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The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr John Mangudya in his maiden statement on Wednesday said the country will overcome its economic challenges but that requires discipline, hard work, unity and remaining positive.The new central bank chief who assumed office on May 1 did not mince his words clearly spelling out the challenges the country is going through largely as a result of the liquidity challenges gripping the financial services sector.
Dr Mangudya said the lack of liquidity and its limited circulation remains the biggest immediate challenge that the Zimbabwean economy faces. The illegal sanctions imposed on the country by the West do not help our cause. In his own words the RBZ boss said: “The greatest panacea of our challenges is discipline. Discipline to utilise our resources efficiently. Discipline to know that we need to increase production before we increase consumption.
“Discipline to refrain from living beyond our means as this would bring greed and corruption. Discipline enough to find an equilibrium position or a point of harmony between the need to promote indigenisation and the need for foreign direct investment and the ability to synchronise the two. Discipline to know that we need to work very hard for this economy.”
We cannot agree more with Dr Mangudya. The country is endowed with abundant natural resources and a highly educated population – key ingredients in turning around the economy. Given that the Chinese government pledged to assist the country through a cash bailout, this could be the starting point for the country to rally around the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation.
The skills that our people possess are probably the greatest asset the country has. Testimony can be given by numerous countries that have benefited from Zimbabweans’ expertise and dedication to quality, both on the African continent and in Europe. But probably what has been lacking ,as Dr Mangudya pointed out, is the discipline to effectively make use of the competitive advantages we have as a country.
The nation must take heed of the call by Dr Mangudya if it is to extricate itself from the quagmire it finds itself in. The salarygate scandal that gripped the nation in recent weeks is a sign of lack of discipline.
Lack of discipline in the sense that those that were tasked with ensuring the public enterprises they headed benefited the Zimbabweans decided to pay themselves hefty salaries and allowances
Most importantly is the belief and realisation by Dr Mangudya that the challenges that we are going through as a country are not insurmountable.
It’s time we put national interests first and put aside our political differences. Bread and butter issues affect everybody hence the need to pull in one direction and speak with one voice.
The recognition of Zimbabwe as the best tourism destination by Europe can also serve to indicate what we can achieve as a country if we all pull together towards achieving the common goal of national prosperity.
Going forward, it’s all hands on the deck. No blame game. With tax revenues declining, we expect the informal sector to come to the party and formalise their operations for the benefit of the nation given that an estimated $7 billion is believed to be circulating outside the formal banking channels.
If that money is harnessed, it could make a positive difference on the economy.
Yes, the economy is weaker and the financial system is depressed but as Dr Mangudya said, as a country we need to be courageous and skilful to manage the situation at hand. Yes, it will not be easy but again, no pain no gain.
The world is fully aware what we can achieve as a country. If this country did not have anything to offer as some would want us to believe, billionaire businessmen like Ashish Thakkar would not have invested in BancABC. The many conglomerates still in the country would have long left but they are still in Zimbabwe and continue to invest.
So as it stands, our destiny is in our hands. What Dr Mangudya needs is the nation’s support.
Online Reporter