via Drunk rivals torpedo ZimAsset: Moyo 20/04/2014 NewZimbabwe
Jonathan Moyo has blamed the current failure of government’s much hyped Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset) to find traction on politically “drunk” Zanu PF opponents who continue to distract the country’s attention towards economic recovery.
In an interview with the State controlled Herald newspaper, Moyo all but admitted the Zanu PF blueprint was not the ultimate solution to the country’s complex economic woes.
Moyo conceded it would be a tall order to get Zim-Asset working if the current policy discord within government persists and in the continued absence of a clear-cut plan to fight endemic corruption within state institutions.
The Zanu PF politburo member said Zimbabweans had a rich endowment of untapped skill which had to be harnessed towards economic recovery.
He blamed Zanu PF opponents who continue to raise political emotions at a time government was trying to refocus the nation on a much-needed economic recovery path.
“Zimbabwe, for some reason, is one country that despite having these skills, has people that tend to think that the most important thing in our life is politics,” Moyo said.
“We eat, sleep, work politics; play politics, study politics, think politics, drink politics, sing politics … and that is now taking its toll. It has taken its toll. It has distorted our view of things. We have not understood that there is more to life than politics.
“For example, you hear already some politicians saying they think they must demonstrate because things are not working. They say, ‘Oh, Zim-Asset you promised two million jobs or so’; but we never promised we would create them in six months! So they take a political statement from a political manifesto and say, ‘I just woke up today and I dreamt you promised two million jobs and six months later we do not see those jobs!’
“A question they should ask in 2018 they are asking six months after the elections. This is because they are drunk with politics and do not have a well-grounded view of life, society and economy. If we had we would notice we have serious skills.”
Moyo was referring to current demands by former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC for the two million jobs promised in the Zanu PF election manifesto and policy documents.
During the inclusive government period, Zanu PF was always at loggerheads with its coalition partners for allegedly fanning discord in the hybrid administration through misinterpreting some of its crafted laws, chief among them the controversial indigenisation law.
But Moyo, in the interview, admitted Zanu PF was in itself disorganised and was sending conflicting signals around some of its policies.
“Let’s face it, there has been a fair degree of lack of clarity, inconsistency and occasional discordant voices from ourselves and this has not been good because it blocks the kind of channels which we should be opening for investors both domestic and foreign,” said the government spokesperson.
“That issue of lack of policy clarity and consistency and speaking with one voice has been as serious and as constraining as has been the fact that over the years, we have seen a dramatic shrinking of the private sector and you have the parastatals and State enterprises and local authorities dominating at least 60 percent of the economy. Yet these are the sectors that have been riddled with corruption.”
Moyo admitted ZimAsset was not the ultimate solution to the country’s economic woes and blamed those who have invested all their hopes on the document. He described term as “some people (who) take policy in Biblical terms as a panacea for everything”.
The former Tsholotsho North legislator further admitted it would be difficult for ZimAsset to register any successes if government does not take any concrete steps to deal with corruption.
Said Moyo: “Corruption increases the cost of doing business and makes it difficult to attract investment.
“There is a reasonable expectation that the corruption fight should be part of Zim-Asset but that has not been as pronounced as it should be.
“One of the reasons why some of our previous policies that have been judged to be very good on paper but have ended up with mixed results, if not total disasters when it comes to implementation, has been that we tend to treat policies as if they are cast in stone that once they are formulated, the black and white on paper is permanent. But good policy-making requires an organic approach which recognises the dynamic nature of the environment.
“So clearly, the issue Zim-Asset needs to incorporate is the fight against corruption to inspire confidence and these things are necessary to create the opportunities that will attract funding.”
President Mugabe is hard pressed to breath life to an economy which sank to its lowest depths under his government’s populist policies and tough empowerment policies.
Mugabe has occasionally blamed this on targeted sanctions imposed on his government by the West.
COMMENTS
IS IT NOT ILLEGAL SANCTIONS, THIS TIME, PRO DEBELE!
and look at who’s talking about others being “drunk” on politics. That “dynamic nature” just means who all can jockey their way to get their fingers in the pie may change over time. OK, Moyo, what was your net worth 10 years ago… what is it today? Heaven forbid that info should be published for all those thieves… there just wouldn’t be enough rope.
Moyo, stop pointing fingers to other parties under your heart you know why Zimbabwe is in this mess and noone to blem other than zanu pf/ mugabe. Yourself u knew abt this years back this is why u and munagagwa wanted to get rid of mugabe during tsholotsho saga. The one who is drunk is mugabe and zanu pf.
Zimasset is not a plan. It is a wish list with no foundation. Only harm can come from it. The only economic plan that can work is the one that starts with ZANU going out of power.
Moyo is indeed a strange fellow. He is the one who advised zanupf that if they rig the election, people will soon forget about it and carry on with their lives. Wrong Moyo, you have inflicted an eternal wound on the people. Prosperity comes from a hardworking people with a God fearing, legitimate gvt. A legitimate gvt is a product of fair ground politics. The population is absolutely right, its the politics that is wrong. The economic situation is a result of bad politics. You thought Zims were so dull not to know the root cause of their national problems,well, there you have it, its POLITICS.
Moyo should stop behaving like just some commentator. He is minister of government and should take responsibility. He sounds like someone must fix things while he watches. Leaders don’t do that. Take initiatives yourself to sort the lack of ideas in gvt. If the people indeed voted for zanupf because of its zimasset manifesto, definately zanupf must fulfill its promises. Now you are dodging, explain how the 2 million jobs will be created. I somehow sense that Moyo is confessing that zimasset was nothing but an empty political statement.you think you can peddle manifestoes and run away after the election. Zimbabweans have caught you and now you want to absolve only yourself. If you are real, come out of zanupf and lead the people. Of course you won’t because you know that you won’t survive the chill.we sometimes thought that you wanted to destroy zanupf from within but you have proved that you are actually that greedy,deceitful heart of Zanupf. For now please impliment zimasset as 2018 is still far to think another rig.
Believe me they are rigging already: or working towards that. When is Zimbabwe going to wake up? Moyo what are you doing? if you have had a damascene experience be man enough to stand up and say so. A true one I mean. The owners of the titanic said that not even God could sink her and guess what. She sank on her maiden voyage. ZPF will go down if there is no repentance. God will see to that. Just as soon as her sins reach their fullness. It would be good to wake up!
Moyo, is your party ready to make a total change in mindset and the way it does its business? There is potential for growth for Zim but it needs investors who in turn need assurances. Not only for security of investment but the consistence of a market and suuply of requirements of business. While you talk of a skills base, how do you attract any new skills when you can’t afford the ones you already have? They are mostly disgruntled. They have been asked to accept low pay yet they witness ‘chefs’ draining govt and their employers dry with impunity. Those that have left will unlikely consider returning to that scenario. If, as a nation, we adopt ausyerity measures, let it be applied to all. At the end of the day, no individual is that special on earth.
Professor Chameleon. A colour and clever turn of phrase for every situation.
MOYO regretably you continue to sprout out your normal rubbish. You know as well as I do that Zimbabwe will never start to recover whilst you have the geriatric murderer at the helm, supported by his band of thieves, of which you are one. There will be no investment until there is a decent and honourable Government in power that plays by the rules and looks after the people and the country. As opposed to their own back pockets.
You also know that Zimasset was dead before it started, no investment and certainly the country is rapidly running out of money. What are you and your fellow thieves and murders doing to try and rectify the situation. Absolutely nothing! That is apart from sending CHINAMASA around the world with a begging bowl. Fortunately everybody he spoke to told him to go to Hell. If he had been given anything it would just have been stolen. All you guys are doing is stealing as much as possible before the whole thing collapses so that you can run away with your ill gotten gains and live wonderful lives in foreign countries and I bet you it wont be China! We the people are not going to let that happen. We will come for you and all the other thieves and murderers, your time is short.
The opposition should not be a scape goat Pro. Moyo. Remember lies will never be the truth no matter how many times they are repeated with military support. Looters and illiterate murderers cannot revive the economy. They are used to putting whatever they lay their hands on into their own pockets. What they just do is to shout “Gushungo…. Amai Mugabe….Takarwira nyika….” And then they loot whatever they can including donated hospital beds. There is no economy that can grow when the cabinet owns what ever can be owned in the whole country, when some of them are having “companies” in every economic sector claiming that they have worked hard. Just ell the truth about senior Zanupf looting, expose them and remove them from cabinet then there will be confidence from the potential investors. You will have started to genuinely combat corruption.
Professors have always been known to be anachronic in politics. In the 70s its was the prof Lule of Uganda, professor so and so elsewhere. Recently, it was professor Welshman, professor Authur and now it is professor Jonathan. All of them lost in worlds imaginary where the realities of human behaviour are never taken into consideration. So they fail to read the basics and as a result miss the fundamentals for economic turn around of a country such as Zimbabwe. Why not keep where you are best suited to be – in the halls of academia. They let their people down. It is amazing.
Yes Zimbabweans cannot have confidence in the economy because your reading of the situation is wrong. To start with Zimbabwe does not have the skills any more to turn around the economy. They have done what is called voting with their feet or a brain drain. The people remaining are doing so for a reason that many of them do not possess competitive skills that the robust economies around us and indeed in the world require.
Secondly, skills have been made nothing in Zimbabwe because of the politics. It is about what political party you profess to belong to instead. That is how marange diamond fields, the biggest potential cash cow for turning around the economy, has been staffed. But like all other professors Jonathan is arrogantly ignorant of his role in creating this personalised economy through over politicization. Yes, the Cashberts will chant pamberi ne zanupf slogan but deep inside him is the skill of a survivalist based on larceny, deceit and not hard work. Get rich quick is the mantra coming from your program of indigenisation. Being not of this world they size you up and deliver down to the T on their interpretation of what you mean. The virtues of hard work, diligence have been thrown out the window. In their place is a degenerate ambush and grab philosophy, the fruits of many years of politicisation of the economy. So they hop from land to manufacturing companies, to national institutions, then parastatals and now it is diamond fields guided by this same blind philosophy of indigenisation that loathes the virtues of hard work and integrity. What goes round must come around. But what the world really admired in a Zimbabwean was his honesty and hard work of course coupled with knowledge. When you rob the people of that opportunity then you have created an animal so wild that in order to survive it is capable of devouring its own sire. The fruits of sins are so bitter to accept. The professor is left with his mouth agape in disbelief but that is the real world.
Added to this are the chinese and their uncompetitive capital that is, like vultures, keeping eyes wide open for a moment like the one created in Zimbabwe. The honest ones have migrated down South or to the west where the space for dignity and integrity in exchange for one’s skills abounds. So when you talk of skills those are the skills that you have left in the country. The country is in need and,dire for that matter, to depoliticise for real skills to come back and build the country. Unfortunately, they will not be coming back soon until and unless we get our politics right.
you never saw that the west has trapped you guys. vana moyo, they lifted masanctins you used to blame for the downfall of our country, now no sanctions, where are we going ?Zimasset was called for by the drunkerds. you cannot blame the opposition for your failure. you are all garbage in zanu pf baba moyo. the man on top keeps on changing garbage from one place to another for example you baba moyo was the minister of info then you were moved to another ministry now you are back but hapana chamurikuita.
As highlighted somewhere all professorial leaders are drunkards, and Jono is no exception, he fails to understand and distinguish the two economic blue prints, him and his circus are championing; Zim-ASSET and Zim-CORRUPTION, of course the later has gained momentum for all and sundry to see.
While Moyo maybe part of the gravy train, he is saying the truth. This truth is very important especially because it is coming from a government minister and spin doctor for the party.
Indeed it is true that Zimbabwe is losing out due to too much obsession with politics. This is an ideology that was planted and nartured by ZANU from as early as the liberation struggle. After independence ZANU failed to focus on growing the economy but continued to play hard politics mainly to create a one party state. Unfortunately this disease caught up with the population. That is why everywhere people categorise themselves as ZANU or MDC people when the normal is that no political party owns anyone as anyone should be free to support any party at any given time based on performance and policies. This kind of political strangulation was rife in Europe in the 1930s -1960 during the time of people like Hitler, Mussolini,Tito, Honecker, Lenin, Stalin etc.
Having said this it is also important to suspect that utterances from Moyo maybe personal, factional or ZANU diversionary tactics to put the population on some new tangent leading to nowhere. If these utterances are personal, it is unfortunate because Moyo alone cannot dislodge an entrenched and devastating ZANU PF ideology. We shall see.
Bhudi wami Jona, you are contradicting! you blame opposition for being drunk of politics simply because they demand economic results. Is that not what opposition is there for in a democracy?Dont you see that by attacking them for doing their work you are actually being drunk of politics. Open your eyes Bhudi Jona, they are asking for economic results not political ones. Whats political about that??
when Zanu had young leadership,in the 80’s , we had gore REMASIMBA EVANHU, and all these nice sounding slogans. Nothing was ever implemented to its conclusion.
Now we have an aged Zanu being led by a 90 year old, now they have come up with a nice sounding slogan, ZIMASSET, and they expect us to believe there is implementation this time.
In your dreams Moyo.
Moyo: the pot calling the kettle black!!! The best start to recovery would be to get rid of zanu…
rega tisure zvedu vanachasura. 2018 another economic blue print