"Judge me in 6 months" says Ncube - who has ever done that in 38 years! N Garikai

“FINANCE and Economic Development Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube, who is 42 days into his new job, says it is only fair to judge him after six months, adding that he expects the benefits of austerity measures to start coming through around March 2019,” reported Bulawayo 24.

“Economic structural reforms, he said, were unavoidable. The Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) through to December 2020 has secured the backing of the World Bank Group and IMF.”

This is infuriating! When have the people of Zimbabwe ever had a voice in even life and death matters? The country has just gone through an elections results were not “traceable, verifiable and the whole process was not transparent” and a senior government official is wittering of people “judging” as if he does not know that Zanu PF does as it pleases, period.

Minister Ncube is doing one other thing the Zanu PF regime loves to do - blame other people for its own mess. In the 1990s Zimbabwe had two back to back five-year IMF and WB sponsored Economic Structural Adjustment Programs (ESAP). Both programs failed to deliver an meaningful economic recovery because Zanu PF cherry picking, the regime implemented some reforms but left out all the important ones. President Mugabe went to town blaming the programs for the nation’s economic problems and blamed the IMF and WB for forcing the country to adopt them in the first place.

To hear Mugabe blubbering on and on about ESAP one would be forgiven to think IMF and WB had force Zimbabwe to accept the programs at gun-point. It was an excuse for not servicing the country’s mountain of debt. The IMF hit back by turning off all financial assistance to Zimbabwe.

It is doubtful if the IMF would have ever agreed to this TSP’s 2% tax on all electronic transactions clearly aimed at hitting the 75% of Zimbabweans living on US$1.00 or less a day! No doubt the regime will use the revenue to buy new cars for chefs, charter planes for Grace Mugabe, etc. The tax epitomises what is wrong with Zanu PF’s warped economic reforms and policies; they all hit the poor hard to subsidize the extravagant lifestyles of the filthy rich ruling elite.  

The IMF and WB are not going to bankroll this regime's doomed program and they have a good excuse - ZDERA. Minister Ncube is going to USA to see if he can talk the American government to lift the sanctions. The sanctions were confirmed following Zanu PF’s failure to hold free, fair and credible elections. No one worth his/her salt can deny the elections were rigged.

Even if the American government was to lift the sanctions this will not guarantee the IMF and WB would want to bankroll this regime's voodoo economic policies and programs. There is the issue of clearing the US$2 billion debt charges which Minister Ncube says he will pad in the next 12 months. All from the same 2% tax on the poor because the regime is not going to attract any local and foreign investors. By rigging the elections the regime shot itself in the foot, it scarred away would-be investors. No one wants to invest in a pariah state ruled by corrupt, incompetent and vote rigging thugs.

People were very pleased with the appointment of Professor Mthuli Ncube as Minister of Finance, given his impressive qualification and wide-ranging experience. Sadly, it is now clear he has no common sense. None! He has already made two very important policy blunders he said Zimbabwe was phasing out Bond Notes and then that he would allow the Bond Notes to float. He made U-turns on both but when the damaged was already done!

But his worst blunder is dragging the nation through years of economic hardship in pursuit of this TSP when it is clear there will be a lot of pain but no gain because there will never be any meaningful economic recovery whilst Zimbabwe remains a pariah state!

Minister Ncube; what Zimbabwe needs to revive its comatose economy is cash injection from the foreign and local investors not the last cents wrung out of the poorest of the poor, the regime has taxed to death already!

Zanu PF has dragged this nation into this hell-on-earth and yet remains in power regardless. It is bad enough that you are dragging us through this hell for nothing; please do not insult our intelligence by pretending you do not know that Zanu PF rigs elections and therefore is democratically untouchable! “Judge me in six months!” Yeah right, as if anyone has ever done that!