Good governance key to recovery, UN official

Commenting on the countrys mid-term economic plan (MTP) unveiled recently, Simpson said Zimbabwe should move away from a culture of crisis management and adopt a long-term horizon.

He also called for fiscal responsibility and efficient resource utilisation, two elements that are critical to any effort to achieve sustainable economic growth. The UNDP official urged Zimbabwe to move away from economic development models that focus on achieving impressive growth figures with little or no positive impact or improvement in the lives of citizens.

Simpson said development could no longer be measured by growth figures alone, adding that growth rates can have different outcomes for different communities or countries. For example, Simpson cited the east African country, Uganda, where he said poverty had accelerated for most people despite impressive growth in gross domestic product (GDP).

Ghana, on the other hand recorded growth in the economy and a 4.6 percent reduction in poverty between 2000 and 2006 due to focused policies, said Simpson. He said issues like the massive collapse of infrastructure in the country had a direct impact on poverty levels, giving an example of how a collapsed road network could prevent poor farmers from getting access to markets or how electricity shortages could damage profitability of small businesses that could not afford power generators.

The UNDP official also said economy development plans should be designed to also address the social problems like unemployment and lack of access to credit markets by the poor.

Zimbabwe says the economy is on a recovery path due to various measures implemented under the short-term economic recovery programme introduced by the coalition government last March. However, critics say the growth figures may be misleading as a large proportion of the population remains trapped in poverty and destitution triggered by the collapse of the countrys currency due to hyperinflation.

Simpson said good governance, an ability to get buy-in from the public, efficient state institutions and a commitment to a culture of savings could see the country realizing its goal of doubling GDP from the present $4.5 billion to $9 billion by 2015 when the MTP expires. Once a model African economy Zimbabwe suffered a severe economic and humanitarian crisis since 2000 that critics blamed on long time ruler President Robert Mugabes skewed policies.

Analysts say a unity government formed last February by Mugabe, Tsvangirai and another former opposition leader Arthur Mutambara will struggle to revive Zimbabwes economy without substantial financial support from rich Western nations. Western nations are withholding demanding more political reforms and end to farm invasion before they can provide direct financial support to Harare.