adminDr Gift Mugano
The Department of Public Affairs and Knowledge Management in the Office of the President and Cabinet last year developed a Communication and Media Strategy.
The development of Communication and Media Strategy is aimed at presenting strategies to motivate, empower, educate, engage and convince target audiences, particularly the nation at large and influential, interested and concerned stakeholders on Government readiness to engage all in socio-economic transformation through the accelerate implementation of the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset).
Interestingly, the development of communication and media strategy is a product of an all stakeholder highly consultative and participatory process and participatory process undertaken in 2015.
The Communication and Media Strategy is not only aimed at providing information, but building effective and strong coalitions, fostering social awareness, creating shared understanding amongst key target audiences and contributing towards evidence based economic reforms for socio-economic transformation as espoused in Zim-Asset.
We have an important tool in the form of a Communication and Media Strategy which if implemented can help us overcome our economic challenges together.
The major take away from the Communication and Media Strategy is aimed at motivating, empowering, educating, engaging and convincing target audiences on specific policy issues.
This is a major breakthrough by Government what is remaining however is to move to its full implementation.
In recent months there are a number of policies which have been pronounced but faced serious public resistance.
Some of the policies have been reversed while others have continued notwithstanding the public resistance while their outcomes have been below optimal.
To avoid talking in riddles, this issue will cover examples around the Statutory Instrument 64 (SI 64), bond notes, value added tax on meat and rice, taxes on the informal sector and withholding tax on tobacco farmers.
SI 64 had good intentions but prior to its announcement the Ministry of Industry and Commerce did not motivate, empower, educate, engage and convince target audiences on why it was necessary.
As a result we witnessed stiff resistance notwithstanding the fact that the SI 64 went on to witness some successes in some sectors.
In as much as it seems to have been a done deal, there is still need to motivate, empower, educate, engage and convince target audiences on the same.
Cross border traders who were surviving on trading of wares which are being restricted under the SI 64 needs to be mainstreamed in the process.
What should happen is that the companies which are benefiting under SI 64 should make available the same goods which were imported by our cross border traders at the same cost or even much lower than they were getting from South Africa.
Alternatively, the same companies should create jobs for the people in the informal sector. Either way, the income of both the informal traders and the established companies will be sustained with enormous multiplier effects.
Up to now there indication of how the informal sector will be accommodated under the SI 64.
This is a missed opportunity. It can only happen when we engage everyone as enunciated in the Communication and Media Strategy.
On bond notes, what came first was pronouncement of the bond notes before the monetary authorities motivated, empowered, educated, engaged and convinced target audiences.
As a matter of fact, communication came later but it was not convincing nor empowering.
Still, there is opportunity for informing the public on the lifespan of the bond notes. To date, about $100 million of bond notes have been printed in about five months.
Does it mean that in the next five month we will have all the bond notes printed? Again, after the next five month, how long will the bond notes circulate in the system?
At what point will be the bond notes be withdrawn from the system? All these questions require answers.
The Communication and Media Strategy has a framework and tools to consistently provide answers to these questions.
On taxes, it is given that citizens and businesses must pay taxes to enable smooth functioning of the Government machinery.
Let me repeat, we all have an obligation to pay tax. However, in recent months we witnessed the introduction of value added tax on meat and rice.
There was a public outcry which saw the Government reversing the policy measure. This was a lost opportunity.
It was therefore necessary before VAT was introduced for the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development to motivate, empower, educate, engage and convince Zimbabweans on their objective.
Policy reversal should be avoid at all costs as it challenges the credibility of our policies.
On presumptive taxes on the informal sector, that is, saloons and transport sector. Last month, Government introduced presumptive tax of $10 per chair per month and $45 and $75 per month for commuter omnibuses per month.
This again sparked public outcry. As long as there is disgruntlement compliance becomes difficult.
These figures looks moderate at face value. However, if the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development had engaged with the relevant stakeholders would have seen that these figures may be on the high side after taking into account other fees like council fees, insurance, radio licence, roadblock fines which actually shot up by 50-100 percent depending with categories etc.
Or, there could have been realisation by both parties, that is, Government and stakeholders, that the tax rates are reasonable but there is no way the public will to pay tax hence the need to motivate tax payers on the need to pay taxes.
Withholding tax on tobacco farmers, I am not a tax expert but my understanding is that withholding tax has been in our statutes for a long time.
It is common practice that if one doesn’t have tax clearance a total of 10 percent is deducted from sales of the individual.
From this perspective, there is nothing wrong with the Government moving in to collect taxes from the tobacco farmers.
However, the problem is that since land reform there was no enforcement of a 10 percent withholding tax on tobacco farmers specifically nor a move to educate them on the same prior to coming to the auction floor.
Rather, farmers were only informed about the tax when they had already started selling their tobacco.
The farmers protested this move. Again, Government reversed the decision to impose the withhold tax.
My argument here is that there is a business case for implementing the Communication and Media Strategy.
At all times we must always motivate, empower, educate, engage and convince target audiences.
Zimbabweans in our collective form have a collective responsibility to take this country forward.
In whatever we do we need to build effective and strong coalitions, foster social awareness, create shared understanding amongst key target audiences and contribute towards evidence based economic reforms for socio-economic transformation as espoused in Zim-Asset.
Together we make Zimbabwe great!
- Dr Mugano is an Author and Expert in Trade and Competitiveness. He is a Research Associate at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and a Senior Lecturer at the Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University. Feedback: Email: [email protected], Cell: +263 772 541 209.
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