It is common knowledge that Zimbabwe as a nation has been in a state of complete meltdown in all its economic, social, political and legal facets of its systems from 2000 until now.
During this period, the economys supply-side capacity, especially in providing sufficient basic needs, has become non-existent to such an extent that the country could not provide the five basic needs of food, clothing, water, housing and electricity, and health.
A glance at the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita which is a rough estimate of the social and economic wellbeing of citizens in any country shows that the figure has declined from US$755 at independence in 1980 to the lowest figure of US$265 by end of 2008. Against this background, when the government of national unity (GNU) was formed on February 13, 2009, the governments begging bowl for US$8.3 billion has been held out to both southern African countries and the world over.
With all the intensions to revive the economic system, no mention was made of engaging and using the countrys own resources. The country is currently stocked with enough resources which can quickly generate more than US$8.5 billion, even in less than a year. The only issue is the lack of political will to manage the countrys valuable resources for the benefit of the country.
Currently there are two figures circulating pertaining the potential financial revenue which can be grossed by the state after diamond sales. The RBZ estimates that Chiadzwa diamonds should provide over US$1 billion per month in revenue, while another source laments that lack of proper institutional, orderly and legal framework for diamond miners has resulted in the country loosing at least US$1,2 billion per month.
Although some analysts consider these monthly diamond revenue sales from Chiadzwa diamonds as conservative, simple projections indicate that, once diamond revenue sales are harnessed by the government for the benefit of the whole economy, the countrys GDP could jump from the 2008 level of US$3.2 billion to at least US$16.7 billion. The GDP per capita could shift from the lowest value of US$265 in 2008 to above US$1,423. These figures from diamond sales alone would be greater than any previous GDP or per capita figures for Zimbabwe even during the good years of the 1980s and 1990s.
Beside generating the money needed to kick-start the economy, this option (Chiadzwa diamonds) will also have the following advantages, among others:
1) The country will not incur or accumulate any debt.
2) There will be no strings attached, that is, there will be no conditions (as is the case with donor funds).
3) The country will be free to use the revenues according to its prioritized projects.
4) The country will not be a nation to be laughed at by other countries.
With the above snapshot on the potential of Chiadzwa diamonds, the questions that need to be asked are: Why is there no political will from our national leaders to harness this valuable resource for the benefit of the majority? How long does it take for us to properly manage our own resources for our betterment? As a nation, are we not ashamed of how we are managing our resources? What is the rationale of continuously preaching financial begging gospel when we have Chiadzwa diamonds?
I think as a nation we are very much capable of doing better, it only needs one thing the determination and will to harness Chiadzwa diamonds for the betterment of the majority.
The full article from which this summary was extracted can be accessed at: http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/22488/1/MPRA_paper_22488.pdf
Post published in: Opinions