The most important thing to come out of Finance Minister Tendai Bitis 2010 national budget statement that he presented to Parliament last week was not the promise and optimism of that document. The most critical point highlighted in that document is one so basic but which for some reason has proved so difficult for the most patriotic and wisest among us to grasp and that fact is that: united or divided, Zimbabwe cannot go it alone!
Vowing to transform Zimbabwe from the sick man of the region into a vibrant, democratic, prosperous and functional nation underpinned by the values of social justice and equality, Biti presented workable, if overly optimistic, proposals to achieve this noble national goal.
Going by Bitis calculations, the economy that only 10 months ago was ravaged by hyperinflation and in free-fall will grow by an impressive seven percent next year on the back of robust recovery in key sectors such as farming, manufacturing and mining.
But the success of Bitis budget hinges on one thing: the international community agreeing to support our efforts at recovery through investmenting in the country and providing financial aid. Indeed, of the US$2.25 billion that Biti proposes to spend over the next 12 months the government is able to raise only US$1.44 billion.
The remainder will have to come from the donors and other international partners. The same people who have made it clear that they are prepared to come to our aid provided the unity government fully implements the global political agreement (GPA) that all political parties agreed to and signed in broad daylight.
And make no mistake, for as long as farm invasions, human rights abuses and political violence continue and the outstanding issues emanating from the GPA remain unresolved, foreign investors and donors will hold on to their purses. Period!
In other words Zimbabwes recovery and the future of our children is once more at the mercy of President Robert Mugabe and his Zimbabwe-will-never-be-a-colony-again crowd.
Until this lot finally comes to realise that Zimbabwe cannot exist in a vacuum, that there are minimum norms and standards the good community of nations expects us to uphold then Bitis budget like all the many other good proposals before itwill remain just wishful thinking.
Post published in: Editor: Wilf Mbanga