Online Reporter
THE last year and a bit has seen a radical reordering of the global economic, financial and social environment, with many changes affecting Zimbabwe and opening up further detrimental possibilities unless we all refine our fundamental beliefs and hold fast to them while creating policies that allow this to happen.
For this reason, Zanu PF called together its Central Committee at the end of last week — as the group of people who directly succeed through many challenges — those who set the original party goals and who ensured the liberation movements kept these before them at all times.
We will get new ways of expressing the fundamentals, and new ways of dealing with what could be deviations both internal and certainly in international arenas. But this has been the work in progress since we launched our struggle for freedom and then maintained our development and growth.
The Second Republic in its basic concepts was built on what we believed to be right and just, with new ways to make sure that we both accelerated economic growth and made sure that all Zimbabweans would benefit from this growth, not just a favoured few exploiting the rest, something that had dominated the colonial era.
The new thrust launched by President Mnangagwa was not just reinforcing pro-growth policies in a high practical way, but also ensuring very high levels of fairness, which included smashing corruption, an attempt to divert wealth to the favoured few.
We used good economics to get everyone, from the smallest and poorest farmer to the largest private sector company to think about producing what people wanted at fair prices, rather than bullying, ignoring the poor, or speculating to shift the wealth to a few pockets. It largely worked, producing a better and far fairer economy plus the stability and low inflation that good economics will produce.
But the last year has seen a lot of global turmoil and even statements that suggest a small country’s natural resources can be owned by a large country, something not expressed since the end of the colonial era. Rejecting the pure exploitation does not preclude being able to have respectable investors ready to make fair non-exclusive deals that benefit both parties, the investors willing to follow sensible local rules including upgrading processing plants and pay modest but fair taxes.
Zimbabwe’s very rapid economic growth over the past seven plus years has seen a major contribution made by such investors, along with the boosts in production by our own farmers and miners and now the growing contribution coming from industry.
While there has been some retreat from the doctrine that might is right, it still hovers in the dark background. Fortunately, most countries now see the problems and the need to recalibrate some global relations, and thanks to our President’s insistence on being on good terms with everyone, we get our seat at the table and will be expected to make our contribution to the debate.
But as the President reminded the Central Committee and the rest of us, this recalibration is especially vital in areas that include trade, innovation, science and technology development, culture and heritage, national defence, as well as peace and security. In other words, we do not have the option to do nothing.
We are confident that Zanu PF, which after all sets the ideology and tone of the country, as well as providing most of the political leadership, has the background and innovative ability to work out ways the core beliefs of our society can be maintained, while we look for new ways of tying these into global relationships.
Clear minds can easily see that compromise is not possible with something like ownership of natural resources, regardless of long-term relationships with respectable investors about using those resources. We can see that we need both economic growth, fair growth, opportunities for all Zimbabweans to move forward, and at the same time ensure that no one and no place is left behind.
The practical details of how we accomplish this double mission are not impossible.
The Second Republic has done well with their full implementation.
But we need to be aware that new threats and new circumstances can suddenly jump out, and so we need to be ready and make sure that we are fully armed with good economics, strong ethics, plenty of friends we can work with and the rest of a modern national armoury.
