How did Mr. Busisa Moyo
become president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries when he does not
have any common sense?
"There is a
possibility that this time lapse can create unintended consequences in the end.
There are several likely reactions that could be problematic considering our recent
economic history and the general lack of confidence in locally engineered
instruments," said Mr Moyo.
He was commenting on the
recent announcement by RBZ governor Dr John Mangudya to introduce bond notes in
two months-time, set a maximum individuals can withdraw from their accounts and
a limit on external payments.
"People will queue
daily to utilise the $1 000 maximum withdrawals and not rest until all their US
dollar balances are at zero. This again could be a negative consequence which
will create further cash shortages," continued Moyo.
Mr Moyo, however, said
the reactions were likely to change, with perception easing as with the coins
once reassurances from the governor, business community and the Nostro
guarantor are made. He said the main challenge was of confidence and trust in
local institutions.
To start with the
introduction of the bond coins did not have the same effect as the introduction
of the bond notes is having because no one expected their bank balances to be
converted from US$ to bond coins or did anyone fear that they would be paid in
bond coins except for small change. The introduction of the bond notes is changing
all that; people will now be paid in bond notes, take it or leave it!
The nation has been spending
more on imports than it earned from exports and so has had a net outflow of
foreign currency. It was just a matter of time before we started running out of
cash.
Bring in rule to make it
more difficult to send or take money out of the country will reduce imports
and, since we have been importing most of our goods, there will be shortages.
We are back to empty shop shelves, fuel shortages, etc. of 2 000 to 2008!
When the country scrap
the Z$, removed all the price controls, etc. in 2008 the government should have
moved swiftly to restructure the economy and put it on a firm recovery path. These
last eight years has been wasted opportunities as Zanu PF and the GNU before it
have done nothing get Zimbabwe working again. Zimbabwe has become a nation of
consumers and informal traders – 90% of the informal sector are buyers and
sellers – and very few producers
The shortage foreign
currency, the reintroduction of the Z$ by the bond notes back door, the underlying
economic collapse, etc. are the consequential readjustment of the economy to
its reality of a consumer nation that has been living beyond its means. Zanu PF
has continued to behave as if the skewed high spender economic system by a
nation that is producing no wealth was sustainable; now the regime is being
forced to accept the reality that the system in NOT sustainable.
Dr John Mangudya’s measures
of capping the amount individuals can withdraw, etc. will not stop the economic
collapse that is taking place; the measure are as futile at stopping the
economic collapse as the proverbial frog’s fart at putting out the forest fire.
The nation had expected
someone in the illustrious position of President of the Confederation of Zimbabwe
Industries to lead from the front these last eight years warning the regime of
the dangers of the forest fire and not waste time wittering of the frog’s fart.
Mr. Moyo the RBZ and government itself have failed the nation there is no talk
anyone restoring “confidence and trust in (these) local institutions” as they
presently constituted.
Zimbabwe economy has been
drifting down the flooded Zambezi River for years and the waters have been rough
and dangerous, pushing unemployment to the dangerous levels of 90% and forcing
millions into abject poverty. The country has now been forced to revert back to
using its own currency marking the beginning of even rougher waters and deadly
twists and turns.
At the
end of the day Zimbabwe will implement the meaningful political reforms
necessary for the holding of free. Fair and credible elections; there is no
other way out of this mess!
“We are now in a multi-currency system so things are very different, and it is not proper to compare the two periods,” Dr Mangudya assures us.
ReplyDelete“An important difference is that the 2008 period was characterised by hyperinflation, but our economy right now is experiencing the opposite of inflation.
“There is no sign whatsoever that we are going to experience hyperinflation.”
This is nonsense, the introduction of the bond notes means we are moving back from using foreign currency exclusively to using the bond notes for local transactions and foreign currency for external transactions! The bond notes are not going to be accepted outside Zimbabwe.
We are going to experience hyperinflation that is a given. I hope Dr Mangudya will do the honourable thing and resign when the inflation hits the double figure percentage mark!
It is very sad and tragic that leaders like RBZ governor Dr Mangadya and CZI President Moyo cannot be even trusted to tell the nation the truth even with the nation's very survival at stake. We have not only had corrupt and incompetent leaders in Zanu PF, in the opposition and, it turns out, in every sector of Zimbabwe society; no wonder the nation is in a real big mess.
ReplyDeleteWhat does Moyo want people to have their confidence and trust in Zanu PF and RBZ about? That the bond notes will always remain one to one to the US$? How stupid is that particularly coming from one who knows that the country's industries have been decimated. How can the nation ease the pressure on the local currency when we rely more and more on imports and sell less and less.
What is the point of having some captain of industry if he/she has no clue what is happening it their area of specialisation? One can only wonder what kind of advice he has been giving to others in industry and to government leaders!
Did CZI members elect Mr Moyo or did he too rig the elections as President Mugabe has been doing?
Zimbabweans, wherever they are, really need to take the good management and leadership of the nation's affairs with the seriousness the matter demands. Electing someone as incompetent as Mr Moyo CZI president shows the nation is not serious about getting Zimbabwe out of this hell!
Could not agree with you more Patrick; Zimbabwe is in this mess not because of the corruption and in-competence of one man, Mugabe, and a few of his cronies; they have done their bit but they have been ably assisted by hundreds of thousands of men and women like our RBZ governor, Mangudya, and CZI President Moyo. They are all lying through their teeth about the effect of these stupid bond notes. They the regime would like that the bond notes are a good thing and so they are all tripping over each other to sing the praises of the bond notes.
DeleteSpeaking truth to power is something that has been noticeably lacking in our people, especially when there is something to be gained from agreeing with those in power as is often the case even if it be the chance to hobnob with those in power. As for the cost for failing to address the issues in an honest and consistent way; they may know the true cost but would still do it regardless. We are dealing with here with individuals whose forefather hunted down their fellow blacks and sold them to the white traders for a piece of calico cloth and handful of beads. The slave trade was abolished but the trade in other people's suffering and despair has continued in one form or another.
As for whether CZI President was elected, he probably was elected but that says a lot about what kind of CZI members are! The fact that Zimbabwe's industrial base has been decimated says a lot about our indus-trialists - they do not know what is in their own interest otherwise they would have never elected such a useless individual president.
Speaking at Barclays Bank's 35th Annual General Meeting last Thursday, bank managing direc-tor George Guvamatanga said the decline in local production has resulted in Zimbabwe depend-ing on imports.
ReplyDelete"Spending on imports is causing the cash crisis. We're a nation that's consuming more than what we're producing," he said. Guvamatanga said that controls were needed in order to mitigate the crisis and ease pressure on the banking sector.
"We're using money that's not ours, there's an anomaly, the previous $3,500 maximum cash withdrawal is something as a country we can't sustain and that limit was for other people taking money out of the country, making the control systems necessary," he said.
The more logical solution here is that we should boast our production creating jobs for the 90% out of work, some of our increased produce will go to meet local demand for the same or similar products and the rest we can export to increase our export earnings. But only a Zimbabwean banker like George Guvamatanga would think of reducing imports by forcing people to be denied access to their own money and to presume to tell them how they should spend it!
We certainly have some of the most mentally challenged leaders in government, industry, banking, you name it; no wonder we are in a mess!
"All this is destroying confidence in the country's banking sector, which as far as I am concerned, was the only remaining functional sector in the economy. Clearly, Nikuv did not show them how to trick the economy," he said.
ReplyDelete"Look, the country needs to change its policies as the present policies are the cause of all these problems the economy is facing so that we boost confidence levels. But the people applying the policies also need to change.
"The selection of a new leadership needs to be very carefully implemented because another ride with this leadership will be nothing short of unfortunate," Robertson added.
Mugabe has resisted regime change for 36 years but the economic meltdown is forcing him to accept change.
It is the economy stupid!
Rigging the elections in 2013 was easy specially since not even one reform had been implemented, thanks to MDC's breath-taking incompetence, rigging the economic recovery has proven to be a bridge to far even for the cunning fox Mugabe. His $27 billion ZimAsset had no takers; not even the Chinese had money to waste even for the privilege to loot Zimbabwe's diamonds and other wealth, it was too much.
ReplyDeleteThe economic meltdown has continued since the rigged 2013 elections and the regime's bond notes is an act of desperation because this will drag the nation back to the days of hyperinflation.
Everyone who is anyone, even our useless opposition, now agree that the only way out is for the country to hold free and fair elections and change its political leadership. MDC-T have given up the idea of getting back on the gravy train as members of a second GNU; they too dread the prospect of free and fair elections just as much as Zanu PF does, given their sorry record they will lose!