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Economic reform impossible under Zanu PF
By Crisford
Chogugudza
I AM one
of the many Zimbabweans living, working and studying in the United Kingdom
and grotesquely concerned about the fast deteriorating socio-economic
and political situation in Zimbabwe.
When the current crisis started a few years ago, there was a general feeling amongst the so called patriotic or brainwashed Zimbabweans that the crisis was temporary and a passing phase. The majority of the skeptics were resolute on the fact that the country was irretrievably moving in the wrong direction or political Siberia. It was the beginning of the death of a nation-state which no one in the world of order and sanity would dare deal with in its current form.
Those of us who talk about a turnaround of the Zimbabwean economy under the current corrupt, inefficient and lethargic administration are not only day dreaming but fooling themselves. To start with, the current administration does not uphold the basic qualities of an accountable and competent management team. Zimbabwe being an agrarian economy one would have expected the country’s policies to be tailor made to equip and support those that have the capability to develop agriculture.
What we have instead is a government that adopts a controversial land reform policy, which is least oriented towards supporting agricultural production. There is general consensus on the need for land reform, nobody disputes that. This chaotic land reform policy created a situation of accelerated poverty and disempowerment. The disposed commercial farmers have ostensibly been turned into near destitute and their former labourers now live in absolute poverty.
The once very vibrant farms are now derelict. To make matters worse the few viable commercial farms lefts continue to be senselessly invaded by the Zanu PF big wigs and top brass of the ruling elite. No body sensible and responsible is doing anything about it. Dr Gideon Gono the so-called technocrat with messaic attributes was brought in at a crucial time to revive the economy but in reality all that he is doing is ‘damage control’. His efforts however determined and credible they have been it is unfortunate that he has not succeeded a great deal. The reason why Gono has failed is not because of the alleged shallowness of his fiscal and monetary policies but because of lack of support and sabotage from within the ruling elite.
The poor Dr, honorary though, has struggled to keep government expenditure and inflation down. He has presided over the worst shrinking economy in recent times. His calls for fiscal discipline have fallen into deaf ears. The inflation rate now hovering between 400-800% is unheard of in economies outside war zones not even in the Germany of 1929. It is a shame that a pound which was worth about Z$100 only a few years ago is now worth Z$250 000 on the parallel market. Zimbabwe will soon be the first country to introduce new $1 million dollar denomination, honestly something is not right and should be corrected now.
We Zimbabweans in the Diaspora once revered for our high literacy rate among other accolades feel very embarrassed to even disclose our nationality. It appears there are people somewhere somehow who are benefiting from the chaos and socio-economic disintegration of the country. The reality on the ground as well as conventional wisdom point to the fact that not even the revered retired US financial guru Alan Greenspan, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Dr Gordon Brown nor divine intervention can save the Zimbabwean economy under the current administration. No book of economics based on either the US, Chinese, Japanese or Malaysian economic prudence applies to the current Zimbabwean economic malaise.
Any turn around of the Zimbabwean economy can only be brought about when the following among other issues have been adequately addressed;
* There is need for a complete reconfiguration of the geo-political situation in Zimbabwe by way of freeing more political space for the opposition and civil society.
* Restoration of the rule of law.
* Allow more press freedom by scrapping the draconian media laws operating in Zimbabwe today. Revered media personalities such as Trevor Ncube of the Zimbabwe Independent and a few others who are consistent campaigners for press freedom and civil liberties have been restricted by these ludicrous and dangerous laws.
These laws have made independent media practitioners prisoners of conscience in the country of their birth. Zimbabwe has become more dangerous to practice journalism than Iraq. The media should be allowed to exercise their democratic right of informing the majority of neglected Zimbabweans who have become subjects of a carefully orchestrated campaign to silence them. Those who use their pens and microphones to excesses can easily be dealt with by libel laws fairly in an impartial court of law not the court of public opinion largely dominated by partisan views influenced by state media.
The absence of press freedom has worsened the culture of silence in Zimbabwe. When people are scared to talk they become vulnerable to manipulation by the strong and dominant forces. Like what Dr Martin Luther King Jnr once said ‘Our lives begin to end the moment we keep quiet about things that matter to us’.
This is exactly what is happening in Zimbabwe today.
* Cross party efforts to re-engaging the international community with a view to co-operating with other progressive countries of the West with the capacity to guaranteeing our credit worthiness and acceptability in the progressive world. This may lead to the end of the painful economic sanctions in Zimbabwe today.
* Re-establishing positive relations with the international monetary network comprising the IMF, World Bank and other multilateral finance institutions paving the way for significant direct foreign investment. This could result in solving the foreign currency crisis in part.
* Adoption of progressive policies aimed at reviving and reinvigorating the economy.
* Establishing a non-partisan anti-corruption department staffed and headed by a neutral and respected senior judicial officer.
* Instilling a new culture of accountability, greater tolerance and acceptance in government. This may be interpreted as a process of re-socialization. This also involves the formal acceptance of people with divergent political and religious views bringing an end to the bi-polar political scenario existing in Zimbabwe today. Its unfortunate that the Zanu PF state machinery whose political experiment is fast becoming moribund has not realized the simple logic that by ostracizing and demonizing the opposition, they make it more popular amongst the rank and file.
The presumption of incompetence or doubt on the abilities of the MDC party president Tsvangirai has proved to be a tactical mistake as the majority of voting Zimbabweans fall in the same category of Tsvangirai’s educational frame. This denigration of Tsvangirai’s literacy level has had the effect of increasing his approval ratings as many people become both scared and skeptical of ‘Nutty’ professors and ‘super graduates’ whose political performance has been shameful and catastrophic over the years and there is overwhelming evidence to support this view. These people are better kept in University corridors where there ‘expertise’ is most wanted. They should not be allowed to practice politics because they confuse and complicate things for the common electorate. The history of ‘intellectual politicians’ in Zimbabwe has been pathetic.
* The adoption of a new home grown constitution reflective of among other things the background and history of Zimbabweans. However, this constitution will need to address issues such as who qualifies to rule the country, how they are elected and for how long. Of paramouncy is the creation of an impartial judicial system capable of making critical decisions for the benefit of the country not a particular individual or group of individuals. Equally important, the new constitution should be a product of all Zimbabweans irrespective of political affiliation. There is no need to convene a constitutional conference as all the evidence required to draft a new constitution can be obtained from the Government Constitutional Commission and the National Constitutional Assembly material gathered for the failed referendum in 2000. This effort can be spearheaded by impartial, competent and respected legal and political personalities whose only basic interest is the building of a new Zimbabwe nothing else.
Lastly and most importantly, there should be clear programme of action with regards to when the President is leaving office. Currently, there is mistrust amongst Zimbabweans as to when exactly the President calls it a day. The most worrying thing being that neither the government, Zanu PF party nor the President himself has addressed Zimbabweans particularly during this period of crisis as to when he is going and the plans for his succession. Succession is a taboo subject in Zanu PF’s Zimbabwe. All that people hear is that the President has told a CNN reporter in an exclusive interview not seen by many Zimbabweans or at a press conference in Malaysia or Addis Ababa that he intends to step down in 2008. The honest truth is that before the current crisis, the man did a lot for the country but cannot do much more and naturally as he is getting too old, lethargic and senile like most octogenarians. An announcement from the man to say the exact date he is going will undoubtedly help in the recovery process.
Cris Chogugudza
is a Zimbabwean social commentator based in London. He can be contacted
at chogukcris2001@yahoo.co.uk
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