Baton passed on to us

Victoria Ruzvidzo

Heroes’ Day commemorations slated for tomorrow come at a time when Zimbabwe’s economy is firmly etched on a growth trajectory that will see it achieve a 7,8 percent growth figure this year.

This is definitely one of the major reasons why thousands sacrificed their lives to bring independence to the country. That its citizenry must enjoy the milk and honey of the land.

We salute these gallant men and women for paving the way not just for political independence, but economic emancipation too. It definitely was not easy for anyone to leave school and the comfort of their homes to go to war. It must have been even harder for parents and guardian to realise their blood and flesh had gone to the war front.

Every week in our weekly column Chimurenga files, freedom fighters narrate hair-raising ordeals they experienced as they fought to restore political and economic power into the hands of Zimbabweans.

It was not easy, but someone had to do it. And surely they handed Zimbabwe to all of us to enjoy and cherish. This is the place we call home.

Their efforts were not in vain. They are well-documented and much appreciated by all of us. We salute each and every person who took part in the liberation struggle. We are because they were selfless.

Indeed we celebrate the gains of independence today as we remember the sacrifices made. Some of the stories from the war read and sound like horror movies that even Steven Seagal would flinch, but this was all a desire to reclaim what was rightfully ours.

Many lie at heroes’ shrines dotted across the country, others had their remains interred in mass graves around the region, while many survived and are among us today, all inspired and motivated by the need to bring back land and other resources to the majority of Zimbabwe’s citizenry.

It is in this spirit that we acknowledge and salute such selfless acts. Many have taken the baton stick to bring economic independence. It is a continuous fight in which we must all play our part.

Zimbabwe is lauded on the continent for successfully reclaiming its land back. This has empowered many who have ventured into farming and are reaping the rewards of doing so. A few have kept their portion of land idle and the Government is busy identifying such for reallocations so that the country realises its potential as an economic giant.

This year’s commemorations will be sweeter given the successful transformation of agriculture that has seen the sector achieve a 34 percent historical growth figure this year. National and individual granaries are full to the brim owing to a highly successful season that has spurred economic growth.

This is what our heroes fought for. Thousands died for this.

We all need to rise to the occasion and do our lap in this race. A hero is typically a human being who decides to do the extraordinary, even the unthinkable for the benefit of others. We have many in our middle and we need more to come to the party to ensure we finish off the journey that our liberation war heroes started.

We are duty-bound to preserve their efforts and build on them for Zimbabwe to become the jewel that it is billed to be.

We have heroes in our middle working from dusk to dawn to rebuild the economy. We have many working in factories, others constructing roads, dams and other infrastructure and some going up high-rise buildings daily to keep the economy going. We have those that include the woman from Dotito who finds space at the marketplace to sell vegetables to feed her family while contributing to the national basket.

Many are toiling day and night here and abroad to help Zimbabwe reach its potential.

Unfortunately we have others seeking to destroy where some are building and some who have chosen to stay on the terraces and watch others work. It is about time we all came to the party to carry the country forward. We need all hands on deck to turn many of our dreams into reality.

Monetary Policy Statement

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe on Thursday released the Mid-year Monetary Policy Review Statement which offers a glowing review of events currently obtaining within the economy while painting a much brighter picture of days to come.

Coming as it does hard on the heels of the half year budget statement, the MPS has buttressed the optimism registered by Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube in his presentation to Parliament 11 days ago.

The economy has gained much ground in the past seven months, resulting in the revision of the 7,4 percent economic growth figure to 7,8 percent while inflation eased to 56 percent in July from 106 percent the previous month.

Most sectors of the economy, led by agriculture, have exhibited above target growth while several infrastructure projects countrywide are either within or ahead of schedule, hence the need to maintain the current traction.

On the other hand, the central bank has said it will maintain the foreign currency auction system, described by analysts as the single most effective tool that has brought stability to the economy.

Launched on June 20 last year, the auction system will be consolidated to ensure the productive sectors of the economy are adequately supplied with foreign currency to fund their enterprises. Furthermore, Letters of Credit will be issued to augment supplies, easing pressure on the auction market where demand is rising as activity increases.

So far more than $1,7 billion has been disbursed to productive sectors through 50 auctions for importation of machinery, raw materials and other critical needs. Industry acknowledges that the foreign exchange auction has revamped production processes.

The central bank will not relent in policing activities on the market to arrest abuse of funds. Indeed Zimbabwe’s economic story continues to get better and is now firmly anchored on a sustained economic recovery and growth trajectory. A stable foreign currency auction market, easing inflation and increased export receipts are set to anchor the growth path. While the challenges arising from the Covid-19 pandemic can never be overstated, it is under these present circumstances that the economy, and Zimbabweans at large have shown much resilience and a never say die spirit that has catapulted the economy to where it is now.

There is increased confidence in the banking sector which has remained stable and well capitalised over the period under review with aggregate core capital of $57,54 billion as at June 30 2021.

Deposits have increased by 49,3 percent to $304,94 billion as at June 30, 2021 from $204,13 billion as at December 31, 2020.

The sector plays an intermediary role in the economy hence its health is important to overall economic well-being.

On the other hand, the central bank has said it will maintain the foreign currency auction system, described by analysts as the single most effective tool that has brought stability to the economy.

Launched on June 20 last year, the auction system will be consolidated to ensure the productive sect0rs of the economy are adequately supplied with foreign currency to fund their enterprises. On top of that, Letters of Credit will be issued to augment supplies, easing pressure on the auction market where demand is rising as activity increases.

So far more than $1,7 billion has been disbursed to productive sectors through 56 bids for the big firms and 50 for small companies for importation of machinery, raw materials and other critical needs. Industry acknowledges that the foreign exchange auction has revamped production processes.

The central bank will not relent in policing activities on the market to arrest abuse of funds.

Furthermore, the central bank has noted an increase in the use of technology in the provision of financial services as there has been greater access and use of digital platforms for financial transactions. This has resulted in business transactions being done in a much faster and more efficient way.

RBZ governor Dr John Mangudya has acknowledged that the use of technology has, however, brought with it its own risks as users are prone to cyber attacks and are at risk of suffering losses and theft of data and private information hence has called upon all institutions employing digital platforms to increase cyber security systems

“The economy is rebounding on account of the stable macroeconomic conditions. Both the external and real sectors of the economy are expected to remain strong in the outlook period. We, therefore, need to stay the course and consolidate the current economic policy measures for stability and sustainable growth of the economy.

“The expected positive growth of the world economy, supported by stimulus packages in the developed countries and Asia and from the IMF will buttress Zimbabwe’s economic growth trajectory. In addition, the expected increase in commodity prices on account of increased global demand will enhance the country’s export performance, notwithstanding the expected rise in global inflation which will have moderate pass-through effects to domestic inflation,” said Dr Mangudya.

Indeed Zimbabwe’s economic story continues to get better and is now firmly anchored on a sustained economic recovery and growth trajectory. A stable foreign currency auction market, easing inflation and increased export receipts are set to anchor the growth path.

While the challenges arising from the Covid-19 pandemic can never be overstated, it is under these present circumstances that the economy, and Zimbabweans at large have shown much resilience and a never say die spirit that has catapulted the economy to where it is now.

In God I Trust!

Twitter handle: @VictoriaRuzvid2; Email: [email protected]; [email protected]; WhatsApp number: 0772 129 972.