ambitious as ESAP; they were all content to president over the country’s chaotic economic decline. That changed with the appointment of Professor Mthuli Ncube as Zimbabwe’s Minister of Finance; the country was back to boasting about economic prosperity, “upper middle-income status by 2030”, Ncube promised. But before we can enjoy the economic prosperity we had to endure hardships, “austerity before prosperity”, he said.
“Zimbabwe is on a journey of reform. Nobody ever said it wouldn't be a bumpy ride; but the most important thing is that the journey has begun, and we are heading in the right direction,” boasted Minister Ncube in his recent running commentary.
“The Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP), the first step of government's economic reform programme, was launched in October 2018. Its goal was clear: To stabilise the economy, attract investment and lay the foundation for shared and sustained growth.
“The overall picture so far is one of cautious optimism, largely based around the effectiveness of our measures to balance the budget.”
“The Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP), the first step of government's economic reform programme, was launched in October 2018. Its goal was clear: To stabilise the economy, attract investment and lay the foundation for shared and sustained growth.
“The overall picture so far is one of cautious optimism, largely based around the effectiveness of our measures to balance the budget.”
All nonsense! The truth is the programme has failed to stabilise the economy as seen by the return of the dreaded hyperinflation, for example. Zimbabwe’s inflation rate soared to 500 billion percent is 2008 and was only brought under control by the scrapping of the Z$. And ever since inflation has remained below 10% until Ncube’s appointment. Inflation has surged from 50% to 80% in the last two weeks alone and signs are the crazy days of 2008 are back again.
Minister Ncube has failed to attract any investors and lenders. He used to fly in and out of USA to secure credit line funding from IMF and WB but failed to get even one single dollar.
Professor Ncube’s economic programme was doomed to fail just as Dr Chidzero’s ESAP was too doomed to fail; the two programmes targeted the poor to tighten their belts whilst the filthy rich ruling elite, responsible for the criminal waste of the nation’s resources, were left to carry on. Professor Ncube’s 2% tax on all electronic transactions, for example, targeting the unemployed vendors, poorest of the poor who paid no income tax. He has done nothing to tax the billions of dollars looted from diamonds much less stop the looting. Ncube, just like Chidzero before him, has done nothing to reduce the top-heavy public sector, cut the chefs’ generous salaries and allowances, etc.
By rigging last year’s elections Zanu PF confirmed Zimbabwe is still a pariah state.
As long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent and vote rigging thugs the country’s economic meltdown will only get worse and economic recovery will remain a mirage.
Zimbabwe's autocratic system has stifled debate and democratic competition allowing the regime to implement such programmes as ESAP and TSP without serious scrutiny and hence the reason some of the foolish mistakes in the former are being repeated in the the later.
“Of course, as all Zimbabweans know, it has not been all plain sailing. The inflationary pressures we have faced have caused uncertainty and pain, and we have made dealing with this our number one concern. To address this, we have pushed ahead in our efforts to narrow the fiscal deficit and slow down money supply growth, and we project inflation to slow down to below 10% by the end of the year,” said Minister Ncube.
It is not impossible to rein in the supply of money, etc. and bring down inflation to 10% by the end of the year. Still, one has to ask what did you accomplish by cutting it lose these last eight months.
But more significantly what are you, Minister Ncube, going to do to end corruption and to lift the pariah state curse? Because as long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state ruled by corrupt and vote rigging thugs your promise to attract investors and lenders and revive the economy will remain a pipedream.
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13 protestors were reportedly killed when Sudan’s security forces stormed a protest camp in the capital, Khartoum to drive them out.
The soldiers are said to have fired at unarmed protestors, intending to drive them out of the camp which was the epicentre of the protests that brought down Omar al Bashir.
The people of Sudan must stand firm in demanding civilian rule and even when they get their wish the must make sure the civilian representatives do not sell-out. In Zimbabwe the people risked life and limb to elect MDC leaders into power only for the party to sell-out!
ZANU PF Youth league’s 55 year old leader, Pupurai Togarepi has issued a stern warning to those planning to protest against government saying the party’s youth wing will not watch the country’s detractors create anarchy.
Togarepi said this in a televised interview with the state media.
As long as the economic meltdown continue to get worse, we can be certain that the people will come out and protest, they will not suffer and die in silence like sheep in a slaughter house!
When there is regime change, people like Togarepi must be asked to explain their threat. Zanu PF youths, war veterans and other thugs have no constitutional powers to maintain security and their role has always been that of lawless thugs imposing their will on the defenceless masses.
You have failed to bring economic stability, to attract investors and lenders and there will be no meaningful economic recovery as long as Zimbabwe remains a pariah state.
You continue to pretend Zanu PF is a legitimate regime but only because you like being called Minister and that is what you care about above the common good! I hope you will pay for your role in dragging the nation into this mess!
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has ranked Zimbabwe as having the second highest rate of inflation in the world in 2019
Zimbabwe’s currency the RTGS$ has been losing value and on Friday Morning was trading at around $ 100 = RTGS800 against the United States dollar on the parallel market.
We are back to the hyperinflation years again!
In a report released on Friday, the IMF said Harare authorities pledged to only borrow RTGS$400 million from the central bank in 2019, down from RTGS$3 billion last year.
The treasury will also cut the government’s salary bill to 67 per cent of the budget, down from 79 per cent last year and slash the budget deficit to 4% of GDP, in line with earlier projections, the IMF added.
This is just an Alice through the looking glass wish list!
There are somethings in which we can agree to differ but there are others over which we differ but at our own peril. We can agree to differ on matters of opinion, for example, but not over truths and facts. We have to agree what are basic human rights and what are privileges.
Denying others their basic human rights such as the right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country and even the right to life itself is a serious matter and a threat to justice, peace and prosperity of the individual and the nation at large. Those who therefore dismiss the denial of other's basic rights as no more than denial of privileges are themselves a threat to justice, peace and prosperity of the individual and the stability of nation.
Of course, people like Professor Mthuli Ncube, Newspaper mogul Trevor Ncube, Kirsty Coventry and many others working with this Zanu PF regime knows that Zanu PF is a party of corrupt and ruthless thugs who have ridden roughshod over the ordinary people denying them their human rights, dignity and even life itself. The regime offered them a prestigious and well paid jobs and in return they deny the human rights ever happened. Of course, Professor Ncube et al know Zanu PF blatantly rigged last year's elections but, to please their new lord and master, they pretend the elections were free, fair and credible.
I agree that Zimbabwe will never escape out of the political and economic mess the country is stuck in as long as the country remain a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent and vote rigging thugs. But if we cannot even agree human rights are important and must be defended by all what hope do we have of securing them. What hope is there of securing free, fair and credible elections if some who yesterday agreed this is a right worth dying for are today saying it is but a privilege not worth the candle!
We should not be fighting for freedom and basic human rights today, these should have been secured and guaranteed for all Zimbabweans on 18 April 1980. We are fighting for these things because Mugabe and Zanu PF betrayed the ordinary people, usurped their power and rights to instituted a de facto one party dictatorship.
Our fight to end the dictatorship should have succeed decades ago where it not for Zanu PF apologists and opportunists who, for thirty pieces of silver, have sided with the regime to undermine the effort of those fighting for change. Of course, it is tedious and disheartening to be talk to someone pretending they do not know what constitute free, fair and credible elections. Someone who dismiss all the evidence of the flaws and illegalities in the election process because they choose to do so!
Zimbabwe is in this economic and political mess because the country is a pariah state ruled by corrupt and vote rigging thugs. Even hardliners like Mnangagwa and his fellow November 2017 coup plotter accepted this reality and hence the reason they promised to end corruption and to hold free, fair and credible elections. The whole "Zimbabwe is open for business!" clarion call was grounded on the ethos that the coup transformed Zimbabwe from a pariah state into a democratic and dynamic "new dispensation".
By blatantly rigging last year's elections and Mnangagwa has himself admitted that he has failed to end corruption and thus proving Zimbabwe has not changed. There are those, like Professor Mthuli Ncube, who continue to bury their heads in the sand and pretend the elections were free, fair and credible and Zimbabwe is indeed open for business and the country is way on its way to economic recovery and prosperity. After 39 years of pretending Zimbabwe is doing well when it is sinking it is insane to let this madness continue one more day!
Zimbabwe's economic recovery and political stability depends on the country ending the curse of rigged elections once and once for all. We need to implement the raft of democratic reforms that MDC and Zanu PF were asked to implement during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. Until this is done the nation will accomplish nothing of substance. Nothing!
@ Chimupwisi
Even if the regime manages to resist the temptation of increasing the supply of the RTGS$ and thus contain inflation as it did post 2008 this will not be enough to guarantee economic recovery. The regime must do something to end corruption and the country's status as a pariah state if we are to attract investors!
Zimbabwe's economy is in a mess and the root causes are decades of gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and cuss lawlessness that has made it impossible to do business. Zanu PF has used sanctions as scapegoat for the economic meltdown and hence the reason why the economy has continued with its nose dive.
General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s announcement came the after Sudan’s military forcefully broke up a weeks-long sit-in outside Khartoum’s army headquarters calling on the country’s ruling generals to hand over to civilian rule, leaving more than 30 dead.
“The Military council decides on the following: cancelling what was agreed on and stopping negotiating with the Alliance for Freedom and Change, and to call for general elections within a period not exceeding nine months,” Burhan said in a statement broadcast on state television early on Tuesday.
This is very sad and tragic for Sudan and the people of Sudan. Sudan had the opportunity to reset the clock and end the decades of misrule by tyrants and restore the people’s power.
Over 60 people have been killed and 300 injured.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa's government has been condemned for signing into law a bill that prohibits workers from engaging in industrial action before exhausting internal channels of negotiation.
This is no surprise, Zanu PF has failed to come up with any policies to end the country's economic meltdown and the regime knows that the next street protest may be the last to end the regime's rule. Mnangagwa is in a panic but no matter what the regime does it will not stop regime change just as the regime has stopped to end the economic meltdown.
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