Be optimistic but realistic, people urged

Munyaradzi Musiiwa Midlands Bureau
ZIMBABWEANS have been urged to be optimistic, but realistic in their expectations on economic recovery as the new President, Cde Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, is sworn in today.

There has been a lot of optimism that the economy would rebound quickly following the resignation of Cde Robert Mugabe as President after 37 years in power. President-designate Cde Mnangagwa has a mammoth task to turn around the economy.

Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) president Mr Sifelani Javangwe said while the new political trajectory has rekindled hope among manufacturers, economic recovery was going to be a gradual process. He said the revival of anchor projects such Cold Storage Company (CSC), National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), ZimAlloys, Monarch and Kango, among many others was not going to be an overnight thing.

“We are very hopeful and confident that the incoming President will revive the economy. However, people should be optimistic and realistic at the same time because economic recovery is a process.

“We have anchor projects that require time to revive. What can be done immediately though is the local content approach, maintain Statutory Instrument (SI) 64 and SI 120. The top priority should be access to foreign currency to companies that can generate more foreign currency, financial discipline on the part of the Government. Government should live within its means. Some of the things that can be done immediately include improving efficiency of the ports of entry,” he said.

Mr Javangwe said the re-engagement of the international community and the creation of new relations, which have a positive implication on economic recovery will also take time. Former Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce president Mr Trust Chikohora said people should not expect things to change overnight because former President Cde Mugabe resigned, but should rather look at the incoming President’s approach to business.

“President Mnangagwa, his Government together and every Zimbabwean should work hard to extricate the country from the economic challenges that have been bedevilling the country for the past two decades.

“We fell into a very deep pit and we have to work very hard to climb out of it. We cannot suddenly find ourselves out of it because Cde Mugabe resigned. What is important, however, is the approach that the incoming President is going to take. He must be progressive, bring in new people and chose the team he is going to work with carefully.

“There is need for the reorientation of the international community and the local people in terms of how people view Government based on past experiences,” he said.

Cde Mnangagwa is on record as saying there was need to facilitate the ease of doing business in the country. He successfully spearheaded Command Agriculture in the 2016-2017 summer cropping season, which saw the country producing in excess of two million tonnes of maize.