via Zim Asset fatally flawed: Kanyenze | The Zimbabwean by Farai Mabeza 17.12.13
Zimbabwe is going backwards, and government must implement serious economic reform, says a respected economist.
“What is happening in Zimbabwe is deindustrialisation. We are going backwards,” said Godfrey Kanyenze, the director of the Labour and Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe, in an exclusive interview.
“Zimbabwe is in serious debt distress. We have accumulated arrears and we need to come up with serious reform measures that improve revenue generation, rehabilitate infrastructure and deal with power outages. We are struggling with very basic things,” he said.
“Zim Asset was extracted from the Zanu (PF) manifesto and therefore has violated the idea of having people driven policies. It did not come from the people. More than one million people voted for the MDC and this means that their views were not incorporated in the document,” he said.
He questioned why the government was embarking on a new economic program when the previous one had not finished its course. “Midway through the Medium Term Plan we are coming up with another blueprint. This promotes polarisation. Zimbabwe is known for economic blueprints and shoddy implementation. We have had 14 economic blueprints since independence and the results have been the same,” he said.
Kenyenze also said the country was being hurt by its dependence on mining. “Most of our export earnings come from mining. This means we are dependent on commodity earnings, which fluctuate. On top of that, the mining sector is dominated by about five mining houses and this increases our vulnerability,” he said.
Kanyenze, who co-authored a book on pro-poor and inclusive development in Zimbabwe titled Beyond the Enclave, said the country would continue with an enclave economy due to the unrelenting rise of the informal sector and the government’s failure to address economic decline
“Geographically an enclave is a territory within another territory – or an economy within an economy. This territory becomes a source of cheap labour and also acts as a means of social protection. In Zimbabwe you see this in the form of the communal areas and the informal sector,” he explained.
The book highlights the need for people-driven policies to combat poverty. Kanyenze blasted the government’s latest economic blueprint, the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Social-Economic Transformation.
Kanyenze bemoaned the state of service delivery in the country and condemned the rush to elections with limited resources. “Zimbabwe is currently facing limited fiscal space. In 2013 money that could have been used to fund important services for the people was diverted to fund elections”.
He said the country was left to grapple with a huge import bill and domestic arrears and at the same time face the effects of populist measures such as the scrapping of ZESA and local authorities’ bills.
After five years of discord in the Government of National Unity, Kanyenze said now that Zanu (PF) was on its own in government there was no room for excuses: “There is no internal paralysis. We expect unhindered implementation. There is no more hiding space for the ruling party.”
COMMENTS
Well said Dr Kanyenze.We have buffoons masquarading as leaders yet thet are rulers. Their only desire is to loot, loot aand loot.They don’t give a hoot but give a boot when they are challenged to show cause that they have failed to run the affairs of this country.
They are specialist in blaming others not themslves.Zvino gwendo guno vachazzvikanga voga nemanyepo. They can cheat us but not the economy.
This is the reason why an economist is an economist and a doctor is a doctor. In our case anything goes. Ah.
To add to Dr Kanyanze’s coments (I am not an economist), for Zimbabwe to move forward, we need a leadership renewal, 14 economic blueprints in 33 years with the same stewards, the result will always be the same.
All Zim -Asset does is relieve the headache and does not cure what is causing this headache.
90% of revenue paying the wage bill. How do you have anything left for development? This 90% does not include the pay raises that have been promised. Current economic environment predicts declining revenues.
With a shrinking economy, increasing debt, why is the govt workforce not shrinking? In response to the new reality, cabinet needs to shrink down to 10-12 ministers without deputies. Govt should not be employing people to drive other people around. All govt has to do is provide a vehicle, you can then drive yourself around or hire your own driver.
Parliament is adjourned early because govt can not fund it, and they now want a new building because the current one is now too small. This parliament is too big for 13-14 million people and a less than $5 Billion budget. Cut it back to 100.
ZIFA can not properly fund and support the national team. What is the minister of Sport & Culture doing? If there are no public funds to sponsor the team he should be soliciting private funds. We love the warriors, but please do not embarrass us. Zimbabwe has enough millionares that can sponsor the team with no sweat. All you to do is talk to Chiyangwa, Chihuri, Chiwenga, Gono, Grace Mugabe, Masiyiwa, Chanakira, Munyeza, Muchechetere, Tsvangirai, Biti, Makone, J. Mujuru etc.
We must realise that there is a much more dangerous enemy that we need to worry about than “the west” and “greedy racist imperialists”. That enemy is what Mugabe and his agents stand for. They have stolen Zimbabwe away from it’s people. As a people we need to be vigilant and fight this oppression, not with the same things our oppressors use but with truth, respect and love for our fellow man.
thats the cons of an election.Be it free or flawed.Pple hav a tendence of jst choosing individuals into offices even thoz wt no educ @ll eg Chinoz.en others.Also the Reshuffling methods by presidents must be revisited caz eg,a minister specialing in The ministry of Legal affairs fo 10yrs or more yrs is overnite transferred to an allien ministry of Finance kikiki,Mixing Okra and Milk= Disaster in the Ministries.Less combitant ministers mst be placed into less demandind ministries.