Online Reporter
It is a good festive season for most Zimbabweans this year, with so much now going right and so many solid gains now coming through.
Even the weather is co-operating, with the best rainy season for many years, the eight weeks before Christmas delivering good penetrating rains without much in the way of violent storms or flash floods.
Farmers are the largest single occupation group in the country, and most of us have at least second or third cousins if not closer relatives who farm.
We also need to remember that when farmers do well we all do well as a lot of extra money and value are pumped into the economy.
There have been high levels of growth in the economy over the last few years under the Second Republic, with even the 2024 drought year seeing positive growth although rural areas suffered, a position rectified this year with record and near record harvests for almost every crop. But that growth is now reaching most people.
Just as importantly the dramatic fall in inflation since the early months of the year means that we are now able to keep our money, and not see it eroded away by inflation. It makes a difference and allows people to live the sort of normal life we should expect, rather than continually adjusting to a sequence of shocks.
Zimbabwean industrialists have done their part and have been keeping their production levels high, while responding to imported competition by pushing quality and value for money. It is interesting to note that without shortages neither the manufacturers nor the retailers have been pushing prices up for Christmas. In fact they are concentrating on special offers more.
The dramatic rise in export sales, with the gap in the trade accounts now almost negligible, means that with the larger diaspora remittances the current account is in a very healthy surplus, with Zimbabwe spending far less foreign currency than what flows in.
This means that where we need to buy products that Zimbabwe does not make, there are again no shortages, and so again no sudden Christmas price jumps. Inflation has been accurately described as a good way to pump money into ever fewer hands, robbing the poor to benefit the rich, the reverse of Robin Hood.
And our own experience shows this is usually the case. There is the other problem from allowing free market billionaires to set the economic agenda and slash social spending, but Zimbabwe prefers to keep raising these social spending budgets in line with the economic growth, so again the majority rather than a minority benefit.
Admittedly this is what we have a right to expect, but it has taken a lot of hard work by most of us, plus some difficult decisions by the authorities, to get to this stage where our economy can be thought of as a “normal” economy.
And most of us are coping rather well, probably better than any year in the past now that the country’s growth rates are higher than population growth, so on average we all showing significant gains. Solid Government policies to make sure this new wealth is created by the vast majority, and making sure that people can keep their shares rather than see all money flow into a few bank accounts, is brightening up Christmas.
We need, and are now getting millions of people, millions of families, distinctly better off and enjoying life whole lot more, and Christmas in such a year, especially with decent rains, shows we can take a break and enjoy ourselves.
There are, of course, some dangers that come from rising prosperity. Many people need to follow advice and eat more healthy foods, for example.
Of particular concern is the combination of higher car ownership and good roads, both very positive measures of growing prosperity. But with that prosperity comes responsibility. We need to drive better, pay far more attention to the road rules, which when you come down to it are simply the agreement we have with each other on how we can stop killing each other.
We can still have a very good Christmas, in fact a better Christmas, if we do not speed, if we wait till we get to our destination to have an alcoholic drink, and if we treat everyone else the way we want to be treated.
But with these caveats, let us all enjoy Christmas as a reward for our hard work during the years, including this year.
