No pain no
gain! Is a phrase that has been abused in Zimbabwe to get the poor to give up
the little they have for a better tomorrow that is always a day away. After 38
years of these empty promises the powers that be are still at it!
“Some pains
are just but a necessary evil and ought to be lived through than avoided if the
benefits are to be harnessed in totality. Joys of motherhood come with
excruciating pain, sweating and energy draining pregnancy, but at the end of it
all is the feeling of fulfilment and self-actualisation,” wrote Caitlin Kamba
in Bulawayo 24.
Yeah, yeah,
we have had it all before. Before the adopting of each of the five-year Economic
Structural Adjustment Programmes in 1990 and 1995 the nation was told to
tighten its belt for the economic hardship and that the economy will emerge
strong – the joys of motherhood.
To start
with the country was in economic trouble hence the need to adjust; we would not
have needed to adjust anything if Zanu PF had not messed up. At the end of each
five years the country’s economy was worse and not better; the only people who
benefited are the ruling elite who were loosen their belts as their piled up
the fat from all the good living.
Zimbabwe is
not going to register any meaningful economic recovery as long as the country
remains a pariah state ruled by incompetent, corrupt and vote rigging thugs.
The regime has failed to get money from the IMF, WB, etc. and so it is taxing
the country’s 75% already living on US$1.00 or less a day. The money will be
used to buy new cars, charter planes, pay overseas hospital bills for the
ruling elite, etc.
“It is also
prudent to remember that a revolution like Greek god, Kronos, the revolution
devours its own children. Regardless of political affiliation all economic
evils ought to be done away with. In the same manner Intermediary Transitory
Tax (ITT) is affecting everyone so should the economic reforms take the same
route. The cash barons and illegal foreign currency dealers as well as touts of
various sizes and forms ought to be dealt with ruthlessly,” says Kamba.
This is
just nonsense. People are not depositing any of the US$ they earn in the Bank
because they deposit US$ and are forced to withdraw Bond Note. They need US$ to
pay for imports, Zimbabwe imports almost everything now, and they source the
forex from wherever they can and pay the premium rate; they have no choice.
It is all
very well for the authorities to insist the 1:1 US$ to Bond Note exchange rate
and have done nothing to ensure the Banks has the forex to pay all their customers
in US$.
It is
typical of tyrannical regime to criminalise innocent people. Zimbabwe scrapped
Z$ making a basket of foreign currency legal tender. The Bond Notes, RTGS,
eco-cash, etc. were added into the basket. Anyone could pay for any good and
services in anyone of these foreign and local currency and there has been a
preference to deal in one or currencies over the others and hence the premium charge.
No one is committing a criminal offense by trading in any of the currencies.
The call to have any such traders “dealt with ruthlessly” is therefore totally
irresponsible.
Criminalising
trade in the legal tender forex will only reduce the number of traders to the
benefit of the rich and powerful who always step in and take over charging even
more for the service!
Zimbabwe’s
economic mess is a result of the country’s up-side down and back to front and
downright idiotic policies that has result in the criminal waste of human and
material resources. No country on earth can sustain, much less thrive, $15
billion in diamond revenue being swindled. Yet this is what has been happening
in Zimbabwe and our GPD is only $13 billion.
Zimbabwe
must first address its corrupted system of government to make sure the criminal
waste of resources through gross mismanagement and rampant corruption are dealt
with first. The ruling elite’s appetite for wealth is insatiable. All attempts
to revive the economy without first addressing the waste have been futile
because the ruling elite have only stepped up their wasteful ways confident
there was more wealth where that came from.
Only a
first class village idiot will belief that ITT taxing the now filthy poor to
bankroll the extravagant lifestyles of the filthy rich will, somehow, uplift
the poor out of poverty! “Self-actualisation!” Indeed!
A number of unnamed political elites were said to have given themselves irrigation equipment, brand new tractors, combine harvesters and other farming materials.
ReplyDeleteThe loans were never paid back, forcing lawmakers to recommend that they be written off.
Ncube, who is driving an economic reform agenda said the government, did not want to continue supporting the farmers, adding that they should find alternative assistance.
"Movement towards a market-based supply and demand driven approach would be more efficient and sustainable, and also reducing the greater burden of reliance on the fiscus," Ncube was quoted as saying.
Sunday News quoted Chiwenga as saying that if farmers embraced government policies, particularly the Command Agriculture "and maximise on the use of local resources", Zimbabwe would regain its status as the continent's breadbasket.
So command agriculture is finally dead in the water! It was coming, the regime has failed to get anyone to bankroll its reckless spending and something was bound to give.
In practice the free money is going to less and less; the chefs will continue to get their free new cars, Grace Mugabe her chartered planes, etc. The less mortal free-loaders will get nothing - they are lucky they are not being asked to repay what they got over the years, at least those still under the protection of the party.
Welcome maComrades, we the impoverish masses have been expecting you to join us. Now you will have a chance to see what poverty is all about, you did not believe us when we told you the system was not working and needed to be changed. "Mava kuzvionera pamhino sepfodya!" as one would say in Shona.
So command agriculture is finally dead in the water! It was coming, the regime has failed to get anyone to bankroll its reckless spending and something was bound to give.
ReplyDeleteIn practice the free money is going to less and less; the chefs will continue to get their free new cars, Grace Mugabe her chartered planes, etc. The less mortal free-loaders will get nothing - they are lucky they are not being asked to repay what they got over the years, at least those still under the protection of the party.
Comrade Mutasa was one of those who lost the party's protection and within a few months he was a pauper. He has since lost so much weight you may not recognise him! Stress and hunger are his daily companions. They are his masters and he is their slave! "Vawonda nomusoro!" (He has lost so much weight even his head has shrunk!)
Welcome maComrades, we the impoverish masses have been expecting you to join us. Now you will have a chance to see what poverty is all about, you did not believe us when we told you the system was not working and needed to be changed. "Mava kuzvionera pamhino sepfodya!" as one would say in Shona.
True enough, Mnangagwa is illegitimate. The EU have just said in their final report the the election results could not be traced or verified in other words many of Mnangagwa's 2.4 million votes are pure fiction, there are no real human beings behind the vote count.
ReplyDeleteWhat Mnangagwa is hoping to get from trailing Chamisa is a complete mystery. Even if Chamisa was climb Inyangeni Mountain, or Kilimanjaro or even Mount Everest and shout from there that Mnangagwa won the elections; that will not change the fact that the elections were rigged. Mnangagwa will never get his legitimacy from Chamisa because it is not Chamisa but the people of Zimbabwe who do that in a free, fair and credible elections.
Chamisa was foolish in taking part in a flawed and illegal elections process. His argument that the election must be considered free and fair if he win and rigged if he lost was nonsensical. Whilst the EU report is clear that ED rigged the elections it is also clear that there is nothing in the result to suggest Chamisa be declared the winner.
Indeed Chamisa's figures could not be traced or verified either; just as the ZEC figures. If anything, it is clear MDC Alliance has tried to rig the elections too!
It is bad enough for the ordinary man and woman to be blundering from pillar to post but when national leaders do the same and taking millions of ordinary people with them this is a very serious matter. The very fact that President Mnangagwa and his cabinet are blaming street forex traders providing a necessary service the people clearly need, is worrying. Who would buy forex from a street trader if they can get all the forex they want at a cheaper rate from the Bank.
ReplyDeleteNow the regime's apologists like Kamba have taken up the campaign and are calling street traders to be dealt with "ruthlessly". This is just mob rule!
Zimbabwe is in serious economic trouble and the country is only going to sink even deeper into trouble if those in position of power and authority are blunder from pillar to post at a time the country need working solutions.
It is heartbreaking that the regime is going after the poorest of the poor with its new 2c in every dollar electronic transaction tax. One can only imagine what hardships someone living on US$1.00 or less a day face. Every cent counts to these people and now they are being forced to live on US$0.99 or less a day! What makes this would tragic tail even worse is that their sacrifice will be for nothing as the economy will not recover.
The regime should be looking at policies that will get the economy back on track producing goods and services and people back to productive work. Chasing after vendors' meagre earning and worse still criminalise innocent vendors selling forex!
@ Max Maphosa
ReplyDelete"The EU and their masters the Western block it's their business to use the carrot and the stick while making sure we are stuck in one place with no sign of progress. These people are well drilled to the extend that they have done very well leaving all African government poor and always begging for aid. There is nothing new with all these organizations, they are making sure they are remotely controlling the black people. They remain our masters and we are their slaves. Their remains their agenda for a long time to come. Africa will never be free."
This is sad, Zanu PF has just rigged the elections denying millions of ordinary Zimbabweans a meaningful say in the governance of the country. So the gross mismanagement and rampant corruption will continue. The criminal waste of human and material resources will continue. And instead of admitting these problems all you can think of is blame the West! What a waste of space!
What a mockery of humanity - you are incapable of coming up with anything even in your own interest!
It is a pity you failed to see that by failing to get even one democratic reform implemented during the GNU you and your MDC friends were selling out big time. If you lot had implemented the reforms Zimbabwe would not be stuck in this mess with Zanu PF rigging elections. You lot were warned about implementing the reforms but would not listen!
ReplyDeleteCurrently, he said, businesses with access to foreign currency were selling hard cash on the black market to fund their expenses including salaries effectively increasing their profits.
ReplyDelete"The businesses retail 70 percent of their foreign currency which they have been abusing. No one cares about that 70 percent, instead all eyes are on the 30 percent at the RBZ which they queue for," the source said.
"We have to deal with corruption; there is no corruption that happens where there is no witness. Big fish will be caught in the next few days. Senior officials participating in the black market will go down. Don't worry about these petty currency traders at Eastgate, they are just free injectors. Real transaction in currency or commoditisation of currency is happening in air-conditioned offices, bankers are involved and corporates involved. That's where the story is," added the source.
In a op-ed carried by state media today, President Mnangagwa said; "A great threat to our bid to stimulate productive activity in the economy comes by way of non-productive, speculative activities operating below the radar but involving millions in precious foreign currency and bond notes.
"These nefarious activities thrive on different electronic platforms. New measures will be pursued to stop such malpractices.
Corporates with hard cash and individuals, now, prefer a situation where the local dollar value continues tumbling such that they use less hard cash to fulfill their legal obligations in bond notes or RTGS.
The source said indications were that there was complicity on the part of responsible authorities to deal with illegal foreign currency dealers.
"If this economy felt black market is a cost why do we continue having it? We are moving figures not hard cash so these figures are moved electronically. As a result we have a mechanism to trace bad non-productive money to source which means there is complicity on the part of banks and telephone networks."
The one thing I like admitted here is the real criminals of the black market foreign currency trading are those in air conditioned offices and not the small time dealer selling the US$ to the ordinary man and woman. I am not holding my breath that many of the big fish will be arrested, this is just talk, big talk!
Zanu PF witnesses is trying to portray MDC Alliance as a party of violence and they are right. But if the truth be said, MDC Alliance's violence is child's play compared to Zanu PF; whilst the former throws stones the later beat, rape and kill. MDC Alliance, as far as I know, have never killed anyone. On the other hand Zanu PF has murdered over 30 000 innocent Zimbabweans in its 38 years reign of terror.
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