The most recent is the call by so called farmers for the imposition of an embargo on South African chickens exported to Zimbabwe. Never mind the seemingly sincere argument around the possible health effects of the chickens, anyone with a clear understanding of the underground operations of the Zimbabwean economy will appreciate that this is just but one of the instances in which economic policy and what is best for the nation is overridden by a few individuals personal interests.
To set the record straight there is nowhere on mother earth where trade protectionist policies have ever worked. The new world order advocates for a free flow of commodities across borders and oceans with minimal or no restrictions at all. The need to allow foreign imports even becomes more pertinent in an economy like Zimbabwe with an acute shortage of commodities (chickens included).
Failure to attract these foreign imports will naturally result in a serious shortage of basic commodities. This is the exact situation that the so called farmers are waiting for. The fundamental law of demand and supply will just take its course and price the commodities out of all proportion. Then it will be hell again for the people of Zimbabwe!
In January last year at the height of mealie meal shortages, one Tafadzwa Musarara from the Indigenous Grain Millers Association (On Talking Business with Supa, a ZTV production) vehemently advocated for government imposing an embargo on South African mealie meal imports.
I was left in no doubt that such are the kind of people who can sacrifice everything for their own personal gain. The solution for local industries does not lie in the government imposing regulations that prohibit imports. They have to make sure that they adopt efficient production methods and other cost-cutting measures to remain relevant in the face of cut throat competition.
With an economy so heavily reliant on our South African counterparts, worse still when we are operating at an industrial average of below 35 percent, the call for a ban on South African produced chickens is totally inappropriate.
For one to talk about Zimbabweans deserving high quality when an average person is living on $1/day is a shame. There is no harm in us low-earning Zimbabweans buying the supposedly low quality South African products. If quality was anything to go by as these farmers would like us ordinary people to believe, then would they themselves have fallen for the cheap quality Chinese G-Tide phones? Simply because they do not have cell phone manufacturing firms they see no harm in the Chinese dumping their commodities in the Zimbabwean economy.
The time for blindfolding the people in the name of national interests, employment creation, empowerment, health or otherwise is over. It is in the public knowledge who the single largest poultry producer in Zimbabwe is. It will definitely make a lot of business sense if to this particular individual if an embargo is imposed on these chickens from South Africa and Brazil. Nevertheless it will come hard and at a huge cost on the perennial losers – The People of Zimbabwe.
We need to embrace the opportunities that the South African economy provides for the Zimbabwean economy. The economy has continued to provide us with a lot of necessary inputs and raw materials (electricity included).Rather than us viewing the economy as a threat to our international trade prospects we should rather view them as partners. In the case of the South African government imposing an embargo on any locally produced commodities we will be the ones that suffer the most since we are in the most need of foreign currency. – Mawarire is a final year Banking student at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST).
Post published in: Opinions