Principle, consistency and effective implementation

By Bernard Bwoni

What clearly distinguishes the ruling party from any other political entity in Zimbabwe is the party’s consistency to principle and it is this immersion to ideological probity that defines the ruling party. One of the obvious outcomes of firmly standing by principle and ideology is the conflict it generates with friends and foes alike. The ruling party in Zimbabwe has taken an honourable ideological stance on controversial but crucial policies such as the land reform, indigenisation and economic empowerment but this left the country isolated on some fronts and the economy heavily compromised. The bondage to doctrines, the many blueprints, the inconsistencies and the perennial habits without practical and effective implementation have unnecessarily exposed many of the ideological sacrifices to ridicule. Zimbabwe is well-known for producing excellent, well-drafted blueprints yet when it comes to implementation everyone seems to develop cold feet. It is the ideological and principle consistency that creates coherency in policy implementation. Zimbabwe has the ZIMASSET economic blueprint to execute, to drive up the country and translate ideology into tangible outcomes that will benefit the ordinary man, woman and child.

The worry is that the country seems deeply and consistently engrossed in petty political pickings at the expense of procurement for the nation as a whole. We are agreed that this is the post-congress period and focus now should be on driving up the economic blueprint to realise its undeniable full potential. The inconsistencies, the polarisation, the negativity, the lack of consensus and the constant political squabbling only put obstacles in the paths towards economic recovery and genuine prosperity. The fact of the matter is that ZIMASSET is a technical document and as such poses technical questions which require technical answers. It is the technical answers which will unlock the country’s true economic potential. These answers are going to be provided by the technical people and the processes are going to be driven by the politicians and policymakers. You cannot take the politics out of the economics or the economics out of the politics but for Zimbabwe to address the many debilitating economic problems the country is currently facing there is an urgent need to prioritise the economics.  This is in no way meant to say the politics is any less important.

The ruling party has to dismantle the pretences, the mirrors of inconsistency, the dishonesty, disharmony and the deliberate delays in demonstrating commitment to implementation of proposed programmes as rank and order indulge in petty political contretemps. Consistency of ideology and principle is a virtue in its own right and consistency in implementation is a virtue if put forward with practical application and by the letter of the law. The Indigenisation and Empowerment policies are Laws and Acts which have been passed through parliament. The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act was passed through an Act of Parliament in 2008. All potential investors to Zimbabwe are often confronted with some unhelpful headlines about the Act and its application. However investors into Zimbabwe should have very little if anything to worry about as the Act is clear in terms of objectives and intended outcomes as set out in the policy. For consistency sake those who seek clarification can do so simply by contacting the relevant ministry. The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, Chapter 14:33, Part II, Section 3, subsection (a) clearly states “The Government shall through this Act or any other law, endeavour to secure that “at least fifty-one per centum of the shares of every public company and any other business shall be owned by indigenous Zimbabweans”. The Law is very clear and the newly appointed Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Minister Christopher Mushohwe recently said that the Government of Zimbabwe would remain guided by the Law in the implementation of its indigenisation and economic empowerment programmes. That is the consistency that investors seek because from there any investor can simply read through the Act itself and seek clarification where required from Minister Mushohwe’s office.

The concern is that there is deceitful disinformation and sensational media headlines alleging inconsistencies from different government officials. This disinformation and misinformation are unhelpful and unnecessarily creates uncertainty and negative speculation which is not good for the country’s struggling economy. There are many erroneous reports doing media rounds that VP Mnangagwa recently said that Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment laws will ‘be scrapped next year’ when in fact what he was talking about is “getting rid of bureaucratic regulations that inconvenienced investors”.

 

There is policy consistency throughout on the indigenisation and economic empowerment programmes. The Vice President Mnangagwa and Indigenisation Minister Mushohwe are saying exactly the same thing and those who chose to interpret the two statements differently did so for whatever motives of their own. Mushohwe is talking about the Law of the land on Indigenisation and Economic empowerment and VP Mnangagwa was very specific about the essence of making the investment environment and process in Zimbabwe simpler and was pronouncing new policies that attract more investment into the country. It is not the ‘Law’ but the bureaucratic bungling which frustrates potential investors. The Law is the law and most if not all investors have not been blocked from doing business in Zimbabwe by law but by the intricate bureaucracy such as investors spending over six months consulting and going through the registration process. VP Mnangagwa was putting emphasis on dealing urgently with issues affecting business to put the economy back on the road to recovery by simplifying and expediting investment formalities.

The Indigenisation Minister Chris Mushohwe’s quest for a full list of all those who have benefitted from the policy so far is a welcome development as this will bring about clarity and transparency into the whole process. It is important to have a clear picture of who is actually benefiting from the policy and present areas for improvement. The key to the country’s economic recovery is being anchored on the ZIMASSET economic blueprint which needs to be followed by effective implementation, eradicating corruption, policy consistency and clarity, providing information on the investment policies and laws in the country and government speaking from the same page for clarity sake.

 

There is reason to be optimistic about Zimbabwe’s long term economic prospects and there is need to iron out some issues relating to inconsistency that have been unnecessarily slowing down the recovery. It is a fact that hope is the only thing that is stronger than fear. Now is the time for politics to give economic recovery the highest level of priority. The Zimbabwe economy can be salvaged easily with consistency, decisiveness and less emphasis on unnecessary and counterproductive political squabbles. The country is saturated with the ruling party’s intraparty politics and there is an urgent need for a shift towards intraparty economic dialogue to harness the experience and expertise of those in and outside of government to take on the challenges being presented. The fundamental problems crippling the country’s economy are well-known and well-documented, namely corruption, low capacity utilisation, unemployment, long term and short term structural deficits, negative perception and lack of confidence from some potential investors, lack of confidence in the finance and consumer sectors. There is no need to change the law but a simple change in tone can quickly change perception and increase confidence. Words are very powerful and need to be used with caution as they end up portraying the country in a negative light.

 

The priority is to address the problems head on and to target economic growth and reducing the numbers of those without formal work that is creating employment. The country’s economic growth needs to be over 6% to be able to catch up with lost capacity of the last fourteen years induced by sanctions and other factors already highlighted above. A strong growth of over 6% will help boost tax revenues and create jobs to be able to successfully reduce the current unsustainable government fiscal deficits. The country has to effectively balance solving short term and long term structural deficits. No one is questioning the importance of Foreign Direct Investment in world economies; however investment alone will not stimulate the economy. There is also a need for real demand for products and services provided there is readily available disposable income. Zimbabwe has the former but falls short on the latter. There is a great deal of uncertainty in the economy and wage constraints and how the country goes about addressing these is how the country is going to start emerging from the mire and mud.

 

Zimbabwe is indeed open for business and any potential investors should be approaching the relevant ministries with their queries instead of relying on some unhelpful media headlines. The government of Zimbabwe is very much open to constructive and mutually beneficial engagement and welcomes investors from any part of the world. The country’s Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Laws have often been misrepresented, misconstrued and misunderstood and that is unfortunate as Zimbabwe is such investor friendly country. The country has the right ideology, the right principles and now what is required is the right attitude to implementation of programmes. And for the implementation to be right the issues of corruption, consistency and coherency have to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

 

bernardbwn@aol.com/  bernardbwoni.blogspot.com

 

Economics and Political Maturity in Zimbabwe

By Bernard Bwoni

The recurrent themes from the Post-Congress administration are positive and pro-growth with the two Vice Presidents now having been sworn in, being upfront and getting stuck into the thick of things. VP Emmerson Mnangagwa has been talking tough about corruption and has said that there will be real consequences for those implicated in the degeneracy past and present follies. The Second Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko kicked off with a very positive call and government commitment to developing policies that support industrial growth which will go a long way in spearheading the country’s economic recovery. It is because of the rampant corruption and the curtailed industrial growth that the country’s economic revival after years of decline has been limited.

 

There is an emerging openness, humbleness and high level of political maturity when it comes to national discourse. The ruling party’s post-congress attitude is an inclusive approach to the Zimbabwe agenda and constructive dialogue on matters of national urgency. There have been a number of disturbing reports of some officials taking it upon themselves to act on behalf of the Vice President Mnangagwa to humiliate some officials they accuse of having sided with former VP Dr Joyce Mujuru. It is a state of affairs that party officials were being publicly humiliated in that manner. The Deputy Mines Minister Fred Moyo was forcibly removed from VP Mnangagwa’s celebration party in Zvishavane together with his brother. Again former Indigenisation Minister Francis Nhema and Former Minister of State in the President’s Office Flora Buka were blocked from greeting VP Mnangagwa at a recent state function in Chirumanzu. The concerning thing is that these ejections were carried out without the knowledge and consent of the VP himself. The behaviour of those who were publicly humiliating others is not good public relations at all. The VP himself has refused to be drawn into these petty antics of political immaturity. The line has to be drawn and people have to come to the realisation that the ruling party leadership is not for a select few but all Zimbabweans. President Mugabe is President of all Zimbabweans irrespective of religious, ethnic, racial or political affiliation and so are VP Emmerson Mnangagwa and Phelekezela Mphoko.

VP Mnangagwa showed magnanimity and humbleness expected of national leadership when he called Deputy Minister Moyo to apologise for the unwarranted and unsanctioned public humiliation. This is the kind of politics that national leadership should continue to embrace for the sake of expediency and national progression. When a child speak like a child, understand like a child, think like a child but when you grow into an adult put away those childish ways, grow up and do things differently. You wonder what benefit they derived from publicly shaming others. It is reassuring that VP Mnangagwa has made clear that past and present corrupt practices will be investigated and action will be taken. Those found guilty will be made to account for their indiscretions. This is exactly what the Zimbabwean electorate bargained their vote for, and this should be followed up by real action. There has to be consequences for those implicated and there are many of them. As Mnangagwa said “We do not have mercy on corrupt people”. Corruption is a drain on national resources, the selfish wants of a few over the needs of the nation.

 

The second VP Mphoko has been calling on government to develop policies that support local industries and develop the people of Zimbabwe. The tone from the Vice Presidents is sending the right signals to the business community which is crucial to the country’s economic revival. The talk of creating a conducive business environment and eradicating corruption is positive talk. The problem that has prevailed is letting corruption go unpunished and the perpetrators become even bolder as there have been no consequences for their misdeeds. The fact that the national leadership is talking action not just the talk about action must be lauded. It is because of corruption that many national processes are hampered. The combination of a politics of maturity which calls for constructive national dialogue, embracing all Zimbabweans, creating an environment where businesses local and international have confidence in the system and the commitment to uproot the decadence that is corruption.

bernardbwoni.blogspot.com

The politics of Sikhala's Facebook 'AIDS' diagnostic kit

By Bernard Bwoni

Opposition politics in Zimbabwe always falls short because of a number of niggling issues that require a lot of fine tuning before they can reach the standards required to govern. The main criticism against the MDC inclusive of all its fragments is the lack of an alternative shadow policy strategy and their tendency to point fingers and to always oppose just for the sake of opposing without presenting solutions or suggestions. The issue of political immaturity is what has been holding Zimbabwe back in a lot of ways. The political playing field in Zimbabwe is highly polarised, there is no consensus and there is inter-party and intraparty circumspection. There is an atmosphere of cynicism and criticism from the opposition on every decision made by the ruling party, even on clearly positive policies presented. The ruling party and opposition ideologies are miles apart but for the sake of the development of Zimbabwe both must engage in meaningful and constructive dialogue on national issues. It should not just be about opposing for the sake of opposing because it imposes limitations on execution of national programmes. There is need for a shadow strategy from the opposition and in some cases consensus on matters of national importance. There has to be a high level of maturity on the part of our political leaders for they represent all Zimbabweans.

“Tingaswera tichitevedzera zve AIDS dzana Biti idzo (We do not follow people like Biti who have AIDS). Do you think if I was such a sexual pervert like how your people created yesterday dai tisina AIDS sa Tendai Biti? We could have been looking miserable like him. It’s a fact that Biti has AIDS. He wanted to kill one of the current MPs in MDC-T in 2008. I am going to be merciless on this”. This was the flowery rant from the Facebook wall of an opposition leadership aspirant, a party which actually believes it is the alternative to the ruling party to address the country’s many challenges. Job Sikhala who is in the MDC-T leadership ranks was venting his anger at MDC-Renewal Secretary General Tendai Biti. Sikhala went on to pour even more colourful and highly-charged expletives which cannot be repeated due their graphic nature.

 

People do have a right to question the character traits of those who are intending on leading them and that is allowed. Remember when Mr Tsvangirai was challenged regarding his relationships which became public because that had a bearing on his ability to lead the country. His character was being brought into question. It is when people who are aspiring to office start engaging in online public displays of political immaturity as Mr Sikhala then you know you have genuine problems within some section of the opposition ranks. In as much as I do not subscribe to Biti’s politics the unwarranted and unethical attack on him leaves a very bad taste in local politics. In a country like ours where lives have been lost and families have been torn apart because of the ravages of the HIV and AIDS pandemic and for a public office aspirant to come out guns blazing and putting stigma right back on a disease which Zimbabwean society has worked so hard to demystify is just the highest level of political immaturity. The crude and rude remarks about AIDS had an undertone and were an indirect attack on those within our society living with the disease and those whose relatives had been touched by the killer disease. Sikhala refused to back down even when his ‘many followers’ questioned him and those who disagreed with him had more profanities hailed at them and reminded that he had ‘6613 followers. There was a sense of over-stating own importance bordering on childish behaviour. The man was unrepentant and refused to concede that his views on AIDS were not indicative of leadership material and did not cast a very bright light for the MDC-T. The hope is that these are his own views and not that of the party he represents and speak on behalf of as his remarks gives the impression that the MDC-T as a party views HIV and AIDS as a disease of ‘sexual perversion’ and that those who suffer from the disease have no place in Zimbabwe society.

The honest truth is that in Zimbabwe millions have been affected by the disease one way or the other, either themselves or family members. The AIDS pandemic has ravaged lives in Zimbabwe and Sikhala ought to be respectful to those who have been affected not ‘mercilessly’ mock them publicly. So what exactly is the MDC-T party position on AIDS which frankly is a national tragedy? Is it a disease of the promiscuous as Sikhala boldly puts it or national tragedy that has brought untold suffering to so many Zimbabweans? Politicians ought to be advocating and championing for the rights of those touched by this unrelenting disease instead stigmatising them further. The problem with some characters in the opposition is that they are still stuck in student politics activism and most likely never to come out it. They remain tainted by the naivety and immaturity of activism instead of taking the next step into the world of the mature of politics. These are the opposition figures who go round making counterfeit claims of violation of their own civil liberties yet goes on to publicly diagnose another man with AIDS on Facebook and threaten those ‘followers’ who found his utterances revolting.

 

This is one of the reasons why the opposition in Zimbabwe will always remain in the opposition ranks because of this level of immaturity. You start questioning the whole leadership of the party for including such twisted characters in their national structures. The downfall of the opposition lies in the inexperience and immaturity of those in their ranks. With such juvenile antics, the boastful over-stating of own importance, the slander and the petty pickings on online public forums completes the disastrous jigsaw. Many ‘followers’ were left in shock and feeling uneasy by the shallowness, the low show of morals and ethics and the irresponsible utterances by a representative of the opposition leadership in Zimbabwe. I could not care less for Tendai Biti’s politics but such unprincipled Sikhala tactics of hitting below the belt are unacceptable, disappointing and disgusting to say the least as the man failed to rise above the lowly, the despicable and unethical politics of name-calling.

bernardbwoni.blogspot.com

The 'simplicity', the duplicity and the realignment

By Bernard Bwoni

The murky and turbulent waters of factional politics within the ruling party have now calmed with an outcome that represents an epic ideological victory that is to shape the country. The events of the recent few months have been a sure test for the ruling party that posed a genuine threat against what really defines the ruling party and the ethos of the liberation struggle which had the potential for an unprecedented ideological implosion. Zimbabwe is still a very young nation and as such prone to developmental weaknesses and opportunities for growth. The internal and external threats, the inter-party and intra-party had the potential to cause a cataclysmic ideological unravelling and now that has been and is still being addressed. Some wayward individuals within the ruling party leadership ranks chose to bargain the ideology of party collectivism for personal ambition individualism. Many succumbed and compromised their own and the party ideals for self-preservation in preparing for political careers past a constitutionally elected leadership. Those who compromised party ideals to further personal agendas have now been left languishing on the wrong side of the political fence and rightly so.

The distorted psyche, the degenerate overtures, the hasty quest for political stardom, the greed and cover-up of financial felonies is what led to this loss of moral mettle and the advent of this cushy culture of impunity and invincibility. On their brief expedition towards personal power they ditched their party responsibilities for own personal ambitions. The Machiavellian menaces of factional and over-ambitious politics is what relegated these heroes-come-counterrevolutionaries to the edges of the ruling party ranks. They allowed themselves to go against the core values and ideals of the party and the party had no choice but redirect them and put them back in line. The mesmeric pre-Congress dramatic unfolding and the captivating conclusion to it all has brought about clarity and reassurances of a one united ruling party without any fissures from the tectonic activity of the recent few months. The former Vice President of Zimbabwe Dr Joyce Mujuru summed it up well when she said “Mind you I don’t know any other party other than Zanu PF and that’s my party. And I will die in Zanu PF.”

It is because of this political and economic elitism that those who lost their way drew their confidence from to run parallel structures to the tried and tested leadership of President Mugabe. It is only because of the rich history of the ruling party and the astute leadership of President Mugabe that the party was able to navigate the factional and treacherous political landscape that had been specifically designed by a select elite grouping of restless and over-ambitious simple-minded individuals who embraced machinations which have historically sought to undermine Zimbabwe’s quest for genuine political and economic emancipation. The simplicity stems from the fact that many in the ruling party have tried the very same before and have failed spectacularly. The colossal figures the likes of Edgar Tekere, Simba Makoni, Ndabaningi Sithole, Margaret Dongo just to name but a few have all taken that route to the exterior of the ruling party hoping for lone victories only to find themselves alone and instantly irrelevant. They should have known better surely.

The unsettled and over-zealous caucus within the ruling party quickly jumped on the bandwagon in anticipatory naivety and a misguided sense of entitlement to power by virtue of being on the vice side of things. This coterie of the muddled suffered tunnel vision and was built on simplistic ideas of self-preservation and accumulation and more accumulation. The treachery is derived from the fact that members of this subversive syndicate chose to indulge in unsanctioned associations and private unrecorded meetings with known agents of the regime change agenda in Zimbabwe and the marionette local opposition.  They sought to undermine their very own from within and something was definitely amiss with the over-familiarity with those elements that sought to destabilise and undermine Zimbabwe. The real problem with this counter-revolutionary clique is that they did not really stand for anything because by deviating from the principles and objectives of their party they ended up standing for nothing other than personal gains. The only outcome of their self-seeking activities was exposing the ruling party to the same schemes the local opposition has employed to effect regime change in Zimbabwe. The biggest mistake was excessive confidence in simple ideas that ran parallel to the body polity and the mistaken thinking that power was already in the bag. Any political party is bigger than its minute and individual pieces and that is the fate of all those implicated.

The fact that they embraced the opposition and agents and elements known to have continually pursued an illegal agenda truly undermined the validity of this grouping and was in effect undermining the ruling party ideology and Zimbabwe as a country. It is hard to stomach the fact that it was some revered liberation war heroes who chose to cuddle up to the erstwhile enemy they so exhaustively defeated during the prolonged liberation war struggle. They chose to sacrifice the country’s hard won sovereignty for a quick gateway to the top job in Zimbabwe. The realignment that has happened within the ruling party ranks has appropriately placed the accountability of the transgressions to those responsible. The ruling party has taken the right steps to counter the alleged sabotage and anyone anywhere else would have done the same. The realignment was necessary because even though those implicated belonged to the revolutionary fold they were working on the other side of the revolution and clandestinely seeking to derail the very same revolution. The ruling party has emerged from the ruckus and fracas even stronger and united contrary to pre-congress speculation of a fragmented and weak party. The main thrust now that the party has rid itself of the internal counter-revolutionaries is the country’s frail economy. The two Vice Presidents and the whole team are in place and there is clarity in terms of rank and order.

bernardbwoni.blogspot.com

Rostrum for Zimbabwe’s economic transformation

By Bernard Bwoni

The recently announced budgetary statement was pro-poor and in a lot of ways focusing on enhancing and facilitating the strategic agriculture sector and other key ZIMASSET clusters. The Presidential Input Scheme aids and anchors the Food Security and Poverty Alleviation Clusters of the economic blueprint. The hard fact is that Zimbabwe is on the inevitable road towards recovery and the recent realignment and reshuffling within the ruling party following Congress only confirms this.

Crucially the Presidential Inputs Scheme is benefitting around 1.6 million households throughout the country for the current agricultural season. This strategic scheme targets maize, small grains and livestock which are important for the country’s food security and national self-sufficiency. At the time of announcing the budget Minister Chinamasa pointed out that so far a total of US$10.5 million had been raised and the procurement and distribution of seeds is underway through the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) Depots nationally. These are positive and proactive initiatives on the part of the government to stimulate agricultural growth as this ensures that seeds are readily and timely available at the start of the planting season. It is from an agricultural base that the country’s economic revival will stem from. The government has been innovative in supplying the input supplies through a mixture of the issuing of treasury bills to settle previous obligations amounting to US$30.9 million.

The last agricultural season of 2013/14 has been a resounding success with impressive delivery of grain to the GMB and this was premised on the backdrop of an excellent rainy season and the Presidential Input Scheme. Over 220,348 metric tonnes of maize was delivered to the GMB compared 81,190 metric tonnes and 33,273 metric tonnes in the two previous season respectively. The 220,348 metric tonnes is enough for national self-sufficiency and stockpiling. It is important to note that over the past six agricultural seasons Zimbabwe has been rated first in the AU countries for meeting cereal production demands.

One of the key stumbling blocks to the revival of the agriculture sector has been access to financial resources in particular the small-scale and newly resettled farmers. The government has been proactive and made good progressive in terms of facilitating resources mobilisation from the country’s financial institutions. The Prescribed Asset Status (PAS), the Liquid Asset Status, tax exemptions and government guarantees are some of the key strategies the government has been pursuing to ensure that the agricultural financing institutions more willing to fund the sector.  The banking sector has so far this agricultural season mobilised in excess of US$1.093 billion for farmers to access working capital under a number of available credit schemes and so far support for contract farming arrangements for the 2014/15 season are in place through the Agricultural Market Authority to the tune of US$21.4 million. This is covering 12,075 hectares for maize, 6,224 hectares for soya beans and 31,680 hectares for cotton.

In the past farmers have struggled paying back loans and this has made the financial institutions very sceptical and reluctant to provide new lending to farmers. This has in turn has had a negative impact on agriculture and productivity. The government is now ensuring certainty of repayment through an efficient Stop Order System which help address the challenges relating to farmers avoiding paying through side marketing. Robust recovery systems which guarantee financial institutions that farmers will repay have now been put into place. The Bankers Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ) is currently developing and making arrangements for the re-establishment of the Stop Order System with the support of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and The Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development. The government has been encouraging Contract farming arrangements between farmers and cotton merchants through the continuation of the Buying Quota System for contracts introduced in the 2013/14 season to limit side marketing of contracted cotton which will also support loan recovery and the sustainability of bank funding for cotton production. These are all positive strategies to rebuild trust with the lending institutions.

The government has been keen to induce productivity in agriculture via joint ventures with interested parties. The government of Zimbabwe owns expansive estates of good agricultural land nationally through the Agriculture and Rural Authority (ARDA) and the Cold Storage Commission (CSC) which currently lies under-utilised and as such has been inviting investors willing to partner ARDA and CSC in joint ventures. Under the arrangements the potential investors will provide capital whilst ARDA and CSC will provide the land and infrastructure for the estates. All this is crucial to the successful implementation of ZIMASSET.

A resurgent agriculture sector provides the platform for the country’s economic transformation and revival following years of decline. There is need to address some of the policy and administrative challenges that have held back previous government initiatives. In his address at the recently concluded ruling party 6^th National Congress President Mugabe made it clear that those implicated in corrupt practices will be expelled from government and be dealt with according to the laws of the land. It is action and actual follow up which will ensure that the degeneracy is nipped in the bud. It is now after Congress and must that focus is redirected back towards what really matters to the expectant electorate, that is the economy and service delivery. The time for excuses has been and gone.

bernardbwoni.blogspot.com

Past the politics of Congress comes the economy

By Bernard Bwoni

The ruling party’s 6^th Peoples’ National Congress under the appropriately titled banner of ‘Accelerated Implementation of ZIMASSET’ kicked off amid the uncertainty and tensions within the upper intraparty echelons of power and its prologue brought certainty and stability to the matter. The Vice-Presidents Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa and Mr Phelekezela Mphoko have now been sworn in, the rogue ruling party elements have been disabled and replaced and now is the time to temporarily shelf the factional politics and start focusing on the economy. The main thrust of the Congress was to look at the state of the party, addressing the issue of factionalism which had been publicly and dangerously threatening to undermine the party. It also focused on the state of the country’s heavily compromised economy and looked at proposals to hasten the implementation of the government’s ZIMASSET economic blueprint. The ruling party’s First Secretary and the President of Zimbabwe His Excellency President Robert Mugabe in his Congress opening address was open and honest from the onset telling the delegates “We have not done to you what we should have done; some of us failed us and failed you”. He was making reference to some of the party leadership who had naively taken it upon themselves to prioritise personal ambitions and agendas parallel to party objectives and national direction. The National Congress has brought clarity and finality on the issue of factionalism which had been threatening to tear the ruling party apart from within. The instigators of the factionalism and the degeneracy were named and their clandestine and cabal overtures against the party were laid bare. Now that the pre-Congress commotion and dust has settled it is back to basics.

It is the hope that President Mugabe’s steely message that drew deafening reactions when he made it clear that all those public official implicated in any palm-greasing will be dealt with according to the laws of the land will be followed by actual action. The electorate is not interested in just words minus real action and the President was very clear when he said “all ministers, their deputies, chairmen and civil servants found to be guilty will lose their jobs and go to jail”. This resonated well with the expectant electorate and all that is now left is execution.

Now that the Congress is over and done with and the ruling party’s realignment has been finalised the thrust now should be the country’s frail economy to address issues of unemployment, service delivery, budget deficit issues and infrastructure development as per the premises of the ZIMASSET economic blueprint.  The triumphant ruling party is currently the sole authority of the land with a resounding majority following the 31^st July 2013 elections victory and should remain focused on governing in the national interests.  The subversive inter-party and intra-party cabal elements have been defeated and there should be no more excuses. The ideals of the liberation struggle and the ruling party must be brought back to the forefront ahead of personal and narrow-minded counter-revolutionary objectives for the sake of national trajectory. As the President rightly puts it “We are bound together by the fact of being Zimbabweans. That’s why we must be proud, take care of Zimbabwe, and build a fortress that prevents any intruders coming in without our permission. We have a responsibility to protect this land so that it never becomes a colony of those wanderers again”. This is a national economy that requires collective national spirit and intervention to harness positive outcomes.

The politics of the Congress were dealt with decisively and no doubt that the outcome was one united ruling party with the specific function to revive the country’s battered economy. The mood and message throughout the Congress was clear on the urgent need to implement ZIMASSET at the accelerated pace. There were deliberations on the state of the economy and state of agriculture from which recommendations were drawn. The Finance Minister Mr Patrick Chinamasa highlighted treasury’s difficulties in collecting revenue and the negative impact of the huge import deficit. It is imperative that the government put into place measures in place to protect local industry from cheap and inessential imports. The Minister also encouraged the nation to develop a culture of saving for the future and a culture of paying back borrowed loans to ensure the viability of local banks.

The government’s economic blueprint will yield positive results with effective implementation. The Infrastructures and Utilities clusters such as power generation, railway and road rehabilitation, dam construction, and irrigation schemes are critical in supporting the productive sectors of the economy. The completion of the Hwange Thermal Power Expansion which will generate an additional 600 megawatts into the national grid, the Gwayi-Shangani power plant will add 700 megawatts; the Kariba Extension will add 1000 megawatts and Makomo Resources an additional 600 megawatts. The government is also encouraging investments into solar energy and wind power. In the next few years once all the power generation projects are completed Zimbabwe will be exporting power to its regional partners.

The recurring theme of value addition and beneficiation continued throughout the Congress. The fact that the country is still exporting resources in their raw unprocessed form means that employment is in effect being exported as well and the country losing out. The general consensus is that focus should be on implementing fiscal corrective measures to restore investor confidence in Zimbabwe’s economy. The realignment of the ruling party politics has far-reaching implications for the nation as a whole with the party’s 6^th National Congress addressing the main sticking points that had been stalling progress.  It is only a matter of time before people of Zimbabwe start reaping the fruits of this realignment. Revolutions bear fruition on the back of successful and effective implementation of laid out programmes. The ruling party revolution rests firmly on the successful and accelerated implementation of ZIMASSET. The ruling party has no choice but to deliver on the election promises and cannot afford to take the foot off the pedal simply because of the impotent nature of the opposition politics. The party has rid itself of counter-revolutionary coterie comrades and now is the time to refocus on getting the wheels of the economy turning again.

 

bernardbwoni.blogspot.com

The impatience, the corruption and the excuse mechanism

By Bernard Bwoni

There are many hardships in Zimbabwe, no more than anywhere else in the world. Life is tough everywhere you go and people work very hard to get by and people in Zimbabwe are no exception. The resilience and entrepreneurship spirit is what separates Zimbabweans from many others. However in some sections of Zimbabwe society the hardships have

 bred impatience, despondency, lethargy and a self-preservation attitude.

Impatience is one of the most debilitating ailments afflicting Zimbabwean society and has now reached levels that are detrimental to national progression. The majority of the people have become so impatient to the point of self-serving where the 'me attitude' takes priority over all else and benefit to society. The impatience, the rush to get ahead of everyone and the quest for individual self-gratification at the expense of society has seen the fast-track of national breakdown accelerated. It is very easy to point fingers at government's shortcomings but citizens also need to take responsibility and play their part..

The government is there to facilitate and put in place policies, procedures, systems and processes for efficient service delivery and there are a number of areas that could be better. Policies and any enforcements require robust and consistent follow up to take effect and be maintained. The citizens on the other hand have a duty and responsibility to ensure that these systems, processes and enforcements are adhered to. It is unfortunate that everyone has become so impatient to the point of trampling upon the next person. It is no longer just about survival but self-preservation. This is in no way meant to dismiss the suffering a lot of people are going through but the impatience and the me attitude can only take the nation backwards and in a lot of cases endangering and causing loss of life.

When driving through Harare that is where you are brazenly confronted with the ugly face of this impatience. The fracas to get ahead is intriguing as it is dangerous. Nearly every driver has put on the impatient garb and in a huff to get ahead of everyone else. What this means is that everyone is thus in a hurry to get ahead of everyone and the outcomes are inevitably disastrous. In the city centre in Harare it is untamed traffic jungle. The numbers of those jumping through red traffic lights clearly endangering lives is shockingly large. You have a two-lane traffic lane turned into a four-five traffic lane due to this dangerous and unnecessary rush to get ahead of everyone. Citizens have a duty to follow the laid out rules and regulations for the sake of national expedience. Equally the government has a duty to consistently follow up in the enforcement of these. A lot of the traffic violations are happening in the full glare of the police and in some instances a few metres from the police stations and that is just unacceptable. This is a two-way relationship, citizens should not be committing these violations in the first place, however if they do the law enforcement authorities have the duty and responsibility to enforce.

It is the same impatience that is also fuelling and sustaining the corruption that has become inherent in Zimbabwean society. It is stating the obvious that there are corrupt elements within the law enforcement services and again that is just not acceptable. This is not in any way meant to condone the practice or antagonise anyone but fact of the matter is that the degeneracy has become deeply embedded in Zimbabwe because there are "givers and takers" in this unholy union. The law enforcement services must not be taking bribes and citizens must not be giving the bribes period. There is nothing else beyond that except excuses. This is a two-way uncouth relationship that will cease abruptly and instantly if both parties take responsibility rather than try to abdicate their responsibility. The agitation that will come after this is part and parcel of the excuse mechanism that is nurturing and maintaining this degeneracy. The simple solution is do not be the "giver" to starve off the "taker".

In Zimbabwe it is common to hear things like "even if I don't give a bribe the next person will come and give it anyway so what is the point. I might as well."  That is the loud sound of the excuse mechanism. It is quite disheartening hearing that but it in fact is the inbuilt mechanism in individuals to try and exonerate themselves from the decadence yet partake in it because "everyone else is doing it". The responsibility to addressing corruption and other vices in Zimbabwe lies with all citizens irrespective of rank and order. The first step lies with each individual and citizens have to be prepared that things might take long to be done and you have to pay the full price for things unless otherwise stated or if there is a legal discount in place. Any deviation from these core principles means paying bribes to get ahead and that only fuels corruption. The honest truth is that it has become common and normal to phone someone who works in such and such a department to get ahead in the queue, to get away with an illegality and so that processes can be fast-tracked. If citizens stop paying their way to quick and illegally cheap outcomes then the nation stands a chance of successfully challenging the degeneracy. The law enforcement services must ensure that follow up is genuine and not compromised by further underhanded practices.

There has to be real consequences for wayward law enforcement officials and those citizens who break the set out regulations. Some of the things in Zimbabwe are getting away with is shocking and the worrying thing is that some of these things are now being accepted as the norm. There are simple things that government and citizens can collectively do to achieve better outcomes. The first step is to address the issue of separation and that dividing line between government and the people. It is stating the obvious that government is in fact people, voted in by the people and the people are the government by virtue of their majority status. There should be no distinction between government and the people because they are two sides of the same coin. The government has the responsibility and accountability to ensure that people have access to the right services and citizens have a responsibility as well to ensure that basic duties of a citizen are adhered to  A good example is refusal disposal and collection. In Zimbabwe the amount of refuse and litter in inappropriate places has reached catastrophic and unacceptable levels. Now this is a collective responsibility of government and citizens. Refuse collection does occur weekly via councils in cities and street cleaning also happens twice daily in Harare. People are however beginning to create dumping sites in parks and other open green spaces giving rise to negative externalities. You speak to people and you get all sorts of excuses for throwing litter on the floor and dumping garbage in beautiful parks and very little in terms of taking responsibility.

This is no way to suggest all Zimbabweans are irresponsible when it comes to litter but fact of the matter is that there are significant challenges. In Chivhu town centre asking around for somewhere to put litter the street vendors in fact encourage you to dump the litter on the floor and claim that actually is the normal thing to do!  Walking through Harare City Centre you are confronted with empty litter bins and streets coated with an assortment of litter. The City Council did provide bins in the streets and most have been stolen. Some bins are empty as most people find it normal to drop litter on the floor. Speaking to people you are always showered with excuses that it is the responsibility of the City fathers. In Harare they clean twice a day but people are throwing rubbish after the cleaners.

These are simple things and very basic education tells you that litter goes in the bin and you do not throw rubbish out through your car window onto the street. Buses have a responsibility for providing refuse bins and when full empty the bin at an appropriately designated refuse place. Zimbabwe is just way too an educated society to have some of these basic challenges. It is very convenient to palm the blame onto government but it is up to each individual to play their part for the sake of national progression.

bernardbwoni.blogspot.com

Dr Grace Mugabe- substance behind the sensational headlines

By Bernard Bwoni

Here is a woman of substance, a woman with a charitable disposition and a woman of tangible and visibly irrefutable influence. Whilst the distinction between those who serve the self and those who serve others is often obvious, in this ‘global village’ that dividing line is often deliberately obscured and determined by those who carry the world media key. Any Internet search engine on Dr Grace Mugabe will 99.99% of the time carry headlines portraying an uncaring and over-indulgent First Lady. Behind the media extracts and sensational headlines there is a intelligent woman of meaning, real meaning very much in touch with the grassroots, a passionate and caring wife, mother to her own children and orphaned children and a highly innovative business-minded philanthropic mother of the nation. Her selfless sacrifice to needy and orphaned children remains cushioned from reporting by those who paint the erroneous and dishonest picture of a substance-free shopaholic. The fact of the matter is that Dr Grace Mugabe is a progressive prime mover, the mother and the brains behind a well-run Children’s Home in Mazowe and currently in the process of building a school and working on plans for a University that will benefit present and future generations of Zimbabwe. She is an inspiration to all women in Zimbabwe and mother to many neglected, abandoned and deprived children. She is an inspiring pacemaker with a meaningful and proven track record of community and grassroots work through her charity work. 

Dr Grace Mugabe has often described herself as a ‘workaholic’ and that is fully backed by results of her hard work on the ground. On top of running her children’s home and working on other charitable projects she is also a successful dairy farmer with over 2500 dairy cows. Dr Grace Mugabe has the charitable bone permanently etched right down to her spirit and listening carefully to her recent meet the people addresses minus the specifically nit-picked sound-bites and riveting headlines in most opposition and international media sources there indeed is profound depth and a genuine desire to uplift and upgrade the lives of the disadvantaged and unprivileged. She has prioritised commitment to challenging the degeneracy currently bedevilling the nation and addressing issues affecting ordinary citizens on a daily basis. She has challenged corruption, she has challenged inconsistencies in terms of service delivery and she has ruffled the cushy culture of impunity that has been rooting itself freely in some sections of the upper echelons of power in Zimbabwe. Dr Grace Mugabe has put emphasis on keeping the people of Zimbabwe informed and instilled genuine commitment to challenging the decadence.

The unreported Grace Mugabe has community work credentials and her recent meet-the-grassroots addresses focused on practical issues that affect people in the local communities on a daily basis. She met with Cross Border Traders and tackled pertinent issues that affect this important entity in the Zimbabwe economy. In Zimbabwe over 5.8 million people are employed in the informal sector and this contribute significantly to the social and economic functioning of the state. These are relevant and befitting issues to be thrust on the forefront of the national discourse and come up with solutions to address them. Her encouragement and advice to the Cross Border Traders to accept slow growth as opposed to quick economic gains is sound economic advice. Any business is a process where you lay the foundations and from there that is where the take-off happens. She made sound and welcome promises of championing for the traders to get land and start producing which will enhance livelihoods. She has been talking about facilitating women to be given land, focusing on the productive agriculture sector and indigenous Zimbabweans becoming self-sustaining and self-reliant. She is talking about real wealth creation as opposed to the retrogressive notion of mere workers who do not own the means of production. In another address in Gwanda Dr Grace Mugabe touched on a number of very important issues and highlighted the importance of education and humanity. She said that ‘’Education without humanity is useless, even if you educated, you need to be humane and don’t lead children astray’’. These are pertinent issues that do not get any media attention. She talked about the importance of family, the ravages of child abuse and domestic violence. She also challenged government’s policy of demolition of illegal residential structures without finding alternatives for them. She did not condone the illegal structures but her argument was that alternatives were needed for those displaced. The problem is that by destroying the structures you create another problem of homeless people. Now these are issues that no ‘global media’ will highlight about the First Lady. She has spoken incessantly about women’s issues and the need for women to be educated and to have land to help improve their economic prospects. It is unfortunate that many have tended to focus only on the stirring headlines and the Peta Thornycroft cock and bull stories instead of the depth and wealth behind most of Dr Grace Mugabe’s addresses.

She does possess a clear awareness of Zimbabwe’s economic policy as evidenced in another of her addresses where she highlighted the importance of the country’s look east policy and the implementation of the country’s economic blueprint ZimAsset. One of the key issues she has consistently and passionately focused on has been the issue of corruption and the negative image it portrays about the country. She has persistently stressed the negative outcomes of letting corruption go unchallenged as it undermines the trust people have in government and some individuals in positions of authority resources that could have been used for collective national benefit towards individual gratifications. Beneath all the negative and biased representation of the First Lady there is breath and depth, a solid commitment to addressing the issues of the downtrodden and bringing to the foreground all these issues. The reassuring thing about the First Lady is that it is not all empty words, she is a woman of action and she has the substance-endowed charitable curriculum vitae to back it. She is upholds the very same principles as her husband President Mugabe who has dedicated his entire life liberating and empowering the indigenous African peoples and redressing the inequalities created by the colonial system. In another of her meet the people addresses Dr Mugabe lamented the case of those resettled farmers who were reluctant to seize the opportunities presented to them. She like President Mugabe has emphasised the urgent need to start unlocking, dismantling and restructuring the previously biased system which still continues to tie down African minds and limiting their potential to enhance themselves. No gimmicks but this as real as life itself gets, the freshness and reality of the grassroots, physically touching the ground and tackling issues head-on. There is a lot more substance behind those dramatic news headlines and sensational media clips.

bernardbwoni.blogspot.com

Great Zimbabwe- sheer nerve of our forebears

By Bernard Bwoni

 

Great Zimbabwe is a stone masonry marvel, a city built on sheer nerve and an eleventh century show of the consistent and unique prowess of the people of Zimbabwe. It is by no accident that Zimbabwe is a country that invites intrigue and interest from many corners of the world. It is by design that Zimbabwe is strategically located on the African continent and is set for a return to those glory day...s of the Great Zimbabwe Empire. Great Zimbabwe was the economic hub of the whole continent and a booming trading empire that flourished between the 11th and 15th centuries. Great Zimbabwe's most enduring and impressive remains are its stone walls expertly constructed from granite from the surrounding hills. All of Great Zimbabwe's walls were fitted without the use of mortar by laying stones one on top of the other, each layer slightly more recessed than the last to produce a stabilizing inward slope. Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans have a duty to revive the country and bring the Great out of Zimbabwe again. It was the collective spirit of the people of Great Zimbabwe that saw the kingdom dominate and we have a duty to carry forward the bravery and valour of our forefathers.

 

bernardbwoni.blogspot.com

Zimbabwe: Africa’s next economic giant

By Bernard Bwoni

There is going to be agitation about this but fact of the matter is that Zimbabwe has been under economic sanctions for over ten years and to date still reeling under the effects of these ruthless economic measures. It is the resilience of the people of Zimbabwe that is inspiring and has held the country together amid the ravages of the disproportionate and illegal actions. The people of Zimbabwe have endured unimaginable distress, poverty and destitution as a result of the economic sanctions imposed without any due care or attention to the plight of the ordinary people. Under the circumstances when you look and analyse how the country has performed when compared to other African countries in terms of economic growth rate then you understand the resolute spirit of the people of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe adopted the multi-currency regime in 2009 and the economy grew quite significantly with annual growth rates of over 10% in 2012 and eventually and gradually declining to growth rates of below 5%. The significantly high economic growth rates when the country started using the multi-currency needs to be clarified to highlight clearly that the decline to the lower rates of today had nothing to do with government policy but rather the economy readjusting and reconfiguring itself from the high inflationary period of the domestic currency to the US dollar. That is a fact and what we are witnessing in the economy is real growth. In the period 2009-2012 Zimbabwe had no manufacturing capacity to back the over 10.5% economic growth rate that was being touted as Tendai Biti’s economic genius. The growth we currently have in Zimbabwe is real growth from a normal base.

Here are some key statistics about economic growth in some African countries picked randomly and all these countries are not and have not been under economic sanctions for the past 13 years. Kenya had a growth rate of 4.7% in 2013, Lesotho 3.4% in 2013, and Namibia 4.3% in 2013. Zambia had a growth rate of 6.5% in 2013 and Angola had a growth rate of 5.1% in 2013. Botswana had a growth rate of 5.4% in 2013, Uganda 5.2% in 2013 and Mozambique 7% in 2013. Zimbabwe under the full impact of economic sanctions posted a modest growth rate of 4% in 2013. Food for thought.

The economic situation in Zimbabwe is presented as dismal and bleak judging from some news headlines and recent IMF Report on the country’s economy. A recent IMF Report screamed ‘Zimbabwe economy is in a tailspin and at crossroads’. The report is clear that ‘the main objective of the new SMP is to strengthen the country’s external position, as a prerequisite for arrears clearance, resumption of debt service and restored access to external financing’. Zimbabwe met all the targets and structural benchmarks set out by the recently expired IMF Structural Monitoring Programme which expired in June 2014 leading onto the third review which will run until December 2015. The workings of the IMF always leave a lot to be desired. This is a footnote on the IMF website “¹ An SMP is an informal agreement between country authorities and Fund staff to monitor the implementation of the authorities’ economic programme. SMPs do not entail financial assistance or endorsement by the IMF Executive Board”. Yet in the report it states “Key risks to the new programme stem from global commodity price shocks, domestic policy slippages, gaps in policy implementation capacity and lagging progress in resolving external arrears. While Zimbabwe faces these risks with artificially no buffers, the successor SMP aims to rebuild these buffers and strengthen the country’s resilience to shocks”. So the IMF will not restore financial assistance or debt relief but instead will ‘rebuild the buffers’ they destroyed in the first place and strengthen Zimbabwe’s resilience to shocks’? Since Zimbabwe has met all the conditions as set in the previous SMP so why not offer debt relief and a debt clearance strategy? This makes you wonder if the Zimbabwe economy is as bleak as some are making it sound or it is just vultures circling round the prey waiting to swoop and take credit from those who engineered this economic miracle beckoning.

In as much as the situation with economy paints a discouraging picture Zimbabwe is on the doorsteps of a phenomenal economic recovery. The silently impending economic revival is due to country’s policy indigenisation, the land reform and economic empowerment.  Zimbabwe has struggled economically due to sanctions imposed and the fact that the country is still standing is testimony to the resilience and collective strength of the Zimbabwe people. The country is moving towards a new economic reconstruction backed by a resurgent agricultural sector, mining, the enhanced contribution of the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and the steady rise in foreign direct investment. The Chinese and Russians have been upfront and forthcoming with their investment into Zimbabwe. The EU and the UK have continued with the carrot and stick approach to investment and the removal of sanctions against Zimbabwe, appearing to be rewarding the people of Zimbabwe by removing the economic sanctions against the country painstakingly slowly whilst keeping sanctions against the Head of State, President Mugabe. The Chinese concluded billion dollar projects in Zimbabwe to date and on his recent trade mission to China President Mugabe concluded several infrastructure deals with the Chinese. The Russians recently send their Foreign Minister Mr Sergei Lavrov to Zimbabwe and signed a $3 billion platinum mining deal. The EU have been all talk and placing conditionality after conditionality and the UK on the other hand send a three men trade mission to ‘scoop for business opportunities in Zimbabwe’.

Zimbabwe is currently facing significant challenges economically and to get out of this mire and mud requires the collective spirit of the people of the country. It requires a positive mind-set, positive attitude and that patriotic desire to free the country from this economic burden we find ourselves in. It is just a matter of time before Zimbabwe reclaims her rightful place as the continent’s economic hub.

bernardboni.blogspot.com