Source: Blame game doesn’t work – DailyNews Live
STAFF WRITER 29 October 2018
HARARE – Finance minister Mthuli Ncube should be ashamed of himself for
the unprecedented events that culminated in the suspension of senior
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) officials.
This was an uncalled for action done to cover up for the ministers’
careless and inconsistent pronouncements, which were the source of panic
and current economic malaise.
As Norton legislator Temba Mliswa noted recently, it is the minister who
created the current confusion, which has shaken the economy. It has also
created doubt on the ability of technocrats in President Emmerson
Mnangagwa’s Cabinet to fully appreciate our problems and how they emerged.
If Ncube understood this, he would not have talked about removing bond
notes by December 2018 without considering the potential implications of
his statement.
He added fuel to the fire in his address at Chatham House by indicating
that the economy was self-dollarising and he was not going to stand in the
way.
When such statements are made to economic agents who previously lost their
savings, the next logical thing is to shift from bond notes and Real Time
Gross Settlement system balances to greenbacks and assets to avoid being
caught unaware again.
No matter what the minister said afterwards, the market was already aware
of his “actual position” regarding fiscal policy.
Seeing the chaos created by his statements, blame had to be pushed
somewhere.
With the tacit approval of some higher authorities, Acie Lumumba was let
loose, resulting in the suspension of RBZ officials, without following
basic tenets of justice and other internal processes.
By portraying the RBZ as the instigator of the country’s economic
problems, it negatively impacted on the credibility of the central bank.
And yet we all know that the challenges manifesting as monetary have
always emanated from the fiscal side of the equation.
Ncube should simply own up to his misguided and inconsistent utterances
and the poor implementation of the new tax regime instead of destroying
the character and dignity of his subordinates.
However, if the RBZ officials have cases to answer, this must be pursued
through the right channels, taking into account the doctrine that says
everyone is innocent until proven guilty.
The current focus on individuals will not help the situation that requires
Ncube to reign in on excessive public spending and achieving fiscal
sustainability.
Even if he is to bring a new RBZ governor from mars, he or she will still
realise that a governor is just a junior officer in government with
neither the authority nor legal powers to instil fiscal discipline.
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