Zimbabwe’s once vibrant economy was pushed to the edge by corruption and skewed economic policies blamed on Zanu (PF) governance. The economic meltdown over the past 15 years threw out of employment an estimated 85 percent of workers as industry, commerce and commercial farms shut down in the aftermath of the land invasions.
As desperate Zimbabweans go to the polls, expectations are high that the new government will usher in an era of economic recovery, which would provide jobs for the unemployed.
Ruthless
Economic analyst Christopher Mugaga said for the country to find its economic feet, the new leadership should be credible and compatible. “It must be ruthless enough to deal with corruption wherever it raises its ugly head,” he said, adding that decisive action must be taken against unproductive farmers who continued to hold onto multiple farms while the nation starved.
“The new government should formulate policies which attract foreign direct investment while under-utilised farms should be re-allocated to able farmers. Zimbabwe is a farming, mining and tourism driven economy, so the cornerstones of the economy should not be compromised for cheap political reasons,” Mugaga told The Zimbabwean in a telephone interview.
He described the government’s empowerment programme as a noble project, which should be implemented in a rational not a populist manner. Mugaga said Parliament was bloated with unnecessary and excessive baggage of legislators and suggested that the number of parliamentarians be cut by almost 44 percent as their huge numbers was weighing heavily on the fiscus.
Rule of law
Another respected economist, Eric Bloch, said: “Free and fair elections and respect of the rule of law after the polls would help put Zimbabwe on the economic recovery path.”
He said workers’ salaries and wages should be reviewed and raised to acceptable regional standards, as a motivating factor to the much needed human resource.
Heavy taxes and excessive import duties were described as elements of an investor unfriendly tax legislation, which deterred both local and foreign investors from investing in the country.
There were suggestions that for Zimbabwe to benefit from foreign direct investment, national leaders should desist from calling other nations insulting names.
“Soon after the new government gets into office, it has to give statements of intention and proceed robustly towards achieving those goals,” said Bloch. He advised the in-coming government to privatise parastatals and make them run on a commercial basis as determined by market forces.
Lifeline
He said there would be urgent revamping of key sectors of the economy such as mining, tourism, manufacturing and agriculture. Infrastructure and services such as rail network, electricity and water should be made available as they were the lifeline for any economy.
“Government should co-exist with nations from the East, West, North and South, not to be blinkered and look in one direction,” said Bloch.
According to economists, 80 percent of Zimbabwe’s population is out of employment, 85 percent live below the datum line while 66 percent are struggling below the food datum line.
Post published in: Opinions & Analysis